Before you begin to read this, I’d like you to consider this old saying: “When the student is ready, the teacher will appear.” I mention this because if you’re not ready to recognize the significance of what follows, the concept will soar right over your head, as it did to me for so many years. I’ve seen it, I’ve read it, I’ve heard about it. But it didn’t mean anything. Maybe I had more lessons to learn first, or maybe the concept was so simple that I just didn’t see it. Regardless, I see it now, and I hope you are ready to see it too, because when you embrace it, it will change your life.
There is a reason why “the rich get richer and the poor get poorer”. It’s not because of a disparity or unfairness in society, and it’s not just luck. It’s not limited government, and it’s not more government. There is really only one reason that rich people tend to increase their wealth and poor people don’t. It’s because successful people take advantage of a principle (whether they know it or not) that eludes the “unsuccessful”. The principle is this:
You become what you think about.
Roman emporor Marcus Aurelius put it this way: “A man’s life are what his thoughts make of it.” Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “A man is what he thinks about all day long.” William James wrote, “The greatest discovery of my generation is that human beings can alter their lives by altering their attitudes of mind.”
The Hidden Secret
Throughout recorded history, this is the hidden, unseen thread that connects the lessons of all the great teachers and wise men who have ever lived, from Plato and Aristotle to the modern-day teachings of P.D. James, Norman Vincent Peale, Claude Bristol, and countless others.
You become what you think about.
Those six words are the most powerful combination in the English language; the most powerful, profound truth in history. James Allen wrote, “All that a man achieves and all that he fails to achieve is the result of his own thoughts.”That thought is the reason that goal-setting works, if you do it correctly. It is the basis for the intention-manifestation model, the law of attraction. It is the hidden thread that binds all personal development teaching together. Sure, there are details that make the idea more or less successful in our experience. But the underlying principle is all there is.
So this is the real reason why the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. But it’s also the reason behind why some poor get rich, and some rich turn poor. The rich who stay rich, and the poor who manifest riches, do so because they’ve thought about themselves in that way. The less well-off stay that way becuase that’s the way they think. It’s as simple as that. It’s as profound as that.
Your Thoughts Determine Your Experience
I’d really like you to understand the power of your thoughts. Your thoughts determine your experience in life. Your thoughts determine whether you are wealthy or not, physically fit or not, happy, lovable, and pleasant or sad, hateful and dour. Your thoughts are what make you you. It’s not your outside circumstances, or your physical talents. It is only your thought.
So learn to guide your thoughts. Learn to focus on those things that you want and to guide yourself away from thinking about the things that you don’t want. Learn to put your desires in positive terms, rather than the negatives of what you don’t want. In other words, instead of thinking of losing weight, think of being slim. Of being prosperous instead of getting out of debt.
It will take work; it probably won’t come overnight. Then again, if you are good at guiding your mind effectively, there’s no reason why it won’t happen overnight. Your thoughts will determine that.
Search And Learn
Don’t take my word for any of this, please. Do your own research; look for your own answers. This secret-which-isn’t-a-secret is out there wherever you look, if you will only look for it. It may be some other explanation that brings you to clarity. By all means, go looking for it. Seek the knowledge in the sure expectation of receiving it, and you will find it.
“Ask, and it shall be given you. Seek, and ye shall find. Knock, and it shall be opened unto you. For every one that asketh, receiveth. And he that seeketh, findeth. And to him that knocketh, it shall be opened.”
—From Jesus’ Sermon On The Mount
Earl Nightingale, in The Strangest Secret, said,
“…It’s as marvelous, and as simple as that. In fact, it’s so simple that in our seemingly complicated world it’s difficult for an adult to understand that all he needs is a purpose, and faith.”
Don’t mistake simplicity for simplistic.
This is very true. I’m glad to hear not everyone is jumping on the “blame someone else” bandwagon. Poor people are not always victims of the evil government and stuck in their situation no matter what they do. If they focus on what they want to achieve they can improve their circumstances. It happens all the time. Studies show that poor are not destined to stay that way forever.
http://strobiesworld.blogspot.com/2006/02/poor-get-richer-and-rich-get-poorer.html
You sound like proud the owner of “The Secret” Dvd!
