The Millionaire Next Door

Symbol of Real Achievement- Your Business or Your Home

A shelter publication that profiles homes and their owners wants to feature Travis and his family.  After reviewing several of the back issues that Travis shared with me, I realized that they contained mostly pictures of the interior, including floor plans, as well as the exterior of the homes of the featured families.  What a great way for prospective burglars to develop a game plan on how to extract one’s family valuables pictured in a magazine!

Along these lines I referenced a New York Times article that profiled the strategy of a master burglar.  How did this burglar target an estimated 500 homes that contained such items as Paul Revere forged silver spoons?

Over the years he developed a fastidious routine . . . tracking his targets through architectural magazines . . . .

Travis, a millionaire next door type, was never really enthused about the proposed article.  He would much rather have his business profiled in a in trade publication read by his many customers, those who need equipment to manufacture and install exhaust systems.  Travis is unlikely to sell even one piece of machinery to the readers of a shelter publication.

There is a reason why you’ll rarely if ever read or view pictures of the homes and families of most millionaire next door types.  Few live in mansions.  Plus their businesses, not their homes, are their socioeconomic achievements; they are their symbols of success.  A wealthy respondent that I profiled in The Millionaire Next Door said it best:

I’m not impressed with what people own but I am impressed with what they achieve.

 

1 thought on “Symbol of Real Achievement- Your Business or Your Home”

  1. I totally agree with the said statement. Whenever i go to a carwash shop here in the Philippines i try to interview people with nice SUVs and I’m always surprise to learn that their car is their second major asset and that its value is almost 60-70% of their home. This makes me want to rephrase your quote and say: “I’m not impressed with expensive cars…I’m more impressed with the business that they have established or their solid professional careers and the nice neighborhood where they have built a home.:-))

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