Secrets of the Millionaire Mind: So What the Heck Do I Do Now? (End)

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 you want to change the fruits, you will first have to change the roots.
If you want to change the visible, you must first change the invisible.”

(Harv T. Eker)

An old saying, “What you hear, you forget; what you see, you remember; what you do, you understand.” As you read Secrets of the Millionaire Mind, do you remember Eker’s motto? Exactly, action always beats inaction! That’s why I suggest that you get started. Take the ONE Wealth File that you liked and/or needed the most and read it again and follow the action plans. Think of what you could do RIGHT NOW that would bring you closer to how rich people think and act. That’s the first step. It’s your actions that count!

Now, reading is a start, of course, but if you want to succeed in the real world, it’s going to be your actions that count. Reading is an action as well, and reading great literature is a HUGE step in the right direction. Still, it is very important to integrate what you’ve learned into your life. Otherwise, it doesn’t help you grow. Getting rich said Eker throughout this book, takes focus, courage, knowledge, expertise, 100% of your effort, a never-give-up attitude, and of course, a rich mindset. So work on yourself. Work on your thinking. Work on your mind. Work on who you are. And if you choose to be rich, or better – if you commit to being rich – then it helps to know that the most important ingredient to self-made millionaires’ success is the MILLIONAIRE MIND!

I Have A Millionaire Mind!

Secret of the Millionaire Mind: Wealth File #17 Rich People Constantly Learn and Grow

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 #17:

Rich People Constantly Learn and Grow.

Poor People* Think They Already Know.

Becoming rich isn’t as much about getting rich financially as about whom you have to become, in character and mind, to get rich. “The goal of creating wealth is to help you grow yourself into the best person you can possibly be,” writes Harv Eker. An adage says, “You take yourself with wherever you go.” If you grow yourself to become a successful person, in the strength of character and mind, you will naturally be [almost] successful in anything and everything you do. You will gain the power of choice. You will gain the inner power and ability to choose any job, business, or investment arena and know you’ll be a success. This is the essence of this book. This, I think, is MASSIVE.

“Getting rich is about who you have to become as a person to get rich.” Who do you need to be to get rich? That’s a powerful question. When you sincerely answer it, you’ll know to get rich is about you, and nothing else. “The fastest way to get rich and stay rich is,” revealed Eker, “to work on developing you!” You need to grow. What does that mean? Grow in height? Not so much. Grow your hair? Nope (I’m offended!). Grow in character? Yes. Grow as a person? Yes, that’s it! It’s about continuous improvement of self. To try every day to become the best version of ourselves. In short: If you are not growing, you are dying. Jim Rohn once said, “If you keep doing what you’ve always done, you’ll keep getting what you’ve always got.” So start growing!

One way to get started is to realize that: WE CAN CHANGE. It has never been easy, I know, but we must change… or die. If you want to be successful, you have to copy the successful people. Start with that. If you want to have a great body, you have to copy models or bodybuilders. If you want to be a great salesperson, you have to copy great salesperson. If you want to be rich, then, you have to copy rich people. This is all learnable. “Rich people take advice [or follow examples] from people who are richer than they are,” compares Eker, “Poor people take advice from their friends, who are just broke as they are.” You just need to change something in your lives. You need to take the actions [refer to Wealth File #16] that are necessary to become who you want to become. You need to constantly learn and grow. “The more you learn, the more you earn.” So true!

I Have A Millionaire Mind!

[*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.]

Secret of the Millionaire Mind: Wealth File #16 Rich People Act In Spite of Fear

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 #16:

Rich People Act In Spite of Fear.

Poor People* Let Fear Stop Them.

“Action is the ‘bridge’ between the inner world and the outer world,” writes Harv Eker. Because we are the creatures of habit, we need to practice acting in spite of fear, in spite of doubt, in spite of worry, in spite of uncertainty, in spite of inconvenience, in spite of discomfort, and even to practice acting when we’re not in the mood to act (“It is not necessary to try to get rid of fear in order to succeed”). “If you are willing to do only what’s easy, life will be hard,” explained Eker, “But if you are willing to do what’s hard, life will be easy.” Wow! Take action is the cue! All we’ve learned so far – all the wealth files – is useless if we don’t act. It’s simple as that. If you understand that managing money is crazy important for you but you don’t do it, then what does it help you? Nothing… N.O.T.A.D.A.M.N.T.H.I.N.G.!

