Secrets of the Millionaire Mind: Wealth File #3 Rich People Are Committed to Being Rich, Poor People Want to Be Rich (Summary)

This is a chapter-by-chapter summary of a book by T. Harv Eker’s Secret of the Millionaire Mind: Mastering the Inner Game of Wealth (2005) series. One chapter, one article. Read this summary, buy the book. Enjoy!

Wealth File #3:

Rich People are Committed to Being Rich.

Poor People* Want to Be Rich.

“The number one reason most people don’t get what they want is that they don’t know what they want,” said Harv Eker. Do you know what you want? What do you want? Who do you want to be? How do you want your life to look like? Why do you read this summary? I guess you at least know the answer to the last question. Our world, or better, our society provides uncountable choices. It is then a common problem that we don’t really know what we want.

How are we going to get what we don’t know we want? Does that make no sense? You get the point (I hope). If we don’t know what we want in life, how are we going to get it? We won’t… If I asked you if you wanted to be rich, you’d probably think “What a stupid question…” and say, “Of course I want to be rich.” The truth, however, as Eker points out in this book, is that most people don’t really want to be rich. Why? “Because they have a lot of negative wealth files in their subconscious mind that tell them there is something wrong with being rich. That’s how we’ve been conditioned… and most of us have mixed internal messages about wealth.” One part within us says, “I’ll be able to travel the world.” Then the other part chirps in, “Yeah, people will think that you’re show off.” These mixed messages (mine) may seem innocent enough, but in reality, they are one of the major reasons most people never become rich.

Again, mixed internal messages (at least subconsciously) about wealth is the major reason we’ll never get rich. Eker highlights: “If you are not fully, totally, and truly committed to creating wealth, chances are you won’t.” Sound crazy, yet that’s the power of our mind. How can we develop clear internal messages about wealth? The author states that there are Three (3) Levels of Wanting:

#1 I Want to Be Rich. “This won’t bring you anywhere as billions of people want (or at least claim that they want) to be rich, but relatively few are.”

#2 I Choose to Be Rich. “Choosing is much stronger than wanting because you take responsibility for creating your own reality.”

#3 I Commit to Being Rich. “That’s the highest form of wanting. You devote yourself unreservedly. You give 100% to achieve wealth. There are no excuses. Failure is not an option. I will be rich or I will die trying. That’s commitment and that’s necessary for true success!”

Rich people are committed enough to do whatever it takes. Period. What about you? Are you willing to work longer hours a day? Rich people are. Are you willing to sacrifice seeing your family, your friends, and give up your recreations and hobbies? Rich people are. Are you willing to do whatever it takes? Rich people are (in the long-term, however, I disagreed with all of these ‘sacrifices.’ If you read Rich Dad Poor Dad, Robert Kiyosaki will surely disagree too. But for the initial periods, you must willing to sacrifice all of these – mindfully, morally and responsibly – for the greater good in the future). You need to fully, truly and totally committed to creating wealth. You choose wealth over mindless-hangouts with friends; you choose wealth over getting too many loans; you choose wealth over expensive car (for now). Sure, you need to find balance in everything. Most importantly though, Eker reminds us, “You need to want to be wealthy bad enough so that you commit to being wealthy. Otherwise you just won’t get rich. Simple as that.”

[*I need to note that the Harv Eker makes it clear in this book that he does not mean to degrade poor people. He does not think that rich people are better than poor or middle-class people. They’re just richer.]

I Have a Millionaire Mind!

Secrets of the Millionaire Mind: Wealth File #2 Rich People Play the Money Game to Win, Poor People Play to Not Lose (Summary)

This is a chapter-by-chapter summary of a book by T. Harv Eker’s Secret of the Millionaire Mind: Mastering the Inner Game of Wealth (2005) series. One chapter, one article. Read this summary, buy the book. Enjoy!

Wealth File #2:

Rich People play the Money Game to Win.

Poor People play the Money Game to Not Lose.

Poor people’s* primary concerns are “survival and security” instead of creating wealth and abundance said Eker. The goal of truly rich people is to have massive wealth and abundance. Not just some money, but lots of money. “If your goal is to be comfortable, chances are you’ll never get rich,” Eker reasoned, “But if your goal is to be rich, chances are you’ll end up mighty comfortable.” He reminds us of the power of intention. When your intention is to have enough to pay the bills, that’s exactly how much you’ll get – just enough to pay the bills and not a dime more.

