 It is natural to want to be different, to thrive. Everyone wants to be rich, but not everyone eventually gets there. Have you ever considered why some people are so rich and others so poor? According to the Credit Suisse Global Wealth Report, the world's richest 1%, those with more than $1 million, earned 44% of the world's wealth. Their data also shows that adults with less than $10,000 wealth make up 56% of the world's population but hold less than 2% of global wealth. The world is not wired against anyone. Whoever wants to have a piece of the cake can have it. The big question is how? In today's video, I'm going to show you how to do what 99% of people are not doing. 1. Innovate. A lot of millionaires and billionaires today got where they are as a result of innovation. They worked on what was existing to make it more efficient. This often requires a lot of work and time that most people will not have the patience to invest. If you want to be rich, you have to be patient. The current richest man in the world, Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon, created an innovative e-commerce platform, Amazon, worth over $1 trillion. Innovation remains one of the most lucrative ways to become rich. Innovation has birthed the likes of Mike Zuckerberg, founder of Facebook, Larry Page, founder of Google, Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and Steve Jobs, co-founder of Apple and Jack Dorsey, founder of Twitter. To be innovative, you have to study extensively. You cannot innovate on a system you don't know well. Study management books and books in financial management. You will need all the knowledge you can get. You don't have to need them now. You simply have to prepare for the future. You will have term sheets to negotiate. You need to equip yourself for what comes next. If possible, get a job in the industry you are interested in. Do it for as long as you need and then live. The better you understand your industry, the better you can innovate on the system. 2. Invest Another way to become a part of the 1% in the world is to invest your money. Don't invest with a sentiment. Remember that your business may not be profitable yet and you need cash to keep it afloat. Investing in the business at that stage, if you don't have the cash, may leave you stranded. If, however, you invested in another successful business and get some returns, you can use the returns to take care of other needs while reinvesting the money. Be strategic with your investment. Try owning a large chunk of shares in a good company and diversify your investment portfolio to mitigate risk and improve your returns. Always make sure you pay your taxes so that you don't get alerts you don't anticipate. Plan your finances in such a way that your funds for investing is always available. You can invest in real estate or stocks. You can even buy treasury bills. Whatever you do, ensure the investment will not attract substantial taxes. If it does, it will reduce your return significantly. You need to take time to find out the most tax-friendly investments you can make. Try paying cash for household items and stay clear of your credit card to avoid racking up more debt. Avoid splurging and spending recklessly. You have a future to build. You can afford it by what you budget only and save up the excess. That way, you always have the cash to invest anytime you need it. Saving out cash can also solve future problems if you suddenly lose your job or source of income. 3. Work hard. You absolutely have to work hard if you want to be rich. People who become millionaires work extremely hard to maintain their wealth. They usually don't stop working even when they have made more money than they can spend in their lifetime. If you want to be one of them, brace yourself for hard work. There are no handouts, unfortunately. You may have to wake up earlier than everyone else. You may have to plan better and follow through with your commitments. You may have to build a reputation over time for excellence. That can mean staying up all night to meet up with tight schedules. You also have to build something of value. Or create a system that makes work easier for people. You have to be patient even when you fail. You have to get back and try again. We're not failures when we try. People have been attempting for over a decade before they became rich. How long did you try before you gave up? It isn't cake for you. If you still want to improve the quality of your life, there is still a chance. 4. Learn. You cannot avoid reading. Most billionaires still read. According to Business Insider, Bill Gates reads 50 books a year. If one of the world's richest billionaires has to read this much, how much do you think you have to read to make a difference in your life? You need to approach your goals towards financial freedom with an open mind. When your mind is open, your wealth will flow. You need to learn something new every day. You can start by reading around your area of interest. If you're interested in business, start reading The Economist. If you're interested in finance, subscribe to platforms like CNBC and Investopedia. Whatever you do, don't stop learning. Platforms like Coursera have made learning accessible to everyone, everywhere in the world. Even if you don't have money, write a financial aid essay. And they might still allow you to take courses that can help you. Commit to becoming better. Search online for the type of materials you need to read and what you can learn from them. Invest in books. Invest in subscriptions to platforms that allow you to access the audio recordings of business books like Scribd. You will not regret your decision. Read newspapers, magazines and novels. You can learn a whole lot from reading. You can learn about people and how to deal with different types of people. You can also learn new words and improve your vocabulary from reading. When you speak, the quality of books you have read actually reflects on your speech. You don't want investors to think you sound unrefined and unsure of the concepts you're making reference to. As an entrepreneur, you will probably have to sell lots of ideas to other people. Why not start practicing now? 5. Don't quit. It may seem like a no-brainer, but it's really important. You need to make up your mind not to stop until you get what you want. How strong is your resolve? So many people have begun a race towards financial freedom and stopped halfway. They end up unhappy employees working to see other people's dreams succeed. You don't want that for yourself. How far are you willing to go? If you don't know yet, you're not ready for financial freedom. Anyone who tries to discourage you is an enemy of your progress. You need to be so immersed in your dreams when you sleep. You see yourself where you want to be. You should have every single detail written out and know them by heart. Think about it every day as though it's the day it will come to pass. Positive energy is infectious. Very soon, other like-minded people will join you and together you will accomplish your dream. You need to know that you have to take care of yourself. If you push yourself too hard without rest, you will burn out. If you burn out, you will have to spend time recuperating and you lose out on time. You need to be disciplined. You need to get enough rest, exercise and food. Work on your mind daily. You are a product of thoughts. You can accomplish whatever you can imagine. Everyone will ultimately not be rich because it is too demanding. Most people have small dreams and are too laid back and undisciplined to push through all barriers on the path of success. The question you have to ask yourself is, who do you want to be? Do you wish you and your children to be an average family and own two cars? Or do you want to be the family that donates $100,000 yearly to charity? Your decision counts. Make yours today and stick to it.