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 #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!

With Winning In Mind: Mental Rehearsal (Chapter 6)

This is a chapter-by-chapter summary of a book by Lanny Bassham's With Winning in Mind (2012) series. One chapter, one article. Read this summary, buy the book. Enjoy!

“In mental rehearsal you are picturing what you want to see happen before you actually perform. You go over in your mind exactly how you want your performance to be conducted. In rifle, looking through the sights, centring the target, and firing the shot in the ten ring. The more vivid the picture, the better the outcome. The more often you rehearse, the better the chance for success”
(Lanny Bassham)

Mental rehearsal is simply visualizing your performance or behaviour in your mind. You can mentally rehearse giving a speech, shooting free-throw, hitting grand slam, writing an exam, or anything else. The benefits are threefold:

1) You are practicing: Mental rehearsal is mental practice. Maybe it’s not as good as actually practicing, but Lanny says it’s a great substitute when actual training is not possible due to weather, injury, or time limitations.

2) No negative reinforcement: Because you only rehearse good performances, there is no negative reinforcement. It’s 100% purely positive reinforcement (which is almost impossible during actual training).

3) It reduces fear: This is neat. When you’ve been in a stressful situation often, the stress or fear you encounter diminishes over time (Think about the first speech you’ve ever made. I bet you were more nervous than in your 10^th speech, right?). Rehearsal reduces fear because it gives you mental experience in a pressure situation. Lanny claims that he’s competed in the Olympic Games twice physically, but thousands of times mentally.

Keep in mind that you mentally rehearse the process of your performance,

NOT the outcome.

Have A Winning Mindset!

Start With Why: Carrots and Sticks (Chapter 2 Summary)

This book summary series is taken from Simon Sinek’s Start With Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action (2011). Your curiosity and knowledge is infinite, but your time is not. Read this summary – and you’ll be inspired!

Simon Sinek tells that there are only two ways to influence human behaviour: You can manipulate them or you can inspire them. Inspiration (see Introduction) is always better than manipulation. When companies do not have a clear sense of why their customers are their customers, they tend to rely on a disproportionate number of manipulations to get what they need. Here are typical ways of manipulations, Carrots and Sticks:

Price. For the seller, selling based on price is like heroin. The short-term gain is fantastic, but the more you do it, the harder it becomes to kick the habit. Once buyers get used to paying a lower-than-average price for a product or service, it is very hard to get them to pay more.

Fear. Fear – real or perceived – is arguably the most powerful manipulation and also very destructive.

Peer Pressure. When marketers report that a majority of a population or a group of experts prefers their product over another, they are attempting to sway the buyer to believing that whatever they are selling is better. Peer pressure works not because the majority or the experts are always right, but because “we fear that we may be wrong.”

Novelty. Real innovation changes the course of industries or even societies, like the light bulb, the microwave and iTunes. Adding a camera to a mobile phone is not an innovation – a great feature, but not industry altering. Novelty can drive sales but the impact does not last. “If a company adds too many novel ideas too often, it can have a similar impact on the product or category as the price game. In an attempt to differentiate with more features, the product start to look and feel more like commodities and, like price, the need to add yet another product to the line of compensate for the commodization ends in a downward spiral.”

Manipulations Lead to Transactions,
Only Inspirations Lead to Loyalty.

Manipulations don’t breed loyalty, although they can drive sales. Over time, they cost more and more. And they increase the stress for both buyer and seller. Loyalty is when people are willing to turn down a better product or better price to continue doing business with you. Loyal customers often don’t even bother to research the competition.

Addicted to the short term results, businesses today has largely become a series of quick fixes added on one after another. “Carrots and sticks work just fine for transactions occurring on the average just once, but if you want to build lasting relationships, you have to inspire people.” Manipulations are perfectly valid strategy for driving a transaction. But if you want loyalty, inspired people. It is the feeling of “we’re in this together” shared between customer and company, employers and employee, mentor and mentees that defines great leaders.