If not, you have a similar, and fantastic message.
Ever since I’ve started following along with the law of attraction I have never been happier.
Cheers on ya mate. Spread the word!
James, thanks for visiting and contributing.
I do have ‘The Secret’, and it definitely expanded my thinking. What it really did, though, is open my eyes to the common message in most good self-help books.
Thoughts become things.
I have lived with this philosophy faithful since my 20th birthday when my first husband broke 2 of my ribs. Went through a divorce, married again 2 years later to a recovered alcoholic (7 years sober) — After all we aren’t supposed to hold someone’s past against them, right? We had a child and around the child’s first birthday my husband drank again and starting beating me up. I left and divorced him – Had to move 14 hours away to protect our child from him. I have worked hard all my life to make more money, but my son’s emotional problems due to his father then rejecting him have caused hospital and drug rehab bills into the 10’s of thousands of dollars. The more I make and ruin my health the more that the government and doctors take.(I’m now age 50 and in poor health from working so hard) — So where was the benefit in thinking positive and not staying down and based on the sliding fee scales for my son’s treatment — If I had worked less and earned less I still would be in the same place I am now. Can someone answer that one?
Hi Karen,
I actually came to this blog this morning because I had a thought about running your own race and searched and found this blog and happened upon this post while going thru the blog- so I’d like to go ahead and answer you question since Law of Attraction what I do..First thing is I’ve been raped TWICE and had a boyfriend who use to beat me till I thought I’d die, I have two kids and was left with both of them while I was pregnant – I’m saying this first to say that I’m answering your question based on the fact that I’ve been thru situations in my life too- But that was the past and this is now..If you were to ask anyone who has met me- And you told them this information they would be in wonder because when you meet me and you talk to me you would never think that I’ve been thru so much before age 30 but as is said that is called SO WHAT…you ask anyone they can recount their life and tell you how bad it’s been and then the answer is SO WHAT DO YOU DO NEXT..
Now back to your question about thinking positive- You haven’t really been thinking positive because based on your post- You are thinking only of the bad things that have happened to you and your life in the past years. I’m gonna go out on a limb and say You like playing victim because then tons of people will hear your story about how you’ve always had the short end of the stick- Being positive and thinking positive means feeling you had the better end of the bargin..
So you had two bad marrigages, So your son needs treatment, So you have failing health- What do you do next..You can either keep focusing on that or you can focus on the fact that You must be strong- or you couldnt have worked all those hours, You must be strong or you couldn’t have left those realtionships, You must be strong or you couldn’t be there for your song, You must be strong or You wouldn’t be here- Start focusing on the good things in your life- Start listening to that inner voice that says I’M MEANT TO BE GREAT!. You know what- You can see, You can walk, You can eat, You have arms, You have legs- There are so many people who dont have any of these things who think man Karen is so lucky.. I read a story once where this lady’s son was dying and everyday she went in to the hospital and said Man you are looking better today you are getting better- She told the nurses to say the same thing.. That son got better and everyone who shared the room with him did too.. because all they heard were words of encouragement- Words that things were getting better. When you are around your son if you are getting better then he will too..If you start feeling happier then he will too..
If you still need me to answer your questions you can go to my website and send me an email http://www.breathingprosperity.com
Karen–
I’m saddened to learn of the tragedies in your life. I know several people who have endured events and circumstances that no one should have to go through, as I’m sure you do also. As hard as it is to accept, though, it’s necessary that you let go of the ‘victim’ mentality as Ophelia has said. It’s very difficult sometimes to stand up and say, “All right. However it happened, I brought this on myself–somehow, some way. The joy is that I can begin now to attract into my life events and circumstances that please me rather than pain me. I just have to learn how.”
