Self-made millionaire who retired early: ‘Do these 5 things now or you’ll regret it later in life’

I retired early with a net worth of $900,000. I achieved my goal of becoming a millionaire in the year 2021.

My wife and I live a simple and frugal life. It could be that I made the right decisions. I had to learn the hard way how to make money.

There are things I would have done differently if I could do it all over again. What's the best advice I can give? Do these things now or regret later in life.

CNBC made it with an illustration of Ash Lamb.

I hid behind my potential because I was afraid of failure.

It wasn't until later that I realized that my constant avoidance of risk was more harmful than I thought.

I wanted to say no to the promotion because I didn't feel ready. I decided to go for it.

It set me up for a higher salary for the rest of my career. I would have been able to retire earlier if I had said yes to more opportunities earlier.

CNBC made it with an illustration of Ash Lamb.

I used to compare myself to others in the industry. There was a lot of jealousy because that person was promoted and raised. Not fair, isn't it? She got the employee of the month twice. I don't know what I'm doing.

It was not productive.

I realized I had to go my own way. I was dedicated and worked hard even though I wasn't the smartest person in the office. I met my managers early in the morning.

I had more time to focus on what I was good at once I stopped caring. I began to feel more confident.

CNBC made it with an illustration of Ash Lamb.

I used to think people were watching me. I made decisions that I believed my friends, family, colleagues, bosses and even strangers would approve of.

That became tiring. One day, I asked myself, "Who exactly do I think is secretly judging me throughout the day?"

You gain more clarity about what you want when you stop thinking about how other people think of you.

CNBC made it with an illustration of Ash Lamb.

If you can save 50% or more, that is even better than the general rule of saving 20% of your income. My wife was a saver and I was a spender.

She helped me get into the habit of being thrifty. We maxed out our 401(k) contributions before we retired. We streamlined our grocery budget and stopped buying things we didn't really need.

We were saving 70% of our income. All of the extra money was put into a savings account and a broker account.

It was difficult for me to limit our restaurant budget to $50 a month because I was used to eating out.

CNBC made it with an illustration of Ash Lamb.

I used to think that your intelligence quotient was the key to your success. I wanted to impress them with my knowledge.

IQ is only a small part of the equation. It is more important to have emotional intelligence than it is to have a heightened awareness of your own emotions.

People with strong EQ are able to quickly grasp new concepts, respond calmly and rationally to complex situations, and can work with many different types of personality.

I gained a good relationship with my bosses and colleagues with the help of practicing EQ. That's what got me to where I am today.

Steve Adcock writes about how to achieve financial independence. Steve retired at the ripe old age of 35. You can follow him on the social networking site.

Ash Lamb teaches people how to create impactful visuals at visualgrowth.com. His followers can follow him on social media.

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