How to Become a Millionaire in 3 Years | Daniel Ally | TEDxBergenCommunityCollege

Summary

In this motivational speech, the speaker explores the multifaceted nature of success, emphasizing that it is a personal journey of self-expression. They share their own transformation from a struggling individual to a self-made millionaire, highlighting the importance of reading, surrounding oneself with positive influences, and setting ambitious goals. The speaker introduces 'The 20 Idea Method' to encourage goal achievement through brainstorming and action, ultimately advocating for a belief in oneself as the key to unlocking success.

Takeaways

• 😀 Success is subjective and varies from person to person, including a kindergartner, a housewife, or a corporate executive.
• 📚 Success is about self-expression, being who you want to be, doing what you want to do, and going where you want to go.
• 🧠 The speaker emphasizes that you are the boss of your life and that your current situation is a result of your choices.
• 🚫 To achieve success, one must stop conforming to others' expectations and start performing to their own level of expectations.
• 🌟 Believing in oneself is crucial, as faith in one's own abilities can lead to the realization of one's desires.
• 📈 The speaker shares his own journey from a troubled past to becoming a self-made millionaire by changing his mindset and actions.
• 📖 Reading books is a key principle to success, as they provide tools to unlock the potential of the mind and solve problems.
• 🤝 Surrounding oneself with the right individuals is essential, as we become like the five people we spend the most time with.
• 🎯 Setting higher goals is important for personal growth, and the speaker suggests writing them down and using 'The 20 Idea Method' to achieve them.
• 📈 The acronym B-I-G summarizes the speaker's advice: Books (what you read), Individuals (who you meet), and Goals (that you set).

Q & A

What does the speaker define as the greatest definition of success?

The speaker defines success as 'self-expression,' which involves being who you want to be, doing what you want to do, and going where you want to go.

How does the speaker suggest one should approach living their life?

The speaker suggests that one should stop conforming to other people's expectations and start performing to their own level of expectations, believing in oneself.

What is the speaker's personal background regarding success?

The speaker had a troubled past, living below his potential, working over 40 different jobs by the age of 21, and struggling with drugs. He eventually became a self-made millionaire by the age of 24.

What is the first key principle the speaker suggests to achieve success?

The first key principle is to read more books, as they are tools that release the potential of the mind and leaders are readers.

Why does the speaker emphasize the importance of surrounding oneself with the right people?

The speaker emphasizes this because people tend to become like the five individuals they surround themselves with the most, so it's crucial to choose those who inspire and help one achieve their goals.

What does the speaker mean by 'default friends'?

The speaker refers to 'default friends' as the people one naturally befriends in their everyday surroundings, such as neighbors, colleagues, or acquaintances, who may not necessarily help one achieve their ambitions.

How does the speaker propose to find the right people to surround oneself with?

The speaker suggests reaching out to authors of books that inspire you, using social media and websites to connect with them and learn from their teachings.

What is the '20 Idea Method' mentioned by the speaker?

The '20 Idea Method' is a strategy where one selects an overarching goal and analyzes 20 ideas that correspond with that goal to find actionable steps towards achieving it.

Why does the speaker advise against relying solely on New Year's resolutions or bucket lists for goal setting?

The speaker advises against them because New Year's resolutions often involve trying to do too much too fast without a plan, and bucket lists lack urgency and often aren't written down.

What is the acronym B-I-G that the speaker uses to summarize the key elements for success?

B-I-G stands for Books (the books you read), Individuals (the people you meet), and Goals (the goals you set for yourself), which are the three key elements the speaker believes are necessary for success.

Outlines

00:00

🚀 Introduction to Success and Self-Expression

The speaker, Daniel Ally, begins by discussing the multifaceted nature of success, emphasizing that it varies from person to person. He shares his definition of success as self-expression, which involves being true to oneself and making one's own choices. Daniel highlights the influence of external expectations from various sources like parents, teachers, and society, and stresses the importance of believing in oneself. He shares his own journey from a troubled past with a poor reputation and numerous job losses to becoming a self-made millionaire by the age of 24. Daniel introduces three key principles that he believes can revolutionize anyone's life, regardless of their definition of success.

