I was POOR - These 17 Mindset Shifts Made me RICH: The Secrets Of The Millionaire Mind

Today I am going to summarize one of my favorite  books called SECRETS OF THE MILLIONAIRE MIND written by Harv Eker. The most interesting part  of the book for me was the part where the author The First difference - rich people think  big, poor people think small. Have you ever been grocery shopping and spent several hours in  several stores so that you can find the cheapest groceries to save 50 or 60 cents?

Or have you been  waiting in line for an hour so that you can get a free hamburger? If you have done this then you  have a POOR person mentality. I am sorry to say that but let me explain.

Of course, it is not a  bad thing to save money while you are shopping, but this changes when it comes to how much you  will save compared to the time you will spend for that saving. If you spend 1 hour to find the  cheapest oranges so that you can save 60 cents then the value of your 1 hour is 60 cents.  Compared to this, rich people don’t care about saving 60 cents, they understand the  value of their time and constantly think about new things they can do so that the  value of their 1 hour is equal to 6 000$.

The second difference - Rich people  choose to get paid based on results, poor people choose to get paid based on time. Let me be open with you: No one cares how much effort you put into something, what they care  about is the result. Your customer does not care that you have put hundreds of hours into  developing a product.

Do you think they will buy your low-quality product just because you have put  a lot of effort into it? Of course not! What they care about is the result: If it is good they will  buy it even if you have spent a few hours on it.

For example, You don’t care how much effort and  time I have put into this video. If the video is good you will keep watching if not you will just  click on another video. The fact that I have spent over 100 hours on this video is irrelevant.

The  fact that I made a mistake and because of that, had to spend extra time is irrelevant.  YOU REALLY DON’T CARE ABOUT ANY OF THAT. You would never say ‘’Let me watch this  low-quality video because 100 hours work has gone into making it’’.

It is about  the result, not the effort or time spent The author says if you want to know your  true value then work for the result, not the salary. Rich people believe in  their value and in their ability to deliver results. Poor people don’t and that is why a  steady salary is very important for them.

Third difference - Rich people think  “both. ”Poor people think “either/or. ” Poor people feel that there is not enough and you  can’t have everything.

Rich people think there is plenty for everybody and you can have everything  you truly want. Poor people believe in scarcity. Rich people believe in abundance.

Do you want a  successful career or a close relationship with your family? How about both? Do you want to focus  on business or have fun and play?

How about Both? Do you want a blonde girlfriend or brunette?  :) How about both?

:) The last one was a joke, but you got the point :) Rich people always want  both, poor people always choose one. Poor people see the world as a cake and believe that everybody  will take a slice and the cake will be over soon. On the other hand, rich people see the world as an  OPEN BUFFET - once something finishes the waitress will add more and you can eat as much as you  want.

Poor people believe that they have to choose between money and the other aspects of life. Do  you have to choose between money and happiness? No!

Of course not! Money is important and  happiness is important as well. You can have both!

Many people have negative feelings about being  rich. They think that becoming rich makes you evil. That is why they think that they have to  choose between being rich and being a kind person.

So they choose to be kind and stay broke. Probably  you have heard someone saying’’ That person really changed after he became rich’’ or ‘’Money changed  this person a lot’’. I believe that money does not change you.

Money makes you more of what you  are already. If you are a kind person, money makes you a rich kind person. If you like helping  other people, money gives you the option to help even more people.

On the other hand, If you are  a jerk, money makes you a rich jerk. If you do evil things after you get rich it means you were  already evil. Having money just made it obvious.

Fourth difference - Rich people focus on  opportunities, poor people focus on obstacles. This is my favorite. Whenever I come up with some  new idea I share it with the people to get some feedback.

It is very rare to see someone who would  acknowledge the problems regarding the idea but at the same time focus on the opportunities it can  bring. Almost all the time I hear tons of people telling me how my idea will fail. And that is how  poor people think.

They constantly see obstacles, risks and always focus on problems while rich  people focus on opportunities. Poor people make choices based on fear. Their minds are constantly  scanning for what is wrong or could go wrong in any situation.

Their primary mindset is “What if  it doesn’t work? ” or, more often, “It won’t work. ” I’m not saying don’t take care of problems. 

Of course, handle the problems as they arise, but don’t let the fear and problems stop you. If  you focus on the problems you will get problems, if you focus on opportunities you will get  opportunities. It is a simple universal law.

