“Do as I Do, Not as I Say…”
Have you ever noticed how wealthy people don’t often show their cards? Even up to the last minute when things have taken a turn for the worst, they still play the game, and act as if they are on top of the world. This is because they know things can turn around. This is because they are prepared to take risks. This is because they know the secret that most poor people aren’t aware of yet.
So, what’s the secret?
Mastering life – is all about your mindset. If you have the right mindset, you are guaranteed to already be on the right track. Master your mindset, and you will master your life, one step at a time.
We’ve all heard the saying ‘actions speak louder than words’, and when it comes to wealthy people this is great to keep in mind, as often what they tell you to do, is not what they would do for themselves. Why? Because they know the game, and they know that this gives them the upper hand. The difference between poor people and rich people is that rich people don’t trade their time for money. Rich people get their money to work for them, and then they don’t have to work very hard at it anymore, as once the ball is rolling, the opportunities keep flowing their way. Which comes back to that important secret – mindset.
If your idea of a poor person is simply someone that lives on the street, or doesn’t have enough food to eat, then you are half right. But in reality, middle class people who live their lives to work and survive, while saving their nest egg for old age, are indeed poor people. They might have a good-looking house, and see themselves as being above the beggar on the street, but as far as mindset goes, the only thing that separates them from the poor is that they are wearing more expensive shoes.
Make no mistake, people who live to pay their mortgage and have a roof over their head until they die, are the working poor. These folks will never know real money, even though they follow all of the guidance that rich people give them, in desperation to be more like them – without even coming close.
Have we got your attention yet?
Ok, now that you are awake, let’s have some real talk about all those things that rich people tell you to do, and why you should do the opposite.
The truth is that instead of doing what rich people tell you to do, you need to study them and watch what they do, because herein lies the real key to finding your own financial success and shifting your life into a higher gear. So here is our ‘anti-list’ of what not to do, based on what rich people will usually tell you to do:
Don’t Save Your Money
Most of us have been indoctrinated into the belief system that saving our money is the best thing we can do with it. However, rich people don’t do this. Why? Because they know that banks don’t reward you for leaving your money with them. In fact, in some countries, such as Germany, savings accounts get zero interest and you have to pay the bank to look after your money, so by ‘saving’ your money, you are actually spending it on the bank managers yearly bonus.
Rich people take risks, by putting their money into investments and gaining assets that give them a good return on their money.
Don’t Reduce Spending
Common sense might suggest that if you don’t have much money, reduce your spending so you can save what little you have, for your nest egg. But this whole mindset is one of fear and lack, and that has a vibe that people can sense from a mile off. In business, once you start crying poor, people will usually run the other way, then opportunities will start to dry up because nobody wants to put their business into something that is going down.
A story comes to mind of an art gallery owner that was in financial dire straits, but instead of closing the doors, she invested the little money that she had, into a lavish new exhibition opening night. She invited all of her wealthiest clients, as well as all of her friends (to fill the hall), hired a caterer and pulled out all the stops. She took a calculated risk and sold thousands of dollars of art that night, which turned things around and put her back on the road to success.
Don’t Get Out of Debt
Depending on your mindset, being in debt can be a nerve-wracking white-knuckle exercise, or an opportunity. The rich don’t work for their money, they get a loan to invest in projects and opportunities, so they can turn it into more money. They understand that it is not about being in debt that is the problem, it is about what you are indebted to. If your debt is one that depreciates over time, then it’s a bad debt. A good debt is one that is going to produce results that could lead to financial gains.
Don’t Go Back to School
From an early age we are sold the idea that we need to go to university and get more educated to make money, but this is probably one of the worst lies of all. Who does it benefit? The wealthy who are heavily invested in educational institutions/student loans that you will spend the rest of your life paying off. It may have worked for people 80 years ago, but it is certainly not what is working for people now. Talk to many of the people working a miserable dead-end job and there is a good chance that they have a degree or two, and it didn’t help them. As we have said before, an education is not going to help you if you have the wrong mindset.
Take a look at the background of the richest entrepreneurs in the world today, and you will see that many of them did not even get an education. They found something that they liked doing, or were good at, and they focussed on that, learning and practicing it until they became experts, and that is how they made their money.
Don’t Get a Job
This kind of goes hand in hand with the point above. Don’t go to school and don’t get a job if you want to be rich. Having a job does not make you rich, investing your money is where real money comes from – ask any rich person. Often people will tell someone who is struggling financially to just get a job, or get a second job, but this is for people who are afraid to take risks. This is not how rich people play the game as they only work towards opportunities for themselves, not to lose their soul, day in and day out while they make other people rich. Work on your own goals. Work on yourself. Your time is the best resource you have, so use it on investing in yourself.
Don’t Diversify
Another great fallacy that rich people tell poor people is to diversify their investments by spreading it around into lots of different areas. But they don’t do that themselves. The most successful people use a model where they put all their money and focus on one thing, and keep working at it until it pays off. Author Og Mandino, who wrote the best-selling book The Greatest Salesman in the World, selling over 50 million copies, has a simple message for success. “It is those who concentrate on but one thing at a time who advance in this world.”
Don’t Take Holidays
While there are many other things that rich people tell you that are not helpful, we will finish up with this as it is one of the most important. Often poor people are told to take holidays, because of course, ‘you are worth it’, and while this part may be true, rich people take it up a notch. Rich people take holidays while they are working, and they call it a business trip, so they don’t have to pay for it. Then while they are on their holiday, they are always on the look-out for another opportunity where they can make more money from it. Middle class Julie Bloggs that works to pay off the mortgage while she saves for that big trip around the world that she is going to do some day, is never going to get rich, because she hasn’t realised how to play the game. Change your mindset and you will change the game. Rather than life playing you, you will be playing life, and living the life of your dreams, rather than the life that somebody else tells you that you should be living.