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!

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!

The Subtle Art of Not Giving A F*ck: The Important of Saying NO (Chapter 8 Summary)

This is a chapter-by-chapter summary of a book by Mark Manson’s The Subtle Art of Not Giving A F*ck: A Counterintuitive Approach to Living a Good Life (2016) series. One chapter, one article. Read this summary, buy the book. Enjoy!

“Ultimately the only way to achieve meaning and a sense of importance in one’s life is through a rejection of alternative, a narrowing of freedom, a choice of commitment to one place, one belief or (gulp) one person”

(Mark Manson)

By attempting to “have it all” you can easily end up having nothing. This is what Manson discovered after years of travelling the world, thinking he was living the high life. He would float from city to city, and from bed to bed, never staying long enough to commit to friends or lovers. But what he thought at first was freedom turned out to mean nothing. Eventually, Manson returned to the United States, settled down in one city and married to one woman. Giving up the idea of freedom he had held while travelling allowed him to develop a family and community that gave his life more meaning than ever before.

This is not to say that travelling is not valuable, or that everyone ought to commit to family life. Rather, it means that at some point you have to choose what is important to you and discard what is not important. Manson realized that family and community was important, and therefore he had to say no to travel around the globe. Rejecting certain choices defined Manson – he created a new identity for himself based on what he discarded.

F#ck! Learn how and when to say – NO.

Change Your Life: Be a Lifelong Learner

“I'm a constant learner. You need to be a constant student

because things change and you have to change and grow.

And I emphasize the word 'grow’”

(Zig Ziglar)

To know is to arrive; to ask questions is to embark on a quest. People whose lives are characterized by a question mark (?) rather than a period (!), who look for learning opportunities everywhere they go, are generally joyful, are more creative, enjoy better relationships, and attain higher levels of satisfaction in life.

To be a lifelong learner is both fun and functional, and all we need to travel along that path is a humble heart and a curious mind. Every person we meet – a student or a teacher, a friend or a stranger – can teach us something; each experience holds within it an important lesson; in every moment is a message waiting to be discovered. When we embrace the spirit of inquiry and curiosity, we embrace life. How wonderful it is that this life is an inexhaustible source of wonders. How exciting to learn that the excitement of learning can last a lifetime. Even young Jesus “listening to [the Jewish teachers] and asking questions” and they in return “we amazed at his intelligent answers” (Luke 2:46-47).

Don’t be in ignorance,

Open your mind and heart to learning.

Lord, Give Us Today Our Daily Idea(s)

Genius is 99 Percent Inspiration

The celebrated inventor Thomas Edison is well known for his statement: “Genius is 1 percent inspiration and 99 percent perspiration.” While I believe that hard work is essential to a life of real success and fulfilment, I think that being filled with a deep sense of inspiration and commitment to making a difference in the world is an even more important attribute.

All of the great geniuses of the world were inspired and driven by their desire to enrich the lives of others. When you study their lives, you will discover that this desire became almost an obsession for most of them. It consumed them and occupied every cell of their minds. Edison was inspired to manifest the visions he saw on the picture screen of his imagination into reality. Jonas Salk, who discovered the polio vaccine, was inspired to help others from suffering from this dreaded affliction. And Marie Curie, the great Nobel Prize-winning scientist, was inspired to serve humanity through her discovery of radium. As Woodrow Wilson said, “You are not here to merely make a living. You are here in order to enable the world to live more amply, with greater vision, with a finer spirit of hope and achievement. You are here to enrich the world, and you impoverish yourself if you forget the errand.”

How inspired are you in your own life? Do you jump out of bed on Monday mornings or do you simply lie there with a sense of emptiness flooding through your body? If your level of inspiration is lower than you know it should be, read a good self-help book or listen to a motivating audiocassette program. Attend a public lecture by someone you admire or spend a few hours studying the biography of one of your heroes. Start spending time with people who are passionate about what they are doing in their lives and dedicated to making the best out of life. With a healthy dose of inspiration, you will quickly raise your life to a whole new plane of living.

[From Life Lessons from the Monk Who Sold His Ferrari by Robin Sharma]

Lord, Give Us Today Our Daily Idea(s)