What does it feel like to be a self-made millionaire under the age of 25?

My girlfriend broke up with me on a Monday... by that Friday I'd made my 1st million in one lump sum...

She broke up with me because I didn't have enough money to visit her as often as she wanted. 

Motivation

Instead of being happy I'm kicking myself,  I was supposed to make $100M by 30 and here at 33 I "only" made $1M.

My therapist friend tells me I'm fucked in the head, my goals are too high and that if I look up to Warren Buffett I will never be happy with what I earn. 

bullshit !  I'm shooting for the stars.

Vladimir Putin says, "Feelings are like opinions, best kept to oneself".

Too bad Vlad, here's how it felt...

#1. It was completely underwhelming. Funny thing is, I didn't realize I'd become a millionaire until a few days after it happened because I was so busy with paperwork, lawyers, etc...

#2. I got lucky... my first million was based on NO skill or intellectual capabilities. Having read over 1000 books and still reading at a rate of 1 book every 3 days (mostly on finance) had almost ZERO causal effect.

My life didn't change one bit. Actually I'm more frugal today than I was 5 years ago or even last year.

In fairness to the truth, my tech company always allowed me a comfortable life and I thought I'd be a tech millionaire but as they say, "man makes plans and God laughs".  My first million came from good ol fashion real estate.

So I feel stupid for spending 10 years managing developers, designers and clients when I could have been managing money and buying real estate.

I would like to take a  moment to provide some unsolicited advice.

1. "More is lost by indecision than wrong decision".

I almost didn't close the deal because of ego and frustration. Stupid potential errors compounded by the fact that I know to put my ego aside. It's something I continue to work on.

2. “Lots of companies don’t succeed over time. What do they fundamentally do wrong? They usually miss the future.”

I stayed in the past managing SEO and web dev for clients instead of building software, big mistake.  I could have turned a good thing into a great thing. Instead, it fizzled out.

3. "Find out what you like doing best, then get someone to pay you for it".

I love to learn through reading and also to help others. I should have discovered sooner that I could have turned my reading into action by managing money and helping others manage their money.

4. "The essence of success is that its is never necessary to think of a new idea. It is far better to wait until somebody else does it and then to copy him in every detail except his mistakes."

I always tried coming up with my own ideas, I should have just looked at the top guys on the Forbes 400 and started doing what they did sooner. Manage money professionally.

5. "You get rich on today's business, you stay rich on tomorrow's. "

Try as hard as you can to look into the future and position yourself for success. For example I know without a shadow of a doubt that there will be MASS joblessness in the USA in the coming decades due to automation.  Now I need to know what to do with that information.

6. "People are bad at looking at seeds and guessing what size tree will grow out of them".

Don't listen to naysayers. Get advice and filter out the garbage.

7. "The absence of alternatives clears the mind marvelously".

Focus. It's the hardest thing for me because I read so much that I get tons of ideas all the time. I have to focus on focusing more.

8. "Whether you think you can or you think you can't , you're right."

Mindset is everything.

9. “When I was young, I admired clever people. Now that I am older, I admire kind people.”

Treat everyone well. You never know how it will come back, but reciprocity is a law of nature that cannot be broken without repercussion.

10. "The best way to push a boat is with the current."

Don't be stubborn. Change your mind readily when you are proven wrong.

Bonus 11# Logic will take you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere.

Bonus 12# "Trying to be happy by accumulating possessions is like trying to satisfy hunger by taping sandwiches all over your body."

Don't buy crap. Instead acquire experiences.

Bonus 13# "Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid."

Lastly: Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm.