Becoming a millionaire by 30 is possible, and you don't have to found the next Facebook or Snapchat or win a Powerball jackpot to do so. Plenty of regular people have done it.

To help you reach the seven-figure mark, we rounded up nine pieces of advice from people who became millionaires at a young age. We can't guarantee millionaire status, but doing these things won't hurt your odds:

SEE ALSO: 13 steps anyone can take to get rich, according to a journalist who spent his career studying millionaires

1. Focus on earning

"In today's economic environment you cannot save your way to millionaire status,"writes Grant Cardone, who went from broke and in debt at 21 to self-made millionaire by 30. "The first step is to focus on increasing your income in increments and repeating that.

"My income was $3,000 a month and nine years later it was $20,000 a month. Start following the money, and it will force you to control revenue and see opportunities."

Earning more money is often easier said than done, but most people have options. Read about 50 ways to bring in additional income, some high-paying jobs you can do on the side, how you can earn passive income, and how to start a side-hustle from a woman who earned up to $4,000 a month on the side.

2. Save to invest, don't save to save

Writes Cardone:

The only reason to save money is to invest it. Put your saved money into secured, sacred (untouchable) accounts. Never use these accounts for anything, not even an emergency. This will force you to continue to follow step one (increase income). To this day, at least twice a year, I am broke because I always invest my surpluses into ventures I cannot access.

Investing is not as complicated or daunting as we make it out to be. The simplest starting point is to contribute to your 401(k) if your employer offers one, and take full advantage of your company's 401(k) match program — which is essentially free money — if it has one.

Next, consider contributing money toward a Roth IRA or traditional IRA, individual retirement accounts with different contribution limits and tax structures — which one you can use depends on your income. If you still have money left over, you can research low-cost index funds, which Warren Buffett recommends, and look into the online-investment platforms known as "robo-advisers."

The key to consistently setting aside money is to make it automatic. That way, you'll never even see the money you're contributing and you'll learn to live without it.

3. Ask for help

"At a certain point in my business, I couldn't grow any further until I hired a few key people," writes Daniel Ally, who became a millionaire in less than five years at 24.

He continued:

Asking for help wasn't my forte, but I had to make it happen. Within months I had a lawyer, editor, personal trainer, part-time chef, and other personnel. It cost me a fortune at first, but eventually helped push me into the million-dollar mark. Most people won't ask for help because their ego is in the way.

Asking for help extends beyond hiring key people. As self-made millionaire Steve Siebold explains in his book "How Rich People Think," the rich aren't afraid to fund their future from other people's pockets.

"World class believes in using other people's money," he writes. "Rich people know not being solvent enough to personally afford something is not relevant. The real question is, 'Is this worth buying, investing in, or pursuing?'"

Soup cleanses are supposedly replacing juice cleanses among the wealthy and elite. 

"Souping is the new juicing,"The New York Times declared recently.

On the surface, juice's new rival has its merits. Soup is warm, comforting, and feels like real food. 

But I tried it and found out it's a starvation diet masked as a revolutionary new food trend.

I'm dubious of most crash diets, but soup specialists, like Nicole Chaszar of New York's Splendid Spoon, claim they're just out to help you eat better.

I set out to see what the big deal is about souping, and if it really is the new juicing.

SEE ALSO: I tried the $109-per-day diet that many Victoria's Secret models use — here's what happened

Going into this experiment, I'm willing to guess that souping is probably more pleasant than juicing.

Juicing is not pleasant for most humans, unless you are Gwyneth Paltrow or a holier-than-thou skinny rich person. Juice on its own can be good, but nobody does a juice cleanse for fun, unless that person is a masochist.

But soup reminds you of your grandma or your mother who made killer chicken soup. "[Soup is] really connected to a lot of really positive emotional memories and experiences that people have," Chaszar said to me.

She has a point: when you look back at your life, you'll never fondly recall your greatest memories sitting around the dinner table drinking juice with your loved ones unless you are this woman. You might, however, recall dining on soup with your family.