That concept, that YOU, yourself, and no one else, have actually been directing your life all along, can be very intimidating. Most people resist it. But only when you come to grips with it and determine that today is truly the first day of the rest of your life can you move on.
Ophelia–
I’ve been struggling the last couple of days on how to respond to Karen. Thanks for coming forward with an empowering answer for her.
Steve-
Thanks so much for this post and the oppurtunity to respond to Karen. Thanks for the information you had in a November post so I could make a post on my blog- I sent a trackback to you. You can read the post at http://blog.breathingprosperity.com under Run Your Own Race!
If I could make an additional comment to Karen
Karen-
There is a book called Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl- I would be happy to forward you my copy. It’s about a guy who was in a concentration camp -In it he says that there were people who came to the camp and to them coming to the camp mean’t they were going to die and they did. There were others who came and it mean’t they had a story to tell to the world about thier experiences and in order to do that they needed to live- and they did live.
With my own life- When I was raped the first time- It mean’t to me that I wanted to die-I would walk out in the middle of the street at 3am hoping someone would be drunk and hit me and put me out of my misery.
When I was raped the second time- It mean’t I cannot live like this- Maybe this has happened because I am supposed to help young women realize that life isnt over and that you can move on.
When I experienced poverty- I would say don’t worry it’s because I’m going to write a book and noone wants to read a book about how great someone’s life was,they want to read a book about how you overcame all those horrible times to be the person you now are- It is not a coincidence that years later I have written my first book and 6 books are on the way.
When I was almost homeless- I would say maybe this is happening because I am supposed to help other women who are homeless- I forgot about all this till last year I read my email about homeless women with kids in my area and convinced my partners that we should open a foundation- The Wealthy Women Foundation to help homeless single moms with kids get back on thier feet.
I say all this to say that to you- Your experiences have a meaning in your mind and that is it’s ruined your life. You need to change the meaning- Go volunteer at a local shelter, a local hospital- There are women out there who want to hear that they can leave these situations of abuse. There are women who feel that these men will take thier lives- They want to hear a woman say You can get out..You can leave..You don’t have to put up with it because I didn’t- Go give these women hope and as you give these women the gift of hope you will begin to realize that you had HOPE all along – Because you cannot give what you do not have and as you change the meaning of these events from one of they have ruined my life to one of I am a beacon of hope to many women-You change your life..
Ophelia, you’re welcome for all. I’m glad you have something to offer Karen and others who are face-to-face with adversity.
When one emerges on the other side of a bad situation with a renewed passion for life and for helping people, it inspires all of us. It shows us that we are truly more than ourselves alone.
Thank you for sharing.
Get real. The simple facts why the rich get richer and the poor get poorer are nothing to do with your ridiculious theory. Its mathmatics. 1% of a billion far exceeds underlying infaltion thus a solid profit is returned. Compound this and massive returns are made. 1% of $10,000 results in a net loss no matter what era you look at as the underlying rate of inflation will exceed the profit thus a loss will be returned. If we get more technical and look at barriers to entry such as investment costs, which are cheaper for the wealthy as well as been able to borrow money at lower interest rates, which is also cheaper for the wealthy the gap widen even more and thus explains the correct reason for why the rich get richer and the poor get poorer.
I find it unbelievebale people like you get a DVD like ‘The Secret’ and start putting it out there about things that you dont undrstand such as finance. In a few years you will remember all this junk your into now and laugh. Thats fine but you shouldn’t go around making your opinions a topic of conversation unless you truly understand what you are talking about, on this topic you most deffinatly don’t.
Karen:- Dont let these people and there lack of realism affect you. This is the truth:- You did the best you could and unfourtunatly this is the card you were dealt. I know if you were born to billionarie parents you would have never had such problems or ended up in the situation you are in. Best of luck to you in the future.
And to the other idiots out there believing in this ‘Secret’ garbage you should now see the damage you can do to others with your thoughtless and incorrect opions and comments.
One other point if you believe in this ‘The Secret’ sprituality and everything how come all the things you ask for are material gains. Doesn’t sound very hamonious to me.
