Secret of the Millionaire Mind: Wealth File #10 Rich People are Excellent Receivers

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 #10:

Rich People are Excellent Receivers.

Poor People* are Poor Receivers.

Harv Eker says, “If I had to nail down the number one reason most people do not reach their full financial potential, it would be this: most people are poor ‘receivers.’” What does he mean? First, what the heck are poor receivers? A poor receiver, according to Harv, is a person that cannot receive well. So far so good. What do we receive? We receive praise, affection, money, gifts, etc. Many of us have trouble receiving such things. The author told a story from himself: “It’s funny, when I was broke and I saw a penny on the ground, I would never stoop so low as to pick up a lowly penny. Now that I’m rich, however, I pick up anything that even looks like money. Then I give it a kiss for good luck and declare out loud, ‘I am a money magnet. Thank you, thank you, thank you.’”

So obvious, T. Harv Eker has developed into a money magnet, a great receiver. Most of us though, have trouble receiving. Where does that come from? Why are we poor receivers? The author simply states that we are conditioned that way. Many (yes, including me) grew up and heard things like “That’s wrong”; “You’re not making it right”; “What did you do?” These sentences all strengthen the feeling of not being good enough. And not feeling good enough is one reason why we are poor receivers. “If you say you’re worthy, you are. If you say you’re not worthy, you are not,” reasoned Eker, “Either way you will live into your story.” No wonder we are poor receivers if we don’t feel worthy… Here some sage advice: Stop buying into that ‘worthiness’ or ‘unworthiness’ crap and start taking the actions you need to take to get rich!

The second major reason most people have a problem with receiving is that they have bought into the adage: “It’s better to give than to receive.” I don’t believe in that statement. The whole idea is pious but pitiful. I believe that giving and receiving are two sides of the same coin. Eker said, “For every giver, there must be a receiver, and for every receiver, there must be a giver.” Giving and receiving are equally important – if you are not willing to receive, then you are ‘ripping off’ those who want to give to you. That’s the main difference between rich and poor people*: Rich people are willing to receive while most poor people are not. It’s not that there would not be enough for everybody, there is. Money is definitely in abundance… it only goes to whoever will take it. So, you and I must be willing to open and be receivers.

Many poor people actually believe they are better people because they are poor. Somehow they think they’re more pious or spiritual or good. Not so! Eker puts it this way, “Money will only make you more of what you already are. If you’re mean, money will afford you the opportunity to be meaner. If you’re kind, money will afford you the opportunity to be kinder… If you’re generous, more money will simply allow you to be more generous.” From now on, take everything (good) someone offers to you (use your mind wisely, of course). If someone tells you you’re looking good then say, “Thank you” instead of “What? No… I look horrible today.” It’s simple as that: Just say “Thank you” and receive your blessings. Let’s say you take time to comment me below and appreciate what I’m doing here, I will definitely say, “Thank you.”

[*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!

Secret of the Millionaire Mind: Wealth File #9 Rich People are Bigger than Their Problems

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 #9:

Rich People are Bigger than Their Problems.

Poor People* are Smaller than Their Problems.

The size of the problem is never the issue, what matters is the size of you! Harv Eker said, “If you have a big problem in your life, all that means is that you are being a small person!” Either you are whining about the problem or you are working on the solution. This is straight to the point: It’s all about you! Whatever happens in your life, be it good or bad, interesting or boring, tough or easy, what matters is how you get affected by it. What matters is you! There are no problems, there are only situations. We then make them a problem. Respectively, some people make it a problem, others don’t even get affected or realize it. How can that be?

Good question, right? How can it be that the exact same situation is a problem for one but not for another? It depends on the person, you may say – and you’re right. It depends on you. I remember when I went to work from KL Central to Times Square. Monorail KL would take people every five minutes or so. At times, these trains were crazily crowded (especially on weekends). You see in the faces of people how they felt about the situation. And interestingly, some people got negatively affected by the crowded train EVERY SINGLE DAY. Why? Are you that small of a person that a crowded train is a problem for you? And even if it is (e.g. due to claustrophobia, fear of being in closed/crowded places), you do have other options such as go earlier, go by bus or bike, use a taxi or Grab, or walk…

Do you see my point? You can either whine about the situation (make it a problem) or work on the solution. Eker says it over and over again, “What matters is the size of you.” The more you work on yourself, the fewer the problems there will be – you’ll be bigger than any problem. So, don’t be the person whining about the crowded train… that’s NOT a problem! “It’s not what happens to you,” said the wise Epictetus, “but how you react to it that matters.” Say this to yourself…

[*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!

