In this age of instant gratification and short attention spans, even the highest earners have trouble building wealth and saving for the future. A surprising number of NFL players, for instance, end up not on easy street but in bankruptcy court, even though they pulled down millions of dollars during their playing days.

If those highly paid NFL players have trouble building wealth, what chance do the rest of us have? You might think the situation is hopeless, but that is far from the case. With the right approach and the proper attitude, even workers of modest means can build substantial wealth. Here are five ways to beat the odds and come out on the winning end of the wealth creation spectrum.

#1. Wait Until You Are Rich Before Acting Like You Are

It is tempting to act like you are rich, and the desire to "fake it until you make it" is powerful. Even so, living beyond your means and acting like you are rich before you are is dangerous.

There will be plenty of time to live it up once you accumulate your wealth, so ramp down your expectations, live within your means, and build wealth for the future. There is no need to show off your nonexistent wealth, so focus on saving and investing your money instead.

#2. Focus on Saving, Not Just Earning

At the end of the day, it is not how much you earn but how much you keep and how much you can save. Focusing on your paycheck alone will not make you rich, but learning to save and invest early can help you create generational wealth. 

Given the time and the inclination, even those earning modest paychecks can accumulate substantial nest eggs. Conversely, even the highest earners will end up broke if they continually spend more than they make.

#3. Pay Yourself First

Adopting a pay-yourself-first strategy is one way to build wealth for the future and set yourself up for success. The pay-yourself-first model provides several unique but interrelated benefits; adopting it is a crucial prerequisite for building wealth.

The beauty of the pay-yourself-first model is it forces you to live below your means. By treating your savings and investing as just another bill to be paid, you force yourself to live on less than you make. Whether you pay yourself 10% of your earnings or start with just 1%, you are creating a habit that will last a lifetime.

The pay-yourself-first model also creates the consistency that is key to building wealth. Once you adopt this powerful model, you will invest month after month and year after year, no matter what the market is doing.

#4. Invest Consistently and Do Not Try to Time the Market

It is tempting to time the market, but it is also nearly impossible to do. If it were easy to time the highs and lows of the stock market, every investment advisor would be rich, and every broker would have their own private island.

If you attempt to time the market's ups and downs, you need to be right not once but twice. You need to call the top of the market but also know when to get back in. This type of timing is nearly impossible, and investing consistently makes far more sense.

If you invest consistently and adopt the pay-yourself-first model, you benefit from the ups and downs of the stock market. When the market takes a tumble, your money goes further and buys more shares. When stocks are soaring, the same amount buys fewer shares. This dollar cost averaging is a powerful tool, especially when you are investing over several decades.

#5. Give Your Kids the Tools They Need for Success

If you have a family, you want to give your kids the best of everything, but the best gift you can give them is your knowledge. Setting your kids up for success will give them the tools they need to live independently, and that is good for your finances and theirs.

It can be tempting to give your kids everything they want and bail them out when they get in trouble, but these financial crutches could actually cripple your children. If you want to build wealth and give your kids a gift, teach them to stand on their own - and pass on the financial lessons you have learned along the way.

Building wealth for the future is not an easy thing to do. If wealth creation was easy, everyone would do it, and everyone you know would be rich. If you want to beat the odds, you need to take a different approach, and the five tips listed above can help you get started.