Peter, Peter.
Mathematics has little to do with finance in the way that you’re suggesting. If inflation is at 5%, the amount of money that percentage applies to makes no difference. If you lose 4% of $10K, you’ve lost $400–if you’ve lost 4% of $1B, you’ve lost $40M. I’d call that a pretty severe net loss, wouldn’t you?
The simple fact of the matter, Peter, is that people become wealthy every day. You’ve only to look around you to see this. Look with open eyes, I mean.
I beg to differ with you a little about the billionaire parents and not ending up in bad situations. I’m sure you know the name Paris Hilton.
What saddens me about your beliefs on this matter is that your level of cynicism is preventing you from opening your eyes to truth. The truth is that <strong>there is no reality.</strong> Your reality is what you decide it to be. Your glass is either half full, or half empty–whichever you decide.
Reality is that if you think in a particular way and behave in a particular way, you can achieve whatever it is you want. There are too many examples of this to believe otherwise.
‘Luck’, my friend, is for the dreamers and the rudderless. Luck has nothing to do with success–in anything. Success and wealth come from belief in yourself, devotion to your purpose, and massive action toward the attainment of that purpose, Nothing more, nothing less.
Different part of the world offer different interest rates for different terms and different amounts. Where I am from you will receive a maximum of around 7% for a deposit of $10,000 over 12 month. Profit equals $700. 7% is only a point or so above the current rate of inflation and only slightly above the interbank cash rate. For a deposit of $100 million over 12 months you will receive around a maximum of 12.5%. Profit equals $12,500,000. Not very close when you use the correct math and terms is it?
Now let’s go a little deeper. Not only does a person with $10k have very limited investment opportunities the barriers to entry are much larger. Someone with $10,000 does not have enough to purchase a home; they don’t even have an enough for a deposit on a flat while someone with $100 million could seriously look at doing some property development. Next stocks. The person with $10k wants to buy a parcel of shares, well the entry cost for that person will be around $25 each side of the trade if they use a discount broker while the person with $100 million will have zero cost as he will receive all the service for free and then some as companies will want to keep his business and acquaintance. The individual with $10k will also not be able to diversify in a pertinent manner and thus is taking as much larger risk for a much lower potential return than the individual with $100 million. The risk to reward ratio is much higher for the individual with less money and thus more of them (people with low funding) will fail in achieving their financial goals.
There is also the lack of differing investment for an individual with lesser funds. Many investment instruments are only open to people with over $1 million. Hedge funds are a market when this has changed in the last few years but is still not open to all. Generally a hedge fund has a 1 million dollar investment minimum and that’s for the cheap ones. Let alone that fact that the poorer in our society could never afford the education or the finance to develop the next big thing such as a drug or development. We could go into this in much greater detail but I hope you understand my point now.
Now to your Paris Hilton and the Hilton family reference. Well Steve I don’t know them so I cannot comment on if they are in a good or bad situation. See Steve this is your problem, you believe you know it all because someone else told you some theories in a DVD or a book you read. I am quite confident that you don’t know the Hilton’s either but you use them like an example as if you know them. It’s the same with the way you constantly quote things from others instead of been a free thinker and coming up with your own thoughts and sayings. Quoting things like a parrot does not make you intelligent. I can also tell you that if a poor person had gone to jail like Paris Hilton she or he would have to worry about rape and all sort of other horrendous crimes, they would simply have to focus on making it out in one piece while Paris Hilton enjoyed her own cell and guards as well as also been released for a short period by knowing the right contacts. I wonder if those same contacts could help with investments by lobbing the right police chief or politician. We all know that they would.
Steve I live in reality, my eyes are wide open. You however sir, are presently intoxicated by con artists. Do some research into some of the people on the secret video and you will find this for yourself. The best guy to check out is the finance guy on the video; he is a known con artist. There have even been shows where people have hunted him down to get their money back from financial scams he has run over the years.