05:00

📚 The Power of Reading and Surrounding Yourself with the Right People

In this paragraph, Daniel focuses on the first two principles for success: reading books and surrounding oneself with the right individuals. He advocates for reading as a means to gain knowledge and solve problems, suggesting that books are tools for unlocking one's potential. Daniel challenges the common excuse of not having time to read by illustrating how even 10 minutes a day can lead to significant learning over time. He also talks about the importance of the company one keeps, stating that we become like the five people we spend the most time with. He advises seeking out inspiring leaders who can help elevate one's goals and thinking, and shares his personal experience of seeking advice from a plumber friend who discouraged him from starting a business. Daniel emphasizes the need to associate with people who can support one's ambitions and provide the right guidance.

10:02

🎯 Setting Higher Goals and the '20 Idea Method'

The final paragraph delves into the third principle for success: setting higher goals. Daniel critiques common approaches to goal-setting, such as New Year's resolutions and bucket lists, for their lack of planning and urgency. He introduces his '20 Idea Method', which involves selecting one major goal and brainstorming 20 corresponding ideas to achieve it. Using the example of becoming a better public speaker, he demonstrates how this method can be applied to various areas of life. Daniel concludes by reiterating the importance of believing in oneself, thinking big, and taking action to achieve success. He summarizes the three key principles as B-I-G: the books you read, the individuals you meet, and the goals you set.

Keywords

💡Success

Success in the context of the video is defined as a personal and subjective achievement that varies from individual to individual. It's about self-expression and living a life that aligns with one's own values and aspirations. The video emphasizes that success is not a one-size-fits-all concept but is deeply personal, as illustrated by the speaker's assertion that 'Success is all about self-expression.'

💡Self-expression

Self-expression refers to the act of conveying one's thoughts, emotions, and desires through actions, words, and other forms of communication. In the video, it is linked to the concept of success, suggesting that true success comes from being able to express one's true self and live authentically. The speaker encourages the audience to 'be who you want to be, doing what you want to do, going where you want to go,' highlighting the importance of self-expression in achieving personal success.

💡Conformity

Conformity is the act of matching attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors to group norms or societal expectations. The video discusses the negative impact of conformity on personal success, suggesting that blindly following others' expectations can hinder one's ability to achieve their own definition of success. The speaker challenges the audience to stop conforming to others' expectations and to start performing to their own level of expectations.

💡Faith

Faith, in this context, is the confidence and trust in one's abilities and the belief that one's desires will materialize if they hold onto that belief. The video emphasizes the importance of faith as a driving force behind success, stating that 'you have to have faith, and faith is knowing that what you want will eventually come to fruition, as long as you believe it.'

💡Fear

Fear is presented as an obstacle to success in the video, something that can be overcome by nurturing one's faith. The speaker suggests that if one feeds their faith, their fears will diminish, as 'if you believe in yourself, everyone else in the world will believe in you.' This concept is used to encourage the audience to overcome their fears and pursue their goals.

💡Potential

Potential refers to the latent qualities or abilities that may be developed and lead to future success. The video speaker discusses living below one's potential, indicating a state of underachievement. The narrative of the speaker's life before his transformation serves as an example of not reaching one's potential, highlighting the importance of recognizing and actualizing one's potential for success.

💡Change

Change is a central theme in the video, as the speaker shares his journey from a life of underachievement to success. He identifies three ways to make a change in one's life, which are reading more books, surrounding oneself with the right people, and setting higher goals. The video uses the speaker's transformation as a testament to the power of change in achieving success.

💡Reading

Reading is highlighted as a key activity for personal development and success. The video encourages the audience to read more books as a means to gain knowledge and solve problems. The speaker suggests that books are tools that can unlock the potential of one's mind and that leaders are often readers, as indicated by the statement 'Books are the tools that release the heavens of your mind.'