Secret of the Millionaire Mind: Wealth File #8 Rich People Are Willing to Promote Themselves and Their Values

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 #8:

Rich People Are Willing to Promote Themselves and Their Values.

Poor People Think Negatively about Selling and Promotion.

“Resending promotion is one of the greatest obstacles to success,” said Harv Eker. “Rich people are almost always excellent promoters.” If you believe that what you have to offer can truly assist people, it’s your duty to let as many people as possible know about it. In this way, you not only help people, but you also get rich! How can you become rich if you don’t let people know about what you have to offer? How are they going to find out about you? How are you going to sell your product if nobody knows about it? Nobody buys a product he doesn’t even know about! Eker puts it this way: “If you don’t sell, you don’t earn a darn thing!”

If you believe that what you have to offer can truly assist people, it’s your DUTY to let as many people as possible know about it. That’s clear as water. You can help people – that’s great! Everybody wants to help other people, so, let them know about your value. That’s the coolest thing on earth: You help people AND you get rich! Eker shares about some reasons why poor people* have a problem with promotion and/or selling:

#1 They had a bad experience in the past with people promoting and lied to them. This will hold them back.

#2 They had a disempowering experience when they tried to sell something and maybe they experienced total rejection. They still fear failure… they need to let the past be the past.

#3 They probably have been conditioned that maybe they heard it’s impolite to ‘toot your own horn.’ In the real world though, if you don’t ‘toot’ you own ‘horn,’ nobody will…

#4 They maybe feel that promotion is not so important. The problem is that nobody is going to find them as nobody knows about them.

If you don’t like selling and promotion for whatever reason, just swallow it. If you want to become rich, you need to promote your value with passion and enthusiasm. Simple as that. Sell yourself! Be authentic. Be passionate about what you have to offer. If you absolutely can’t be passionate, then probably what you have to offer does not have much value… It is indispensable that what you offer needs to have value. Yet, the biggest value is useless if you don’t promote it! Who should be enthusiastic about your product if you not? Step out and promote what you have to offer – your skills, services, products – with passion and enthusiasm. If you believe in your value, how could it be appropriate to hide it from people who need it?

[*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!

Secret of the Millionaire Mind: Wealth File #7 Rich People Associate with Positive, Successful People

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 #7:

Rich People Associate with Positive, Successful People.

Poor People Associate with Negative or Unsuccessful People.

Why reinvent the wheel? “The fastest and easiest way to create wealth,” said Eker, “is to learn exactly how rich people, who are the masters of money, play the game.” If you want to fly with eagles, don’t swim with the ducks! Why reinvent the wheel? The logic is simple: If your goal is to be rich, then study the rich people. Do what they do. There is a reason why they are rich. The easiest way of studying them is being near to them. It’s simple. It’s similar to entering the corridor (refer to the previous post) to get to know the business. From the inside, you learn much, much more in much, much less time. Again, if you want to be rich, model rich people. If you want to be a great leader, for another example, then model great leaders! This is logic: If you take the exact same actions and have the exact same mindset, chances are good you will get the exact same results.

Another way to say this wealth file is associated with people who have achieved what you want to achieve. They know a lot. They know how to act and what to do. They have the skills needed to succeed. Associate with them, study them. Let’s take an example from the animal kingdom if a chicken just swims with the ducks, how is it going to learn how to fly like an eagle? Guess what, it’s not… and the same holds true for you. If you hang out with poor people* only, you’re never going to be rich (By hangout with the rich, this can also mean ‘hangout’ with their books, videos, and podcasts). Talking of birds, you’ve probably heard the saying, “Birds of a feather flock together.” This saying basically says that people of the same kind often hang out together. People spend time with people who are similar or they become the people they hang out always. What’s first come to your mind: Do you flock together because you are similar or do you become similar because you flock together?