I used the word ‘luck’ simply as a comment to a stranger to hopefully make them feel a little better after they have been told by you, that they are responsible for all the bad in their life. You then took that comment over analyzed it and once again quoted someone else. Think for yourself Steve, you should be trying to learn from life not live in the fantasy world of others.
I have personally made my wealth from nothing and find your comment / advice about how to make wealth and success quite comical. Once again you are assuming you know things that you don’t. Isn’t it funny that I am the comfortable one and you’re giving me advice? This seems to be a familiar theme for you Steve.
Steve, I know that you truly believe what you are saying and that you mean no harm by what you say the problem is that what you say can harm people, words are weapons after all. By your theory all the people that are starving in Africa are responsible for their hunger as their thoughts are not correct. People with cancer are responsible for their cancer as their thoughts are not correct. All the people dying in Iraq are responsible for that as their thoughts are not correct. Do you not see how ridiculous your theory that was taught to you by con artists is?
Oh, by the way I forgot to mention compounding at the beginning when I talked about interest rates. If the returns on the investment are re-invested this is what will occur over a 10 year period at 7% interest:-
For $10,000, 1st yr $10,700,2nd yr $11,449, 3rd yr $12,250.43, 4th yr $13,107.96, 5th yr $14,025.52, 6th yr $15,007.30, 7th yr $16,057.81, 8th yr $17,181.86, 9th yr $18,384.59, 10th yr $19,671.51
So in 10 year and not allowing for inflation that will generate a grand total profit of $9,671.51. Not really a sum of money that you can do a lot with. Maybe buy a very cheap car or go on a cheap holiday but it’s hardly a life changing amount of money.
Now we will look at the same scenario for the person with $100 million and 12.5% intrest:-
For $100 Million, 1st yr $112,500,000, 2nd yr $120,375,000, 3rd Yr $128,801,250, 4th yr $137,817,337, 5th yr $147,464,551, 6th yr $157,787,069, 7th yr 168,832,164, 8th yr 180,650,416, 9th yr 193,295,945, 10th yr $206,826,661
So in this instance a grand total profit of $106,826,661 is generated also not allowing for inflation. Now think of what can be done with that amount of money. You can now start another business and thus create more wealth. You develop new products to create new wealth streams that haven’t even been thought of yet as you now have funding to follow your ideas through to conception. You could develop land for new housing estates and thus generate more wealth. My point is that with large sums of money the possibilities are relatively limitless whereas with small sums the possibilities are to a certain extent very limited.
That is the reason the rich get richer and the poor get poorer.
Peter, it is evident that you wish to debunk the concept that people are responsible for their lives.
I’ve not been taught anything by ‘con artists’ — unless you consider the likes of Napoleon Hill, James Allen, Wallace Wattles, Dale Carnegie, Earl Nightingale, Tony Robbins, Brian Tracy, Benjamin Franklin and so many others ‘con artists’.
I don’t buy into all the precepts of The Secret, nor do I advocate that anyone should. I believe what I believe because I have seen ample evidence of it. I believe you should take what you can use from anyone you pay attention to, and discard the rest.
If you choose to believe that whatever YOU have accomplished in your life is solely due to accident or luck, that is your prerogative. I, however, don’t choose to entertain that notion.
I have learned from life, Peter. I’ve learned that when I’ve failed or fallen, it’s been due to my thinking and actions (or lack thereof), not from outside circumstance or luck. I’ve been far higher on the plane of wealth than I am at present. I’ve made buttloads of money and had more than one (temporarily) successful businesses. I’ve had more than one job where I made over $100K a year. That I’m not doing that now is not anyone’s choice other than mine.
You could develop land for housing estates and lose most of your investment when a housing crunch hits. You could be fabulously wealthy and lose everything in a dot com bomb. You could leverage yourself to the hilt and lose most of it in an economical slump.
You could, on the other hand, take your $10K and start a computer company in your basement. You could take even less and build a data processing company and become a billionaire. You could build a marketing business on a shoestring and generate hundreds of thousands of dollars per year.