💡Leadership

Leadership is implied as a quality associated with success and is linked to the act of reading. The video suggests that leaders are readers, implying that reading contributes to the development of leadership skills. The speaker's own journey to becoming a leader and reaching millions with his work is an example of how reading can lead to leadership.

💡Goals

Goals are presented as a necessary component of success, something that should be written down and pursued with intention. The video introduces 'The 20 Idea Method' as a strategy for goal setting, which involves generating 20 ideas related to a specific goal. This method is used to illustrate the importance of setting and working towards higher goals as a path to success.

💡Mentality

Mentality refers to a person's way of thinking or general attitude. The video emphasizes the importance of having the right mentality for success, suggesting that changing one's mentality is crucial for changing one's reality. The speaker's own shift in mentality from someone who was warned against to a successful individual exemplifies the power of a positive and growth-oriented mentality.

Highlights

Success has different meanings to different people and is defined by individual self-expression.

The key to success is to stop conforming to others' expectations and start performing to your own.

Believing in oneself is crucial for success, as faith can make desired outcomes come to fruition.

Feeding one's faith can often starve fears to death, as self-belief influences others' belief in you.

The speaker's past struggles, including living below potential and a history of drug use, demonstrate the possibility of change.

Three key principles can revolutionize one's life and lead to success, regardless of how it is defined.

Reading more books is the first principle for success, as books are tools that unlock the mind's potential.

Leaders are readers, and reading regularly can lead to significant personal and professional growth.

Surrounding oneself with the right individuals is essential for success, as we become like the people we spend the most time with.

The importance of seeking out and connecting with people who inspire and help elevate your goals.

The concept of 'default friends' and how they might limit one's ambition and potential.

The value of setting higher goals and the process of achieving them through 'The 20 Idea Method'.

Writing down goals is more effective than keeping them in mind, as it impresses them on the subconscious.

The acronym B-I-G representing the three ideas for success: Books, Individuals, and Goals.

The necessity of believing in oneself and thinking big to achieve and win big in life.

The speaker's journey from living in his mother's basement to becoming a self-made millionaire by age 24.

Transcripts

Transcriber: Mohammed Basheer Reviewer: Denise RQ

Today I want to talk with you about a subject

that many people have been talking about for a very long time.

And that subject is called "success."

Success means different things to different people,

but what is success might mean to me is different than what it may mean to you.

And what it may mean to you,

is different than what it means to a kindergartner

who is just trying to get a star on his homework assignment.

Or perhaps to a housewife,

who has been trying to get her five kids in bed be 9pm.

Or maybe even a corporate executive

who's been working for his or her corporation for 20-plus years,

and only wants to become the CEO of their organization.

As you could tell,

we have so many different definitions of this word success,

but the greatest definition I can give you today is this,

"Success is all about self-expression."

It's about being who you want to be,

doing what you want to do,

going where you want to go.

Because when it comes to your life,

you are the boss, and you have a choice.

In fact, you are who you are today

because of all the choices that you've made in your entire life.

But as we are growing up we have a lot of people

who try to tell us how to make these choices;

our parents, our teachers, our bosses, our friends, even our neighbors.

They try to tell us how to live our lives,

what we should do, where we should go,

how we should walk, how we should talk.

But my question for you is this,

"If you're trying to be what other people want you to be,

then who will be you?"

So the key to success is to stop conforming to other people expectations,

and start performing to your own level of expectations.

Is to believe in yourself.

Is to know that what you want will eventually come to fruition,

as long as you believe it.

You see, you have to have faith,

and faith is knowing that what you want will eventually come to fruition

as long as you believe it.

And if you feed your faith,

you will find often times that your fears will starve to death,

because if you believe in yourself,

everyone else in the world will believe in you.

Fortunately, for a long time, I didn't quite believe in myself.