And juice cleanses are frequently criticized for their questionable nutritional value. Chaszar, who studied at the French Culinary Institute, pointed out how the process of pressing juices strips vegetables and fruits of fiber. Juice can have high sugar content, too. Soup maintains the vegetables' fiber and still packs many doses of nutrients — it's a lot easier to have a soup composed of ample vegetables and healthy oils than it is to eat ten pounds of kale. Additionally, soup cleanses often contain beans and lentils (and some even have meat) as opposed to pure raw juice, so you get more protein. 

And guess what! You don't have to punish yourself on a soup cleanse.

Here's the soup cleanse, in all its glory. A cleanse day costs $65, not too dissimilar from a day of juice cleansing.

The Splendid Spoon offers an approximately 720 calorie cleanse. I personally am not comfortable with eating that little amount of calories — and I need to function as a human being — so here's my disclosure: I planned to try all of these soups to see if they were any good. I did not solely soup. (Chaszar defended the 700 calories as something rooted in the notion of intermittent fasting, a semi-trendy form of dieting. She does not condone eating that little every day.)

Fortunately, Chaszar told Business Insider that my choice to semi-cleanse wouldn't make me a failure — a soup 'cleanse' isn't supposed to be punishing. Splendid Spoon suggests having a plant based protein and an apple midday if you're famished, and she told me I could have a regular breakfast in the morning, or soup all day and have a hearty meal at night. I decided to do some variation on that, so that I could simulate some of the experience a diehard souper might have. Was this, indeed, a cool and comforting way to suffer?

The Splendid Spoon offers a "weekly" plan — here's what comes with that.

This includes one day of pure souping and five days of ingesting a soup instead of your lunch; this plans costs $95. These swappable soups are heartier, such as lentil and kale, and Ikarian stew. (I didn't try all of these.)

"Our program is really rooted in the concept that small simple changes made every day can have a really profound impact on your health," Chaszar said to me.  

And then, on the seventh day, it's " no rules" so you margarita cleanse. I'm kidding about the last part. 

Amazon is known for experimenting with big ideas, even if they don't end up becoming massive hits.

But even for a company known for taking bold bets, these 13 moves stand out.

While some of them are still ongoing experiments, some have evolved into multi-billion dollar businesses.

Check out the 13 times Amazon shocked the world by doing something completely unexpected.

 Disclosure: Jeff Bezos is an investor in Business Insider through his personal investment company Bezos Expeditions.

SEE ALSO: The life and awesomeness of Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos

1. Amazon goes beyond e-commerce and launches Amazon Web Services.

In 2006, Amazon Web Services started offering cloud computing infrastructure that helped businesses run their own apps and services online. It became an instant hit because it was a relatively new concept, and because its low price allowed engineers to pay for only what they used.

2. Amazon discloses the financials for Amazon Web Services — and it's profitable.

AWS shocked more people when it disclosed its financials for the first time last year. Because of its low price, many assumed it was a low margin business. It turns out it's made $1.9 billion in operating profit on $7.9 billion of revenue in 2015, giving it a healthy 25% margin.

3. Amazon launches its own line of premium diapers and baby wipes.

Amazon launched its own line of diapers in 2014 as part of Amazon Elements, which started with premium, environmentally-friendly baby wipes and diapers. But just 2 months in, Amazon discontinued sales of its diapers after receiving lukewarm customer reviews, and said it would work on “design improvements.”

It's been three months since "Fallout 4" launched, and Bethesda Game Studios has some good news: more "Fallout 4" is coming soon.

On Tuesday, Bethesda announced the first three pieces of downloadable content for "Fallout 4". Here's what you can expect. 

Automatron: Available in March for $10

From Bethesda:

"The mysterious Mechanist has unleashed a horde of evil robots into the Commonwealth, including the devious Robobrain. Hunt them down and harvest their parts to build and mod your own custom robot companions. Choose from hundreds of mods; mixing limbs, armor, abilities, and weapons like the all-new lightning chain gun. Even customize their paint schemes and choose their voices!"

Wasteland Workshop: Available in April for $5

From Bethesda:

"With the Wasteland Workshop, design and set cages to capture live creatures – from raiders to Deathclaws! Tame them or have them face off in battle, even against your fellow settlers. The Wasteland Workshop also includes a suite of new design options for your settlements like nixie tube lighting, letter kits, taxidermy and more!"

