The Power of Beliefs
I want all of my students out there to have a firm grasp of all of the issues that will impact their success in today’s world. Since that is the case, I have decided that it is time to debunk a big myth about money that has been passed down from generation to generation. This money myth has influenced the way millions of people see money, and has kept countless individuals from ever achieving their personal financial freedom. No more. I am committed to helping you get your beliefs about money in line.
See, I learned something years ago after having worked with thousands of students as they built their personal wealth acquisition strategies. I learned that acquiring wealth and enjoying wealth are really two different things. Making money isn’t all that hard really. If you have read Money Secrets of the Rich, you have already learned the basic skills necessary for making money. It’s simply a matter of determining your niche, acquiring properties at wholesale values and remarketing them at retail values. You make money on the spread between wholesale and retail. It’s not complicated.
You would think that should be the end of the story, but it’s not. Because people believe certain things about money, they are then prompted by their personal psychology to practice certain behaviors once they get that money. Some people achieve wealth, and then feel guilty for having it. They end up sabotaging their financial habits to the point that they lose their wealth quickly so that they don’t have to deal with the inner stress of having it. This subconscious practice of self-sabotage keeps them from ever really achieving their full financial potential. The truth is that what we believe about money drastically influences not only our ability to acquire it, but also our ability to keep it.
The real difference between rich people and poor people is not how much money they make, it’s how much of their money they keep. I want you to be able to acquire wealth and keep it to be used for your personal enjoyment. Since that is the case I want to debunk some money myths with you now. Let’s quickly take a look at a money myth.
Money Myth – There Is Only So Much Money To Go Around
Most of the financial practices of the largest corporations are influenced by the thought that there is only so much wealth out there to be acquired in today’s world. The idea behind this belief is the notion that when all of the world’s wealth is grasped, then those who don’t have wealth will find themselves unable to acquire any more of it. This is a tired and false myth. Let me tell you why.
The idea of the scarcity of wealth came into being as the result of the financial markets of our world being based upon precious metal standards. Most nations ran its financial practices based upon the gold standard. This meant that the amount of currency in existence in a country was based upon the amount of gold held by the government and citizens. If there was $100 million worth of gold out there, then that meant there could be $100 million worth of currency circulating among citizens. I am over simplifying the system to an extent, but that is roughly the idea.
Here’s the thing, though. The United States stopped using the gold standard years ago. In fact, and this is where I simplified a bit, the U.S. might never have really used the gold standard completely, because it has always been possible to create wealth. Successful entrepreneurs have been doing it for centuries. Today our currency isn’t based upon how much gold exists in the nation’s treasuries. Today our currency is really based on the perceived value of goods and services. Okay, so what does this have to do with you? Well, it just means that wealth is not a scarce thing. There is more than enough money to go around for all of the people in the world who want to get rich. Why? Because money is an abundant resource. There can always be more of it as people attach values to goods and services.
Pay attention here. This is where lots of people get truly confused. Many folks think that money is a scarce thing. But follow me here. Money really isn’t a thing at all. Money is really just an idea. Money is an abstract tool used to measure the value of something. A one hundred dollar note is really worth lots more than the cost of printing it. A one hundred dollar note is worth more than the cost of the paper and ink that it literally represents. Why? Because people have bought into the idea that a one hundred dollar note is worth more than a fifty dollar note, even though the actual value of the paper, ink, and printing costs behind them are roughly the same. Money isn’t a thing. Money is an idea. There is plenty of it out there for everybody who wants to take the time to develop solid strategies for acquiring it. Money is NOT a scarce or finite resource. Money is an abundant idea.
So What?
So what? Why is it important to know that there is plenty of money out there for everybody? Well, it takes away some of the anxiety that people who are trying to build a financial fortune experience when they see other people out there trying to make money too. Some folks think that if someone else gets rich there might not be enough money out there to enable them to be rich too. That’s a false idea, put it away and never pick it up again. Worrying about things like that is wasted energy and only distracts people from focusing on using solid strategies to build their personal financial freedom. Competition isn’t the enemy, really. Competition breeds creativity. There is plenty of wealth out there for all who want to go for it.
So what else? There’s more. Believing that money is an abundant idea rather than a scarce resource can give you the freedom to seek it responsibly and handle it with integrity. Sometimes when people are grasping for dollars from a scarcity mindset, they can quickly resort to any and all means necessary to acquire their money. Since they believe there is only so much money out there to be had, they give themselves permission to grab it at any and all cost. But listen, pursuing anything at the expense of everything is out of balance. Following values and principles in money practices empowers people to gain good reputations. And reputation is everything in the real estate investing business. Your reputation will bring you investors with lots of money they want you to invest for them. Your reputation will bring you sellers who want you to buy their homes for wholesale values. Your reputation will bring you buyers who want to purchase properties from you because they know you shoot straight.
So what? Believing that money is an abundant idea rather than a scarce resource will decrease your financial worries and elevate your reputation as an investor. That’s a big “so what”! So, one very important thing they didn’t teach you about money in college is that money is an abundant idea. Believe it! And go out there and get yours!
