So, you want to be a millionaire? Not a shabby goal, but the question of how one gets there is much more difficult. Rather than reinventing the wheel, we wanted to take a look at wisdom shared by the people who have actually gotten there. What did they do? How do they view money? What did they think about when the going got tough?

Set big goals and believe in them

The first step is to clearly picture where you want to go.

"Setting goals is the first step in turning the invisible into the visible." — Tony Robbins

Setting big goals is easy at the beginning, but what happens when you hit the first challenge? Too many people give up on their financial goals or begin to doubt their ability to accomplish them.

“What’s keeping you from being rich? In most cases, it’s simply a lack of belief. In order to become rich, you must believe you can do it, and you must take the actions necessary to achieve your goal.” — Suze Orman

Walk your own path

With so much financial advice out there, it's surprising that there aren't more millionaires around. Perhaps the tried-and-true is a good way to get comfortable but will leave you short of being super successful. Who pops to mind when you think of the word "successful." Did they do things like everyone else, or were they quirky rule breakers who stuck to their guns?

"I believe that drudgery and clock-watching are a terrible betrayal of that universal, inborn entrepreneurial spirit." — Richard Branson

“You must walk to the beat of a different drummer. The same beat that the wealthy hear. If the beat sounds normal, evacuate the dance floor immediately! The goal is to not be normal, because as my radio listeners know, normal is broke.”  — Dave Ramsey

Don’t fear failure

As we've already seen, having the right mindset is important to keep on track towards your dreams. Failure is inevitable. If you are banking on having no setbacks on your financial journey, then you are doomed. Everyone fails. The secret is to accept it, learn from it, and then get back to work!

"My theory is that if you look confident, you can pull off anything — even if you have no clue what you're doing." — Jessica Alba

“Success is a lousy teacher. It seduces smart people into thinking they can't lose.” — Bill Gates

"There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work, and learning from failure." — Colin Powell

"I'm convinced that about half of what separates the successful entrepreneurs from the non-successful ones is pure perseverance." — Steve Jobs

Don't just dream, do

A good plan is meaningless without action. This is where most of us fail. We daydream about how wonderful it would be to be wealthy. We get on Pinterest and find ideas that will improve our lives. We scroll through Instagram and get jealous of beautiful people in nice cars...

None of that helps us.

The only way we get closer to our dream is by tuning out the distractions and getting to work.

“You can do so much in ten minutes' time. Ten minutes, once gone, are gone for good. Divide your life into 10-minute units and sacrifice as few of them as possible in meaningless activity." — Ingvar Kamprad

"The key to success is action, and the essential in action is perseverance." — Sun Yat-sen

"I am a great believer in luck. The harder I work, the more of it I seem to have." — Coleman Cox

Invest wisely

Most of us trade our time for money. This caps our earning potential. We are just one person, with twenty-four hours in the day, after all. The truly rich have figured out ways to make money when they sleep. Their income streams aren't dependent on if they are working or not. This could be through owning a business, property, or investments. For most of us, the easiest method is to steadily invest a portion of our income.

"I will tell you how to become rich. Close the doors. Be fearful when others are greedy. Be greedy when others are fearful." — Warren Buffett

"Successful investing is anticipating the anticipations of others." — John Maynard Keynes

"Investing is about predicting the future, and the future is inherently unpredictable.

Therefore, the only way you can do better is to assess all the facts and truly know what you know and know what you don't know. That's your probability edge." — Li Lu

But keep a level head

Of course, there is the famous money quote - "Money can't buy you happiness." We think that money can definitely make things easier, but that it is important to keep your financial aspirations in perspective. There is more to life than a high bank balance.

"All the money in the world can't buy you back good health." — Reba McEntire

"Finance is not merely about making money. It's about achieving our deep goals and protecting the fruits of our labor. It's about stewardship and, therefore, about achieving the good society." — Robert J. Shiller

Hopefully, these nuggets of wisdom will inspire and help you on your journey to wealth.