IS THERE A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN RICH AND POOR MINDSET? Do you want to think like a millionaire? The best way to start a coaching session is by asking the client to give me their definition of wealth. My next question is, are you living it? When you look around you, can you see the life that you desire? Very often they say no – actually, I can’t. They also often say yes, but during the session it somehow emerges that they want more.
So what is stopping them?
Let’s see. Please write down your definition of wealth.
Ready? Excellent.
What about your definition of poor? What does “poor” mean to you – is it being without money? Like Oliver Twist? There are other kinds of poverty, though. In this very interesting video, Dan Lok is discussing 7 types of poor people: poor in spirit, in love (especially self-love), in wisdom, in character (lacking integrity), in habits; poor in attitude, and the last one he mentions is people poor in finance. When I watched this, I could recognise all these types – but I believe that the first six actually lead to number seven. At least one, if not more, is usually blocking my clients from achieving success.
First thing is always acknowledging it. But hey, why should you listen to me in the first place? Because I’ve worked with many successful people in my life. Executives, football coaches, chefs, entrepreneurs and yes, even millionaires (they need to learn English too, you know). This is part of their self-development. I’ve also taught many not-so-wealthy people, and I come from a poor family. Having seen both sides, I believe I’m qualified enough to offer my two cents in this matter. WARNING: don’t take this too seriously and get offended. We’re her for education and entertainment.
1. Dreams versus goals
Rich people have goals and they have mastered the art of goal setting. They have them for today, this week, the whole month; for the next 12 months; all the way to five, ten, and twenty years from now. It’s hard to get motivated when we don’t have a clear idea of where we are going. Like a car without a GPS, we’ll end up wasting petrol (our resources) and ending up hopeless and desperate. After hitting the first objective, they set another, and another. No time to rest! If you want to know more about goals, read this. Poor mindset people have either no goals, or have very small ones, such as making it to the end of the month without borrowing money, or going on a tropical holiday. They live day to day, or maybe just dream about the couch and dinner after a hard day at work. I do, too. Mind you, I’m not rich. Maybe I should start dreaming bigger!
2. Just do it
The rich do everything as soon as possible. They often do the hardest thing first, just to get it out of the way. I love listening to Marisa Peer, and she’s a big advocate of doing what you hate as the first thing in the morning – it’ll make you feel successful. Give you that sense of achievement. The poor, on the other hand, delay everything. It’s easier to do it later… or tomorrow… Or never. They keep putting off quitting a job they hate, making a life-changing phone call, starting to work out, filming the first video… Our Higher Self constantly gives us little nudges towards our true calling, towards something that would bring us to true wealth and happiness.
3. Book worms
The wealthy read a lot. When Lamborghini said they don’t run ads on TV because they’re target audience doesn’t watch it… Well, we got the picture. People with Lambos watch educational videos on YouTube, listen to podcasts, or read something that’ll either give them valuable information or inspire them. They keep learning and perfecting their skills (like the millionaire learning English I mentioned above). The poor mindset folk prefers entertainment. While it’s totally ok to unwind with Netflix, watch some funny cat videos etc. this shouldn’t take up all the free time there is!
4. Making money work
People who live in abundance don’t trade time for money, they create passive income. Why they got so wealthy in the first place is that they learned to invest, and taught their money how to multiply. There are different types of income: earned income, business income, and investment income. The first is the worst, as this one is also most heavily taxed, while business tax gets paid after, not before, the expenses. When it comes to investment, Albert Einstein called compound interest the eighth wonder of the world, and people like Warren Buffett have become multi-millionaires by investing in index funds. Money should work for you, not the other way round – but the poor don’t think about that. They let their money sit on the savings account, get eroded by inflation, and avoid anything to do with investing because “it’s too complicated” and they “don’t know where to start”.
5. Smart spenders
Rich people spend in the right place, at the right time, and in the right amount. They have adopted a business mindset around everything: for example, buying a fixer-upper instead of a villa, investing in renovations, and selling it at a profit. They often buy to sell, and increase wealth. It’s not that they don’t buy flashy things – of course they do. But raising the standards also increases motivation. Living the life of luxury is a thing, but the rich only do that once they can afford it. Until then, they avoid lifestyle creep and keep a low profile. We’ve all seen Mark Zuckerberg and Steve Jobs in the same old pair of jeans time and time again. Things don’t have to cost an arm and a leg to be valuable. Poor people, on the other hand, get into debt over trivial things like cars, bags, and expensive gadgets. They need to prove it to the world that they’ve “made it” by getting flashy things
6. Opportunity or disaster?
Those who are financially blessed (if I may say so) see opportunity everywhere. It’s not an accident that they say, “in every crisis there’s an opportunity.” Even now, at these strange times when countries wind in and out of lockdowns, people are becoming millionaires, or even billionaires, every day. It’s not that they find and opportunity – they have tuned all their senses to notice one when it comes around, and it evidently will because our reticular activating system works wonders. But if we only see gloom and doom, opportunities also go unnoticed. The not-so-blessed see only problems, rarely seek solutions, and prefer just to complain. Basically.
7. You’re the average of…
…the five people you spend most time with. But did you know that also our income is the average of these five people? The rich surround themselves with the right people. People who motivate and inspire, who have achieved a lot and lead through example. Oftentimes these inspirational people are also very wealthy, but what matters is the mindset. I think that we oftentimes misunderstand this idea and abandon those who truly care about us because we’re so blinded by chasing success. That’s why I said the right people. The poor unfortunately communicate with other poor people – not just financially, but in any of the seven categories Dan Lok discusses above. You end up getting so sucked in to negativity, drama, nay-saying, neediness etc. that there’s no time to set lofty goals. Besides, one of those five people will definitely throw a wet towel over you and extinguish the flame in the early stages.
Whoa! I once did a training with a great Russian-born psychologist and family therapist called Natalia Kobylkina on this subject. Some of the points above are taken from her, others are just a result of observation – but when it first hit me that I’d been thinking the wrong way along and missed out on so much, it really hit home. If I’d known this ten years ago, I’d be a millionaire by now… Alas, I need to wait for a few more years now. Bottom line: the earlier we learn to distinguish between the two mindsets and consciously cultivate the wealthy mindset, the earlier we achieve financial freedom.
I hope that 2021 will be a year or awakening, success, and great happiness!