It’s easy. Let’s assume that most people know that eating healthy and exercising regularly are important for their health. Then why are health issues bigger than ever before? Because people do not act in accordance with what they think or know is the right thing to do. I don’t say it’s easy to act that way, but it is necessary… at least if you want to be healthy or in this book case, be rich. I have to admit, action can be difficult. Maybe you’re scared, maybe you feel not talented enough, maybe you feel uncomfortable or maybe you are just lazy. But what if sometimes we need to be scared, uncomfortable and make an effort? Well, that’s at least what rich people do said Eker. They act in spite of fear or discomfort. “The only time when you are actually growing,” Eker reasons, “is when you are uncomfortable.” If you are willing to act in seemingly tough circumstances, then you are going to succeed. Life will be easier. If you don’t act, you just stay where you are… or you will even go backwards. For you own sake, take the actions that are necessary for your growth!

Poor people are not willing to be uncomfortable. Being comfortable may make you feel warm, fuzzy, and secure, but it doesn’t allow you to grow. They only time you can actually grow is when you are “outside of your comfort zone.” The minute you get comfortable, you have stopped growing. So, the only way you can grow is when you’re outside your comfort zone. Ask yourself: When was the last time you were outside your comfort zone? I’m sure that was uncomfortable at the moment, but it felt great afterwards. Well, that’s growth! And that’s what you should do every day. Keep living at the edge. Keep living where we don’t feel completely safe and comfy. That’s where we grow!

I say it again: Fear and discomfort should not stop you! Fear most often is based on some (often out of one’s mind) idea of our mind. “You mind is the greatest soap-opera scriptwriter in history.” We, however, have the power to control it and even when our mind goes nut we still have the power to think more rationally and see that often our mind is silly. Eker puts it this way, “Training and managing your own mind is the most important skill you could ever own, in terms of both happiness and success.” Harv suggests starting by observing your mind. What do you think? I mean, literally, what do you think right now? When you do that, you observe your thoughts. When you consciously do that, you can decide whether you want to follow a thought or just let it go and wait for another one. When there is a thought of fear, just let it go. When there is an empowering thought, let it come. “Choose to entertain only empowering thoughts while refusing to focus on disempowering ones,” says Eker. Keep this in mind:

Your thoughts do not run you, you run your thoughts.

So, act in spite of fear and in spite of discomfort.

That’s a necessity for all you want in life…

I Have A Millionaire Mind!

[*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.]

Secret of the Millionaire Mind: Wealth File #15 Rich People have Their Money Work Hard for Them

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 #15:

Rich People have Their Money Work Hard for Them.

Poor People* Work Hard for Their Money.

“The more your money works, the less you will have to work,” said Harv Eker. The idea that you have to work hard to get rich is “bogus”! Eker suggests that if you want to be rich, let your money works for YOU. The magic word is working smart. That’s what the rich people have mastered, he said. The rich no doubt has to work hard, but only temporary. They work hard like everybody else but they think long-term and what they do with their money is smart – they save it to invest it later. First, they work hard for their money and later, they let their money work hard for them. Why do they do that? Because they want to be financially free!

“My definition of financial freedom is simple,” writes Eker, “It is the ability to live the lifestyle you deserve without having to work or rely on anyone else for money.” How is that possible? He said you need passive income. In short, you become financially free when your passive income exceeds your expenses (Income > Expense). There are two primary sources of passive income outline this wealth file. The first is “money working for you.” This includes investment earnings from financial instruments such as stocks, bonds, or other assets that “appreciate in value and can be liquidated for cash. Assets are the key here. These are investments in things that (hopefully) gain value over time.” Like buying land and selling it at a later point (when it has gained value).

The second major source of passive income is “business working for you.” This entails generating ongoing income from businesses where you do not need to be personally involved for that business to operate and yield an income. An example of this would be buying real estate and rent it out. “The idea of passive income is to generate income without having to actually work. Yes, this is possible!” Eker emphasis this: “Rich people think long-term. They balance their spending on enjoyment today with investing for freedom tomorrow. Poor people* think short-term. They run their lives based on immediate gratification.” You have the power to make choices. It’s a matter of priorities. “Poor people think now, rich people think balance.”