People don’t get enormously wealthy because they have capital. They build their capital by their actions and decisions and use that capital to multiply (or diminish) their wealth.
There is constant movement between the rich class and the poor class. A poor person doesn’t become rich because of chance, but because of their decisions and actions. A rich person becomes poor because of their decisions and actions.
No more, no less.
“I’ve made buttloads of money and had more than one (temporarily) successful businesses. I’ve had more than one job where I made over $100K a year.” this is a quote from Steve. I don’t real understand the reference to ‘more than one business (Temporarily)’ in the above statement you made, I also didn’t think you would want to turn this into a how much you or I have contest because to be quite honest with you I think $100k a year is not that good. A person making a $100K is a person who is at the top level of the poor people (by western standards), they believe they have a lot be really are still a pawn in the bigger picture.
Yes, I do consider the like of Tony Robbins and the other people you mentioned to be con artist. They prey on weak minded people who are not in control of their own psychology and fill them full of miss-information. Tony Robbins was writing books and courses on how to have successful marriage while he was going through a divorce, he has had 2 failed marriages. He also teaches about weight loss while all the time pilling on weight himself. This self help garbage is simply are marketing ploy. If you are too foolish to see this well there is simply no hope for you. It nothing more than another form of televangelism. The only people making money out of self help are the Guru’s that you worship. They have sold millions of courses, so if this stuff really worked wouldn’t we be walking around bumping into billionaires every day? I say this as I am sure that a large majority of the attendees of these courses have that exact goal, yet none of them seem to make it.
My point was to simply make you realize that the notion that your thoughts control your wealth levels is simply not true. I agree that your thoughts are very important for all aspects of your life but to claim that if your thoughts are ‘good’ you will get material gain is ludicrous. I have been involved in money management for many decades and for someone to post on a website that the reason the rich get richer and the poor get poorer is their thoughts is just not true. Economics does not agree with you, neither do the facts.
Just to be clear I never said I believed all that I had achieved was by luck, far from it I think it came from study, patience, good psychology and hard work. The fact is that I was lucky enough to be born in a time and place where opportunities for wealth development were afforded to me is the biggest factor in my success. A peasant child in Africa hardly has the same opportunity, just as I hardly have the same opportunities as say Donald Trump Jr.
Luck plays a part, skill and intelligence plays a part, hard work plays, psychology plays a part but so does the means you were born into. The means you are born into are the most accurate indicator of future wealth. If you honestly believe that the means you were born into isn’t the biggest indicator of future wealth please name 5 billionaires that were not born into either billionaire families or millionaire families?, it cannot be done, every single last one of them was already wealthy before they were even conceived.
Steve you made the statement “I have learned from life, Peter. I’ve learned that when I’ve failed or fallen, it’s been due to my thinking and actions (or lack thereof), not from outside circumstance or luck.” This is generally true but you must have had times when it also wasn’t true. For example if your car breaks down on the way to an important meeting and ends up costing you a contract worth millions is that because of your thinking? I think not, in that case it was luck. On the other hand if you have a bad condition car and it requires a service which you don’t do then it breaks down is that luck? I think not, in that case it would be poor decision making by the owner of the car. Thinking in the correct manner is still very important however my point in this case is once again to show you that luck still plays a part no matter how much you tell yourself its all in your thinking.
In the end Steve I have rebutted every point you have made. I have also written many points down to which you have no answer and simply brush over and start talking about what you want to talk about. The title of these page is ‘Why The Rich Get Richer & The Poor Get Poorer’ I have shown that the biggest factor to this statement is the means you are born into, if you choose to burry your head in the sand and keep worshiping your guru’s by all means go ahead just keep in mind anybody with a reasonable amount of intelligence is listening to you thinking you are very gullible thus the best thing to do and what you should have done is simply not voice your opinion on a topic you really don’t have a clear understanding of. I will be waiting for my list of billionaires.
Peter, Peter.