Far Harbor: Available in May for $25

From Bethesda:

"A new case from Valentine’s Detective Agency leads you on a search for a young woman and a secret colony of synths. Travel off the coast of Maine to the mysterious island of Far Harbor, where higher levels of radiation have created a more feral world. Navigate through the growing conflict between the synths, the Children of Atom, and the local townspeople. Will you work towards bringing peace to Far Harbor, and at what cost? Far Harbor features the largest landmass for an add-on that we’ve ever created, filled with new faction quests, settlements, lethal creatures and dungeons. Become more powerful with new, higher-level armor and weapons. The choices are all yours."

There was once a time when it would've been insane to compare an American muscle car to a European sports car. The American cars were slower, didn't have the technology to compete, and had awful build quality compared to the high-performance cars that came out of Europe. 

That's all changed.

The Ford Mustang Shelby GT350R is a borderline masterpiece performance vehicle that basically screams American pride.

Hey Europe, take note.

It has an incredibly powerful motor.

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When I said it screamed American pride, I really meant that. Just listen to that motor sing!

What you're hearing there is the brand new, Shelby GT350 specific V8 motor. It utilizes an internal engine design that is usually only found in exotic cars like Ferraris. This special engine layout allows the motor to rev higher, quicker, and louder. 

It's a proper sports car.

Like most top-level sports cars of today, the GT350R has electric-assisted adjustable power steering which can be preset for whatever type of driving is being done. Firm when you want it for on-track and backroad spirited driving, lighter and more user-friendly when needed for comfort.

The GT350R also uses Ford's MagneRide suspension, which automatically calculates and adjusts the car's suspension setup every 10 milliseconds, depending on where it senses the weight of the car is and the car's yaw-angle at that moment of time.

It's the first mass-produced car to have carbon fiber wheels.

One of the best ways to make sports cars faster is to reduce how much weight each wheel carries. Less unsprung weight equals more power getting to the road's surface, and less effort needed to make the car go around corners. This is where the carbon fiber wheels come in.

Ford claims that the carbon fiber wheel set up on the GT350R saves around 15 pounds on each corner of the car. That's seriously impressive. 

Photography is hard. And all the jabber out there doesn't make it easier.

If you read some blogs, you'll end up believing that it's impossible to get a good shot unless you're working in manual mode. Some insist you only ever shoot RAW files. Others obsess over finding the perfect camera. And all of that can help.

But for most people, it's just way too much trouble.

Here's a secret though: 99% of those expert tips and tricks are just means of taking more control over your exposure — something you can adjust with a simple thumb-swipe on your smartphone.

If your exposure is off, everything else in your image will look off as well (no matter how much you edit or filter it later). If you nail it, the whole image improves. This is as true for your Insta-selfies as your artwork.

Here's a simple explanation of what exposure is, and how to wield it as a powerful tool in your image-making.

Exposure is the total amount of light your camera absorbs in its sensor.

My phone let's me do this with a swipe of my thumb. Here's a shot of Tech Insider's newsroom with the exposure way up.

This is a great exposure if I want to focus on people's faces and don't care what's out the window.

Here's the same scene exposed all the way down.

If I were only interested in seeing out the window, this would be a good option.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has a singular mission: to connect people around the world.

It's one reason why he decided to launch a Facebook-based book club last year, with a reading list that focused on "different cultures, beliefs, histories, and technologies."

Although the birth of his daughter, Max, kept him from hitting his goal of a book every two weeks, he ended the year with 23 selections in his "A Year of Books" reading group.

We've put together a list of his picks and why he thinks everyone should read them:

SEE ALSO: Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh shares 4 business books he thinks everyone should read

'The Muqaddimah' by Ibn Khaldun

"The Muqaddimah," which translates to "The Introduction," was written in 1377 by the Islamic historian Khaldun. It's an attempt to strip away biases of historical records and find universal elements in the progression of humanity.

Khaldun's revolutionary scientific approach to history established him as one of the fathers of modern sociology and historiography.

"While much of what was believed then is now disproven after 700 more years of progress, it's still very interesting to see what was understood at this time and the overall worldview when it's all considered together," Zuckerberg writes.

