After graduating from college, Grant Cardone was broke and swimming in $40,000 of student debt, he writes in his new book, "Be Obsessed Or Be Average."

By 30, he'd made his first million. Since then, the 58-year-old has built five companies and a multi-million dollar fortune.

The self-made millionaire refuses to play by anyone else's rules, particularly when it comes to saving money.

"I would never, ever invest money in a 401(k)," Cardone tells CNBC. "Why would I go to work, have my employer give me another $6,000 a year, and then take that money and send it off to Wall Street, where I can't even touch it for 30 years? I wouldn't do that."

The popular retirement plans are "traps that prevent people from ever having enough," Cardone writes on his website. "The 401(k) is merely where you kiss your money away for 40 years hoping it grows up."

Rather than focusing on saving, focus on earning — you can't save your way to millionaire status, he says.

"Wall Street is telling you to invest little bits, early. They don't believe in your ability to earn money," Cardone tells CNBC. "People need to show the ability to produce more revenue — not invest it — first. People get rich because they produce revenue, not because they make little investments over time."

And don't just focus on earning — focus on earning big, says Cardone. "Keep stacking that paper until you have a hundred grand in the bank. I know this is very unrealistic for a lot of people, but the reason it's unrealistic is because you've been conditioned to think small."

Grant is promoting saving the money you earn, but counter to most advice, he says to put the money in a good old-fashioned savings account — where your money is accessible at a moment's notice — until you have at least $100,000. Then, you can start investing.

"Put your saved money into secured, sacred (untouchable) accounts," he writes on Entrepreneur. "Never use these accounts for anything, not even an emergency. ... To this day, at least twice a year, I am broke because I always invest my surpluses into ventures I cannot access."

It's important to note that the median retirement savings for all families in the U.S . is just $5,000, and the median for families with some savings is $60,000, according to the Economic Policy Institute (EPI). And many families have zero saved. Employer-sponsored retirement plans are meant to help address this and are a good option for many people. But of course, to Grant's point, they won't help you get rich quickly or invest in opportunities today.

He's not the only self-made millionaire to encourage this kind of thinking. After studying wealthy people for more than 25 years, self-made millionaire Steve Siebold found that rich people set their expectations high and aren't afraid to think big.

After all, as he writes in "How Rich People Think," "No one would ever strike it rich and live their dreams without huge expectations."

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3400938&forum_id=2#31740261)

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3400938&forum_id=2#31740332)

Apartment complexes

Buying & renovating fix er upper homes and selling them for a profit

Buying cars, fixing them, selling them at a profit

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3400938&forum_id=2#31740427)

like why do you think you need 100K to invest in apartment complexes LJL

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3400938&forum_id=2#31744678)

uh avg joe cumskin is struggling to even put 6K into his 401K, but great job guy-in-OP for encouraging people to literally put their money in a bank account drawing almost 0% interest for seventeen years before using it to make money!

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3400938&forum_id=2#31744703)

The best books that I have seen that actually study millionaires as a group are those of the Millionaire Next Door series. Of those, the best that I have read is Stop Acting Rich. One point that the author makes, in contrast to this guy, is that playing defense (saving and investing carefully) is just as important as playing offense (generating revenue).

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3400938&forum_id=2#31740532)

both are important, though

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3400938&forum_id=2#31744696)

Is it bad to get an immediate 100% return on your investment if it's locked up for years afterward in a relatively low risk vehicle?

The reason most non-rich people don't have more investment income is because they spend too much of their income on expenses that are avoidable. You may decide you have to live in that nicer house in that better neighborhood because of the schools, etc., and that your kids need summer camps, enriching afterschool programs, memorable vacations and extravagant birthdays so that they are confident that you love them and prioritize their needs. But you're also deprioritizing your ability to have more black in your household budget, which means less ability to invest.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3400938&forum_id=2#31745739)

Gets you your tax advantage and preserves some capital flexibility.

Dangerous though. Defaulting on 401(k) loans is LOL

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3400938&forum_id=2#31740772)

who cares if you got 1 million by age 60. you're too old now

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3400938&forum_id=2#31744441)

step 1) build up your earning power to the point where you can earn at least 2-3x what it costs to survive at the poverty level. let's say the poverty level in your city is 35k. build up your earning power to at least 70k

step 2) spend 35k or less surviving

step 3) spend whatever money remains on risky ventures that can really explode if they are successful

repeat step 3 over and over for years until one of them explodes.

if you're right, you'll be lauded as a seer and will become a young millionaire. if you're wrong, you'll be penniless and mocked. but the good thing is that you only have to be right once.

in concrete terms, i am betting very big on bitcoin. irresponsibly big. if you ever hear about bitcoin collapsing to $0, you will know that i fucked up big time and continue to live a very meager lifestyle.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3400938&forum_id=2#31744679)