Rich Thoughts, Poor Thoughts

In Happily Wealthy Family (1), I introduced 8 good reasons why it is better to be a rich parent. Today, let us go through what most people think that keeps them poor. These are powerful beliefs, yet they seem to be cosmic laws to most people, which is why most people are indeed poor.

Many people, when I talk to them about making money and being rich, come up with good “reasons” why they do not need to be rich. They tell themselves that rich people are sad, miserable, stingy and, most commonly, corrupt, and they do not want to be rich to avoid fitting these descriptions.

These beliefs were made up by poor people looking for ways to feel good about not having enough money or the skills to get it.

Most people, when they cannot get what they want, try to downplay their desire and give themselves reasons for not getting it. For example, if I worked hard to have a huge party for my daughter and I did not have enough money, I would say to myself, “A small party is good enough”, “Kids can have fun even if there are only 10 friends invited”, “I love my daughter even if the party is small” and many other comforting thoughts that would help me come to terms with what I see as the inevitable reality – I cannot afford a big party.

This is the same about having money for anything else. We want money to afford food, go out, put our kids in the best school, take vacations, have hobbies, pay all our bills in full on time and many more things that we think will make us happy. When we do not have enough, we come up with ways to downplay our desires and “learn to make do with less”.

Here are examples of some of the stories that people come up with in order to comfort themselves for not having money. It is amazing that when I ask them about the origins of their beliefs, most of them have never met a rich person, but their parents have told them or they have seen it on TV or in movies.

When you examine your thoughts about money and wealth or about rich people, ask yourself where your belief has come from, because you just might be trapped in a belief that is not yours and you do not have any personal supporting evidence for.

Poor people’s thoughts about wealth

1. There is not enough money in the world for everyone, so if I have more money, others will have less
2. Some people are just lucky and some are not (and I’m not)
3. If you want to be rich, you need to be born rich
4. Rich people get rich because they are stingy and save every penny
5. Rich people only care about themselves
6. Rich people have bad relationships because money is more important to them than other people
7. Rich people do not have families, so they have more time to make money
8. “Money is the source of all evil”
9. Making money is too hard
10. With money come worries. Rich people do not sleep well at night
11. Rich people are arrogant
12. Rich people think they can do anything they want with their money
13. You have to start early, if you want to be rich, so it is too late for me to start now
14. Rich people made their money in illegal or dishonest ways

There are hundreds of thoughts about wealth and money that poor people adopt to feel better about their situation. Every time you say something bad about being wealthy to yourself or to others, you take another step away from the World Bank.

Imagine that you choose (note the word “choose”) to take the journey to your World Bank to claim your 3 million dollars. Every time you learn a new skill, adopt a new positive belief about money, embrace a new attitude towards finance and wealth, every time you take action towards your goals, you go forward and get closer. Every time you justify or even mention your lack of money, you go backwards.

Rich people’s beliefs about wealth

As you go through the list of beliefs below, remember to look for evidence from your personal experience and knowledge that each belief is true. If you noticed your mind going, “This is not true”, stop and remind yourself you are acquiring a new belief that will do you a lot of good, then change direction and find evidence to support that new belief.

1. There is enough money in the world (in fact 3 million dollars for each of us)
2. “Luck” is an invention of poor people. Success after years of hard work has nothing to do with luck
3. Most wealthy people in the world were born poor
4. All the charities in the world are sponsored by rich people and what they give is way more than what all the poor people give combined
5. If rich people only cared about themselves, they would not be employing all the poor people and supporting whole towns and large numbers of families
6. Rich people do not divorce more than poor people, but when they do, they can do it more comfortably
7. All rich people in the world have families that supported them when they were not so wealthy. To make time for their families, rich people can afford to delegate work to others
8. Money makes us more of what we already are. If we are good, we will do more good things with our money, making it the source of a lot of good
9. When you succeed after working hard for your money, you will also enjoy a great sense of achievement
10. Rich people have fewer worries. They do not worry about paying their bills, about making payments, about the price of groceries or the cost of their holidays. Even when they find out they have forgotten to take something with them, they just go and buy another one instead of fretting
11. Rich people are proud and confident because they have worked hard and succeeded. It only makes sense for them to prefer the company of other successful people, who share their values and beliefs about money…
12. Rich people know they cannot buy love. They know they cannot buy confidence or health (although they can use their money to getter better medical service). At the same time, rich people know they can do a lot with their money
13. Wealth is a state of mind and it is never too late to start. Some successful people started their career very late in life when they were grandparents. You can too. In fact, the time to start is always right now!
14. Governments know very well the value of rich people to the economy and provide legal encouragements for them to employ staff and invest locally. Rich people take advantage of the provisions of the law to reduce their taxes and keep more money. On the other hand, governments supervise the rich more closely. This is why rich people employ accountants and lawyers to ensure their business is legal

Remember, if you use the mindset of a wealthy person, you go forward. If you use a poor person’s mentality, you go backwards.

Join me next week for a better understanding of the World Bank.

Blessings of health, wealth and happiness,
Ronit