Jim Rohn once said, “You are the average of the five people you spend the most time.” Have you read this quote? Yes? Good. No? Read it. Jim Rohn just gave the answer to my question. What matters is who you spend MOST time with (of course you may hang out with anyone you like, no discrimination). If the people you hang out with are positive, chances are high you’re positive too. If they’re complaining, chances are high that you complain too. “Rich people hang around with winners. Poor people* hang around with losers. Why? It’s a matter of comfort,” said Eker, somewhat hard-truth, “Rich people are comfortable with other successful people. They feel worthy of being with them. Poor people are unfordable with highly successful people. They’re either afraid they’ll be rejected or feel as if they don’t belong. To protect itself, the ego then goes into judgment and criticism.” Either you agree or disagree with Eker’s statement, this principle remains solid: If you want to get rich, model and associated with rich people. If you don’t have rich friends (like me, not yet so far), read their books – the books that they wrote or the books that they read or both. Or watch their videos on YouTube or listen to their talks and interviews on podcasts. Do it!

[*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 #6 Rich People Admire Other Rich and Successful People (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 #6:

Rich People Admire other Rich and Successful People.

Poor People Resent Rich and Successful People.

Poor people* often look at other people’s success with resentment, jealousy, and envy. “You have to realize that if you view rich people as bad in any way, shape, or form, and you want to be a good person, then you can never be rich,” writes Eker, “It’s impossible. How can you be something you despise?” That’s an easy psychological truth: You become rather like someone you admire than like someone you resent. Keep that in mind. From now on, when you see something you (secretly) want, may it be a nice house or a dream car or someone who is wise, admire what you see. Admire the house and also admire the owner. Admire the car and also the brain. Don’t be jealous, don’t be envy, admire them. Bless them. Love them. Practice the Huna philosophy: “Bless that which you want.”

Why do people resent rich people? Why do people think that poor people are in some way better spiritually than the rich? To put it bluntly – that’s just stupid! There is absolutely no reason to think worse about the rich than about the poor. Of course, there are some rich people who don’t act morally and ethically right, but that same holds true for some poor people. No doubt there are always exceptions to any rule, but for the most part, who do you have to be to succeed at anything? Try some of these characteristics: positive, reliable, focused, determined, persistent, hardworking, energetic, good with people, a competent communicator, intelligent, an expert in at least one area, etc. What does it take to get rich and successful? How can someone become successful? Some or all of the above? Does negativity, laziness and being average at everything make you a success?

The answer to the last question is crystal clear – NO! If you want to become successful, you need powerful traits that make you who you are. Rich people are rich because they have the character it needs to get rich. Being rich is nothing to do with being lucky, acting mean or morally wrong, being a bully, using people or whatsoever. So why would you resent someone who actually worked a lot for his or her success? Who was persistent? Who always tried to be his best? Who is reliable and focused? Why would you resent someone when you’d secretly want to be like that person?

To put it clearly, when you resent the success of others, you’re not going to get any… When you resent your friend for having a girlfriend, you’re not going to get one. When you resent someone for having a Mercedes, you’re not going to have one. When you resent a rich person for his or her money, you’re NOT going to get ANY MONEY. “Act like rich people and admire what you want. Bless what you want. Love what you want,” Eker emphasized. Yes, love what you want, love what you want, LOVE WHAT YOU WANT!

[*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 #5 Rich People Focus on Opportunities, Poor People Focus on Obstacles

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 #5:

Rich People Focus on Opportunities.

Poor* People Focus on Obstacles.

Poor people’s primary mindset is “What if it doesn’t work?” or more often, “It won’t work.” Rich people, on the other hand, take responsibility for the results in their lives and act upon the mindset, “It will work because I’ll make it work.” Rich people expect to succeed. These are completely opposite mind-sets. Poor people see obstacles while rich people see opportunities. Poor people focus on the risks while rich people focus on the rewards. No risks, no rewards. Harv Eker states that as soon as there is an opportunity, rich people gather as much knowledge as quickly as possible to make their decision. They go for it or not. Poor people claim to be preparing but what they’re usually doing is stalling. They’re scared and wait until the opportunity has gone along the way.