That you do or do not have wealth doesn’t matter to me, other than if you do, I’m happy for you. If you weren’t born into it, then you achieved it by hard work and perseverance, which is laudable.
You can believe what you want to believe, you have that privilege, that right. If one belief system doesn’t work for you, try a different one. If what you believe is getting you where you want to be, that’s great.
Oh, by the way–on the Forbes magazine 2007 list of billionaires, 60% (over 550 on a list of 932) made their fortunes from scratch. That means they weren’t born into wealthy families. 45 people that were on the 2006 list aren’t on the 2007 list–meaning that in their cases, the rich didn’t get richer. 178 people are on the list that weren’t there last year. The rich don’t automagically get richer and the poor don’t always get poorer. What you attribute to luck I attribute to thought and action.
There are simply too many examples of people overcoming poverty by no other means than the power of their mind to subscribe to your belief system. Sorry.
Nothing you’ve said refutes the basic premise that people are where they are because of the way they use their minds and the actions they take.
OK Steve, you don’t want to open your eyes and see the truth, stick with thinking in the way you are and be completely closed to the fact that your ‘Thought’ theory could be wrong. Science, economics and common sense prove it wrong.
As many of your ‘Guru’ gods that you follow would have done you never named 5 individuals and instead glossed over the question with something from a magazine instead of doing some research for yourself. By this method you also make it very difficult for me to give you a rebuttal and thus prove you wrong again. This is a common tactic used by con-artists and generally manipulative people.
As for your Forbes list. Comments that may appear like that are purely the writers opinion and if researched are found to be incorrect. For example did you know Bill Gates was born into a very wealthy family? Most people believe he was self made. Donald Trump is another who was the son of a very wealthy developer. Warren Buffet was the son of a wealthy business man. The 3 individuals I have listed are all stated as been ‘self made’ on the Forbes list. I have already stated the fact that they were wealthy before they were conceived and this can be research very easily. If you do this research you once again will find that this is also correct and your information is incorrect. The means you are born into is the biggest indicator of future wealth.
In your opening statement of this page you write “You become what you think about.” now you have added in that it’s also the actions that you take. You are just blowing in the wind out there. You don’t even know your own point anymore do you? First it was thoughts, now it thoughts and actions next it will be thoughts, actions and the means (wealth) you are born into. Wouldn’t that be funny then we would be agreeing.
I have tried to share some facts with you and you and failed to give an accurate rebuttal to all of them and have also skipped over the majority of facts that I have giving you about why the rich get rich and the poor get poorer. You choose to be so closed minded to the clear facts, I cannot understand why you would do this, but never the less that is your right. Eventually you will realize that what you have been yelling to the world is incorrect. When this point comes how will you feel and what should you do about all the people you have miss-lead. You should not feel good. Give people facts so they can deal in truth and reality to the best of their knowledge and ability.
My, my.
Gates is self-made in the purest sense of the word. Did his parents own Microsoft? No. He and Paul Allen had a new idea, believed in it, and did something about it. Did Buffett’s parents own Berkshire Hathoway? Did the Trumpster just inherit daddy’s real estate?
Ok, here’s 5 names: Ray Kroc, Col. Harlan Sanders, Larry Ellison, Ross Perot, Sam Walton, Steven Chen, Chad Hurley, David Filo, Jerry Yang, Carlos Slim Helu.
Oh. I guess that’s 10. You want me to dig up more? LOL. If I were to move into the millionaire list rather than billionaires, I expect I could come up with more than that, yes? Or do millionaires count as wealthy?
The simple truth of why the rich get richer and the poor get poorer is because of the way they think. It’s not luck, and it’s not economics. Many people have lost it all only to gain it back again. Is that luck? No. It is the mindset of the wealthy. It is the same reason that most multi-millionaire lottery winners are soon broke again. Mindset. The way they think.
You’ve given figures on economics. Yes, of course it is true that the more capital you have control of, the faster your wealth accumulation can become. Duh.
Here’s a question for you — why do you think that inherent wealth is the biggest indicator for future wealth?