So, make the right choices and save some money today so you can invest tomorrow and be financially free the day after tomorrow. Like what Eker said, “Rich people see every dollar as a ‘seed’ that can be planted to earn a hundred more dollars, which can then be replanted to earn a thousand more dollars.” Awesome! From what I’m reading, that how the rich got rich! Hard work today, smart work tomorrow, and no work the day after tomorrow… pretty cool, right?

[*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 #14 Rich People Manage Their Money Well

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 #14:

Rich People Manage Their Money Well.

Poor People* Mismanage Their Money Well.

Thomas Stanley, in his best-selling book, The Millionaire Next Door, surveyed millionaires and one of the results of his finding can be summed up in one short sentence: “Rich people are good at managing their money.” Rich people are not any smarter than poor people*, they just have different and more supportive money habits. That’s important! Not smarter, but know how to manage their money. The issue is not intellect, but habit and action. To put it simply: To master money, you must manage money! And to manage money to you need to take action – learn, learn, learn, and try, try, try.

The saying, “I’ll start managing my money as soon as I get caught up” is like an overweight person saying, “I’ll start exercising and dieting as soon as I lose 10kg.” It’s putting the cart before the horse, which leads to going nowhere, or worst, backward! First, you have to start properly handling the money you have or as Harv Eker puts it, “Until you show you can handle what you’ve got, you won’t get any more!” If your son couldn’t handle his Vespa (the Italian scooter), would you buy him a motorbike? Since Eker wrote this book in a very straightforward way, let me also do the same… to put it bluntly: Don’t be stupid and wait for having much money to manage, you’ll die waiting! Start right now with what you got. Every master once started small. “The habit of managing your money,” reminds Eker, “is more important than the amount.”

A Universal Law goes like this: Until you show you can handle what you’ve got, you won’t get any more. This is also true in how we manage our money, even if we only have little. Again, to make the question more personal, if you can’t even handle little money, why would you get more? What does matter is that you immediately begin to manage what you’ve got and you’ll be in shock at how soon you get more. Okay, so how can you do that? Eker advices the readers to create six (6) accounts (first two are most important):

Financial Freedom Account – 10%

Play Account – 10%

Long-Term Savings for Spending Account – 10%

Education Account – 10%

Necessities Account – 50%

Give Account – 10%

I’m not following exactly what Eker suggested here. The main point is: Manage your money. Or as the author reminds his reader, “Either you control your money, or it will control you.” To control money, manage it. He continues, “Money is a big part of your life, and when you learn how to get your finances under control, all areas of your life will soar.” I regret that I was doing the opposite a few years ago. It’s not too late, you and I can start now! Check your wallet now, if you have RM10 in it, put RM1 into your Financial Freedom Account. Start small, start now.

[*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 #13 Rich People Focus on Their Net Worth

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 #13:

Rich People Focus on Their Net Worth.

Poor People* Focus on Their Working Income.

“The true measure of wealth is net worth, not working income,” said Harv Eker, “Always has been, always will be. Net worth is the financial value of everything you own. This may sound a well-off or only for the rich - but it’s valid.” Eker explains that there are four net worth factors: #1 Income; #2 Savings; #3 Investments; and #4 Simplification.

#1 Income. Income comes in two forms: Working Income and Passive Income. You all know what the working income is, you go to work and you earn money for your work (or time, as discussed in previous posts earlier). You’ve probably also heard of passive income. This is money you earn without actively working (We’ll discuss that in more detail in Wealth File #15). Working and passive income together make your income (for most people it’s just working income).

#2 Savings. You can earn massive amounts of money, but when you spend it all, you have zero savings. Many people have a financial blueprint that is wired for spending (I’m guilty). These people spend everything they have no matter how much they earn. That’s what Eker called the Parkinson’s Law: Expenses will always rise in direct proportion of income. “That’s why income alone will never create wealth.” That certainly makes sense. We need to make savings.

#3 Investments. Because of savings, we can make investments, another piece of the net worth puzzle. Rich people take time and energy to learn about investing and investments. Poor people* think investing is only for the rich people, so they never learn about it and stay broke.

