According to more than 200 millionaires, success comes down to this decision

Financial planner Tom Corley interviewed 233 millionaires over five years. There’s one thing they all had in common: They quit their long-term careers when those jobs became frustrating, boring or failed to provide for their financial needs. Here’s a clos

Non-challenging work

Many of Corley’s interview subjects felt like they were doing “zombie work,” he writes—boring, repetitive, easy work that didn’t take full advantage of their talents and capabilities. If you’re spending a large portion of your time on work that bores you, it’s time to consider making a change, because the truth is spending most of your time on that kind of work rarely leads to huge success, or great wealth. That may mean hiring people to take over mundane tasks. It might mean pushing yourself to go after more challenging and interesting opportunities or expanding into new markets. We spend a great deal of our time and energy on whatever we do for work. That work should come as close as possible to using our full capabilities.

Toxic people

Some people are just hard to get along with. But if you’re stuck dealing with a toxic person in your work life, it can hold you back from achieving real wealth. That’s because all of us, employees and especially entrepreneurs, need the help and support of the people we work with to advance our careers. And someone who’s truly toxic (as opposed to just crabby) probably isn’t thinking about what’s best for you or how to help you. It’s highly likely that getting away from someone like that will likely help you be more successful.

Not making enough money

If you’re otherwise happy with your current business or job, but you’re not earning quite enough, it can be tempting to stick with what you know and try to cut expenses to make the economics work. But if you want wealth, you need an employer who’s willing and able to pay you what you’re worth. During the earliest stages of starting your business, you may need to pay yourself a very small salary—or even no salary—in order to be what Paul Graham calls “ramen profitable.” But if you’ve been at it for a couple of years or longer, and you’re still not making a living that works for you, you know it’s time to make some changes.