Personal Finance

Dave Ramsey explains that there is such a thing as a millionaire motivation mindset - here are the steps for it

Joey Frenette

Published: January 11, 2025 9:15 am

Dave Ramsey isn’t just a fantastic resource for folks looking to level up their personal finance game; he’s a pretty entertaining individual who does not sugarcoat stuff. So, when you call in with your questions, you had better be prepared to hear the cold, hard truth. Indeed, sometimes getting the raw facts is what one needs to turn their financial situations around or optimize them.

Undoubtedly, Ramsey has faced financial hardships before, and he’s made more than his fair share of mistakes earlier on in his career. So, when a caller calls in with tough questions and an even tougher financial situation, Ramsey will have the background to know what it’s like to be right in their shoes. Though you don’t have to agree with everything the man says, I do think what he says is food for thought.

There are ways to adopt a millionaire motivation mindset.

Notably, he believes in continuous learning, setting goals, and going after those goals. Indeed, not everyone will have the discipline to go after such goals, at least to begin with. That’s why Ramsey believes in developing a millionaire motivation mindset.

At the end of the day, getting on the road to becoming a self-made millionaire is not an easy one, especially in this day and age, when people can be setback financially by all sorts of unforeseen hurdles. 

Ramsey believes that those who wish to develop such a mindset must be committed to hitting their financial goals and have the perseverance to get back on their feet whenever they get knocked.

And, of course, it doesn’t need to start with saving up big bucks in one’s bank account over the medium term. It can start with cutting back on various day-to-day expenditures to chip away from one’s credit card debts. Of course, the basics, including starting an emergency fund and having an investment plan in place, are places that savers should strive to have down sooner rather than later.

In any case, it all comes down to how much discipline an individual has to delay gratification or give up something desirable in the present to be able to get just a step closer to achieving their goals in the future.

Ramsey thinks “gazelle intensity” should be adopted by those looking to take command of their financial futures by throwing everything they have at outstanding debts and picking themselves off the tarmac. Indeed, such discipline can be learned, but, as always, one doesn’t develop such a level of intensity overnight or even over a few weeks. 

The bottom line

Now that New Year’s resolution season is here, perhaps individuals looking to change their mindset and how they think about money should pro-actively educate themselves about finances and take the steps that will get them where they want to be. 

As always, a journey to $1 million shouldn’t be hastened. The pursuit of quick gains can lead one down the path of highly risky investments (think cryptocurrencies) that could put them right back on square one. Instead of trying to accelerate one’s sprint down the path, it makes more sense to have the right plan in place (saving and investing in index funds), as well as the discipline to delay gratification for the betterment of one’s future finances.

Indeed, it’s simple to pick up new facts about personal finance and investing. But it’s hard to develop what Ramsey describes as “gazelle intensity.” By developing both skills, one will be better able to adopt a “millionaire motivation mindset” and lift oneself out of the financial pitfalls that stand in the way between one and one’s longer-term financial goals.