Optimists Make More Money and Accumulate the Most Wealth

70% of the people you run into in life are pessimistic and only 30% are optimistic.

There are a lot of ingredients that go into the self-made millionaire stew. According to my Rich Habits research, optimism happens to be one of the most important ingredients.

So too is a high tolerance for risk, which is only possible when you believe in yourself.

Your tolerance for risk, therefore, will only be as great as your level of optimism.

It’s like a seesaw. The level of your optimism dictates how much risk you are willing to take.

Elon Musk is perhaps the best modern day example of someone who was transformed by his unbridled optimism.

Musk literally put everything, all $188 million, on the line with two of his most well-known ventures: SpaceX and Tesla Motors.

At the end of 2008, Musk was on the verge of outright bankruptcy.

Tesla Motors had yet to turn a profit and was bleeding cash, his cash, every month.

His SpaceX Falcon 1 rocket had failed to reach orbit for the third time in early August, 2008.

He had gone through most of his $188 million from the sale of eBay, plus he had gone through most of the hundreds of millions of dollars venture capitalists and the government had invested or loaned him.

Everything hinged on that fourth flight on September, 28 2008. If it failed, Musk would be bankrupt.

Only it didn’t fail.

History’s first privately built rocket reached orbit.

After that historical feat, Musk was able to cobble together enough money to get them through the end of December, 2008 and on December 28, 2008 NASA awarded SpaceX with a $1.6 billion contract.

The rest, as they say is history.

In 2020, Musk was estimated to be worth $160 billion. Imagine that. In just twelve years he went from nearly bankrupt to worth $160 billion.

What made everything possible was optimism.

Musk and everyone who surrounded him, were infected by his optimism. As a result, they were all willing to devote their lives and their money to his cause. Musk made them believe they could change the world and become very wealthy doing so.

The greater your optimism, the greater your tolerance for risk. Those with the most optimism are willing to take the most risk and those who take the most risk accumulate the most wealth.

Tom Corley

Tom Corley is an accountant, financial planner, public speaker, and author of the books “Effort-Less Wealth: Smart Money Habits At Every Stage of Your Life” and “RichKids: How to Raise Our Children to Be Happy and Successful in Life“.  Corley’s work has appeared on CNN, USA Today, The Huffington Post, SUCCESS Magazine, and many other media outlets and podcasts in the U.S. and 27 other countries. Tom is a frequent contributor to Business Insider and CNBC.