Fifth difference - Rich people associate  with positive, successful people. Poor people associate with negative or  unsuccessful people. Simply put: If you want to fly with the eagles, don’t swim with the ducks!

If  your goal is to be rich, then study rich people, hang out with rich and successful people and  use them as a model. Do what they do, read what they read. There is a reason why they are rich. 

For example: If you want to create a successful Youtube channel, find the successful channels in  your field and study what they do. Study what type of content they create, how long are their videos,  what kind of style they use. If you take the exact same actions and have the exact same mindset,  chances are you will get very similar results.

When I give this advice people get very angry  and they say ‘’So you want me to just copy other people? You want me to be unoriginal? You  want me to just steal other people’s work?

No, I am not saying any of that. For some reason these  days people want to be Mark Zuckerberg and invent the next Facebook:). If you are an ordinary  guy like I am then you have a better chance of succeeding by modeling successful people and that  does not mean you are unoriginal.

For example, if you decide to create the summary of  the exact same book I am summarizing now, use the exact same animation format that I am  using now, use the exact same background music, your content will still be unique because  you have a unique voice, you have a unique way of explaining things. Even if you do the same  thing your content will still be different than mine. By the way, probably you have noticed  that there are already many channels that are doing the exact same thing that I am doing,  but despite that, this channel will be growing.

Please don’t get me wrong, I am not trying to  brag about myself or say ‘’look guys how great my channel is’’ The reason I am talking about  myself is that you and I can relate to each other easily. If I give you an example from the founder  of Amazon-Jeff Bezos it will probably be hard for you to relate to his story but you and I are two  simple guys who are trying to improve ourselves. Another complaint I hear a lot is that I  don’t have rich people around me so how can I surround myself with rich and successful  people?

Look, you don’t have to have them, you can simply find successful people and read  their books or watch their videos. You can’t ask Arnold Schwaznager to hang out with you  so that you can study him and get in shape, but guess what, he has tons of videos and  has written a book. So why not read his book, or watch his videos?

I don’t have any rich friends  around me. Authors of these types of books are rich friends for me. I hang out with them by  reading their books, watching their videos, and listening to their podcasts.

Sixth difference - Rich people know what they want and they are committed to  getting it. Poor people just want to be rich. Imagine you and your friend are hanging around  in the city center and you want to eat a baguette.

Your friend approaches the stand  and says ‘’Hello, I want to buy a baguette, Please give me a baguette. Most probably the  seller behind the stand will be confused and ask what kind of baguette your friend wants because  there are many types of baguettes. This is exactly the same approach poor people use when it comes to  becoming rich.

They just want to be rich, but they don’t know what a rich life looks like for them.  If you don’t know exactly what you want then the girl who is selling the baguette will just give  you any baguette she chooses and you will walk away. Now imagine you approach and say ‘’Hello,  I want a tuna baguette with smoked cheese, but I don’t want this type of bread.

Give me that  dark bread with sunflower seeds. Don’t put onion, put some cucumber, tomato, and toast it’’ Guess  what? The girl is going to give you exactly what you asked for.

In the same way, Rich people do not  send out mixed messages, only poor people do. The #1 reason most people don’t get what they want  is that they don’t know what they want. You must know what that rich life looks like for you and  must have a plan to get there.

For example, for me, a rich life means having the freedom to work  when I want, where I want. I want to be able to take a taxi whenever I want. I don’t like taking  public transport and feeling sweaty, especially if I am going to some important meeting.

When I  go to a restaurant I want to be able to open the menu and choose anything I want without looking  at the price column first. I want to be able to take my parents on a nice vacation twice a year.  I want to be able to help people around me when they are having financial difficulties.

I want  to be able to wake up at 11 am on Tuesday and go for a walk in the park. I want to be able to  go to the gym in the middle of the day and come back whenever I feel like it. This is my rich  life and I have a plan on how to get there.

Difference #7 - Rich people are willing to promote  themselves and their values. Poor people think negatively about selling and promotion. Let me  explain it in this way: if you had a cure for some type of disease would you hide it from a person  that was suffering from it?

I don’t think so. In the same way, If you believe that what you  have to offer can truly assist people, IT IS YOUR DUTY to promote it. It is your obligation  to promote it.

By not promoting you are actually doing DISSERVICE to people. Maybe the product you  are selling is the product that can change my life but if you are not promoting it then I am losing  the chance to change my life. Resenting promotion is one of the greatest obstacles to success. 