Think about this: If your goal is to have just enough money to pay the bills, how much money do you think you’ll get? Exactly! Just enough to pay the bills… You get what you truly intend to get. And that’s what so many people strive for: “I just want enough to pay the bills.” “I just want to live a moderate life and go on vacation once a year” (maybe this is my dream: to live moderately but slightly rich, and go on vacation at least twice a year) “I just want my steady income and make ends.” Well, if that’s what you want, that’s what you get. You may have enough to pay for the bills, but guess what? “You won’t have a dime more,” says Eker. That’s how it works, he said. You get what you truly intend to get.

Harv Eker advises us that our goal should be to become a millionaire and more: “If you shoot for the stars, you’ll at least hit the moon… If you want to get rich, your goal has to be rich. Not to have enough to pay the bills, and not just to have enough to be comfortable. Rich means rich!” So, say to yourself, “My goal is to become a millionaire and more!” and do what rich people do – play the money game to win. Win! Win! Win! Decide now that you commit to being rich.

[*I need to note that the Harv Eker makes it clear in this book that he does not mean to degrade poor people. He does not think that rich people are better than poor or middle-class people. They’re just richer.]

I Have a Millionaire Mind!

Secrets of the Millionaire Mind: Wealth File #1 Rich People Believe "I Create My Life." Poor People Believe "Life Happens to Me" (Summary)

This is a chapter-by-chapter summary of a book by T. Harv Eker’s Secret of the Millionaire Mind: Mastering the Inner Game of Wealth (2005) series. One chapter, one article. Read this summary, buy the book. Enjoy!

Wealth File #1:

Rich People believe “I Create My Life.”

Poor People believe “Life Happens to Me.”

If you want to create wealth, says Eker, it is imperative that you believe that you are at the steering wheel of your life, especially your financial life. You have to believe that you are the one who creates your success, that you are the one who creates your mediocrity, and that you are the one creating your struggle around money and success. Consciously or unconsciously, it’s still you. Instead of taking responsibility for what’s going on in their lives, poor people* choose to play the role of victim.

This is important. If you feel like ‘Life just happens to me, I can’t do anything about it,’ then how are you going to change? What kind of life do you live? “I can tell you,” said Eker, “you live the life of absolutely no purpose. Completely unconsciously and meaningless…” That’s definitely NOT how you want to live. This is the first Wealth File for a good reason. If you don’t think “I create my life” then you can’t change anything. Eker points out: “You must realize that you are the creator! You must sit at the steering wheel of your life. You make the choices. And you take responsibility for your life. Basically, you are the BOSS of your life. Yes, you are!” (This is where my faith conflict with Eker’s teaching about we are the creators. But based on the context, what he really means is that we can change or not our belief system. We can create or uncreate our own beliefs).

The author states that poor people* play the role of victim. They often BLAME other people. It’s never their fault, it’s always the fault of others. Poor people also often COMPLAIN. When you are complaining, you become a living, breathing “crap magnet.” That’s the worst thing you can do. So, never whine, bitch or complain. Poor people also JUSTIFY their situation. They say things like, “Money is not that important.” If you don’t think money is important, you simply won’t have any. Put this in perspective: “Money is extremely important in the areas in which it works, and extremely unimportant in the areas in which it doesn’t.” But the poor people will argue (and this is a brilliant but funny quote by Eker): “’Well, money isn’t as important as love.’ Now, is that comparison dumb or what? What’s more important, your arm or your leg? Maybe they’re both important.” It’s funny and it makes sense. So, don’t play the role of the victim and start take responsibility and steer your life to success!

[*I need to note that the Harv Eker makes it clear in this book that he does not mean to degrade poor people. He does not think that rich people are better than poor or middle-class people. They’re just richer.]

I Have a Millionaire Mind!

Secrets of the Millionaire Mind: The Process of Manifestation T > F > A = R (Part 1 Summary)

This is a chapter-by-chapter summary of a book by T. Harv Eker’s Secret of the Millionaire Mind: Mastering the Inner Game of Wealth (2005) series. One chapter, one article. Read this summary, buy the book. Enjoy!

Process of Manifestation: T > F > A = R

“Thoughts lead to Feelings. Feelings lead to Actions. Actions lead to Results.”

