100 things millionaires do, with Nigel Cumberland
What are the habits you need to adopt so you can build and retain sustainable wealth?
In this episode of the podcast, I’m joined by Nigel Cumberland, international bestselling author of 100 Things Successful People Do.
In this new book, 100 Things Millionaires Do, Nigel turns his attention to wealth.
The book distills all of the wisdom and knowledge of a lifetime of starting and selling businesses, and coaching hundreds of wealthy leaders, into 100 short chapters of advice on building and retaining sustainable wealth.
Nigel explains this isn’t a get rich quick book. Instead, it’s about the habits, tools, techniques and mentality of self-made millionaires.
The book mixes simple instructions with activities to get you started, with mindsets, habits, and techniques to help you get the results you want.
Nigel is a leading executive coach and leadership facilitator, having spent the past decade successfully coaching a range of local and expatriate leaders through a range of challenging transitions.
This work built on 25 years of global corporate experience in Asia, Europe and South America, where Nigel held Finance Director and Managing Director roles with a range of multinationals.
In this conversation, we cover the main ways to get wealthy, why you need to think beyond £1m, and the role of drive and ambition.
Here’s my conversation with Nigel Cumberland, author of 100 Things Millionaires Do, in episode 476 of Informed Choice Radio.
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Please note that the following episode transcript was produced using AI and may contain a few errors!
Martin: 00:00 Informed choice radio episode 476 One Hundred Things Millionaires Do, with Nigel Cumberland
Voiceover: 00:08 Live from Sundial House studios. This is Informed Choice Radio. Want to make the most of your money and your life? You’ve come to the right place. Now here’s your host Martin Bamford.
Martin: 00:23 What are the habits you need to adopt so you can build and retain sustainable wealth? In this episode of the podcast, I’m joined by Nigel Cumberland international best selling author of a hundred things successful people do in his new book, One Hundred Things Millionaires Do, Nigel turns his attention to wealth. The book distills all of the wisdom and knowledge of a lifetime of starting and selling businesses and coaching hundreds of wealthy leaders into a hundred short chapters of advice on building a retain in sustainable wealth module explains, this is not a get rich quick book. Instead, it’s about the habits, tools, techniques, and mentality of self made millionaires. The book makes this simple. Instructions with activities to get you started with mindsets, habits and techniques to help you get the results you want. Nigel is a leading executive coach and a leadership facilitator. Having spent the past decade successfully coaching a range of local and expectorate leaders through a range of challenging transitions. This work builds on 25 years of global corporate experience in Asia, Europe, and South America, where Nigel held finance director and managing director roles with a range of multinationals. In this conversation, we covered the main ways to get wealthy, why you need to think beyond 1 million pounds and the role of drive and ambition. So here’s my conversation with Nigel Cumberland, author of One Hundred Things Millionaires Do in episode 476 of Informed Choice Radio.
Martin: 01:53 Welcome to Informed Choice Radio. It’s lovely to have you on today. Perhaps you could start with a bit of an introduction. Tell us a bit about who you are, what you do and what you’ve done, and then we can get into the conversation.
Nigel: 02:00 Great. Thanks Martin. It’s great to be here. I’m an interesting person because I’m not your classical finance expert. I [inaudible] economics university, became an accountant, became a finance director with a British company overseas and then became managing director of businesses in Asia. So I had the kind of certain financial background, but then I can became self-employed entrepreneurial. I had a recruitment company that I sold to haze the UK listed, I mean China, Hong Kong. Then I started having successes and failures with different investments and startups and, and the gun kind of threw myself more into um, understanding finance and seeking help. But most important in the last 15 years I’ve become a coach to lead us to, to entrepreneurs mainly, well all over the world, but in the middle East, Africa, some in Europe, some in Africa by word of mouth. And I, I’m picking up clients all over and it’s through coaching individuals who either are or trying to be successful in different ways. Hearing their stories, coaching and mentoring them. I began writing books and writing this hundred things successful people do, which became famous and now the followups, a hundred things. Millionaire. Yeah.