Find it here »

'The New Jim Crow' by Michelle Alexander

Alexander is a law professor at Ohio State University and a civil-rights advocate who argues in her book that the "war on drugs" has fostered a culture in which nonviolent black males are overrepresented in prison, and then are treated as second-class citizens once they are freed.

"I've been interested in learning about criminal justice reform for a while, and this book was highly recommended by several people I trust,"Zuckerberg writes.

Find it here »

'Why Nations Fail' by Daron Acemoglu and James A. Robinson

"Why Nations Fail" is an overview of 15 years of research by MIT economist Daren Acemoglu and Harvard political scientist James Robinson, and was first published in 2012.

The authors argue that "extractive governments" use controls to enforce the power of a select few, while "inclusive governments" create open markets that allow citizens to spend and invest money freely, and that economic growth does not always indicate the long-term health of a country.

Zuckerberg's interest in philanthropy has grown alongside his wealth in recent years, and he writes that he chose this book to better understand the origins of global poverty.

Find it here »

By square footage, the Chicago Auto Show is actually the largest in the world. But sandwiched in between Detroit and New York, it often lacks the high profile releases of those shows.

This year, however, the Windy City boasted some impressive metal, including a few concepts and some special-edition models sure to turn heads.

Here are the world premiers at the 2016 Chicago Auto Show, which runs through February 21.

Mazda's lightweight, windshield-less MX5 Speedster Concept is an itty-bitty ball of road-going fury.

Ford's XLT Sport Package makes their big SUV look even sharper.

Kia debuted the brand new, "Niro Action" and ...

The jeans we're about to present are online for sale, so we're assuming some men are buying them.

But that doesn't mean that they should.

We've consistently seen some offensive pairs out on the Street, running wild with impunity, so with the help of stylist Jessica Cadmus, of the Wardrobe Whisperer, Business Insider is setting down some super easy guidelines.

"Jeans are the cornerstone of most men's casual wardrobe.  They are extremely versatile, travel well, shrink to fit, and come in myriad colors and washes. They are rugged, cool, and often sexy."

"However, it is still incumbent upon the wearer to select wisely because unfortunately there exist an abundance of ill options," Cadmus said.

And we're about to show you a few of the ill-est.

Note: We didn't even get into non-pant denim. Perhaps next time.

The awkward cut.

Barneys calls these "cropped." We consider them a taper tantrum. 

It also has what our Elena Holodny calls "the old man sagging effect" on everyone's legs.

Note: This includes a ton of boot cut jeans. Use someone with tastes' discretion.

Studded jeans.

Is Blink-182 having a reunion tour?

Huge pockets.

It's unclear how jeans with huge pockets managed to stay in some realm of acceptable fashion. They're not flattering. Wear things that are flattering.

Waves usually evoke a sense of calm. Just ask anyone who's relaxed on a beach or drifted off to the "ocean" setting of a noise-generating sleep machine.

But nature can rapidly churn seas and lakes into apocryphal chaos.

To honor waves in their more alarming forms, Reuters combed its archives to put together this breathtaking photo package.

Here are our favorite images of giant waves, just moments before they came crashing down, paired with explanations of how nature whips up this awesome phenomenon.

Most waves are simply caused by the wind.

Source: NOAA

So when the wind blows harder — during hurricanes, for example — the waves get much bigger.

Source: NOAA

But wind and water aren't the only things that make a wave.

Source: NOAA

"Leo's Red Carpet Rampage" is a hilarious browser game that asks one question: What will highly celebrated actor Leonardo DiCaprio have to do to get an Academy Award? The actor has been nominated a total of five times for the Oscar, but has yet to win.

Produced by 'The Line Animation" and visual effects vendor Electric Theatre Collective alongside game designer Max Van der Merwe, the game is a marathon of Leo memes.

In addition to rampaging down the red carpet everything from his run-in with Lady Gaga to the #OscarsSoWhite protest are made fun of in the addictive game. 

We'll see if Leo's Oscar dreams will come true on February 28 when the 88th Academy Awards ceremony is held. Until then, have fun watching digital Leo sprint for the award. 

The game begins with Leonardo, under a spotlight, telling the player how badly he needs an Oscar. Though DiCaprio has been nominated five times, he has yet to win an Academy Award.

