I’m actively working through my own perceptions, beliefs, and biases about wealth…
In my first 37 1/2 years on this planet, I’ve done a decent job of making money, and a decent job of holding onto it.
I feel comfortable in the presence of wealth, and people who have built wealth through their own efforts and intention.
And yet I ALSO consistently notice myself dealing with head trash and negative emotions around wealth.
This is very common in our modern culture.
One on side, you have the GREED IS GOOD, selfish [insert expletive here] who are happy to take, take, take — as long as they get theirs. They’ll use political and social power, manipulation, and corruption to hoard money, unethically and at the expense of others.
On the other side, you have the GREED IS EVIL zealots who, ironically, are also extremely selfish in imposing their attitudes about money on the world. And who are happy to steal from others what was earned through value-creation and voluntary commercial transactions (aka capitalism) in the name of “fairness.”
(I actually believe BOTH of these seeming opposite ends of the spectrum suffer from an unhealthy attachment to money and what it represents. And because of that attachment, they fight to impose conflicting Win-Lose agendas to force their own way on the world.)
Pile on religious lessons learned in our youth, such as “The love of money is the root of all evil,” and “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God,” and it gets even messier.
On the other hand…
I’ve realized the more I adopt healthy ideas, principles, and beliefs about money, the easier it is to get it to come to me…
Not only that…
I’ve also learned that while the ATTACHMENT TO and LOVE ABOVE ALL ELSE OF money can be very destructive, even evil…
Money itself is NOT evil.
Wealth accumulation is NOT evil.
If anything, money is simply an amplifier of the character of the person who has it.
There are many people who are creating massive positive impacts on the world through wealth. They believe in win-win, and they create bigger wins for all through building their own wealth. This has always been true, as long as humans have accumulated wealth.
There are also terrible people who accumulate wealth, who create massive negative impacts on the world. It merely gives them more power to force their Win-Lose agenda on the world. Again, this has been true, as long as humans have accumulated wealth.
I’ve spent most of my adult life studying money and wealth…
There’s the fact that I’m marketing, advertising, and selling. Which is all about presenting an offer to stimulate the exchange of value and money.
Not only that, I’ve worked with many of the biggest, most successful financial publishing businesses on the planet. Writing about money and investments all day long.
I’ve also gotten to know a substantial number of self-made millionaires… Both those who built their wealth primarily through hard work and saving, and those who did it through entrepreneurship and business-building.
… Including many who think of “millionaire” as really not that big of a thing anymore, because they’ve moved on to the next goal, and the next, and the next. (Note: not just financial goals.)
I’ve recently become much more intentional about internalizing the beliefs that the truly wealthy have about money…
I’ve reviewed my notes, books, and other resources about wealth.
I’ve used these to reflect on the lessons I’ve learned.
And I made the decision to intentionally cultivate the beliefs most consistent with the ethical, benevolent, positive accumulation of wealth, in service of the greater good through win-win.
This means accumulating wealth through voluntary win-win exchanges of value.
It also means accumulating wealth for purposes beyond my own selfish ends — building wealth myself to serve others and make a positive impact on the world.
(While living my own life full of great experiences, financially secure and comfortable.)
And I recently created a list in my phone, in an app designed to give me random notifications throughout the day, displaying one of these beliefs.
I did this because we become what we consume regularly. And this is as true about ideas as it is the food we eat.
And while I do have some different ideas for how I might share these ideas into the future, I also thought you might like them today.
What follows is my collected list of 56 beliefs the rich have about money…
They are in no particular order. I’m presenting them here without extra commentary, although I could write an article on each. They are primarily directed at entrepreneurship, which the primary creator of new wealth. And I believe that together they represent a very healthy approach to wealth accumulation, that will serve you, your family, your friends, your community, your country, the world as a whole, and God/Spirit/all of creation.
Here are the 56 beliefs…
— Wealth comes easily, effortlessly, and in great abundance.
— Money earned ethically is a byproduct of value creation.
— Energy means money. Protect your energy.
— Engineer control of your life.
— Make accumulation a byproduct of meeting contribution and impact goals.
— Leveling up is defining a new normal, a new baseline.
— Your world is full of scalable, leveraged income opportunities.
— Keep a war chest.
— Cash flow, cash flow, cash flow.
— Embrace calculated risk with limited downside and unlimited upside.
— Lead indicators are greater than lag indicators.
— Income equals impact.
— Love the process. Love the work.
— Money moves to the highest perceived value.
— Take personal responsibility.
— Earning more is greater than saving more.
— Invest in your bigger future.
— Money doesn’t care about shoulds. Only what is.
— Weigh the opportunity cost.
— Wealth is created in your mind, then in the world.
— Value creates money, applied skill harvests it.
— Leverage every resource ethically at your disposal.
— Wealth does not come just from being great, but from being recognized as great.
— Be specific about how much you want, and for what.
— Money loves clarity.
— Money loves speed.
— Healthy businesses grow flush with cash.
— Traffic + Conversion + Economics + Value Creation = Business Success.
— You deserve wealth. Believe it.
— Fulfillment comes from a purpose beyond accumulation.
— You are a heat-seeking missile.
— You’ve done an incredible job of building your income to $###,###/day.
— Money is an amplifier of who you already are.
— Make your money work for you.
— Imagine the best. Plan for the worst.
— Your time is more valuable than money.
— Cultivate the necessity to win, now.
— God created a world of abundance for you to enjoy.
— You choose your beliefs.
— Your behavior today shapes your becoming tomorrow.
— Rewrite this limiting belief.
— Wealth isn’t everything, but it can be used to make your world better in many ways.
— Everything that comes into your life serves your definite chief aim.
— Your wealth cannot grow beyond your self image.
— There’s always more room to learn and grow.
— Commit to long-term success.
— Grow your self to grow your wealth.
— Selfishness may get money. Generosity attracts enduring wealth.
— Optimize, automate, outsource.
— Spend your time on your most valuable activities.
— Own responsibility, share success.
— Credit can be used wisely to secure control of income-producing assets.
— Make your decisions to serve your vision, not from your fear and doubts.
— Cultivate gratitude as much as you cultivate wealth.
— What result do you want? What’s the next action to take?
— Version 1 as fast as possible, then Version 3 as fast as possible.
What do you think?
What’s your experience with these beliefs?
Are there any others you’ve picked up that represent a healthy relationship with money and wealth? (That specifically have helped YOU build wealth?)
Any other big wealth breakthroughs?
Yours for bigger breakthroughs,
Roy Furr
