So every time I criticize how poor people think,
people get really angry at me and tell me that I shouldn't hate poor people.
And I'm like, "Are you out of your mind?"
I don't hate poor people.
I was poor for the majority of my life.
And when I say poor, I mean poorer than 99% of people watching
this.
I don't want to hear this bullshit of how I hate poor people.
But what I do hate with my entire being is the poor person mentality.
I hate it and I always have.
And that is exactly why I'm not in that dark financial position anymore.
If you think like a poor person, you're always going to be poor.
You need to change your mindset.
So here are some of the ideas that really resonated with me from this book...
4.
Rich people think big.
Poor people think small.
Do you ever walk into a store and spend a lot of time
making sure you get the best deals?
That's how a poor person thinks...
I'm going to spend an extra hour in here so I can find a box of cereal that's cheaper
and save 30 cents on it.
And that's what he's going to do for the rest of his life.
What does a rich person think?
Who cares?!
I'm not worried about this, I'm worried about cultivating my value,
so an hour of my time can be worth a $1,000 instead of $3.48.
5.
Rich people focus on opportunities.
Poor people focus on obstacles.
This is how a poor person thinks, "Well, I would start this business,
but there's a lot of competition.
It probably wouldn't work."
A rich person would acknowledge the competition, but at the same time focus on,
"Well, but is there any unique value I can bring to the market
that's currently not there?"
6.
Rich people admire other rich and successful people.
Poor people resent rich and successful people.
This is a huge one.
I remember when I was little, a nice car would drive by.
And everyone would say something like, "Uh, look at that douchebag."
"Look at that douchebag."
"I wonder how many babies he had to kill to buy that car."
And I never really felt that way.
I thought, "I'm happy that guy has a nice car."
I'm going to grow up, and if I want a nice car myself,
instead of bitching about it, I'm going to pick up a book and learn how.
And this doesn't even have to do with money specifically.
Poor people have a broken life ideology in general,
and not having money is just one of the manifestations of that.
It's like when a skinny fat person walks into a gym
and sees someone who's jacked and in a great shape,
and his first reaction is, "Huh, look at that douchebag."
"I wonder what kinda steroids he's on..."
And it's like, look dude, not everyone who's in a better shape
than you are is on steriods.
I know that's really hard to believe, but just try.
And even the guys who are on steroids, have a 100 times better work ethic than you
do.
8.
Rich people are willing to promote themselves and their value.
Poor people think negatively about selling and promotion.
This is a pretty crazy one.
I remember I started selling used phones at about 12,
and I was actually making quite a bit of money.
And I think I was bragging to my dad once, and he looked at me and he was basically like,
"What are you so proud of?
You're just selling stuff."
Like there's actually a demeaning word for someone who sells stuff in my native language.
And I just stood there thinking, "Hmm...
This is weird."
So selling is something to look down on.
Making money is something to be looked down on.
I mean of course it's not important, but then I look at what you do all day,
and your entire day revolves around making money.
You dedicate all your time to making something, that I apperantely should be ashamed of making.
And I look around and everyone's still like that.
Oh money's not important, it's like almost taboo to talk about it.
Even my videos, they get the most negativity if it's about
money, yet this is the one thing that people sell
their entire lives for.
It blows my mind.
It's like talking to a teenager about sex who constantly gets uncomfortable.
"Yes, honey, sex is a very important and enjoyable part of life,
you don't have to be ashamed of it."
11.
Rich people choose to get paid based on results.
Poor people choose to get paid based on time.
I love this one.
I love hearing, "I DESERVE $15 an hour."
"I DESERVE $20 an hour."
Yeah, but that's not how the real world works at all.
If I work on a business for a year straight right now,
and I work 16 hour days every single day, and I finally deliver a product that isn't
useful, no one's going to give a shit.
Let me ask you, are you going to buy my product
just because I put a year into it?
Of course not, that's not how the system works.
No one cares how much time you put into anything, the real question is,
can you deliver real results and real value?
14.
Rich people manage their money well.
Poor people mismanage their money well.
You know, with the amount that the poor people complain
about their financial situation, you would think it would make sense
to pick up a book and learn about the very basics of money.
But no, almost every poor person I know has no idea about even the very basics of
managing money.
They have no discipline with it, they wait for that paycheck
and have no idea what they're doing once they get it.
And that's it.
Instead of being jealous and constantly criticizing, picking up a book like The Richest Man in
Babylon would be a great start.
15.
Rich people have their money work hard for them.
Poor people work hard for their money.
Again, going back to that thing of, "I work hard, I deserve to be paid this much.
Look at that guy, he doesn't even work as hard as I do,
and he makes a 100 times more than I do."
And I'm like, "That's the most normal thing."
That is how the universe works.
If you walked into the gym right now, and you saw a bodybuilder
who had just worked out for an hour doing exercises like squats and deadlifts.
And then you went on the elliptical and did it for 5 hours,
you can't complain about how you worked five times as hard as
that guy, and are not seeing results.
No one gives a shit.
The universe doesn't give a shit about how hard you worked.
That guy's going to gain muscle and you're not.
17.
Rich people constantly learn and grow.
Poor people think they already know.
This is one of the biggest obstacles right here.
When I was poor, I said I don't know anything, I suck at this,
I'm going to pick up a book and learn.
But the problem is, most people who are poor also think they already
know everything.
And that's why they'll always be poor.
I grew up in a post-soviet country, and this was basically everyone around me.
Some guy who read Tolstoy at some point and got two degrees and now he thinks he knows
everything.
I mean, of course he wouldn't listen to some lowly person
who sells stuff.
Come on?
Selling stuff?
He read Tolstoy when he was a kid, guys.
He's not gonna go that low.
Even though he does work as a manual laborer during the entire day so he can feed himself.
But learning about money and how it's made?
Come on.
Please don't offend an intellectual like him him like that.
This is like the biggest plague.
He doesn't even know the most basic concept of
paying himself first, but he thinks he's this big genius
that's got the whole system figured out.
It's ridiculous.
So there you go, some of my favorite ideas from this book.
Again, please don't say something stupid in the comments below,
about how I hate poor people or whatever.
But you're right, I do hate HOW the majority of poor people
think.
It's like a disease and I decided I was going to get rid of it,
and that's exactly why I've improved my financial situation a 1000 times.
95% of the people I grew up with are going to stay poor for the rest of their
lives, and it's because they didn't make that shift.
I would recommend hating the poor person mentality with all your heart just as much as I do,
otherwise get ready to be a poor victim who struggles financially for the rest of
his life.