Want To Be Filthy Rich One Day? Stop Saying “That’s a Lot of Money.”
A while back, my wife and I were house-sitting her grandparent’s old house for a few months. It’s a literal mansion, nestled at the top of world-famous Mount Soledad in La Jolla, California.
One day, we got a real estate brochures in the mail. For fun, I flipped through it and scanned the first few pages.
My heart almost stopped when I saw how much it cost to rent a beachfront mansion down the street:
$50,000 a month.
I was alone in the kitchen, but I still blurted it out.
“That is a LOT of money!”
But right after I blurted that out, I was reminded of a life-altering moment I had reading Robert Kiyosaki’s best-selling book Rich Dad Poor Dad.
See, in his younger days, Kiyosaki kept thinking the same line over and over whenever he saw an expensive item:
“I can’t afford it.”
He said it all the time, until it became a powerful truth in his mind.
The problem was, the moment he told himself that phrase, all his thinking shut off. Since he couldn’t afford it, there was no use thinking about it any more.
But eventually, he got sick of that limiting mindset. So Kiyosaki decided to change that line into something a little different. Instead, he started saying:
“How can I afford it?”
This simple tweak in mindset opened up a world of possibilities. Kiyosaki found out that when he actually asked himself how to do something, he was actually incredibly creative, innovative, and tenacious.
Instead of saying “I can’t afford it” (which immediately shut down his problem-solving abilities), he found when he asked himself “How can I afford it?” new possibilities emerged. Maybe he could afford it, if he did a few things differently.
This “I can’t afford it” vs. “How can I afford it?” debate is inherent in most people’s mindsets, and it usually correlates with success (or lack thereof). Tell someone to read 52 books in 52 weeks, or start earning $50,000/month, or jog 10 miles every day, and most people’s response is something like the first response: “I can’t do that! It’s too much.”
And so it is. As James Allen once wrote, “As a man thinketh, so he is.”
But what if you changed your response? What if instead, you asked yourself:
“How could I read 52 books in 52 weeks?”
“How could I afford a $50,000/month mansion?”
“How could I jog 10 miles a day?”
The point isn’t necessarily to achieve that goal quickly; the point is to interrupt your typical mental response from disbelief to actually trying to solve a problem.
I guarantee you’ll be surprised at how creative, innovative, and hard-working you can be once you let your mind consider new possibilities.
Most people never give themselves a chance to earn a million dollars a year, or read 52 books in 52 weeks.
But ask yourself “how” and see just how far you can go.
Want To Make Millions? Then Act Like a Millionaire.
Tony Robbins once asked a crowd of thousands to imagine their door bell ringing. When they opened the door, he told them a “depressed person” was at the door.
He then asked them to describe that person.
The answers? Probably similar to yours: drooped shoulders, downcast, messy hair, a frown, a quiet voice, no eye contact.
Then he asked them to imagine that a “happy person” rang the doorbell. What did that person look like?
Big smile. Friendly eyes. Warm handshake. Raised chin, standing tall. Eye contact.
Robbins then asked everyone to physically imitate “a depressed person” and “a happy person” for one minute — act “depressed” and act “happy.” Robbins asked them how they felt afterwards.
The answer: it had a huge effect! Even a minute of acting like a “depressed person” made many people actually feel sad and alone.
How you act determines how you are.
If you want to be something, then act like it.
In his autobiography, Arnold Schwarzenegger wrote:
“The only way you become a leading man is to treat yourself like a leading man, and work your ass off.”
Your life is a direct product of your standards. You’ll get what you put up with.
The truth is, most people tolerate mediocrity. They continue to let the same low-level mental limitations dominate their thinking: “I can’t afford it. It’s too much. There’s no way I could do that.”
They tolerate low-level relationships, income, and health. A lot of people always feel tired, disrespected, and slow.
Extraordinary people don’t tolerate mediocrity. They refuse to allow low-level people or circumstances dictate their life.
If you want something — to be a millionaire, to be fit, to be an entrepreneur — start acting like that thing. Interrupt your limiting mental patterns, and replace them with something positive.
You’ve Been Educated With Limitations. If You Want to Succeed, You Must Unlearn Them.
“Take into account that you have been educated with restrictions. Be aware of this so that you don’t underestimate the possibilities.” -Grant Cardone
In school, you learned to do what your teacher said and play nice.
At work, you learned to do what your boss said and play nice.
You’ve been educated with restrictions. Not all of them were malicious — teachers and bosses usually don’t have the time to cater to your specific skill set and unique personality, to help you understand your true potential.
But this one-size-fits-all environment you grew up in has taught you many limiting mindsets and restrictions. If you want to succeed, you must unlearn them.
You can start by taking command of where you want to go.
Everyone has a place they want to go. They want to go somewhere where they have financial independence, better intimacy with others, better health, more free time, a fulfilling career.
You can’t get there unless you take command of where you’re going.
Many people live their lives like a large, powerful boat, too afraid to sail into the high seas. There are storms, rocks, and fearsome sea monsters out there — it’s safer to stay in harbor.
But in the words of Navy Admiral Grace Hopper:
“A ship in port is safe, but that’s not what ships are built for.”
If you don’t take command of where you’re going, there’s no telling where you’ll end up. Worse still — others might begin calling the shots for you. If you don’t take control of your life, others will.
In his book The War of Art, Steven Pressfield warned: “Those who will not govern themselves are condemned to find masters to govern over them.” There is a heavy cost of not taking responsibility for your life.
Back in the day, I worked at a terrible corporate desk job. I was chronically bored, exhausted, and felt overworked even though I spent 75% of my time doing basically nothing but pretend to work.
For a long time, I blamed my annoying coworker, incompetent managers, and dysfunctional company for my troubles. I never took responsibility for what I wanted until years later. Eventually, I got so sick and tired of being sick and tired, I quit!
My wife and I took full responsibility. We quit our jobs, packed up our belongings, and moved to South Korea to travel the world and teach English. I was able to start a personal writing business where I work from home, making more money than my old corporate job only working 10 hours/week!
When you let others call the shots, you get stuck in a cycle you can’t break.
But when you take full responsibility for your life, that’s the moment where you can do anything with your life.
“If you don’t prioritize your life, someone else will.” -Greg Mckeown
Give yourself a chance to figure it out. It could make you millions.
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