8 Reasons Why You Are Still Broke
And how to fix it now
Let’s face it, you are poor. You have to get up every morning and go to work in order to pay the bills. You don’t have much savings for a rainy day and you buy everything on credit.
Of course, there are variations on this theme but whether you make 20,000 or 200,000, whether you live in a small apartment or a big house, whether you drive an old clunker or a brand new Mercedes you are poor unless:
You can afford to stop working today and do whatever the f*** you want for the rest of your life
That’s my definition.
It’s not about money or stuff, it’s about freedom.
The freedom to travel the world, the freedom to pursue those projects that interest you, the freedom to work where, when, and how you please.
That’s what I call rich.
I’m not quite there yet but I’m getting closer.
This is what I’ve learned along the way.
1. Never work for money
If you work for money you’ll never be rich. I don’t care if you are a doctor, a lawyer, or an engineer.
The bigger the salary, the bigger your income tax and the bigger the toys you buy. I’ve known people making $300,000 a year that couldn’t afford the guacamole at Chipotle.
We all think a higher salary will solve all our problems but it won’t. You are poor because you think like a poor person. A poor person with money is still a poor person. Change your mindset and you can be rich even without money.
Selling your time for money is the worst idea. Your time is very limited and you should find a way to leverage it.
Work for experience, equity or passion only.
2. Never do anything that doesn’t scale
Be prepared to work for free for years on projects that have leverage. Don’t waste your time on stuff with limited upside.
Write a book, make a Youtube video, write code, start a small company. Do anything that has the potential to reach 1 million customers with the same effort that takes reaching 1 customer.
Do:
- Teach online
- Write for the internet
- Create patents
- Solve the problem at scale
- Think big
- Start your own company
Don’t:
- Work for the man
- Have a local shop
- Freelance
Every Time you have an idea put it through the leverage filter. Does it scale? Does it have unlimited upside? If it doesn’t, don’t bother unless it is something you really want to do and it’s not about the money.
3. Never settle
My life is ok. This apartment is nice. I don’t really need money. It could be worse.
You can lie to yourself till the cows come home but deep down you know you could have done much better, you know you have a lot of potential left and you know that you didn’t go all in.
We settle for mediocrity because we are afraid. We develop a narrative to convince ourselves this is fine when in reality we are living lives of quiet desperation. We eat the leftovers when we could be having a feast.
Fear is pulling you down. You’ll never get rid of it. You tell yourself stories and rationalize it but deep down you are not living the life you want and you know is possible because fear is stopping you.
If you are to have any chance of success in life you must act in spite of fear. Grab the bull by the horns and spin it around. The silence that voice telling you don’t do it.
Fear is just an illusion created by the ego. Don’t listen to it. Tame it. Do the opposite of what is telling you. You will be fine.
4. Never let anyone (not even yourself) tell you it can’t be done
Think big.
There is no point in trying to act small and play safe.
We do it in order to fit in, because we don’t want to draw attention to ourselves and because we think it’s arrogant to be ambitious.
But it’s not.
Lyons have to run fast. Gazelles have to run faster, and you have to give it all and do your best in those few chances you get in life.
You are not helping anyone by playing small, you are hindering your true potential and that doesn’t help anyone.
Do you think Elon Musk should have settled for selling second-hand cars? Do you think Michelangelo should have found a proper job and then paint a little on the side? Do you think Steve Jobs should have become a contractor for Microsoft?
You might think these people are outliers outside your scope but the reality is the world has been changed by people that weren’t smarter than you. The only thing they did differently was to think big.
5. Never play safe
If you play not to lose you’ve already lost.
You are your worst enemy when it comes to taking the leap. You lack the confidence, the guts, and the drive. So you settle for “the safe option” “the cozy job” “the nice girlfriend”
You avoid risk at all costs because you are afraid to fail but let me tell you something.
You are losing.
And the safer you play the more you lose.
You only live once. You are very lucky to be alive. Do you want to take this opportunity and push it to the limit or are you just going to sit down and watch TV and hope things will work out eventually?
Being alive is a miracle. Living in this age of unlimited potential is extremely lucky. Don’t waste it playing safe and being comfortable.
You know what you have to do, just get up and do it now.
6. Never follow the crowd
The crowd is just like you. People with unlimited potential too afraid to act on it. If you follow them you’ll remain stuck for life in mediocre land — the place where all dreams go to die.
It pays to be a contrarian, to think outside the box, and to be different.
You’ll get a lot of flak for it. People don’t like being reminded of their own flaws. When you act and think big they see you as the person who has the cojones to try stuff while they just stay put and watch.
Criticism, hate, and envy are good signs you are going down the right path. Remind them of all the possibilities they are missing and show them the way. Some of them may follow you and leave the crowd behind.
7. Never miss a great opportunity
You know when you are lucky. You can spot a great opportunity when you see it. There is something that is screaming at you: Do it now you idiot!
But then you go and do nothing.
Does this ring a bell? How many great opportunities have you missed already? Quite a few I guess.
Welcome to the club.
You could have become a webmaster, a data scientist, a writer, an entrepreneur, or a bitcoin holder but you didn’t. It was obvious, everything is obvious in hindsight but even then, there were clues that were pushing you towards it. But you looked the other way and talked yourself out of it.
There is no point in crying over spilled milk or having regrets but you must learn the lesson. You’ll be presented with a few more opportunities during your lifetime. Keep your eyes open and don’t overthink this time. Just go and fucking do it! It might be your last chance.
8. Invest in yourself
Everything you learn will be yours forever, no one can take it away.
It’s never been easier or cheaper to acquire new skills. Get educated. Learn new skills — investments, business, marketing, coding, design, writing, public speaking — and put it into practice straight away.
Nothing has more leverage than knowledge, use it to its full potential and it will pay off huge dividends. It’s the best investment ever.
Conclusion
Being poor is a choice. Not for the people born into terrible conditions but for you it is. You were born with a silver spoon in your mouth, with unlimited opportunities and with endless choice. There is no reason why you have to struggle through life while people less capable than you swim in abundance.
Change your mindset, transform your narrative, act despite fear, take risks, don’t settle for mediocrity and think really big.
You can be and do whatever you want. This is not some self-help bullshit, this is evidence-based truth. Many people have made it before you and many will make it after you. They don’t have anything on you, they just don’t get paralyzed by fear and comfort.
Break your mental limitations, tame your fear, and silence that voice in your head.
You don’t have to be poor. You don’t have to live a mediocre existence. You can escape your mental prison.
Do it now before it’s too late.
If you need any help in your journey, let me know. I’m here to help.
All the best