For most of the game, Leo must dash across the red carpet as the player alternates between mashing the G and H keys to propel him towards the Oscar. No matter how fast you run, the Oscar sparkles and flies just out of his reach.

Leo must compete against sprite versions of his fellow best actor nominees, Michael Fassbender, Eddie Redmayne, Matt Damon, and Bryan Cranston all dressed as their nominated film characters.

While Marvel media includes multiple universes across TV and film, one thing unites them all: the Stan Lee cameo.

Lee is a comic legend and the former President and Chairman of Marvel Comics. His creative work began in the 1939 and includes hugely recognizable characters like Spider-Man, Iron Man, Hulk, Thor, and the X-Men.

The 93-year-old has subtly appeared in all manner of Marvel media. He does films, including both Marvel/Disney collaborations like "Avengers" and "Guardians of the Galaxy" and Marvel/Fox film franchises like "X-Men," as well as the Netflix and ABC television adaptations. 

In honor of his cameo in "Deadpool," we've gathered together all of Lee's Marvel cameos. Keep reading to see if you can remember them all.

Stan Lee's first Marvel cameo was as a hot dog vendor in "X-Men" (2000).

He showed up as a helpless bystander in "Spider-Man" (2002).

A young Matt Murdock saves Stan from walking into traffic in "Daredevil" (2003).

Who hasn't shared an amazing science fact about food only to feel embarrassed later on, when you find out the information was wrong?

No more.

It's time to put an end to the most alluring eating-related science myths, misconceptions, and inaccuracies passed down through the ages.

To help the cause we've rounded up and corrected dozens of the most shocking food "facts."

See the full list of science myths. 

Kevin Loria,Lauren Friedman, and Kelly Dickerson contributed to this post. Robert Ferris contributed to a previous version.

MYTH: There are bugs in your strawberry Frappuccino.

This one is no longer true.

Before April 2012, Starbucks' strawberry Frappucino contained a dye made from the ground-up bodies of thousands of tiny insects, called cochineal bugs (or Dactylopius coccus).

Farmers in South and Central America make a living harvesting — and smashing — the bugs that go into the dye. Their crushed bodies produce a deep red ink that is used as a natural food coloring, which was "called cochineal" red but is now called "carmine color."

Starbucks stopped using carmine color in their strawberry Frappucinos in 2012. But the dye is still used in thousands of other food products — from Nerds candies to grapefruit juice. Not to mention cosmetics, like lovely shades of red lipstick.

Sources: Business Insider, CHR Hansen, AmericanSweets.co.uk, FoodFacts.com, LA Times

MYTH: There's beaver butt secretions in your vanilla ice cream.

You've probably heard that a secretion called castoreum, isolated from the anal gland of a beaver, is used in flavorings and perfumes.

But castoreum is so expensive, at up to $70 per pound of anal gland (the cost to humanely milk castoreum from a beaver is likely even higher), that it's unlikely to show up in anything you eat.

In 2011, the Vegetarian Resource Group wrote to five major companies that produce vanilla flavoring and asked if they use castoreum. The answer: According to the Federal Code of Regulations, they can't. (The FDA highly regulates what goes into vanilla flavoring and extracts.)

It's equally unlikely you'll find castoreum in mass-marketed goods, either.

Sources: Business Insider, Vegetarian Resource Group, FDA, NY Trappers Forum

MYTH: Coffee stunts your growth.

Most research finds no correlation between caffeine consumption and bone growth in kids.

In adults, researchers have seen that increased caffeine consumption can very slightly limit calcium absorption, but the impact is so small that a tablespoon of milk will more than adequately offset the effects of a cup of coffee.

Advertising seems to be largely responsible for this myth: Cereal manufacturer named C.W. Post was trying to market a morning beverage called "Postum" as an alternative to coffee, so he ran ads on the "evils" of Americans' favorite hot beverage, calling it a "nerve poison" that should never be served to children.

Sources: Business Insider (1, 2), Smithsonian Magazine

The human body is surprisingly fragile, but there are those who enjoy pushing it to the limits. 

From these dare devils, we learn how the body can miraculously compensate for starvation or oxygen deprivation to stay alive for as long as possible.