Martin: 03:29 That’s the sort of snapshot mass, if that’s you in a nutshell. Absolutely. What’s it? Tell us a bit about the book then. So a hundred things millionaires do. Um, I’m sure there’s much more than a hundred things they, but this is condensing. Is it the, um, the sort of the traits, the common traits.
Nigel: 03:45 I spent about a year gathering together, um, what were the qualities or traits having agreed with my publisher, um, John Marie Nichols booty publisher that they’d like this book. And surprisingly I had trouble getting to a hundred. I could easily get to sort of 50, 60, 70, and then I sort of began thinking more looking at my who I’ve coached, um, looking at some literature. But importantly, I think about my own story as well. Uh, I quite easily write at a hundred and it’s a combination of, of actual practical things to do, who to reach out to, how to operate, where to put money. But also a lot of it’s around mindset, attitude, behaviors, ambition, planning perhaps is much broader than, than a, an atypical finance guide. So it kind of falls between self-help and the sort of money guides. Um, yeah. And it’s aim, by the way, at anybody that really wants a more successful life.
They’re starting out in their twenties or thirties or forties. So I had a friend who, um, who’s a hotel GM with Hyatt, he just bought two copies of his daughters. He told me in WhatsApp message daughters are like 25 and 30 years old. I’m saying what amazing advice is to kind of help them and the books written in a classic kind of short format of two pages per chapter. So a hundred things and 200 pages, which is potentially manageable to people who might be overwhelmed by pages of on pace of advice on investing in property or using an advisor or how to save. Perhaps people would read the book and go deeper absolutely. Into your podcasts or just Googling
Martin: 05:34 or speaking to a financial advisor being a millionaire now, it’s a very aspirational thing still. I think back in the 80s certainly it was the goal for a lot of people. Um, a million pounds today because of inflation is, isn’t what it used to be, but it’s still an aspirational goals. Have that millionaire status. What does it mean, you know, what does it mean to be a millionaire? What’s, what does that status give you?
Nigel: 05:54 Well, first of all, um, we chose the title of millionaire to really talk about financial aspirations. So isn’t expected that people don’t buy the book because they literally want to go to a million pounds or in that country million euros. It’s aspirational and it’s about what will make you a couple of what will fulfill you and why. And kind of going back specifically to the question, you’re right, there was one estimate in my book actually I think from credit Swiss investment bank are 48 million millionaires in the world. Very hard to measure. But the majority of the majority in UK and Europe, technically on paper, a millionaire because of one competency though. And nice price inflation plus the pension and savings. Um, and perhaps I’m thinking beyond that, I’m thinking of, well how do you be successful either saving and making good money in your career?
Nigel: 06:50 Or how do you be successful with a startup or how do you be successful with property investments? So I guess I’m kind of saying to people, Hey, you can achieve the million just with one house, but that’s actually much harder now. I think we reaching a point now, particularly younger people where it’s going to take a bit more effort than just having one job, buying that first property, moving up the property ladder. Um, perhaps cause most salaries are so out of kilter or out of Singh who’s property prices. Yeah, absolutely. And you could always become an accidental millionaire. How’d you bought purposes in the nineties? Even the two thousands you at a decent level and a say inflation would have just allowed that to, to escalate in value. How do most millionaires begin their journey? I mean, was there a common common traits when you look at millionaires and the sort of people you’ve been coaching that they come from a similar background or is it a whole diverse range?
Nigel: 07:49 It’s diverse, but I do have some points that I want actually as, um, some, um, suggestions. So on average, and this is really an average. Did they have a certain desire, set an ambition, as I said, um, positivity or certain drive. But having said that, you know, I was coaching one individual multimillionaire who wants you to grow his business actually in based in Dubai and there’s an ology field. And he would admit he was the last person thought he could be successful, very introvert, very nerdy, had one idea for students struggle. So I think it’s a combination of having something you’re focusing on is having you captured by something. And for some it’s pure ego. It’s just that desire to be better than their brothers and their siblings or their neighbors or their university alumni, uh, friends, peers. And I wouldn’t say that’s a great thing, but I can’t deny that’s a common trait as well, which drives people.