(Harv Eker)

That’s what Eker calls the Process of Manifestation. Thoughts are at the root of every result. He then goes one step further and states that we are programmed or conditioned in a certain way. That’s why we think how we think. The primary sources of this programming include mainly our parents and siblings, but also friends, teachers, and media, to name only a few. In short, our life is a reflection of our thoughts, which again come as a result of how we have been programmed.

This is important in many ways. Look at our culture: How could we survive without the knowledge of our ancestors? We’re born into a world of culture and structure: How could we survive without the knowledge we’re given from our parents? We depend on our parents for a very, very long time. We’re all born helpless. So, in a certain way this programming is a necessity, but in the case of money, it is often a burden… That’s where your money blueprint (see the previous post) comes in. A blueprint, in general, is a preset plan or design. Let’s take a blueprint for a house as an example. Before you build the house, you make an exact plan of what you want to build. And then, you build what you’ve planned. Now, and this is important, we all have a blueprint for money, our money blueprint – a preset plan of how much money we’ll have and how we can handle it. Every child is taught how to think about and act in relation to money.

Our financial blueprint consists primarily of the information or “programming” we received in the past, and especially as a young child. “Your past conditioning determines every thought that bubbles up in your mind. That’s why it’s often referred to as the conditioned mind.” First of all, Eker suggests, we need to understand how we are conditioned. We are conditioned in three (3) primary ways:

#1 Verbal Programming: What did you hear about money, wealth, and rich people when you were growing up? “Save your money for a rainy” “Filthy rich!” “Rich people are greedy” “Money doesn’t grow on trees” “Money doesn’t buy happiness” “We can’t afford it” and so on. Eker says, “I’m sure you heard at least one of them. The problem is that all these statements… remain in your subconscious mind as part of the blueprint that is running your financial life. Obviously, such statements do not support your financial well-being.”

#2 Modelling: What did you see when you were young? How did your parents manage money? Did money come easily in your family or was it always a struggle? Was money a source of joy in your household or the cause of bitter arguments? All these things matter a lot because as kids, we learn just about everything from modeling. It is important to recognize that your way of being related to one or both of your parents in the arena of money.

#3 Specific Incidents: What did you experience when you were young around money, wealth, and rich people? This is close to modeling but maybe you can think of a specific personal incident. Maybe a huge fight your parents had that seemingly led to the divorce? Maybe you can still hear your father swearing about a rich neighbor? Such experiences shape your beliefs you now live by.

These are three (3) major ways that have conditioned us in terms of money. Basically, that’s your money blueprint, your pre-set plan for success with money. Eker highlights: “Your money blueprint will determine your financial life – and even your personal life. And again, you can have all the knowledge and skills in the world, but if your ‘blueprint’ isn’t set for success, you’re financially doomed. If you think poor about the rich, how are you ever going to be rich? If money has always been a struggle, chances are high that it always will be a struggle. That’s in your subconscious mind. When the subconscious mind must choose between deeply rooted emotions and logic, emotions will almost always win.” If you want to think like rich people, you need to change that programming… how?

You need to become aware. “AWARENESS is the first step of change,” emphasized Eker. That’s where you are right now. You thought about how you grew up around money and hopefully became aware of the fact that you’ve been conditioned in a certain way. Now, you need to UNDERSTAND what effects this conditioning had and still has on your financial life (I personally had a bad programming). It’s only through the understanding of what your conditioned mind does to you that you can become able and willing to change. Do you see that your money blueprint is not you but it is only what you’ve learned? You do have the choice in the present moment to be different (Yes I can!). That’s the third step of change: DISASSOCIATION. How you have been conditioned is not how you need to be and how you need to think. You have the choice! It is imperative you choose your thoughts and beliefs wisely.

Eker concludes: “Being aware and living consciously is probably the most important ingredient for substantial change. YOU make the choices in life. YOU are at the steering wheel. YOU know that you have been conditioned in a certain way and that this lies at the roots of your financial life. Now that YOU are aware, YOU can change!”

REMEMBER: T > F > A = R

Secrets of the Millionaire Mind: Your Money Blueprint (Part 1 Summary)

This is a chapter-by-chapter summary of a book by T. Harv Eker’s Secret of the Millionaire Mind: Mastering the Inner Game of Wealth (2005) series. One chapter, one article. Read this summary, buy the book. Enjoy!