Here are five incredible feats of super human endurance: 

READ MORE: A popular way of cooking broccoli is leeching potentially cancer-fighting compounds from it

SEE ALSO: NASA just released a jaw-dropping 360 degree photo that makes you feel like you're on Mars

Without sleep: 11 days.

In 1965, the then 17-year-old Randy Gardner set the world record by staying awake for 264.4 hours, or 11 days and 24 minutes.

Sleep is essential for building memories and skills as well as feel more alert the next day.

Without breathing: 22 minutes.

The longest any human being ever went without breathing took place in 2012, when Danish freediver Stig Severinsen held his breath underwater for 22 minutes.

Without oxygen, the human brain will die after about four minutes. Severinsen cheated death by breathing in pure oxygen for about 19 minutes beforehand, which saturated his body with oxygen so it could continue to keep his brain functioning while he was underwater.

Without food and water: 18 days

In 1979, Andreas Mihavecs — then 18 years old — was left, forgotten, in a basement prison cell until he was accidentally discovered 18 days later. This was not a stunt, but an act of negligence on the authority's part. It took Mihavecs several weeks to recover.

Of the two, water is more critical to replenish than food. An adult is made up of about 60% water, using it to lubricate joints, flush waste, and regulate body temperature.

Back in the earlier days of evolution, humans were prey to giant hyenas, cave bears, and predatory kangaroos.

We've been able to outlast those guys, but evolutionary psychologists will tell you that we're still on constant lookout for the thing that wants to eat us next.

The trouble is, the audience at your next presentation is not, in fact, a bunch of razor-toothed animals. They generally want to see you do well.

Since being plagued by anxiety is a sure way to sabotage your own success, we've put together a collection of research-backed tips for overcoming your chronic fears and daily stressors. 

Kim Bhasin contributed research to this article. 

SEE ALSO: 9 ways too much stress screws up your life

Breathe deeply because it lets your nervous system know that it can chill out.

You've probably heard that breathing is a good call if you're stressed out. 

But what's fascinating is the reason why it works so well.

"Deep diaphragmatic breathing is a powerful anxiety-reducing technique because it activates the body's relaxation response,"explains Psych Central editor Margarita Tartakovsky.

As psychologist Marla W. Deibler told Psych Central, "It helps the body go from the fight-or-flight response of the sympathetic nervous system to the relaxed response of the parasympathetic nervous system." 

Slowly expose yourself to the things you're afraid of, so they're no longer unfamiliar to you.

If you're trying to get comfortable with negotiating, speaking in public, or other scary activities, psychologists often recommend exposure therapy.

Rehab Institute of Chicago neuroscientist Katherina Hauner has found that it can dramatically improve the way people relate to their fears. 

"It is usually done in a series of hierarchical steps, starting with a relatively low level of engagement with the feared situation, and increasing the level with each step," she told the Huffington Post.

"For exposure therapy with a dog phobia," she says, "we might start with just looking at a very small puppy from many feet away, and eventually work our way up to petting a very large dog."

Recognize when you're succumbing to 'misplaced' anxiety, and let it go.

As Wharton research scholar Jeremy Yip has found, fear about one thing in your life has a way of spilling over into other parts of your life. 

If you have car trouble on your way to work, there's a good chance that feeling of anxiety will carry over into your workday.  

You might feel less confident about pitching your boss on a new project because when you ask yourself, "How do I feel about this?" your general feelings of anxiety make you more risk-averse.

To deal with that, try and recognize where the fear is coming from. If you're worried because you need to make improvements, listen to that. If you're worried because your exhaust is making funny noises, recognize that those worries don't have anything to do with the pitch.

Canadian couple Justin and Anna Williams have traveled to more than 100 countries around the world. 

But there's one continent they always look forward to returning to: Africa. 

The duo recently got back from their fifth trip to Africa, this time traveling through Zambia, Zimbabwe, and Botswana. 

"From the stunning landscapes and teeming wildlife to the agreeable climate and friendly people, it always seems to draw us back," Justin told Business Insider. 

From visiting the world's biggest waterfall to having their room attacked by an elephant, here's what happened on their adventure-packed trip. 

For the full set of images, visit Justin's Instagram account. 