Nigel: 08:51 And I think given the difficulties of becoming successfully, particularly if you’re involved in, um, I profile Korea or trying to kind of revolve in startups or investments, you’ll face failures. And I think that you asked about common traits in millionaires. I think they’re the ones that come out when they’re struggling. So you sort of realize with hindsight what they’re made of and sometimes this is an important network. They themselves may not have what it takes or fortunately like bill Gates had a father lawyer who guided him a lot. And there’s a lot of stories of just having family members or early on having a financial advisor or a bank manager in the early days when you’d actually have a bank manager who spoke to you, who would just give you some words of advice or a friend you could emulate. So sort of figure in your life that can Steve on the right path, you know, give you the right as a common theme, complemented the individual’s own traits, which, let’s be honest, when you’re young as well and are quite ill formed, I mean it takes, you know, I’m now, I’ve reached the half century points.
Nigel: 09:59 It’s taken me that time to actually mature enough to think I’ve not got the traits to be successful in my twenties I think they were there, were there, but not very visible. Yeah. And that’s something I often reflects on myself, which is if I knew back then 20 years ago what I know today, you know how different things would be, but that’s life isn’t it? You know? It takes time to accumulate this experience, this knowledge, and have the maturity to apply it as well. I think that’s exactly correct Martin, and that in a way I remember discussing with my publisher, I’ll be at the Edison creating this millionaires book and the idea was it’s the advice you’d give your younger self and, and that’s why this fact, this friend of mine, Robert bought one of his daughters. This book is doing exactly that. He’s giving his younger family members the advice.
Nigel: 10:47 Perhaps he didn’t happen his 20s now. That’s what, that’s very important. How important is drive and ambition? We talked there about, yeah, some people want to go one up on their peers, maybe a family member or a friend. Do you have to be an incredibly driven, ambitious, competitive type to reach this level of success or as you said earlier, can you be a bit more introverted, a bit more quiet and reserved? Initial answer won’t surprise you from the dozens and dozens of coached and spoken to them, trained and mentor them. It’s a mix mixed answer. However, I have no doubt that on average there’s more drive and ambition. And let me also say that as you are working on the path of say, building up that two or three property investments, are you involved in the startup or you’re working hard to be successful as a managing director, a law partner, ambition and drive might appear even if it weren’t evident before. So things do change on the path, but yeah, you’re right. There were some people who were very quiet and who achieve success and I think that brings out another sense of qualities, which is this assistance patients having in that not giving up too early, not cutting losses in a, in a sort of out of fear way, you know, you know the, the, the, the tortoise and the hair maybe.
Martin: 12:14 What about the ability to take risks or the willingness to take risks? Is that something that sets people apart as well?
Nigel: 12:21 It seems to do, Oh, let me put it this way. If you accidentally own property earlier, 10 20, 30, 40 years ago, then you become, you become accidentally wealthy, well done to you. If you are in that [inaudible] that’s you. But perhaps you’ve never had to take the risks. But I think more recently without taking those risks honestly. Um, so I know many friends with what property in London and they didn’t think they were taking a risk and so at BNB had a rule imposed upon them. 90 days, maximum a year that your property in London can be rented out. I think that was pressure from the authorities to sort of protect the hotel industry. So sometimes you don’t even realize you’re taking a risk and you realize you have taken a risk and that wakes you up because suddenly you’re thinking, Whoa, I need to be little bit carefully.
