Self-Defeating Beliefs About Wealth

If a person says he/she would like to be wealthy but you find them struggling,you will find them having one or more of the following self-defeating beliefs about wealth.These beliefs sap energy and kill initiative.

Belief No. 1: How much you earn depends on how hard/long you work or how highly skilled you are

Such a person becomes a workaholic and often believes in driving other people to work.A person like this might have a professional degree and quite often believes in chasing professional qualifications.He/she believes that a professional qualification often entitles them to more money.With these people the focus is on the work and its length, hardness, unpleasantness and/or skill.They believe in their own merit and get upset when they feel the world does not reward them justly.These people focus on the process and not the results.Their focus is not on wealth generation, which should be their goal if they want to be wealthy, but on part of the process, i.e. the nature  of the work they engage in to make money, which they believe will make them wealthy.

Belief No. 2: Work is not meant to be enjoyable.

Such people often unconsciously believe that the more they suffer at work,the more meritorious they are and the more deserving they are of wealth.As they believe in the virtues of suffering,these people often maximize their own suffering and those of others around them.They are resistant to the thought that pain might be an indicator that they are going about things the wrong way or the hard way that there might be better,easier and less painful ways of going about things.

As a contrast consider these words of Warren Buffet “I get to do what I like to do every single day of the year.I tap dance to work, and when I get there, I think I’m supposed to lie on my back and paint the ceiling. It’s tremendous fun.”

Obviously the more fun you find work the less you have to force yourself to do it.Your body and mind instead of rebelling and sabotaging your efforts are actually engaged in harmony to produce your best work.

Belief No. 3: You need to be in the right line of business to amass wealth.

Some people believe that IT , real estate ,entertainment or whatever hot sector of the day is really the place to be making money.They forget that everyday vast fortunes are made in a variety of  industries like garbage  recycling and food wholesaling.Believing that your chance of being wealthy has passed you by just because you work in some not-so-glam industry is lame.Opportunities are everywhere,you just need to seize them.And if you feel there are no opportunities-Make Them!

Belief No. 4: You need the right education to make a fortune.

These people will tell you that as they don’t have an MBA or a sint in the IITs or in the IIM’s or they didn’t attend a public or convent or english medium school they are not likely to make a fortune.They refuse to consider the fact that the vast number of people who attend these schools don’t make a fortune.They dismiss any person who has made a fortune but not enjoyed the advantages of a good education as lucky.In their scheme of things there is no place for the human spirit.

Belief No. 5: I’m too old (young).

Obviously these are people who don’t read the newspapers.Age is hardly a bar to a person determined to make a fortune.Just as there are teens who have done well for themselves so there are senior citizens who have made their mark in their retirement.

Belief No. 6: I don’t have enough money to start. You need money to make money.

Money can be a constraint so why not be creative and overcome this problem?Maybe start something where your time, effort, skills or specialized knowledge are more important than the money you have to invest upfront.Why not pick a business where your customers pay you upfront?Why not start actively saving for the small stake to set up such a small business?

Belief No. 7: I’ll begin when I have researched everything.

The world is ever-changing and the universe of knowledge is huge and ever-changing.To spend more and more time researching the finest points of a business plan is a waste of time.Business plans are meant to be rough guides not encyclopedias.It’s better to start off once you know a bit and learn what you need do as you go along.