SEE ALSO: A Canadian couple took an extremely bizarre trip to North Korea — here's what happened

DON'T FORGET: Follow Business Insider's lifestyle page on Facebook!

After a number of connecting flights, the couple landed in Livingstone, Zambia, on the snaking Zambezi River.

One of the first sights they saw was Victoria Falls, on the border of Zambia and Zimbabwe. The falls are the largest in the world, with columns of water that plummet into a gorge more than 300 feet below.

After taking a short boat ride and hiking across Livingstone Island, they got right up to the edge of the falls at a place known as Devil's Pool.

In early September 2015, AMTI (Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative) released images showing that China had effectively completed construction of its first Spratly Islands airstrip on Fiery Cross Reef, was continuing work on its second at Subi Reef, and was preparing to begin work on a third at Mischief Reef.

Four months later, China has not only landed three civilian test flights on Fiery Cross, but is progressing even faster than expected with its work at Subi and especially Mischief. Construction of the Fiery Cross airstrip took at least seven months from the start of grading, which was visible by February 2015.

Work at Subi, where grading began in June or July, seems to be proceeding slightly quicker. And at Mischief, where grading began in September or October, construction is already approaching completion just three to four months later. Meanwhile China is rapidly building out other facilities on both Mischief and Subi.

SEE ALSO: The northern end of the Subi Reef runway as of January 8.

Mischief Reef as of September 8, 2015.

Developments on Mischeif Reef

Mischief Reef sits just 21 nautical miles from the BRP Sierra Madre, which was deliberately grounded by the Philippines at Second Thomas Shoal in 1999 and is home to a contingent of Philippine marines.

China has maintained a constant coast guard presence around Second Thomas since 2013 and attempted to prevent resupply of the Sierra Madre in March 2014. Mischief is also about 60 nautical miles from Reed Bank, where the Philippines hopes to drill for natural case deposits over China’s objections.

This strategic location combined with its size (China has reclaimed twice as much land at Mischief Reef as it did at Fiery Cross and about 50 percent more than at Subi) makes developments at Mischief of particular concern the Philippines.

Mischief Reef as of January 8, 2016.

The southern end of the Mischief Reef runway as of October 19.

Airstrip Developments

The work on the runway at Mischief Reef is progressing considerably faster than it had at Fiery Cross or Subi. Preparatory work had started by the start of September, but the runway itself was not visible.

A fully formed and compacted sand runway could be seen by October 19, and by December 5 the runway and apron had been covered with gravel and about 500 feet of concrete. As of January 8, concrete covered most of the runway, which appears to be nearing completion.

Bill Gates became the youngest billionaire ever in 1987 at 31. In 2008, Mark Zuckerberg took that title when he reached billionaire status at 23. But not all of today's wealthiest entrepreneurs saw such success at a young age: Larry Ellison was 42 when he made his first million and 49 when his net worth reached the seven-figure mark.

Using an infographic from UK-based web platform Fleximize, we've broken out the age at which Gates, Zuckerberg, Ellison, and 12 other self-made billionaires made their first billion.

SEE ALSO: How old 17 self-made billionaires were when they made their first million

Mark Zuckerberg: 23

The Facebook cofounder and CEO became a billionaire in 2008 at 23.

Facebook's IPO made Zuckerberg the youngest self-made billionaire in history.

Today's estimated net worth: $4.9 billion

Evan Spiegel: 25

The Snapchat cofounder and CEO became a billionaire in 2015 at 25.

The value in Spiegel's Snapchat shares reached $1 billion, making him one of the youngest self-made billionaires.

Today's estimated net worth: $2.1 billion

Larry Page: 30

Google's cofounder earned his first billion in 2004 at 30, when the company's IPO sent Page's net worth over $1 billion for the first time.

Today's estimated net worth: $36.3 billion

Ever feel like you've finally started to keep up with your fitness routine, but despite your commitment, you're still not seeing the results you want? 

Part of the problem could be that you've fallen for some fitness myths that are doing more harm than good. 

But despite all the myths out there, there are also some easy, no-frills ways to make your workouts as efficient as possible. Use these and you'll start to see your hard work pay off:

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Weight train.