People who have issues with selling and promotion are usually broke. How can you create a large  income in your business if you aren’t willing to let people know about your product, or service?  Whatever work you are doing you need to be good at selling and promotion.

Almost every aspect of  our life involves selling. For example: When you are trying to convince your partner to go to a  restaurant instead of shopping you are selling, when you are trying to convince your daughter  to study you are selling. In fact, right at this moment, I am selling.

I am selling you my  video and you are paying for it with your time. You are paying with minutes from your life.  And I am not ashamed of selling you my video.

I am not ashamed to promote it and ask you  to hit the like button and subscribe because I know that ideas from these types of books  can really help you to change your mindset. Difference #8 - Rich people believe “I create my  life. ” Poor people believe “Life happens to me.

” If you want to create wealth, it is important  that you believe that you are the one behind the wheel. Poor people travel through life as a  passenger. On the other hand, rich people always sit behind the wheel.

Did you ever notice that  it’s usually the poor people who spend a lot of money playing the lottery? They actually have high  hopes that someone will simply try picking their name out of a hat and provide them with money  and eventually will cause them to become rich. Eker says poor people also justify their  situation.

They say things like “Money is not important, happiness and love are  important. ” This kind of comparison is not correct. Let me ask you a question:  Is your leg important or your arm?

You are probably saying ‘’what a dumb question  is that’’ of course both of them are important. You are absolutely right: both of them are  important in the same way money and happiness are both important. Money and love are both  important.

Food and water are both important. Poor people also blame others. It’s never their  fault, it’s always the fault of others.

They always act like victims. I have two cousins who  grew up in the same village, went to the same school, had the same teachers, and both had poor  parents. Today one of them is very successful and the other one not.

And the most interesting part  is that both of them use the same reasons for their current situation. Poor cousin blames the  bad education system, poor parents, government, and the system for his failure. On the other  hand, rich cousins used the same reasons to become successful.

He says ‘’I knew that the  school system was bad and my parents were poor and because of that I started to educate myself and  learn new things’’. He does not blame anyone or anything. Another reason the poor are poor is that  they complain.

When people complain, they focus on what’s WRONG with their life. What you focus on  expands so they keep getting MORE of what’s wrong. Difference #9 - Rich people manage their money  well and poor people mismanage their money.

Money is just a tool like your computer or telephone  which requires you to learn how to use it. We spend many hours learning how to use the computer  but when it comes to money people ignore this simple fact and don’t want to pick up a book and  learn how money functions and how to manage it. To me this one is crazy because money is something  we sell our life for by working 9 to 5 every week, but when it comes to learning how  to manage it so many people fail.

With the amount poor people complain about  their financial situations, you would think it would make sense to learn the basics of  money, but that is almost never the case. Rich people are not any smarter than poor people;  they just have different and more supportive money habits. To master money, you must manage money. 

Saying “I’ll start managing my money as soon as I have money” is like an overweight person saying  “I’ll start exercising and dieting as soon as I lose twenty pounds. ” First, you start properly  handling the money you have, then you’ll have more money to handle. If your son can’t even handle  and maintain his bike would you buy him a car?

Of Course not! The same logic applies to the  universe and you. The Universe says: Until you show you can handle what you’ve got, you won’t get  any more!

The author says even if you borrow money to live you still need to learn how to manage that  money. The more important thing is to exercise the ‘’money management muscles’’ so that it becomes a  habit. Building the habit first is very important.

For example: If your goal is to go to the gym  every morning so that you can do squats with 100 kilos, you first need to learn how to lift a  1-kilo blanket before lifting a 100-kilo weight. If you don’t have the habit of lifting the blanket  and getting out of bed then there is no way you would reach your goal. To manage your money  well, the author recommends creating 5 accounts.

Investment account, play account, education  account, give account, and expense account. You have to put 10% of your after-tax income into  your investment account. It is the account that is going to create the Goose that lays golden  eggs.

Eker recommends also putting an equal amount (10%) into your play account. Money in the  play account must be spent at the end of the month on fun activities. You should spend this money  in a way that helps you feel rich and happy.

If you always keep saving eventually the part of you  that seeks FUN will sabotage your other accounts. Difference #10 - Rich people are  bigger than their problems. Poor people are smaller than their problems.