Nigel: 13:09 I need to think about what are the risks if I buy more property in certain locations. So I think ms come, maybe you didn’t think you were taking this and I’ve lost money on a few investments in a few startups and I haven’t realized the level of risk, but I took a risk. But afterwards, boy, I learned, I truly learned and some of the advice I’ve learned things like, be really careful investing your money, particularly in startups and businesses where you’re not an expert and, and don’t blind we believe say a financial advisor I’ve done before, um, to invest in certain funds, perhaps not having my eggs in too many baskets
Martin: 13:52 and it’s a, it’s a learning experience and they, one of our parts of our investment philosophy informed choices that I should know and understand every pass of their investment portfolio. So as you say, you don’t, we’d never expect a client to blindly trust and take our recommendation unless they knew why they are invested in a particular thing. We’ve talked a bit about property and your entrepreneurship as, as roots to wealth like us, other authors or those are two common ways that people have become no, no, there are others. I mean we should never underestimate the number of employees. The number of us we will work right? And then salaries [inaudible] the numbers set the in technology field
Nigel: 14:31 in the fields of law, in, in investment banking, in the finance fields of equity. Where you have people who on paper being very, very financially successful. And then you have, and I’m beginning to know a number of people earning royalties and fees and advertising from being bloggers influences and I’m an author now of books. And then the role it is hopefully we’ll begin to revise. So, and then there’s the classic investors, people actually who have put in some money, they’re putting aside money, um, with a stockbroking firm, with a financial investor, with live into a fund with a bank, having the success of those annual returns of whatever they’ve been for them 10 20% a year, and suddenly that few hundred thousand pounds over the years is as right as listen. I see a combination. And who was it told me one of them, I seen the quote very often that we either make money in property or you put money into pocket. And similarly, similarly we, we, we, we are encouraged I think sensibly. So to either make money through investments, through financial investments and funds, et cetera. All we end up putting the money we’ve made into those either put money into certain investments or you make money in investments and or uh, I don’t know many people who have just done
Nigel: 15:48 and that’s all they’ve done. It’s interesting, isn’t it, that there probably is a cohort out there of people we don’t often think of as as wealthy, successful, et cetera, but he just always plot away. You know, you can be a reasonably well paid employee and as long as you’re making the right decisions about how you spend your money, most importantly, what you save, what you invest over time that can accumulate and you can become incredibly wealthy. You know, you can have your investment portfolio, you can reinvest into properties. You don’t necessarily need to be the Mark Zuckerberg’s of this world. Janie says, start your own and be an entrepreneur. Well, nothing. Can I take that prompt as a
Nigel: 16:23 to step away from the base accessible and those who could claim to be okay. The millionaires to realization I’ve had, and perhaps it’s perhaps a main direction of the book is to how it is to how to help people have something rather than nothing. Cause I was kind of shocked how I read a number of surveys. They had to kind of double check with some of the building society surveys in the UK, in banks and also in the States of how little the majority of people have. And it’s shocking about a third of people have no savings. I have a few hundred pounds, a couple of thousand pounds, maximum maximum, then a third are more comfortable. And I think my book is perhaps of more quicker impact. Those who’ve got very little, just want to be reminded on things like, um, I, I talk about don’t leak money, you know, what, what nonsense are you paying for in terms of subscriptions that you’ve forgotten about?
Nigel: 17:18 So it’s like get your house in order. So I, and I think a lot of the wealthy as well would joke and I’ve met one who saw me. He has no idea how much he’s got and doesn’t check. Just reminding you to kind of keep things in order. You can pick work the basics and do you do health checks? I called my wealth checks. Do you more than just understand what you’re invested in? Do you actually double check? Is it right for you now? I think that’s as good advice for anyone. Be they struggling with living on it just on monthly salary or someone who’s quite wealthy. And that should be reassuring to most people. I think the advice though, you and I and many of us could give applies across the board, not just for those who are making it. So hopefully the book and this podcast and your work and the kind of work we do in my coaching cause it helped most people have the confidence to um, be more financially comfortable even if they never quite make a millionaire status in that commons.
Nigel: 18:19 So it’s something that I often see is, um, a desire for a lot of people to try and run before they can walk when it comes to their personal finances. So they want to go off and invest money and buy a property or start a business, but they haven’t got the house in order, as you talked about, we’ve got the emergency fund. They don’t have budgets. Yeah. They don’t stick to a monthly budget. They don’t have the right protection policies in place, but they all of a sudden wants to do what they see, who they believe to be the ultra wealthy doing and follow their path without getting the bait, the basics and how, how, how much weight should we give to those foundations before we start talking about the wealth building, the wealth strategist, I think you’ve answered it with your comments.