Actually, I used to be the kind of person

that mothers would often warn their daughters about,

and fathers would tell their sons,

"If you keep doing what Daniel Ally is doing,

you are going to end up where Daniel Ally is going."

They had some credence to what they were saying,

because as you can imagine,

your reputation really is your best advertisement.

I really didn't have a good reputation,

because I was living so far below my potential,

I was actually living in my mother's basement.

By the age of 21, I'd worked over 40 different jobs.

I got fired from more jobs than more people had.

In high school, I graduated second to last,

the last guy; well, he was in jail.

I was on drugs for eight years, and I was confused.

I was broke, busted, and disgusted,

and I knew that I wanted to change;

the only problem was I didn't know how.

Can I see a show of hands if you've ever been in a situation

where you wanted to change, but you just didn't know what to do?

Well, we all have been there,

maybe we are there right now.

I discovered there are only three ways that I can make a change in my life.

Three ideas I wanted to share with you today

that can absolutely revolutionize your life from today.

I know these steps work because I've been able to do them myself.

By the age of 24, I became a self-made millionaire.

I have been able to write three books and travel to dozens of countries.

I now reach millions of people with my work.

I believe that these three key principles can change your life,

no matter how do you define success

whether you want to live to age 100 or even have a dozen kids,

or just have a house on the mountaintop somewhere no one knows about.

These three key principles will help you to realize the success in your life.

The first one is to read more books.

All the books in the world can help us to solve all the problems in the world.

But the truth is that we don't have to read all the books in the world,

because we don't have all the problems in the world,

but we do have to read the books that help us to solve our problems.

So, for instance, if you wanted to learn about money,

you better be reading books that talk about money.

Or if you wanted to learn how to manage your relationships,

or to become a better communicator, there are a lot of books on that.

What I am saying basically,

is there are libraries that are paved with gold, and library cards are free.

Books are the tools that release the heavens of your mind.

And leaders are readers.

If you want to succeed, you have to read.

Most people in the world read about one book every single year,

that book, I would suppose, would be Facebook.

And before people even get up and do their things,

before they drink their coffee or read their paper, they read Facebook.

But the truth is that if you study miscellaneous things,

you get miscellaneous results;

you become what you study.

What do you study, and where is it taking you?

A lot of people come up to me, and they say,

"Daniel, I don't really have time to read. I have kids, I have work, I am student.

I already have so many textbooks, I am doing so many things, I am too busy."

But if you don't have 10 minutes a day,

you're basically saying you don't have a life.

We all have time to read,

we all have time to pick up a good book

and read for ourselves so that we can learn.

Look! If you read 10 minutes a day, for 30 straight days,

that is one book a month.

One book a month, in 12 months, is 12 books a year.

You can do in one year what most people do in five years.

Talk about not having time.

We all have time to read.

Remember, readers are leaders,

and the only way you can succeed is if you read.

My second suggestion

is about getting around the best individuals you can.

We're the sum total of five people

in which we surround ourselves with the most.

We earn the same income, we go to the same places,

we do the same things, we think the same thoughts.

And if you were to look at your five closest friends,

you've got to ask yourself this one question,

"Who are my leaders, and where are they taking me?"

In other words,

"Are my leaders taking me to the place I'd most likely want to be?"

If the answer is no, then you need new leaders.

You need people who are inspiring, people that can help you,

lift you up to the goals that transcend your own possibility and your thinking.

You have to realize your goals,

and you can only do that by getting around the right people.

Many of us have what I like to call "defult friends".

Default friends are basically people that we see around the neighborhood,

people at the grocery store, the gym, the mall, at church, at work,

everywhere we go.

These are people that we naturally befriend

as we start to gain their trust and acceptance.

And what tends to happen is, if you are a highly ambitious person,

and you have really high goals,

a lot of these people can help you reach your goals.

So you have to look outside, you have to search for people.

I'll give you an example,

I had a friend, his name was John, and he was actually a plumber,

and his father and him had a pretty successful business,

at least it seemed like it.

So I asked John,

"I want to start a business, what exactly do you think I should do?"