The secret to success is NOT to try to avoid or get rid of your problems; the secret is to grow  yourself so that you are BIGGER than any problem. It doesn’t matter if you’re rich or poor, you’re  going to face problems. The size of the problem is never the issue – what matters is the size  of YOU.

The bigger the problems you can handle, the bigger the business you can handle; the  bigger the responsibility you can handle, the more employees you can handle, the more money  you can handle. The things we call problems are actually only situations. We make them a problem. 

Respectively, some people make it a problem, others don’t even get affected. How can it  be that the exact same situation is a problem for one but not for another? It depends on the  person.

It depends on you! You might get fired and depressed all day and complain, or you can  use your free time to create your own business. Difference #11 - Rich people are excellent  receivers.

Poor people are poor receivers. A poor receiver is a person that cannot receive  well. And what do we receive?

We receive praise, compliments, money, gifts,and many other things. Many of us have trouble receiving such things. The  author says that we are conditioned that way.

We grew up and heard things like “That’s wrong”,  “You’re not making it right” “What did you do? ” These sentences all strengthen the feeling of not  being good enough. And not feeling good enough is one reason why we are poor receivers.

From now on,  take everything someone offers to you. If someone tells you you’re looking good, then say “Thank  you” instead of “What? No, I look horrible today.

” It's as simple as that: Just say “Thank you” and  receive your compliment. Eker says: It’s funny, when I was broke and I saw a penny on the ground,  I would never bend so low to pick up a penny. Now that I’m rich, however, I pick up anything  that even looks like money :) Then I give it a kiss f or good luck and declare out loud, “I am  a money magnet.

Thank you, thank you, thank you. ” Difference # 12. Rich people play the money  game to win.

Poor people play the money game to not lose. In sports, teams that strictly play  defense and no offense have a hard time winning. Unfortunately, most people play the money  game on defense where their primary concern is survival instead of wealth and abundance. 

Poor people want to have enough money to pay bills. The intention is a very important thing  and when your intention is to have enough money to only pay the bills, guess what? That’s  EXACTLY how much you’ll get.

Nothing more. You have to aim high. You must shoot the stars  so that you can at least hit the moon.

The author says If your goal is to be comfortable, chances  are you’ll NEVER get rich. But if your goal is to be rich, you’ll end up very comfortable. ” Difference #13 - Rich people have their money work hard for them.

Poor  people work hard for their money. Eker says, “I agree that you do have to  work for your money. But, for rich people, this situation is only momentary.

For poor people,  it’s unending. Rich people believe that for your money to work hard and take your place, you have  to work hard first. They also know that the more your money works, the less amount of work you  will have to do.

” First objective should be to become “financially free” as soon as possible.  Eker defines financial freedom in a simple way: Financial freedom is the ability to live the  lifestyle you desire without having to work or rely on anyone else for money. And how is that  possible?

You need passive income. In short, you become financially free when your  passive income exceeds your expenses. Many people can’t differentiate between ‘’being  rich’’ and being ‘’financially free’’.

They think that first, you need to be rich to be  financially free, but it is not true. Financial freedom comes first because it is easier  and faster to do. Let me ask you a question: Is it easier to climb a ladder that has only  10 steps or a ladder that has 1000 steps?

Of course, the 10 step ladder is easier, right?  By using this analogy we can say that becoming financially free is like climbing the 10 step  ladder, and becoming rich is like climbing the 1000 step ladder. First, try the easier goal and  be financially free.

Once you have the passive income coming and you don’t have to work for  anyone then you can use this free time to become rich. Eker says in his seminar one of the students  realized that if she simply rented her flat and moved to a cheaper place, her passive income  from the rent would be enough to cover all her expenses, plus she could even save some money. And  that is exactly what she did.

She rented her flat, moved to a cheaper and more exotic place,  and became financially free. Only then she started building her business and becoming rich. So first focus on the 10 step ladder and creating enough passive income so that you don’t  have to work for someone.

Once it is done, then you can think about the rest. There are two  primary sources of passive income. "The first is “money working for you.

” This includes investment  earnings from financial instruments such as stocks, bonds or other assets that appreciate  in value’’ The second major source of passive income is “business working for you. ” This entails  generating ongoing income from businesses where you do not need to be personally involved for  that business to operate and bring you income. " The simplest example of this can be real estate.

Difference #14 - Rich people focus on their net worth. Poor people focus on their working income When it comes to money, the common question that people ask is “How much do you make? ” The  question “What is your net worth?

