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!

As A Man Thinketh #1 Don't Limit Your Mind

“A person is limited only by the thoughts that he chooses”
(James Allen, As A Man Thinketh)

You are not limited to the life you now live. It has been accepted by you as the best you can do at this moment. Any time you’re ready to go beyond the limitations currently in your life, you’re capable of doing that by choosing different thoughts. Don’t limit yourself.

Cynthia Kersey author of Unstoppable writes about this amazing story of George Dantzig. As a college student, George studied very hard and always late into the night. So late that he overslept one morning, arriving 20 minutes late for class. He quickly copied the two math problems on the board, assuming they were the homework assignment. It took him several days to work through the two problems, but finally he had a breakthrough and dropped the homework on the professor's desk the next day.

Later, on a Sunday morning, George was awakened at 6 a.m. by his excited professor. Since George was late for class, he hadn't heard the professor announce that the two unsolvable equations on the board were mathematical mind teasers that even Albert Einstein hadn't been able to answer.  But George Dantzig, working without any thoughts of limitation, had solved not one, but two problems that had stumped mathematicians for thousands of years. Simply put, George solved the problems because he didn't know he couldn't.

Bob Proctor tells us to “keep reminding yourself that you have tremendous reservoirs of potential within you, and therefore you are quite capable of doing anything you set your mind to. All you must do is figure out how you can do it, not whether or not you can. And once you have made your mind up to do it, it’s amazing how your mind begins to figure out how.”

Think about it!

Lord, Give Us Today Our Daily Idea(s)

References:

1.      As A Man Thinketh (1903) by James Allen

2.      Day by Day with James Allen (2003) by Vic Johnson

3.      Unstoppable: 45 Powerful Stories of Perseverance and Triumph from People Just Like You (1998) by Cynthia Kersey

Change Your Life: Perceive Hardship as Temporary

“Whatever comes, this too shall pass away.”
(Ella Wheeler Wilcox)

Our life is not free from sorrow and suffering. Even the happiest person in the world experiences sadness, disappointment, anger, and frustration. The difference between happy and unhappy people is not whether they experience painful emotions – everyone does – but how they approach these emotions and how they interpret their experiences.

People who are unhappy tend to believe that painful emotions are here to stay – which, of course, they are more likely to if this is their expectation. By contrast, happy people know that painful emotions – like all emotions – are temporary, and this expectation tends to liberate them from their unpleasant experience.

When we choose to perceive painful experiences as they truly are – as temporary and fleeting – then we allow them to take their natural course. Just as these emotions arrived naturally, so they will naturally depart.  

Don’t perceive hardship as permanent,

Perceive hardship as temporary.

Lord, Give Us Today Our Daily Idea(s)

 Reference: Choose the Life You Want: 101 Ways to Create You Own Road to Happiness by Tal Ben-Shahar, PhD (New York: The Experiment, 2012) Buy this book!)

Change Your Life: Actively Learn the Lessons of Hardship

“Never let a good crisis go to waste”

(Anne Harbison)

Although I do not wish hardship on myself, hardship often finds me, and when it does, I have a choice. I can treat it as a purely negative experience – one that I should put behind me as soon as possible and never think of again – or I can actively seek to identify and understand the lesson that every hardship contains within it.

For example, through hardship I can learn about humbleness (gaining a better understanding of my limitations), empathy (learning to connect to the pain of others), patience (absorbing the lesson that things do not always turn out as we planned), and resilience (gaining confidence from my ability to bounce back after the hardship is overcome). I most certainly do not have to be happy about everything negative happens to me, I can use it as a tool for development and growth. Things do not necessarily happen for the best, but I can choose to make the best things that happen.

Find the lessons in difficulties that you are facing right now. Look back and learn from hardships that you’ve experienced in the past; you will not only derive important lessons from reflecting on these challenges, you will also realize how much you have grown as a result. And how God works in and through you all this while.

Don’t avoid learning from hardship,

Actively learn the lessons of hardship.

Lord, Give Us Today Our Daily Idea(s)

 References:

1. Choose the Life You Want: 101 Ways to Create You Own Road to Happiness by Tal Ben-Shahar, PhD (New York: The Experiment, 2012) Buy this book!

2. The Handbook of Posttraumatic Growth: Research and Practice by L.G. Calhoun and R.G. Tedeschi (Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 2006)

Self-Esteem and Creativity: An Example of Walt Disney

In my opinion, most creative-successful people in life are those who retain a strong belief in their own worth and value, even when they have few material possessions to sustain them. They hold fast to their dreams and believe in the validity of their ideas, their belief being stronger than the rejection or acceptance of them by other people. 

When Walt Disney had a new idea he would ask ten people at random what they thought about it. If they all gave negative responses, he would start working on his idea immediately. Walt Disney had many rejections to deal with during his lifetime as a result of seeing things differently from other people and putting everything he had into his dreams. When Walt Disney was trying to find people in Hollywood to give him financial backing for an early cartoon, Mickey Mouse in Steamboat Willie, he was bankrupt. It is hard to imagine just how difficult it must have been in the days of silent films to sell anyone the idea of a talking mouse with a funny voice. However, children and adults around the world today continue to appreciate the wonderful films and magical theme-parks created by this remarkable dreamer.