While lifting weights won't magically turn flabby areas into hard, muscly ones, it will help you build muscle tissue in other parts of your body. And that tissue will thicken underneath any fat above it. Once you start to slim down, that muscle will start to shine through.

Also, when it comes to weight training, gender doesn't matter. So if you've been told you shouldn't lift because you'll "bulk up"— it's time to toss that rumor to the wind. The ability to build large muscles is directly dependent on the amount of testosterone we have, and women on average produce far less testosterone than men. So weight training won't make you look weird — instead, it's a great way to add some tone and definition. 

Try working out at different times of day.

Don't feel like going for a run after a long day at work? Neither do a lot of people. The only way you'll know which time of day works best for you for working out is by trying out several options.

And if you're a morning person, here's some good news: Some research suggests that working out first thing each dayhelps speed weight loss and boost energy levels by priming the body for an all-day fat burn.

Plus, getting more daylight may play an important role in shedding pounds. By making sure we align our internal clocks, or circadian rhythms, with the natural world, we may help give our metabolisms a boost. One recent study showed that people who basked in bright sunlight within two hours after waking tended to be thinner and better able to manage their weight than people who didn't get any natural light, regardless of what they ate throughout the day.

Commit to working out at least 3 days a week.

If you want to see your body change, hitting the gym once a week won't cut it.

"A minimum of three days per week, for a structured exercise program [is best],"Shawn Arent, an exercise scientist at Rutgers University, told Tech Insider. "Technically, you should do something every day, and by something I mean physical activity — just move. Because we're finding more and more that the act of sitting counteracts any of the activity you do."

Attending an elite boarding school sets students up for lifelong success. It can open doors to prominent colleges, place students in a powerful alumni network, provide a top-notch education, and create lifelong friends.

Prestige is derived from more than just strong academics, though, so to determine the most elite boarding schools in America, we looked at the size of a school's endowment, how selective it is based on its acceptance rate, and the average SAT score its students earn. To rank the schools, each metric was weighted equally.

Because of the scope of the list, we relied primarily on data from BoardingSchoolReview.com, a website that collects information on boarding schools directly from the institutions. Gaps in the data were confirmed with individual schools or taken from Niche, another organization that researches and compiles information on schools.

For the second year in a row, Phillips Exeter Academy earned the No. 1 spot on the list. Best known for pioneering the Harkness teaching method — a seminar-style class setting where the teacher and students sit around a table and freely discuss subjects — the school is highly selective with a 19% acceptance rate and touts an endowment of $1.15 billion, which is more than most colleges.

Read on to see the rest of the 50 most elite boarding schools in America.

Additional reporting by Andy Kiersz.

SEE ALSO: The 25 best public high schools in America

DON'T MISS: The 50 best colleges in America

50. St. Anne's-Belfield School

Location: Charlottesville, Virginia

Endowment: $32 million

Acceptance rate: 35%

Enrollment:886

Though only 17% of 9th-12th grade students live at St. Anne’s-Belfield School, boarders are essential to the school’s diversity and inclusivity commitment. St. Anne’s-Belfield is also deeply interested in reducing the gender gap in computer science-related disciplines by mandating technology education courses for all K-12 students, with an emphasis on college prep for the upper school.

49. Shattuck-St. Mary's School

Location: Faribault, Minnesota

Endowment: $25 million

Acceptance rate: 36%

Enrollment:472

Shattuck-St. Mary’s School takes a unique approach to education with programs that allow students to learn at their own pace. As part of the school’s new ScholarShift program, 11th and 12th graders take blended classes that officially meet only twice a week, leaving time for students to speak one-on-one with instructors and pursue outside projects. For such projects, students can utilize the school’s weCreate space, which features studios for video editing, music recording, fashion design, and more.

48. Indian Springs School

Location: Indian Springs, Alabama

Endowment: $12 million

Acceptance rate: 52%

Enrollment:299

Inspired by the motto “learning through living,” Indian Springs School takes education outside of the classroom. For instance, the student government is set up like a small town with a mayor and six commissioners and weekly town meetings, placing decision-making power in the hands of the students. The Indian Springs campus is located just 15 miles from Birmingham, Alabama’s biggest city, and its surrounding mountains, spring lake, and state park give students the chance to further explore outside of a traditional academic setting.