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Money has a different meaning to different people. For some, it is a power to choose, for others it is a scare tool. Rich peoples have all positive and broad level meaning with money while middle & poor class people hardly have positive meaning with money. Below keynotes are from the book ‘How Rich People Think’ by Steve Siebold on the meaning of money.
Money, A Critical Component of Life!
The masses take pride in denying the importance of money, and they wear it like a badge of honour. They believe their lack of interest in money tells the world they are above materialism. They deny its importance out of a need to position themselves as morally superior while simultaneously struggling with the fear and terror that comes with being broke. Because they know that their simplicity cannot pay their electricity bill or fees for their children’s school. For that, they need only money. It’s parallel to a starving man turning away food in an effort to elevate his importance.
Meanwhile, the world-class focus on building net worth, knowing it will offer greater options and opportunities. In a catastrophic health crisis, it may even save their life or the life of someone they love. The great ones are well aware of the critical nature of building wealth, and they are also aware of the limitations of any level of success and financial reward.
The masses are famous for hiding behind the statement “Money won’t make you happy,” as if this fact somehow forgives them from the responsibility of acquiring it. In 26 years of interviewing the wealthy, Steve Siebold has never had any of them say money is the secret to happiness. Most have said money has little impact on happiness. Money makes you more comfortable, opens doors, and creates opportunities. If the average person directed the amount of mental energy toward earning money as they do worrying about it, they would never have to worry again. The rich are able to re-direct that mental energy toward becoming even richer and sharing their wealth with the less fortunate.
Money, A Friend!
The masses have a broken, adversarial relationship with money. We are taught that money is scarce, hard to earn, and harder to keep. People of influence in childhood instructed them to work hard and hoard as much money as possible. Teachers, coaches, parents, and authority figures, most of whom had little money, conditioned us to see money as a necessary evil.
The world-class has the same childhood experience, but along the way had exposure to a higher thought level that changed the way they think about wealth. They learn that money is not the enemy, but one of their greatest allies and friends. It is a friend that has the power to end sleepless nights of worry, physical pain, and can even save their life. They learn that money is not materialistic; people are materialistic. Money is just a medium of exchange without attachment to anything good or bad.
Nurture Relationship with Money
Blaming money for greed and materialism is like blaming food for making people fat. It’s confused thinking. The rich see money as a special friend that can help them in ways no other friend can, and these positive feelings lead them to build a stronger relationship every day. The more money you acquire, the more you understand it, and the more you understand it, the more good you can do with it.
The great ones continue to cultivate and nurture their relationship with money by thinking about how to earn more, invest wiser, and leverage as much as possible. The rich do this so well they often acquire much more money than they’ll ever want or need, which is typically when they turn their attention to giving the excess away to charitable organizations. These groups wouldn’t survive without the success and generosity of the wealthy who have adopted money as a close friend.
So what is your view? What do you think about money? Is it a critical component in your life or not?
“Money isn’t everything… but it ranks right up there with oxygen.”- Rita Davenport
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