Most of us were brought up poor or in the middle class — and then continue the rest of our lives plagued by the thoughts, ideas and actions of the poor and the middle class. If you were brought up like I was, by parents that had great intentions but few ways to create financial freedom, then there is a good chance you are still trapped by mental money traps that continue to hold you prisoner.
No one would deny that the wealthy think and operate differently regarding money, wealth, finances, and investing. Here are some common mental money traps:
1. "I just want enough to be comfortable."
At the core of the middle class is some idea that they can somehow find this place of comfort, which becomes a compromise for any possibility of financial freedom. Consider that a significant number of people save little money for retirement. This has caused masses of people to be unable to quit working at retirement age, because they are without enough money to take care of themselves during economic contractions.
2. "I need to make money."
It’s actually against the law to make money — that is the job of the government, which over the last decade has been more and more willing to manufacture money in unjustified amounts. This idea — that you need to make money to have it — limits you to believing you must trade time for money. Quit thinking about making money and think in terms of collecting it. When you trade something of value with the public you will get money in return.
3. "Bigger isn’t better."
Wrong. Bigger is better and more is glory. Quit thinking little. The best companies in the world are big. Staying small takes a lot of energy. I talk about this in The 10X Rule — go 10 times bigger than you think is necessary. It’s more fun and it gives you a better chance of succeeding.
Over the last 12 months I have interviewed more than 50 very successful entrepreneurs that run million-dollar companies, to $100 million companies that started with nothing. Almost every one of them shared with me that their biggest regret was not thinking bigger from the beginning.
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