” is rarely heard. A small number of people talk this  way. Wealth is measured by net worth and not by working income.

It has always been like that  and always will be. To find out your net worth, all you have to do is add up the value of  everything you own, along with your cash and investments like stocks, bonds, real estate, the  present value of your business if you have one, as well as the value of your residence if it  is your own, and then subtract everything you owe. Net worth is considered the ultimate  measure of wealth because, if required, what you own can be turned into cash.

After you  calculate your net worth, draw a vertical line on a page. Put ‘’0’’ to the bottom of the line and to  the top of the line write your desired net worth, let us say 1 Million dollars. Once you have  done it, put your current net worth on this line and see how far you are from your desired  amount.

From time to time let us say every month or every quarter check this line and update it  accordingly. Even if right now you are at ‘’0’’ or in minus I would still recommend doing this  exercise because WHAT GETS TRACKED GETS IMPROVED. Difference#15 Rich people act despite  fear.

Poor people let fear stop them. In the book, Eker talks about the Manifestation  formula. According to this formula: Thoughts produce feelings Feelings then lead to actions And actions lead to results For example, You think about a donut, then it creates a feeling of craving for the  donut and then you stand up and go to the shop to buy a donut.

If this process constantly  repeats you gain weight. Thoughts and feelings are part of your inner world, becoming  overweight is part of your outer world. ACTION is the bridge between the inner world  and the outer world.

If there is no action then your thoughts and feelings about being rich are  useless. Many people read these types of books to be rich but most of them don’t take action  and apply what they learned. It is not about how many books you read, it is about how many books  you apply in real life.

Reading but not taking action is like watching the picture of the girl  you like on Facebook all day instead of going and talking to her face to face. If action is such an  essential role in achieving success then what is keeping us from taking these actions? Fear!

Fear,  doubt, and worry are the most common barriers, not only to success but also to happiness. One of the  biggest differences between rich and poor people is that the rich are still willing to act even if  they feel fear, even if they are uncomfortable. Poor people, on the other hand, allow  fear to stop them.

They don’t want to feel uncomfortable. If you are willing  to do what is comfortable, life will be uncomfortable. But if you are willing to do what’s  uncomfortable, life will be pretty comfortable.

Fear and discomfort should not stop you! Fear  is the product of the mind. Your mind is a FEAR DETECTOR, NOT a success detector.

The moment you  start doing something uncomfortable your mind will show you tens of horrible cases to stop you.  Our mind is the greatest HORROR SCRIPT WRITER. Training and managing your own mind is the most  important skill you could ever own.

If you want to learn how to control your mind I would  recommend starting to meditate and reading a book called The POWER OF NOW which I have also  summarized on this channel. There is also a video about managing your fears which I covered when  I was summarizing the book called The MAGIC OF THINKING BIG by David Schwartz. I will put  links into the description for both videos.

Difference #16 Rich people constantly learn  and grow. Poor people think they already know. Eker says that the most dangerous 3 words are ‘’I  KNOW THAT’’.

The question is how do you know that you know something? Here is the answer: If you  live it, you know it. Otherwise, you heard about it, you read about it, or you talk about it,  but you don’t know it.

Frankly, if you are not rich & happy, there is a good chance that there  is still a lot of things you can learn about: money success And life Consider this, If you’re not as successful as you’d like to be, there’s something  you don’t know. If you are not rich it means there are a lot of new things that you need to learn and  apply. “If you keep doing what you’ve always done, you’ll keep getting what you have always got.

” Difference #17- Rich people admire other rich and successful people, poor people  resent rich and successful people. When I was in high school there was a very rich  man and whenever I saw him passing through our neighborhood with his new MERCEDES I could hear  many negative stories about his luxurious life. Whenever I asked around if they knew what he does  for a living no one was able to give me a precise answer, but almost everyone assumed that he  is doing some criminal work and he is evil.

Several years later I had a chance to talk to  this person when I was doing my internship and I learned that most of his childhood has passed  in poverty which motivated him to work harder and eventually he became a CEO. After knowing this  person and hearing his life story I realized that Poor people often look at other people’s  success with resentment, jealousy, and envy. This was the last difference, please put your  favorite idea or lesson from this video into the comment.

If this video helped you just a  little bit, also don’t forget to hit the like button. It helps the channel a lot and motivates  me to summarize more books.