To sum it all up, he found 7 behaviors that explain the success of self-made millionaires:

1.They are better at following the money. Self-made millionaires focus on those activities
which are extremely valuable to others.

2.They are better at asking for money. Self-made millionaires always ask for more even
though they know that most of the time the answer will be no.

3.They execute. Self-made millionaire know that doing something well is more important than
doing something new.

4.They cultivate their networks. Self-made millionaires know that friends or associates who
can help them when it matters most can make a difference.

5.They can walk away. When the deal isnt right, self-made millionaires move on.
6.They build teams. Self-made millionaires try to maximize their time by undertaking tasks
where they add more value than others. In other cases, they try to delegate.

7.They fail. Self-made millionaires know that failure is not a stigma, its a powerful learning tool
to learn what youre best at.
Lewis ends the book with a powerful call to action:
Double down on what you do best. Press your advantage whenever and wherever you have the
advantage. Work your network. Try and try again.
Above all: Ask. Ask for what you want. Ask even when it feels uncomfortable. Ask for more than
what you need. Ask for what youre afraid to ask for, and ask for it more than once. Ask until the
word no loses its sting.
When you can laugh at no and look at each setback as a source of instruction, then youll know
youve become one of the lucky people destined to become Business Brilliant.

Thanks to Gus Iurillo (Career Transformation Expert/Business Ownership Coach, The

Entrepreneurs Source) for turning me on to this excellent book and for the additional notes that
follow:
Business Brilliant Lewis Schif
Self-made millionaires are better suited to thrive in this new, freewheeling economy because
theyre more comfortable dealing with risk. Its not that theyre big risk takers; theyre just more
proficient at controlling it

Seven in 10 middle class believe Do what you love and the money will follow; only 2 in 10
millionaires believe the same. They believe Do what you love, but follow the money
-8 in 10 of them have a substantial ownership stake in their work vs. 1 in 10 middle class (despite
fact that 6 in 10 middle class believe its important)
Many in middle class suffer from paycheck paralysis. They start out following the passion and get
stuck dependent on the rewards and what others demand of them, to figure out what they truly
want for themselves
9 in 10 self-made millionaires say its important in negotiations to exploit weaknesses of others; 2
in 10 middle class agree
-in salary negotiations, most people accept 1st offer, when employer was often willing to give
more and respect person more for asking
Middle class chooses conflict avoidance and being well regarded over earning more $
1 in 3 expect to be taken advantage of, in negotiation vs. 2 in 3 millionaires
If you never hear No in negotiations, youre not trying hard enough
7 in 10 middle class believe big or new idea needed to become wealthy; only 3 in 10
millionaires agreed
People like a good innovation story, but the reality is that most new businesses arent based on
innovation, but better execution
88% of Inc. 500 said business based on exceptional execution of an ordinary idea
9 in 10 millionaires said it was more important to do something well than something new
Companies typically arent born in garages; theyre born in other companies
Most franchise companies based on ordinary ideas, well executed, with ongoing improvements in
execution developed by other franchisees
Kinkos voice message system that allowed store owners to broadcast ideas to colleagues all
over country every day

9 in 10 middle class believe putting ones own capital at risk is critical to success while less than
4 in 10 millionaires agree
Buffetts rule: Invest in a way that limits your risk, so you wont lose all your money if a deal goes
south
6 in 10 millionaires think you need to get others to invest with you and 4 in 10 believe dont risk
any capital at all
Many small businesses fail because owners run out of capital just as they reach brink of success
Smart entrepreneurs look for deals where success will be rewarded but failure exacts minimal
cost
One percent of households have investment in private business managed by someone outside
household
Entrepreneurs take profits by brokering relationships between disparate groups who would
ordinarily not find each other
Millionaires tend to have smaller, tighter networks than Middle Class
7 in 10 millionaires say its important to know motivations of my business associates, while only 2
in 10 middle class agree
Successful folks have more weak ties, where they are connectors or bridges between many
networks, rather than deeply embedded in one (Book: Connected)
8 in 10 millionaires believe luck is important to their success vs. 4 in 10 for middle class. Middle
class seems to favor Know-How over Know-Who (contributor to luck)
7 in 10 millionaires can walk away from a deal if its not just right vs. 2 in 10 middle class
Least interest principle the party with the least to lose from a deal can insist that terms go their
way
Most middle class dont realize when they have upper hand or afraid to exploit least interest

