[manaboutown]

Start young and and get to know thyself. What is your personality type? Different strokes for different folks.

Read everything you can about investing after vetting the authors. A lot of what is out there is garbage. Check out the author's own investing success before bothering to read what he or she wrote.

Read some biographies and stories about achievers you admire. You may get some ideas or inspiration from them as well as learn the lessons they learned along the way. "The Millionaire Next Door" and "The Millionaire Mind" are a good place to start.

Get the best education you can. Choose your major carefully. A good education is something that can never be taken away from you.

If possible, only borrow for investment purposes other than perhaps a mortgage on your residence.

Keep track of your personal expenditures, at least for a while. John D. Rockefeller did this. I remember seeing his account book showing how much he paid to have his shoes reheeled.

I bought my first stock at age 17 with savings from working part time in a grocery store - but only after researching it thoroughly. (the stock did very, very well over the next five years!)

Good luck!