John pulled me to the corner and said,

"Daniel, I don't think you want to start a business,

98% of businesses fail within the first three years."

Then he proceeded to tell me about all the reasons why I couldn't do it,

and why it won't work.

He told me how was so hard working over 100 hours a week,

how hard it was to manage payroll,

and why the recession was holding him back from getting more clients.

As he told me this, I became a little discouraged, a little dejected,

and I went home, and I thought about it.

When I get to my journal, I usually reflect,

and I wrote down in my journal, "The 98% of statistics are made up."

Including that one.

You have to realize that no one's opinion of you can become your reality.

And in order to change your reality, you've to change your mentality

and the people you surround yourself with.

You have to get yourself around people who can help you,

people that are smarter than you, people who have gone further than you;

people who know what you need to do to get to that next level.

The truth is that the people that you are looking for

are also looking for you, but you have to find them.

Sometimes, we surround ourselves with strangers and family members

who tell us what we can't do, they limit us.

A lot of people have the right intentions,

but often times, they provide the wrong directions.

In other words, they want to help us, but they just don't know how.

So get around people who can.

A lot of people ask me, "Daniel, how do you find these people?"

It is easy.

If you flow step one, which is to read more books,

you'll find that in the back of the book there is the "About the Author" section.

What I used to do is I used to reach out to the authors.

Thankfully, we live in a new millennium

which allows us to get on their social media, their websites,

and so we can have a conversation with them.

We can change by actually understanding what it is that they teach.

And if we ask enough questions, we can make great progress in our life.

Remember that people you're looking for are also looking for you,

so get yourself around those people.

My last and final suggestion is to set higher goals,

because goals make you stretch,

they help you to become more of who you are.

And in this enormity of conformity,

so many people don't know how to set goals,

they get confused about the process.

A lot of people use New Year's resolutions,

but the problem with New Year's resolutions

is that the person often tries to do too much, too fast.

Let's say Doug wants to stop smoking.

On December 31st, he says, "I'm done."

January 1st, "I'm clean, never again."

He hasn't created a plan of action to achieve his goals,

and therefore, it isn't reasonable.

Bucket list is something else that people do,

and usually, when someone creates a bucket list,

they're giving themselves too much time.

There is no urgency, and most of the time, they don't write their goals down.

So, "What do you suggest?"

Well, I am glad you asked.

What I do suggest for you is to write your goals down.

I believe that a dull pencil is better than a sharp mind,

and to impress your subconscious mind, you have to write your goals down,

so that you can hold this steadfastly to who you are.

I have this method I teach all around the world,

that's called, "The 20 Idea Method".

Basically, what you do,

is you select one overarching goal that you would like to accomplish,

analyze 20 ideas correspond with that particular goal.

Let's say, for instance, you wanted to be a better public speaker.

What are some things you can do?

Well, you could watch TED talks, like you are now,

you could practice your speech, look in the mirror to challenge yourself,

you could read the dictionary every day.

There are so many things you can do, but could I come up with 20 ideas?

The answer is, "Yes, I can come up with a 100 if wanted to."

Imagine if you did this in every area in your life:

financially, for promotions, for your family,

and you wrote your goals on every day.

You would be able to accomplish so many things in your life.

We have everything we need in order to succeed,

but we have to take the things we have to get more of the things that we want;

from the cars that we drive, to the clothes that we wear,

to the food that we eat, and the people that we meet.

In this depository of diversity, we have everything we need in order to succeed,

But we have to believe.

When you believe in yourself,

you will find that everyone in the world will believe in you.

And you also have to think big.

When you think big, you will do big, and you will win big.

Well, B-I-G is actually is the 3 ideas that I want to share with you today:

B -- the books that you read,

I -- the individuals that you meet,

and G -- the goals that you set for yourself.

Books, individuals, and goals: that's all you need to accomplish success,

because when you think big, you will do big,

and you will win big, my friends.

Thank you.

(Applause).