I’m not sure if there are any reliable stats on this exact topic. If there are, I haven’t seen them. Still, based on the reactions I’ve seen in friends and co-workers, I’m of the belief that Dave Ramsey is changing lives for the better. By offering simple, straightforward advice and insight that has been hidden by nobody and openly heralded by generations that came before us, he’s making millionaires out of middle-class folks who want to live a better life.
The process is simple. Spend less than you make. Save religiously. Do not court debt like it’s the solution to your problems. Invest cautiously but with regularity. Be generous in giving of your wealth to deserving people, groups, and causes.
That’s not so complicated, is it?
Becoming a millionaire is no small thing. Not that $1 million in 2022 has much in common with $1 million in 1940, or 1970, or even 1990. Inflation has made that vaunted number easier to reach, even as our wanton lust for consumerism has deflated our ability to reach that noble goal.
In a game where dollars are primary factors on the scorecard, $1 million equates to Wilt Chamberlain scoring 100 points in a single game (1962). To date, Wilt is the only one to achieve such a lofty record. However, in football there are eight quarterbacks who have passed for seven touchdowns in just one game. Only eight. Baseball players have their looming towers of achievement as well, with just three players knocking 700 or more balls out of the park for a home run. They are Barry Bonds (2015), Babe Ruth (1934), and Hank Aaron (1973).
These are impressive achievements. Whether you are a sports fan or not, whether you desire material wealth or not, it is entirely reasonable to look at those who have walked into the arena armed with essentially the same tools the rest of us have at our disposal and crushed the competition.
You would be forgiven for breaking into a dignified little golf clap right about now. It’s deserved.
Given all this success, how would one go about mimicking it? Practice is a good idea, no doubt. But practice what? How often? On our own or with others?
Guide me, Obi Wan.
This is where the world opens up to welcome us if we pay attention. There are guideposts all around us. People who are willing to share their wisdom, make us aware of the unseen pitfalls that might await us, and provide insights that could make all the difference between getting average results and above average results.
I refer, of course, to the men and women wandering around the ramp at your local airport. Not just at your airport, though. You’ll find these human gems at most other aviation bases you visit, too. They may cluster around the coffee machine, or settle in for a bite at the airport restaurant, or be found riding a bicycle around the perimeter road. They could be in the maintenance shop, behind the FBO counter, or lounging on a couch in your local flight school.
These older, more accomplished men and women have seen things. They are informed by experiences the rest of us do not yet have under our belts. In some cases, we would do well to find a way to avoid those experiences. Then again, some may be wonderful, life affirming quests we would love to count among our personal memories.
I’m talking about mentors, of course. Life coaches. Motivational speakers, of a sort.
The problem so many of us have — too many of us really — is that we don’t realize that smart people and skillful people don’t wear signs or name badges indicating their value or their particular area of specialization on a day-to-day basis.
Rather, we assume they are of a different ilk than we are. They are one species while we are of another. Theirs is a world of wealth and influence and ceaseless happiness, while ours is a world of hardship and sacrifice where we must adjust to the reality that we will forever fall short of our dreams.
Poppycock. Absolutely rubbish. Put such thoughts out of your mind, good reader. They are nonsense.
The great benefit of bumping into talented people at the airport, as opposed to in line at the bank, or at the mall, or while waiting to be seated in a restaurant, is that at the airport we are all peers. The social stratification of individuals based on all the normal delineations somehow disappears at the airport. We are all aviation enthusiasts. We fly, or wrench, or fuel, or study or in some other way put our efforts into being the best aeronautical contributor we can be.
This is the great leveler. The CEO, the airline captain, and the flight student are on equal terms. They might even be the same person or three entirely different individuals. And so the opportunity to meet, interact, and benefit from each other’s insights is on the table.
Whether your question involves how to perform a turn-around-a-point to private pilot standards, or how you might buy your first airplane, or find success in the industry your new friend excels at, the answers are there.
With the least bit of effort, relationships can grow and prosper. Any one of us can become better, more insightful, increase our understanding of any topic, and develop an actionable plan for future achievement. All because we spent time at the airport, took note of our surroundings, and seized the opportunity to interact with those we find there.
As Dave Ramsey teaches so well, reaching that audacious goal really isn’t so complicated. It takes effort, but not so much that you’ll work up a sweat. It takes persistence, but not to the degree that you can’t have a satisfying personal life.
Find your own personal mentor, motivational speaker, or coach right there on the ramp. Listen to them. You might be surprised at the results you get from that interaction.
