How to Get Rich Quick

There is only one thing that’s better than getting rich. That is getting rich quick. It is the best of both worlds. You get the millions of dollars and you don’t have to wait the 40 years of compounded interest to get it. People have created “get rich quick schemes” to help people achieve their goal of becoming rich quickly with little capital.

We see these schemes everywhere now on internet. All you have to do is follow a few easy steps and you’re in the fast lane towards yachts and super cars. But first you need to pay a small fee to learn what these steps are. In the end, you find out it is yet another person promoting the oversaturated drop shipping market. And you are now down $50 and not one step closer to becoming rich.

Falling For the Scheme

It is easy to be fooled by these schemes. One because there are quite a few people who make a lot of money from it. This gives the impression that if they can make a lot of money doing this, I can too! But how many people have tried doing exactly what they are doing and have failed? A significantly greater portion. But you never see that side, it is always the success stories that we hear of. Or even if we do see failure we are convinced that they failed because they didn’t follow the steps. Or didn’t try hard enough.

Another reason people are fooled is becuase of the sheep-like mentality. Well if everyone is doing it there must be a good reason for it. FOMO, fear of missing out. I don’t want to be the only person not doing drop shipping! Ill be the only one without a yacht! Ill buy the course because everyone else is and I don’t want to miss out.

People on their death regret mainly two things: not spending more time with family and friends, and not taking more risks and being true to yourself. You don’t want to regret not taking the chance at getting rich. That would be very foolish. The maximum cost of the getting rich quick is only $50, while the potential gain is millions. The rational decision is the short run would be to take the risk!

All this is common knowledge though. We can easily spot get rich quick schemes just as quickly we recognize the prince of Nigeria is indeed not in danger and doesn’t need my money. Yet so many people fall for it. Well that’s because it has been a common tactic for a very long time, way before the internet and phone calls regarding your cars extended warranty. And each generation has perfected the scheme a little more.

California Gold Rush

1848 was the start of the famous California Gold Rush. Word spread all throughout the country about this precious mineral. Shortly after the news broke about a quarter million people made their way to California. All under the promise of getting rich. Newspapers printed stories about the riches people were making from just a simple trip across the country. But once people arrived there was no more gold. Only thing left were others that got caught up in the same get rich quick scheme that you did.

The California Gold Rush was one of the first examples of a get rich quick scheme. People were lead to believe that a small investment can quickly lead to a large return. All you have to do is buy a pickaxe, a shovel, and make your way to the land of gold. Just like the over saturated drop shipping market right now, in the early 1850s in California literally everyone was looking for the same gold.

Well not everyone. The were two people who did become very rich from the California Gold Rush. The first group of people were the first ones to find the gold. Before anyone heard about the gold, before anyone made the trek to CA, before anyone knew it was going to blow up. They had the first access to the gold without any competition. And that happens with just about any new trend. The first early adopters always end up the most profitable after it becomes popular.

The second group of people are the ones selling the pickaxes and shovels. They didn’t care one bit if you did or did not find goal. But they sold everyone on the idea that there is gold and the only to get rich is to buy my shovel. And that is exactly where “do look for gold, sell the shovel” idea comes from. Basically don’t fall for the get rich quick scheme, see what the get rich quick scheme is promising and sell the products and services that are required for the scheme. That is how you get rich.

Klondike Gold Rush

Now you’d think we would learn our lesson from this gold rush get rich quick scheme. But no, we fell for it again, only 50 years later. This time called the Klondike Gold Rush. Gold was found in the Klondike river in the Yukon Territory of Canada. Word got out about the riches to be found and within a year 100,000 prospectors made their way to Seattle and eventually up North.

Many made their way to Skagway and Dyea. To take either the White Pass Trail or the Chilkoot Trail. Both were a brutal trek to make their way to the promise land.

Skagway and the White Pass Trail

The White Pass Trail out of Skagway, Alaska was a very mountainous and rocky trail. The benefit of this trail was the use of mule animals. A lot of materials, equipment, and food was required for this trip. So having an animal like a horse to carry your stuff was a blessing.

But the problem was that the path on the mountains got very narrow. And at the wider parts of the trails it was boulderous with sharp rocks. Many horse couldn’t handle this terrain, and were left dead on the trail. Nearly 3,000 horses died on this trail and was nicknamed the Dead Horse Trail. Many prospectors when their horse did die would leave their stuff and go back to Skagway. They would then procced to purchase another horse and repeat the journey again.

Dyea and the Chilkoot Trail

The other famous trail was the Chilkoot Trail out of Dyea. This trail was more popular than the White Pass Trail but it wasn’t any easier. The most difficult part was The Scales. A part of the trail that was too steep for any mule animal to climb. Therefore you had to carry everything on your back or on a sled behind you.

The hike up this one pass was so steep and cold that it took people almost a full day to make it up to the top. Then repeat it the next, for nearly 30 days. Packers offered services to carry equipment up this part of the trail. Charging by the pound. Many never made it up with all there stuff and went home broke.

Dawson City

Only about 30% of the stampeders made it the Klondike River. Only to find the prosperous city of Dawson. But more importantly no gold. The first arrivals have already claimed all the gold and have built Dawson City. Nearly every last stampeder went home with no gold.

But that doesn’t mean no one made any money. In fact, some people became very wealthy from this very quick gold rush. The first people that made money were the ship companies out of Seattle. They would be hesitant to post their transportation prices because they knew the high demand they could charge a lot more and the time of departure.

Another group were the people selling horses in Skagway. With the high demand of a mule animal to make it through the White Pass Trail the price of horses skyrocketed. Even poor quality horses sold for crazy prices.

Packers to make it up the The Scales also made good money. Charging money per pound of equipment and with over 22,000 people trying to make it up there was no shortage of demand for the Packers.

Lastly entrepreneurs saw the difficulty of the The Scales and built a staircase that goes to the top. They would charge per day to use the staircase. This became known as the Golden Staircase.

Sell the Shovel

Everyone who made money this get rich quick scheme never fell for the scheme. they weren’t the ones looking for gold. They were the ones that provided products and services to the people who did fall for the scheme. They sold horses, and offered services to make the trip easier. These are the people that made money, not the stampeders.

It is easy to fall for get rich quick schemes. They have been around forever and they are very intriguing. When you hear of a very to make a lot of money with very little investment a red flag should go off in your head. Then ask yourself “who is really making the money?” Because more than likely it is not the people that are follow those “easy steps to get rich”. But instead the people who are providing the product, services, and the promoters of the get rich quick scheme.