by: Dinar P. Wiria-Atmadja
What is the difference between wealthy people and poor (even average) people? It is not all the money that wealthy people have and the average don’t, nor the luxury, nor the lifestyle. It is their mindset.
A few lucky people have won a lot of money and become wealthy overnight but in short time many of them have returned to their prior financial condition too soon. There is no trace of all the riches they have once won. Very few of them can stay wealthy long enough to actually improve their quality of life.
Why? Because it is not the money and the luxurious lifestyle that make people wealthy. It is their mindset.
Real wealthy people act differently upon the big cash they can get their hands on and upon everything else pertaining money and possession. And this is because they think differently from most average people in the first place.
Let’s think this through and discuss the way average people think…
As soon as they can get their hands on a big fat check, average people would almost immediately go shopping. Buy the latest model car, luxurious home, or spend it on renovation, once-in-a-lifetime luxurious vacation… blah blah blah.
They think that in order to really become wealthy, they have to possess all the stuff that wealthy people would have, travel to places wealthy people would go to, drive the cars wealthy people would drive or live in big mansions where wealthy people would live.
Real wealthy people can afford all the above simply because they have higher purchasing power. Most of us, on the other hand, would think that by having all those above we just might be considered as ‘wealthy’. We tend to think that to become wealthy we have to ‘act’ or ‘live’ like those who in reality are.
Ironically, the fact is to become wealthy we have to ‘think’ like real wealthy people.
Once again I must say that it’s the mindset that makes people wealthy. It’s neither their possessions nor what they spend their money on.
Most of us go shopping while holding on to this principle: Buy now, struggle later.
When wealthy people go shopping they think: Delay it now, invest the money, and have all you want later on! They embrace delayed gratification.
Generally, too soon, the average people would end up in debt due to their principles of immediate gratification. And in most cases their debt worsens. Car loans, furniture loans, education loans, home loans, credit cards… and who knows what else.
As the story continuous, I believe, it becomes more and more familiar to the vast majority: In order to pay off all the debts, they become slaves of their own jobs after they realised that they had been “slaves of their own debt” for some time.
To them, a job becomes a necessity as opposed to a choice. It is chosen based on how big the salary is to pay off their debt, instead of on the satisfaction the job provides.
Can these people retire early? No. In fact, they wouldn’t even dare to think about it! They are too deep in debt to quit and to just come and go almost at will.
On the other hand, not only do the wealthy know the negatives of being in a debt, they also know precisely the advantages of being debt-free. By being debt-free, they have more money to save.
The more money wealthy people have, the more they can invest in their own businesses. Exactly these businesses are their assets that generate life-long passive income for them. True wealthy people have known
for decades that having traditional jobs would NEVER make them rich. It would make their bosses rich for sure but there is no way acquiring real wealth merely by trading time for money.
Can business owners retire early? Yes. Having your own business means having passive income for life (more likely even longer than that). If you work consistently on growing your business, you will come to a point where your passive income exceeds your daily living cost.
If this happens, you can choose when to work, where to work or what. Your choice of jobs will not be limited by how much money they provide. Moreover, a job for you would be more of a choice than a necessity. Even if you chose not to work, you would still have money coming in from your business.
This is what real freedom is and this is exactly how wealthy people think!
Ironically, I have met some people who sneer at the idea of investing in a business. For some reason they think that people who are interested in investing must be so much in love with money, or even slaves of it.
Most average people think that business owners must have become wealthy by the drive of their greedy, selfish minds. They tend to think that business owners must be slaves to their money and riches that they could actually have riches so abundantly now.
The truth is their mindset is exactly the opposite.
Exactly because of UNSELFISH reasons, business owners set up their businesses in the first place.
By having their own businesses which generate passive income for them, they have quality time to spend with their loved ones.
They are not too busy to go to their daughter’s first dance recital or to show up at his son’s birthday party.
They are not too busy to spend a one-week holiday with their spouse. They are not too busy (nor too broke) to be involved in voluntary social work.
The average traditional worker, on the other hand, would not be able to just go and have a holiday anytime he pleases. He has a too tight schedule to come to his daughter’s dance recital or his son’s 6th birthday party. And, hey, he’s too busy (and too broke) to do voluntary social work! He needs jobs that pay well and social works just won’t do.
Well, who is the selfish one now?
Most importantly, because the businesses wealthy people own generate passive income not only throughout their lives but also throughout the lives of their children and grandchildren, business owners prove themselves even more UNSELFISH than the average people do.
People with typical jobs will either retire broke or die poor, leaving their families with nothing (if not with their remaining debt).
By having the right mindset, you will not only be able to have abundant riches, but also a great chance to live abundantly: do all the things that provide satisfaction, spend quality time with you family and friends, and have all the time and money to voluntarily help other people and make your part of the world a better place to live.
Above all, having the right mindset will give you a chance to care and provide for your family even after you leave this planet.
Are you ready to adopt the wealthy mindset?