“The idea is to get in the game with whatever you’ve got, from wherever you are. I call this entering the corridor,” says Eker. The point is that no luck – or anything else worthwhile – will come your way unless you take some form of action. “I call this being an ACTION-TAKER.” The author advises us to enter the corridor and then correct along the way. So, act and enter the corridor before you feel perfectly prepared. You will never be perfectly prepared, never! Entering the corridor means getting into a business, learning about a business, not from the outside (Yes, I will have my first small business with my partner next year! Yea!). So, if you want to become a hotelier, for example, it is wise to visit a hotel first. And also, work in a hotel first. Get to know how a hotel works from the inside. From the outside, you don’t see a thing…

If you really want to learn a business, get into it, says Eker, “You don’t have to own the darn thing from day one.” If you remember Harv Eker’s motto: Action always beats inaction. And don’t be the poor person who is still preparing, planning, analyzing and waiting… If you’re always “preparing” and “getting ready,” it’s like you’re waiting for someone else to take the chance. Don’t wait and see but act and see. You can still do some corrections along the way, it doesn’t need to be perfect from day one. If you’re like me, a guy, you’ve probably been in a situation like this (if you’re a lady, imagine): You’re out with your friends and there is a girl you like in the same bar. You wait and wonder what you’re going to say to her – you’re preparing (but you’re also stalling because you’re afraid of rejection or whatever). Suddenly, Bang! There’s another guy with her. You’ve just missed the damn chance! That guy is not better than you, he just took action. That’s the difference! You've outwaited the opportunity.

So, from now on – TAKE ACTION. Get in the corridor when there’s an opportunity. Action always beats inaction. Don’t wait for the opportunity to pass. Place your hand on your heart and say, “I focus on opportunities over obstacles,” “I get ready, I fire, I aim!”

[*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 #4 Rich People Think Big, Poor People Think Small (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 #4:

Rich People Think Big.

Poor* People Think Small.

“The Law of Income: You will be paid in direct proportion to the value you deliver according to the marketplace,” said Harv Eker, “The key word is value. It’s important to know that four factors determine your value in the marketplace: supply, demand, quality, and quantity.” This makes sense. The more you offer, the more you get paid. This is a fair law. You offer a higher value and get paid more than someone who offers a lower value. Who do you think should be paid more, a good lawyer or a bad lawyer? A good footballer or a bad footballer? A good actor or a poor actor? The answers are obvious…

I’m not going to explain the concept of supply and demand here, as it’s not what the book is about. The major struggle people have with offering more value is the quantity. The quantity factor simply means how much of your value do you actually deliver to the marketplace? Most people play small because #1 They are scared of failure, and #2 They feel small and unworthy. “But hear this,” Eker emphasized, “Your life is not just about you. It’s also about contributing to others. It’s about living true to your mission and reason for being here on this earth at this time. It’s about adding your piece of the puzzle to the world. Most people have stuck in their egos that everything revolves around me, me, and more me. But if you want to be rich in the truest sense of the word, it can’t be about you. It has to include adding value to other people’s lives.”

Let’s assume that what you have to offer actually has a high value to other people and helps them. Now, should you offer that value to one person or to ten? Or to a hundred? A thousand? Thousands? Yes! Yes, Yes, Yes! You definitely should offer that value to as many people as possible. Don’t hold it back. It is your DUTY to offer it to as many people as possible. This is what THINK BIG is all about. Many, many people need what you have to offer – offer it to them and get paid proportionally. “The by-product is that the more people you help, the ‘richer’ you become, mentally, emotionally, spiritually and definitely financially.”

It’s time to stop hiding out and start stepping out. Most people think small. And guess what, they will achieve relatively little. On the other hand, if you THINK BIG, you can achieve much more! You can help thousands and thousands of people. That shall be the goal. Eker concluded: “In the end, small thinking and small actions lead to being both broke and unfulfilled. Big thinking and big actions lead to having both money and meaning. The choice is yours!”

[*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!