NO SHORT CUTS TO GETTING RICH

Browse any newspapers these days and you are sure to find advertisements on how to get rich. These seminars claim that anyone can amass wealth without too much sweat. They guarantee results or you get your money back. These 'millionaire secrets' don't come cheap. Fees can range from Rm250 for a half-day talk by a local financial expert to Rm10,000++ for a 2-day seminar by an international wealth guru.

For those who can't afford to register for these programs, there is no shortage of books promising easy ways to get rich quick.

So who wants to be a millionaire? According to a recent online survey, 96% of Malaysia's youth do. And 75% believe they can achieve this by age 35.

Good for them. Let's hope they don't get disillusioned too quickly.

All I know is that it takes much more than attending wealth-generating seminars and reading self-enrichment books to make your first million ringgit, by whatever age. Some of the recommended strategies probably do work, but let's be honest. Out of the hundreds or thousands that listen to the same financial guru share his secrets on how to be a money magnet, how many actually succeed? 

You've got to be driven and consumed by the desire to want to be rich. Wealth creation requires a whole lot of discipline, and also the courage to take risks.

Unless we have that in us, it's best to think twice before we sign up for any expensive program on creating wealth, especially one that over promises but under delivers.