Gates’ parents didn’t inject millions of dollars into Microsoft, or hundreds of thousands, or even tens of thousands. Gates’ parents, nor Paul Allen’s parents, weren’t billionaires. The Donald didn’t recieve a huge cash infusion from Donald Sr. Warren Buffett didn’t use daddy’s money to get into the stock market. What then is the answer?
So if the availability of capital isn’t the reason those people became wealthier than they were, what is it?
BTW, “what you think about” determines your actions, yes? The two are hand-in-hand, so please stop trying to pick. And I will never believe that the ‘means you are born into’ determine your destiny. There are just too many examples of the opposite. (Bill Clinton comes to mind right here)
The facts and the truth say that anyone can be wealthy. It is not determined by whether or not a person is born wealthy, although I grant you that these people could have a head start, simply by learning from wealthy parents. It is not determined by having huge amounts of money to start with, that is obvious with the latest examples of the wealth of the founders of Google, Yahoo, YouTube, etc.
I have to say, Peter, that the more you try to deny the power of the mind, the more you do the opposite.
Wow. This article does say it all. I watched a film called “The secret” and I strongly urge everyone to watch it. The key to happiness and to life is to not think about what you don’t want. Try to focus on what you want. When you think about what you do not want in life or what is bothering you, you attracting it to you. Hence, the “Law of Attraction”. Great article.
I did this with a guy I worked with. I told him that I had been studying a book on controlling people and I wanted to try something on him. I said I wanted to see if I could control him.
He was standing on my right. I said, I’m going to make you move over to my left, OK? He said; Go ahead and try it. I said: Move over to my left right now! He didn’t move. I then made a half-hearted attempt to grab his arm and move him. He didn’t budge seeing as he was much bigger and stronger than I.
I command you to move over to my left! Still nothing and by now he looked at me like I was crazy.
Then, I said, now I’m going to do what I read in the book. I simply did a 180 degree turn. Now he was on my left with almost no effort. If he tried to go back to the right, I would have turned again. There was nothing he could do, and he knew it!
There is good advice out there.
I enjoy reading motivational materials like some guys like to sit and watch football. To each his own.
Some get rich by scrimping and saving all their lives because they fear poverty. Some develop a rich consciousness and realize that not all that counts can be counted and not all that can be counted, counts. [sign hanging in Einstein’s office]
al
I think there is definitely something in the “you become what you think about” idea. I always find when I’m focused on something two things happen. 1) I start taking actions which are in-line with that, and 2) I start noticing related opportunities. The challenge I have (and which I’m getting better at) is clarifying what I want to focus on, and keeping that focus. When I do manage to do well at that I always find my results start to fall in-line.
hello people! i love the conversation between peter and steve. more please it’s very educating.. the atmosphere of this article is very intensifying.. I just want to share my own idea on why rich become richer and poor become poorer. Peter was true in his statement that being in a wealthy family sinced birth is a big advantage becoming succesful in the future or becoming a wealthy also. But I strongly disagree if you think only that way. If that is the case so meaning to say we poor people will stop dreaming of becoming wealthy one in the future. I guess that is not the cycle that God wants us to happen. For my own understanding, why rich people get richer because they have good management skills. Like for example. management in people of thier business. They learned from thier experiences(either from thier job before, or personal experiences, etc.) on how to handle good managment on people. Second, management on thier system. Both on thier career and personal life including family. And lastly, management on thier cash flow. You need financial intelligence here. At the end of the day, these three things if practice well financial f reedom will be yours. I also agree to steves that along the way to richness you will meet obtacles in your way that make some travelers halt and discourage. That’s why steves was right that if you have good foundation in your thoughts(turn the lemon into lemonade). then, that traveller will never stop on dreaming till’ to reality. Thats the power of positive thinking. as Norman Vincent paele suggest. Both of you guys has its own point but if you try to combined those ideas I guess it’s more meaningful advising people. Throwing of words nothing can offer but sharing it is much better! good luck people. PEACE!!!