20 Months to One Million

By Success Coach Justin Popovic

Being the owner of multiple businesses, I am always conscious of my money from both a personal and
professional perspective. Our lives are very much intertwined and often controlled by our ability to
manage, save and spend our money. I was recently reminded of a great concept that I learned about
when I was a teenager.

If a person were to take one dollar, invest the dollar in an asset and then sell the asset for two dollars,
they will have taken the first step in a 20 month process of accumulating a million dollars. The only habit
that would need to be created is the habit of doubling the amount in hand every month for 20 months.
The final amount at the end of each month would be:

Start - $1
Month 1 - $2
Month 2 - $4
Month 3 - $8
Month 4 - $16
Month 5 - $32
Month 6 - $64
Month 7 - $128
Month 8 - $256
Month 9 - $512
Month 10 - $1024
Month 11 - $2048
Month 12 - $4096
Month 13 - $8192
Month 14 - $16384
Month 15 - $32768
Month 16 - $65536
Month 17 - $131072
Month 18 - $262144
Month 19 - $524288
Month 20 - $1048576

Obviously the model is very simple and the idea is basic enough for anyone to grasp, however, I would
like to expand on the underlying psychology of this concept. Let’s imagine that we were going to make a
committed decision to implement this model in our own personal financial lives and we could not skip
any steps or take any shortcuts. By the end of the first year, we will have accumulated only $4096. This
means that in the next 8 months, we will have to amass $995,904 more than we currently have to reach
the one million dollar level.

At this point, this imaginary experiment becomes more of a fairy tale or daydream to the average
person. But let’s think about our minds and the power of focus. For the first 12 months of the
experiment, we were making a monthly habit of acquiring assets (likely devalued assets) and selling
them at a higher price point. As each month went by, we were forced to become more creative and
innovative with our investments as the challenge of each amount grew larger. Assuming we were
successful for the first 12 months, the challenge on month 13 would be to double $4096 to $8192. After
an entire year of practicing with small amounts and getting into this habit, the only real change required
would be to adjust our perception of the size of the investment. There are plenty of people in the world
who have had success doubling large sums of money in short periods of time (business acquisitions, real
estate and currency trading to name just a few). The average person may not understand how to do it
but they most certainly could learn if they were to focus their mind and their attention on the task and
do whatever it takes to learn the required skill.

I once heard T. Harv Eker use the extreme example that if there was a life or death situation and your
life depended on you making a million dollars in one year, you could figure out a way to do it. I
completely agree. The point I am trying to make is that I truly believe we are all capable of achieving a
goal like this if the stakes are high enough. Why then, do so few people ever try to achieve such a major
goal? Why do so many people reject the idea before giving any serious thought to it? There are probably
a number of reasons, but from my perspective, the primary reason a person would never even attempt
a goal like this is because in their heart, they don’t believe they can do it. If they did believe they could
achieve the goal, would they not be actively working on it? Of course they would.

With that in mind we can begin to understand the powerful role that beliefs play in our lives. From the
standpoint of our minds, a psychologist would say that a belief is nothing more than an idea that we
have consciously accepted as true and ingrained as part of our subconscious conditioning. So if we are
holding on to beliefs that limit us and keep us from taking action on a life changing idea, with the proper
awareness, we can make the conscious decision to formulate a new belief that supports us in our big life
goals.

I think it is both healthy and wise for every person to take time out regularly to examine their habits of
thought. Since this article is centred around the idea of financial goals and money, I would encourage
you to step back and review your personal thought processes when you were introduced to the idea of
’20 Months to One Million’. If you rejected the idea as something that was unrealistic or out of your
level of capability, take some time to examine the belief you are holding that is causing you to reject the
idea. What other limiting beliefs have crept into your mind that are no longer serving you? Can you
replace those beliefs with a more empowering and gratifying thought pattern?

As a Success Coach, this concept always fascinates and excites me. If you would like to comment or
share your thoughts, I would love to hear from you: justin@igniteyouressence.com.

Justin Popovic
Success Coach
justin@igniteyouressence.com
Justin Popovic is the founder and key speaker for the personal development education company, Ignite
Your Essence.