“You can have all the knowledge and skills in the world, but if your ‘blueprint’ isn’t set for success, you’re financially doomed” (Harv Eker)

Who are you? How do you think? What are your habits and traits? How confident are you in yourself? Do you truly feel that you deserve wealth? What are your abilities? Can you act when you’re not in the mood? The fact that your character, thinking, and your beliefs are a critical part of what determines the level of your success (remember, to be successful it is not necessary you have to be wealthy financially, but wealthy is one of the measurements of success). Whatever results you’re getting, be they rich or poor, good or bad, positive or negative, always remember that your outer world is simply a reflection of your inner world.

Harv Eker makes it clear that we live in a world of cause and effect. Basically, who you are [your inner world] determines what you get [your outer world]. So whatever the results you get in any area of life that you can control, it is a mere result of your character, thinking, and habits. Whether it is how much money you have in your bank account or how healthy you feel or how you look like – it is always a RESULT, a reflection of who you are. So in term of money, a lack of money is never, ever a problem. “A lack of money,” said Eker, “is merely a symptom of what is going on underneath.”

If you want to change your outer world, as the book suggests (a lack of money in that case), you first need to change your inner world or “what is going on underneath.” Eker gives a simple example, he recalled, “Back in my time as a student I used to suffer from tense neck and back muscles. Therefore I went to see a physiotherapist twice a week to have my muscles un-tensed. I always felt better afterward, but the muscles would tense again and again. It wasn’t until I changed my behavior (mainly different sitting positions, more sleep, magnesium supplements, and less stress) that my muscle tensions would weaken… My point is that if only you treat the symptoms, you’ll always fall back. So, if you had a lack of money and I gave you some, sooner or later you would end up again with a lack of money. The problem is not the symptom, it is us… It’s our thinking, our habits, the way we act.”

To effectively change your results, symptoms or your overall life [your outer world], you first need to change yourself, your character, thinking and what you do [your inner world]. “Your income can grow only to the extent you do!” What has all this to do with your money blueprint? Well, you’ll understand it in the next post.

[To read my review of this book, CLICK THE TITLE, Secrets of Millionaire Mind Review]

To Change Your Outer World, You Need to Change Your Inner World

Secrets of the Millionaire Mind: Mastering the Inner Game of Wealth (#0 Introduction)

This is a chapter-by-chapter summary of a book by T. Harv Eker’s Secret of the Millionaire Mind: Mastering the Inner Game of Wealth (2005) series. One chapter, one article. Read this summary, buy the book. Enjoy!

“If your subconscious ‘financial blueprint’ is not ‘set’ for success, nothing you learn, nothing you know, and nothing you do will make much of a difference” (Harv Eker)

Harv Eker used to be a financial disaster. He had ups and downs, yet for the most part, he was broke. Until one day, when a rich friend of his dad told him that rich people think a certain way and poor people think a completely different way, and those ways of thinking determine their actions and therefore determine their results. Then all you have to do is copy how rich people think. That information helped Eker to become who he is today – author, businessman and most importantly, wealth coach.

So, after he learned about the fact that rich people think differently than poor people, he started studying rich people (just like how Napoleon Hill interviewed successful people and came out with the father of self-help book, Think and Grow Rich). “Eventually, I became aware of how my own thoughts were holding me back from wealth.” He learned that is it not about the tools alone, it is mainly about the toolbox. The tools are all the knowledge and information you’ve got, the toolbox is your mind, your way of thinking. He found that when he combined the inner game (toolbox) with the outer game (the tools), everybody can succeed at the game of money.

What the author wants to teach in his book is how to master the inner game of money to win the game of money – how to think rich to get rich! Josh Billings was quoted as saying, “It’s not what we don’t know that prevents us from succeeding; it’s what we know that just ain’t so that is our greatest obstacle.” The lesson is simple: If you want to move to a higher level of life, you have to be willing to let go of some of your old ways of thinking and adopt new ones. The secret to new mindset is unlearning. We are where we are because of the things we do day in, day out. Our old ways of thinking brought us exactly to where we are. If we want something to be different in our lives, we need to do something different. Harv Eker invites us to the journey to financial freedom.

His book is split up into two parts: Part #1 Your Money Blueprint, which is about how we are conditioned concerning money, it’s about why we are who we are, and about our old way of thinking; and Part #2 The Wealth Files, which is about 17 wealth files or about how rich people think/act/live. Basically, it’s about our new way of thinking and how we should think if we want to become rich.

[To read my review of this book, CLICK THE TITLE, Secrets of Millionaire Mind Review]

Are you ready to start learning how to think like rich people? I sure do!