Money traps to avoid

BY AGENCY REPORT

   

 

 

 

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:

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.

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.

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 $100m companies that started with nothing. Almost every one of them shared with me that their biggest regret was not thinking bigger from the beginning.

More money, more problems

This is simply an idea that those without money use to justify having less and being broke. If more money is more problems, then bring on the problems, because I tried being broke and that was more than just a problem. Quit trying to make rich ugly – it’s not.

The truth is the more money you have, the more control and choices you have over every aspect of your life. If you are sitting in a first class seat, it doesn’t mean you won’t have a drunk sitting next to you. Buying your own jet allows you to control who gets on it, but now you have to hire two pilots, a mechanic and feed the airplane. More money means new problems, not more problems.

It takes money to make money.

The reality is more than three quarters of all millionaires today are first generation millionaires. That means that ordinary people got rich because they had the courage to follow up on their ideas.

The phrase, “it takes money to make money” is completely incorrect. It takes money to make more money. While later in life the rich use their money to create wealth, in the beginning stages it only takes courage and persistence to create money. This belief that you first need money makes you a victim and gives you no way out.

I started with no money, in fact, I was in debt. At the age of 25 I was broke, by the time I was 35 I was in a position to never be broke again.

Money doesn’t grow on trees

The person that commonly throws this phrase around is suggesting money is limited and scarce. There is something near $134,000,000,000,000 (trillion) on this planet – most of which is merely represented by digits in bank accounts, investing accounts and the like. The only shortage of money on this planet is in the mind of those that don’t have money.

Another day, another dollar

The job force of America is trading time for money every day. Is your time worth $10 an hour or $50 an hour? The reality is no matter how much you get you are still selling time and you only have so much of it.

The rich exchange dollars for time because they know time is more valuable than money. Unwilling to trade money, the average person believes the only way to make more money is to work more hours. Big money requires thinking about money without time considerations – think broad money.

Money is the root of all evil

The actual saying is “the love of money is the root of all evil.” It has been passed down inaccurately and become misunderstood that money is somehow evil. Rich is right, not wrong. Bill Gates told a college class, “if you are born poor it’s not your fault, if you stay poor it is.”

I believe it is evil to not be able to provide for my family, fund my church, take a trip, grow my business and feed my dreams.

–www.entrepreneur.com