Martin: 18:55 It’s very important. I think that I’m shocked by the number of people and I know it and it don’t. Different people I know that work with, but also the some amazing surveys, particularly by financial institutions in the UK. Number of people that don’t budget who don’t vote, the number of people who start with most what one psychologist calls lifestyle creep as their salary goes up, for example, they own something good on dip, have a good dividends payment, they’ll go spend it, upgrade the house or car in alignment with their increasing wealth rather than holding back. Yeah, just somehow they end up having a cost monthly costs, which may prove to be too high if the income stream falls, which you know it happens. Right. I mean that’s one of the things to realize is is no one has been very successful. Very few can claim.
Nigel: 19:46 It was just a nice upward trajectory and I think the likes of Facebook’s growth and bumps or Kerberos growth in his shareholdings, their rarities. I think most people have a far more ups and downs and they’ll get the basics right. They might fall over and we see it in the numbers of bankruptcies. It’s quite sobering. The numbers, and this is primarily the UK in the U S numbers and there’s a few different sources and forms of claiming bankruptcy or chapter 11 or insolvency. And I believe it’s often just mismanagement, wealth, and a business you might be running. And it must be back to basics. Just not thinking through well enough who’s paying me? How much? How, how much I’m having to pay out having a [inaudible].
Martin: 20:38 Well, what’s the link between money and happiness? So I think we assume that as soon as you’ve got a million quid in the bank, yeah, that’s it. You’re sorted for life, you’re happy. But my
Nigel: 20:47 experience when I speak to very wealthy people is they’ve still got problems. It’s just a different sets of problems. Is that why you’ve come to a conclusion? When I wrote the first book, a hundred things successful people do, I realize that money doesn’t make you happy. And I realized myself, it wasn’t really, it wasn’t the answer. It’s actually 0.7 in my book is that money won’t ensure your happiness. So I began researching it and I ended openly talking to a few people. It doesn’t give you the answer. I, when I discover some amazing studies, there’s one bike do university in the U S and it’s, it really was thoroughly studying different people with different income levels and give you an interviewing them over time and finding out that they’re around the point of about 75 to 95,000 us dollars a year. Any more you earned didn’t make you happy.
Nigel: 21:41 But up to that level, up to that level. And I, this goes back to when you’ve got very little and you’re struggling, it’s common sense to feel if that struggle is made easier, you’re happier. But as you become more successful, what happens is you have issues. Don’t go away. You might have a much better car, more houses, but you still have marital problems. You still have tensions with business partners. You still have um, happiness that you don’t really enjoy what you’re doing every day unless you’re lucky enough to be one. Those people who lives their passion constantly and then you start comparing, then you start having some losses, which is support. Then you start being over protective of the money. So there’s all kinds of reasons why it doesn’t bring happiness, but I think it’s because maybe happiness is around, it’s around an inner fulfillment, it’s around meaning and purpose. And I think there’s a correlation with money, but it’s not yet black and white.
Martin: 22:32 No, I agree entirely. Nigel, it’s been lovely to chat to you for this episode. Before I let you go, where can we find out more about the book and about your work? Where can we find you online?
Nigel: 22:37 Um, well first of all, the books in our main bookstores, the Waterstone for the estimates oils is online Amazons and all main bookstores, you know, has Hachette. My book publisher is, it’s Nicholas wheelie. The Pope, the imprint was part of Hachette. They do an amazing job in distributions. It’s available asking you to bookstores in Melbourne, Hong Kong, Singapore, Kailyn, Dubai. On my work travels in the last few weeks. And I’m, I’m, I’m online. You just Google my name and I, I’ve got there with the week of PTO and my company websites, which is the so called partnership helping individuals and teams in all kinds of organizations. So thank you for your time Martin. It’s a pleasure and I’m forward to talking. Again,
Martin: 23:25 a big thank you to Nigel for joining us on informed choice radio today. Already enjoyed that conversation. Got a lot of value out of that one. Do you go and check out his new book? It’s called a hundred things millionaires do. It’s really is worth a read. Really, really interesting insights into there and I love these books that just distill knowledge and take lessons from a variety of places and make it all very easy to digest. So do check that out. I’ll put a link in the show notes for this episode. That is also where you can find out more about this podcast where you can subscribe, where you can leave us a rating and review. So do visit icradio.co.uk to find out more. Until next time. Thank you for listening and remember when it comes to your money than we know. The faster it can grow.