position, when they have it

When you project an air of indifference about whether deal succeeds or not, it make the other
party envision what they might lose
Among the top self-made millionaires, fewer than 2 in 10 believe Win/Win is a winner
-what that really means is that they either seek out a true Win/Win or walk from the deal, rather
than be so preoccupied with trying to make it work, that they get Win/Lose
-need to determine what you really want, what youll accept and what would make you walk
away, before getting into negotiation
Having written goals correlates highly with success (you know what you want before you go out
into the world or a negotiation)
-writing goals makes you feel more committed and less likely to change your mind later
You want to understand the other sides interests, but not lose sight of your own; empathy can
actually get in the way
More bad sales/deals are made based on the neediness of someone than any other single factor
Most people set goals that are too modest, fail to prepare and lack desire to succeed
It is hard for most people to set high goals because they fear the bad feelings theyll have when
they fall short, even by a little
97% of millionaires believe in business dealings, its not their responsibility to look out for other
persons interests vs. less than 25% for the middle class
9 in 10 self-made millionaires believe Machiavellianism is key to their success vs. 2 in 10 middle
class
-not as affected as others by social norms and social pressures
9 in 10 self-made millionaires delegate tasks theyre not as good at to others while 2 in 3 middle

class say they would do those tasks anyway

Companies headed by dyslexic owners grow 2x faster than those run by others
Fewer than 1 in 10 millionaires interested in trying the unfamiliar, rather they prefer to focus on
what theyre already exceptionally good at
They spend their time avoiding their weaknesses so they can focus on their strengths, where
fulfillment and profits are found
85% millionaires know what theyre good at that makes them money vs. half of middle
class
7 in 10 say that setbacks and failures taught them what theyre good at vs. 2 in 10 middle class
-most of them have had at least 3 serious setbacks in their careers (if I fail more often than you, I
win)
-middle class usually let one failure get them never to try again
They also trust others to do the work for them, but keep blame and responsibility for themselves
9 in 10 say theyre excited by what they do at work, 8 in 10 agree they find work stressful and not
enjoyable (coaching opportunity)
80% of them say that early retirement is not one of their goals
9 in 10 say perseverance critical to success and 8 in 10 said failure was, too, vs. 2 in 10 middle
class thinking failure was important
50% of middle class say serious setback cause them to give up and focus on other project while
another 30% try again, but in a different field
8 in 10 millionaires try again and, in the same field, to leverage the insight from failure to get
better at that particular endeavor
-you need to try things that are risk-prone and difficult because thats where the money is

-there exists a winnowing process, where the tenacious become wealthy by struggling and
getting to the top of their field
-success belongs to the rare people who focus, overcome the pain of failure and push through
-for most of the middle class, failure is so painful, they dont want to hang around long enough to
learn from it
-most people feel uncomfortable with even trivial levels of uncertainty, whereas wealthy realize
uncertainty provides freedom to discover meaning
7 in 10 self-made millionaires say the most important change they make is within themselves;
less than 2% try to change partners behaviors
1/3 of Inc. 500 CEOs started their business when they were fired from another company
Failure faith puts into perspective any fear you have because rejection is a form of failure that
has no downside
-if you dont accept this, you tend to hang back and look for low-risk, pain-free opportunities
70% of middle class acknowledge failure but only 20% know others who have failed (they dont
share it)
80% of millionaires have colleagues who have failed, because they surround themselves with likeminded colleagues who acknowledge failure
College graduates in alternative fields (history, biology, math) 2-3X likely to become
entrepreneurs than B-school graduates
Same applies to people who change their jobs more frequently throughout their career
LEAP Learning, Earning, Assistance and Persistence
1.Write down your goals ( and include incremental/milestone goals along the way
2.Commit to what you do Best (only 1/3 of employees say they do)
3.Follow the Money (be where value creation and money exchanging hands takes place)-only 1 in

10 self-made millionaires go there working for others-Climb the line of money ladder-Premium
pricing (hourly rate)-Project Pricing-Percentage pricing- Proprietor/equity pricing
4.Run the numbers (cost to play, stay, how high is up, how hard the floor)
5.Protect your personal bottom line (minimum reward/maximum risk to make it worthwhile)
6.Press your advantage
7.Plan the divorce in advance
8.Keep your network small and focused
9.Manage your network upward (look out for new members, cull the underperformers)
10.Build a team (delegate things you dont want to do/focus on your best)
11.Get a Coach
12.Make friends with Failure
13.Keep your changes to Yourself (take personal responsibility for everything)
14.Dont procrastinate
15.15) Make your own Luck

But lets say Ive built a network over the yearscant I draw on that to keep me employed and
advance my career?
Your network may be the most important aspect in all of this. It may be the strongest link in your
program or the weakest. The strongest networks are ones where the members are
simultaneously least likely to know each other and most likely to need each other. Your value is
derived from your ability to monetize the bridging role you play between these two groups. For
example, Steve Jobs built Apple into the most valuable company in the world by turning the
company into a nexus point between the creative people who used their tools and the engineers
who built them.
Lets break this down into two parts. First, theres something called transitivity: the probability
that someone in your network already knows someone else in your network. If theres a high
probability that your network members already know each other, then you become less valuable
to the network. Then theres your role in that network. You become especially valuable if you are
the go to person when your particular strength or skill is needed. If your network is becoming
clogged up with similarly skilled and people who already know each other, then its time to
freshen it up.