So was Walt Disney a better human being when he was bankrupt and still doing the original voice of Mickey Mouse, or after he had made all those marvelous films and created those magical theme-parks? Walt Disney had the kind of self-esteem that enable him to persevere long after others would have stopped trying. He had a self-sustaining confidence in his own abilities and dreams, and clearly understood that real value resides in the doer and not in the deed.

Lord, Give Us Today Our Daily Idea(s)

Nurture Creativity: Have Crazy Idea, Don't Give Up!

Fred Smith, founder of FedEx

“I think there are two keys to being creatively productive.

One is not being daunted by one’s fear of failure, the second is sheer perseverance”

(Mary-Claire King)

“It’s so crazy, it might just work,” said Fred Smith optimistically. He was an undergraduate at Yale University in 1965. As part of the coursework, he wrote an economics paper exploring the process of transportation of goods in the United States. Fred Smith wrote “crazy” idea on paper how a company carrying small, essential items by plane could be a much better business. He, however, did not go into details about how to actually run such a company.

As expected, his professor gave the paper a grade of “C”. Just like Smith’s professor, other people thought that the idea was indeed deserving a “C”. Some even thought that it was “crazy”. It was, but not for Fred Smith. Therefore, Smith held on to the crazy idea despite what others thought of it. He believes in his idea. To cut the story short, in 1971, the company was launched. It is called FedEx Express. Throughout the years, will all the challenges and failures, Smith never give up. “Today,” wrote Abhash Kumar, in YouStory.com, “FedEx is a global giant with operations in more than 220 countries and territories and an annual revenue of US $45 billion.”

What I learned from Fred Smith’s story is this: Logic will dictate that we stay away from crazy ideas. True, but the crazy ones are dared to go beyond what is “logical” and what is “safe”. They were the ones who have ventured out of the boundaries of the norm. Highly creative people are basically crazy. And once they believe in the idea, they will never give up. Remember Steve Jobs’ famously quote: “the ones who are crazy enough to think that they can change the world, are the ones who do.” Are you crazy enough? Do you have “crazy” idea that you believe in despite people’s negative criticisms about it? Do you want to change the world? Then, stay on. Don’t give up.

Many ideas deemed as crazy at first may just turn out to be very creative and innovative. “Nearly all creative ideas can sound crazy when first presented,” write Nolan Bushnell, founder of Atari. He continues, “Most people don’t have creative imaginations, so most people don’t get what the creative is saying. And people tend to be fearful of things they don’t understand.” Here is the fact: Not all crazy ideas have worked out – but most do. Add that crazy idea to perseverance and believe. Remember, some will just laugh at your idea. Don’t give up. If it is a worthy idea, make it work despite how silly it may sounds.

Have crazy idea. Don’t give up.

God, Give Us Today Our Daily Idea(s)

Nurture Creativity: Believe that You're Spider-Man

Spider-Man, the creation of writer Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko was an idea that almost didn’t happen. At first, Marvel Comics, the publisher did not think that readers would like or be able to relate to a superhero that was a spider (I wonder, how about Ant-Man?) But after almost 50 years now, Spider-Man has become one of the most famous and popular superheroes ever.

I re-watched Spider-Man movies all over again. How Peter Parker becomes Spider-Man is quite simple. Peter Parker, a nerdy high school student who wears thick glasses, loves reading, enjoy studying and is very unpopular and low profile. While attending a school field trip to a science exhibition on radiation, Peter is bitten on the hand (other version, on the neck) by an irradiated spider. Then, Peter begins to feel sick and soon starts to develop spider-like abilities. These include ability to stick to things, great strength, very fast and agile, and some versions adds night vision and ability to make spider webs (or through a machine he creates). The most unique of all is his – spider sense. Spider-Man the superhero is born.

What I like about Spider-Man a.k.a. Peter Parker is that he is unique among all superheroes. He is a teenager with all the issues that teenagers face (so it is with his adulthood). He is not really a tough hero. He shows a wide range of emotions that I can really identify with such as vulnerable, makes mistakes, doesn’t always have perfect relationships with women or others, is not always trusted by society and is not very comfortable in life generally. He is also alone much of the time than many other superheroes. In fact, Spider-Man doesn’t have sidekicks like most heroes. He often talking to himself. Spider-Man is so appealing to me because he is among the most human of the superheroes. Spider-Man, my favourite hero!

Now, what Spider-Man have to do with being creative? Simple: Spider-Man is you and me. We might not have great strength, speed and agility but we have minds that can produce great ideas. We might not have night vision but we can dream dreams, fill the world with imagination and casting visions for the future. We might not have the ability to make spider webs but we can make idea happened. Believe that you’re creative. God have provide you with these abilities, use it for good and responsively. Uncle Ben before he die says this to Peter Parker: “With great power there must also come great responsibility.” We are not superheroes but we’re special. We’re creative. Isn’t that amazing? Amazing Spider-Man are human being like us after all. Failures, mistakes and rejections may come your way but if you believe that you’re creative, you can make a difference like heroes. Use your spider sense, produce ideas and take actions.

You’re creative. “Everyone is born creative,” write Hugh MacLeod, “Everyone is given a box of crayons in kindergarten. Then when you hit puberty they take the crayons away and replace them with dry, uninspiring books on algebra, history, etc. Being suddenly hit years later with the 'creative bug' is just a wee voice telling you, 'I'd like my crayons back, please.”

Spider-Man is born

You’re born to be creative

Lord, Give Us Today Our Daily Idea(s)