Some say shortcuts are cheating, but multimillionaire investor, financial educator and bestselling author Sami Mian understands that's the route to riches most high achievers take.

The well-worn path from good grades at school to a good job is not how to do it, he says. He was not an overachiever at school but his father gave him a leg-up on money management and emotional management at an early age, and it made all the difference.

And where did that get him? Today, as an entrepreneur living in Tokyo, he is his own boss, works on his own terms and has assets worth more than ¥1 billion.