Money and wealth: As a man thinketh

Why we need to get money and wealth

}  We exist in 3 realms at same point: Body, mind and spirit

}  Full expression of all three is important, none is less important than the other

}  Expression by the 3 requires material (money)

1. Body- good food, clothes, recreation (rest) & shelter
2. Mind- needs learning, observation, fellowship, captivation, objects of art
3. Spirit – need to express love through giving, worship to God, ministry to others

Why we need to recondition our minds for wealth

}  How you think affects how you act, and the results you get (cause and effect)

}  Financial success begins with your mind (As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he. Prov. 23:7)

}  God has given potential at birth in the mind – to create, manage and grow things that you desire (incl. wealth).

}  Our upbringing, belief system, culture, shapes how we think about money 

}  We learn how to think through observation, hearing & doing

In his book, Secrets of the Millionaire Mind: Think Rich to GetRich!, T. Harv Eker lists seventeen ways in which the financial blueprints of the rich differ from those of the poor and the middle-class. According to him:

1. Rich people believe: “I create my life.” Poor people believe: “Life happens to me.”
2. Rich people play the money game to win. Poor people play the money game to not lose.
3. Rich people are committed to being rich. Poor people want to be rich.
4. Rich people think big. Poor people think small.
5. Rich people focus on opportunities. Poor people focus on obstacles.
6. Rich people admire other rich and successful people. Poor people resent rich and successful people.
7. Rich people associate with positive, successful people. Poor people associate with negative or unsuccessful people.
8. Rich people are willing to promote themselves and their value. Poor people think negatively about selling and promotion.
9. Rich people are bigger than their problems. Poor people are smaller than their problems.
10. Rich people are excellent receivers. Poor people are poor receivers.
11. Rich people choose to get paid based on results. Poor people choose to get paid based on time.
12. Rich people think “both”. Poor people think “either/or”.
13. Rich people focus on their net worth. Poor people focus on their working income.
14. Rich people manage their money well. Poor people mismanage their money well.
15. Rich people have their money work hard for them. Poor people work hard for their money.
16. Rich people act in spite of fear. Poor people let fear stop them.
17. Rich people constantly learn and grow. Poor people think they already know

The Top 10 Distinctions Between Millionaires and the Middle Class book by Keith Cameroon Smith points out:

1. Millionaires think long-term. The middle class thinks short-term.
2. Millionaires talk about ideas. The middle class talks about things and people.
3. Millionaires embrace change. The middle class is threatened by change.
4. Millionaires take calculated risks. The middle class is afraid to take risks.
5. Millionaires continually learn and grow. The middle class thinks learning ended with school.
6. Millionaires work for profits. The middle class works for wages. 
7. Millionaires believe they must be generous. The middle class believes it can’t afford to give.
8. Millionaires have multiple sources of income. The middle class has only one or two.
9. Millionaires focus on increasing their wealth. The middle class focuses on increasing its paychecks.
10. Millionaires ask themselves empowering questions. Middle-class people ask themselves disempowering questions.

Notice the similarity of these distinctions with those by Harv T. Eker.

The Ultimate Gift

The Ultimate Gift movie has several lessons about money which I like to share with everybody who cares to listen. I do not want to pre-empt the movie before you watch it, but I would like to spur a discussion with the viewers of this blog about the lessons from the movie. It is available on You-tube and you can watch it here too.

Share what you learn with other viewers here. Free Pdf Discussion and Inspiration Guides for this movie at the Downloads Tab.

The Five Laws of Money and Wealth Acquisition

Adapted from ‘The Richest Man in Babylon’ by George S. Clason © 1926. We highly recommend that you read this book at least once. The wisdom therein will transform how you deal with your finances. 

Wealth that stayeth to give enjoyment and satisfaction to its owner comes gradually, because it is a child born of knowledge and persistent purpose. To earn wealth is but a slight burden upon the thoughtful man. Bearing the burden consistently from year to year accomplishes the final purpose. The five laws of gold each rich with meaning, offer to thee a rich reward for their observance.

The First Law of Gold - Gold cometh gladly and in increasing quantity to any man who will put by not less than one-tenth of his earnings to create an estate for his future and that of his family.

Any man who will put by one-tenth of his earnings consistently and invest it wisely will surely create a valuable estate that will provide an income for him in the future and further guarantee safety for his family in case the gods call him to the world of darkness. This law always sayeth that gold cometh gladly to such a man. I can truly certify this in my own life.  The more gold I accumulate, themore readily it comes to me and in increased quantities. The gold which I save earns more, even as yours will, and its earnings earn more, and this is the working out of the first law.

The Second Law of Gold - Gold laboreth diligently and contentedly for the wise owner who finds for it profitable employment, multiplying even as the flocks of the field.

Gold, indeed, is a willing worker. It is ever eager to multiply when opportunity presents itself. To every man who hath a store of gold set by, opportunity comes for its most profitable use. As the years pass, it multiplies itself in surprising fashion.

The Third Law of Gold - Gold clingeth to the protection of the cautious owner who invests it under the advice of men wise in its handling.

Gold, indeed, clingeth to the cautious owner, even as it flees the careless owner. The man who seeks the advice of men wise in handling gold soon learneth not to jeopardize his treasure, but to preserve in safety and to enjoy in contentment its consistent increase.

The Fourth Law of Gold - Gold slippeth away from the man who invests it in businesses or purposes with which he is not familiar or which are not approved by those skilled in its keep.

To the man who hath gold, yet is not skilled in its handling, many uses for it appear most profitable. Too often these are fraught with danger of loss, and if properly analyzed by wise men, show small possibility of profit. Therefore, the inexperienced owner of gold who trusts to his own judgment and invests it in business or purposes with which he is not familiar, too often finds his judgment imperfect, and pays with his treasure for his inexperience. Wise, indeed is he who investeth his treasures under the advice of men skilled In the ways of gold.

The Fifth Law of Gold - Gold flees the man who would force it to impossible earnings or who followeth the alluring advice of tricksters and schemers or who trusts it to his own inexperience and romantic desires in investment.

Fanciful propositions that thrill like adventure tales always come to the new owner of gold. These appear to endow his treasure with magic powers that will enable it to make impossible earnings. Yet heed ye the wise men for verily they know the risks that lurk behind every plan to make great wealth suddenly. Forget not the rich men of Nineveh who would take no chance of losing their principal or tying it up in unprofitable investments.

Ten years from now, what will you tell about the gold in your possession today? Get hold of this book (download a free pdf copy) and see whether it will influence your answer to that question. I bet it will.