#4 Simplification. The fourth net worth factor is simplification. This is about saving money by leading a ‘cheaper’ lifestyle. By decreasing your cost of living, you increase your savings and the amount of funds available for investing.

For more details about each factors of net worth, please refer to the book. In short, Eker explains that “rich people understand that buildings a high net worth is an equation that contains all four elements: Income, savings, investments and simplification.” We can raise our income either through promotions and/or by increasing our value. We all also can save more money. Follow the 50:30:20 Rule, spending 50% on needs, 30% on wants, and allocating 20% to savings (find out other Rules from the internet. Choose what’s suitable for you). We too can learn about investments and spend less money on our lifestyle. As Eker said, “To increase your wealth, you either have to earn more or live on less.”

[*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 #12 Rich People Think "Both"; Poor People Think "Either/Or"

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 #12:

Rich People Think “Both.”

Poor People Think “Either/Or.”

As Harv Eker puts it, rich people live in a world of abundance, poor people live in a world of limitations. Many believe money and happiness are mutually exclusive, that either you can be rich or you can be happy. Again, this is nothing more than “poor” mentality programming. Do you want a successful career or a close relationship with your family? Seriously, think about it. What do you choose? The poor* will choose one. But why? Why you need to choose between the two? Why not both? The rich – the wise ones, of course – choose both. Be smart and choose both!

Do you want to focus on business or have fun and play? Both! Do you want money or meaning in your life? Both! Do you want to be rich or happy? Both! I choose both! You see, poor people always choose one. Poor people* feel that there is not enough and you can’t have everything. There is truth in that. Rich people, on the other hand, think there is plenty for everybody and you can have everything you truly want. You can’t have everything but you can have what you want. It’s possible. Poor people believe in scarcity; rich people believe in abundance. The difference couldn’t be bigger! Do you have to choose between wealth and happiness? No, of course not! Money is important and happiness is important. You can have both. Eker puts it in proper perspective: “Money enables you to ‘slide’ through life instead of having to ‘scrape’ by. Money brings freedom.” It can’t give or buy you freedom, but it can bring you freedom and make you smile.

Harv Eker writes, “If I can be an example for anything, it would be that you can be a kind, loving, caring, generous, and spiritual person and be really frickin’ rich… My friends, being kind, generous, and loving has nothing to do with what is or isn’t in your wallet. Those attributes come from what is in your heart.” Did you hear (or to be exact, read) that? It’s all about you! There we are again. I already cover this in the previous posts…. Money can’t make you someone you already are. You are who you are no matter what is or isn’t inside your wallet or bank account. So, you can be happy and you can be rich! You can choose both – I choose both. Yes, we can. Life is abundance. Yeah!

[*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 #11 Rich People Choose to Get Paid Based on Results

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 #11:

Rich People Choose to Get Paid Based on Results.

Poor People* Choose to Get Paid Based on Time.

Harv Eker writes, “There’s nothing wrong with getting a steady paycheck unless it interferes with your ability to earn what you’re worth. There’s the rub. It usually does.” Wealth Rule #1: Never have a ceiling on your income. If you choose to get paid for your time, you are pretty much killing your chances for wealth, says the author. A steady paycheck is safe. A steady paycheck is also a ceiling on your income. A steady paycheck is killing your chances for wealth…

If you want to become rich, work for yourself or at least work on commission or percentage. That’s the only way you can get paid based on results write Eker. Maybe it seems less safe but it’s certainly how you can earn more money. And it’s the only way to get rich. It’s how you can earn what you’re worth. And living based on security (like a safe, steady paycheck) is living based on fear. What you’re actually saying is, “I’m afraid I won’t be able to earn enough based on my performance, so I’ll settle for earning just enough to survive or to be comfortable.”

Eker asks his readers: Who should get paid more, a good or a bad lawyer? I guess we’re all clear on that – the more you deliver, the more you should get paid. In a 9 to 5 job though, everybody is paid the same. Everybody is paid based on the time they “work.” He puts work in quotation mark became he thought it’s less about the work and more about the time… Again. Harv Eker is completely clear on that: If you want to get rich, you work for 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!