10 Reasons You Are Not Getting Richer
It seems so strange, right?
People all over the world are trying to improve their financial situation and get richer, yet the vast majority of them are failing miserably.
In the game of wealth, sometimes it is about the things you should not be doing, rather than those you should be doing.
In this article, we are going to discuss 10 reasons why you are not getting richer.
Make sure to avoid these common mistakes in order to turbo-charge your progress and reach success sooner.
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1) You are still trading time for money
Trading time for money is a surefire way to get locked into a life of mediocrity.
Time is a limited resource and if you couple your income to it, guess what you are going to get.
A limited income!
The goal here should be to decouple your income from your time as soon as possible.
People that work for a salary as well as freelancers (who are a slightly better version of employees but still problematic), are doomed to always receive a capped income.
Since their pay is bound to the time they put into, they will never be able to achieve the explosive income that is needed in order to get rich and achieve financial freedom.
The alternative is to couple your income with the amount of value you provide to society and at the same time to create as much value as possible.
The only way to do that is by building a scalable business, a system that you own and control, and that will allow you to make your time independent of your income.
2) You try to live the good life before you deserve it
I get it.
Everyone want to live the good life and enjoy the best of what this world has to offer.
But in order to get all of that, you need to deserve it. You need to have earned it.
You must have made yourself a person of value that can afford things of value.
Otherwise the only thing that you are going to accomplish is to destroy your net worth and struggle for the rest of your life.
People buy expensive houses and luxurious cars in order to look and feel rich when they are not even close.
Buying a BMW with 0% down-payment and 60 monthly payments does not make your rich. It makes you stuck in the rat race.
Do you know what is rich?
It is buying a Ferrari at a price that represents less than 1% of your net worth.
If you are not there yet, you need to put in the hours, build something of value and be patient until it is really time for the good life.
3) You want to “help” others before you have helped yourself
This must be one of the most irrational things that I watch on a daily basis.
People who have not found their way in life are trying to help others find it.
Now, I am not talking about a mother helping her kid with the homework. Neither about a son helping his father with a health issue. I am not referring to cases like these.
I am talking about people that are not financially stable but are trying to educate others on how to be. Or they are preaching the merits of business ownership when they have not managed to build a successful business yet.
This is inefficient and ineffective in so many ways.
First of all, if you are not yourself accomplished in a specific field, how on earth are you going to help others with that?
Second, why is anyone going to take you seriously when you are in a position similar (or even worse) than theirs?
Build up yourself first, and then go ahead and help out those that deserve your assistance.
That is the correct order, not the other way around.
4) You are going to start “someday”
One of my favorite ones. People that are going to follow their dreams “someday”.
Perhaps after they finish college.
Perhaps after they get their first job.
Perhaps after they get a salary raise.
Perhaps after they get that promotion.
Perhaps after their first child is born.
Perhaps after their child is over 18.
Perhaps after they complete 40 years in the same job.
Perhaps after they get their pension.
Perhaps… perhaps never…
If you are stuck in a mindset like that, wake up, realize that you are fucking around, and get started.
5) You care about what other people think of you
It’s a sad fact of life.
If you try to raise above the masses, you are going to be hated.
If you try and fail, you are going to be mocked.
If you achieve success in life, people around you are going to hate you.
In fact, if you just barely start improving yourself, you are going to get frowned upon and looked down upon.
Here is a quote from one of my favorite books, “How to get rich”, by Felix Dennis:
“If you wish to be rich, you must grow a carapace. A mental armour. Not so thick as to blind you to well-constructed criticism and advice, especially from those you trust. Nor so thick as to cut you off from friends and family.
But thick enough to shrug off the inevitable sniggering and malicious mockery that will follow your inevitable failures. Not to mention the poorly hidden envy that will accompany your eventual success.”
The second you allow yourself to be impacted by what other people think of you, is the second you have lost the battle.
6) You are taking advice from clueless people
Would anyone take workout advice on exercising from a fat guy?
Of course not.
Then why the hell do people take advice about money from people that are not financially successful?
They are being preached about money by their broke old uncle.
They are getting stock tips from their broke neighbors.
And they are getting lectures about the pitfalls of business by their employee friends.
You should only take advice from people that are undoubtedly successful in the field you are interested in.
First you make sure that they are the real deal, and then you try to get access to them or their material.
Here is a quick tip:
“Never take advice from someone you would not want to switch places with”.
This is one of the reasons that I study books and read blogs like crazy.
Because they contain advice from people that have walked the walk, people that became experts in their field and people that I aspire to become like.
7) Your ego is larger than your bank account
This is the case where people are too stubborn and egotist that they refuse to face the facts and continue with their flawed approach.
They might get advice and guidance from others, but they refuse to accept it and follow it, because it contradicts their original thesis.
They keep going on the road of failure because that is the road they had initially chosen. Their ego is just too large to accept their mistake and let go.
Remember, you need to ask yourself the question:
Do you want to be right, or do you want to be rich?
8) You are addicted to motivational material
Imagine you could get the car of your dreams.
Yes, it’s that spanking new red Ferrari you have been thinking all your life.
You are driving it down the road, and everyone is looking at you.
Heads are turning. Girls are giggling.
How great would that be? It’s the dream, right?
So… How did the five sentences above make you feel? A bit emotional?
If you are used to reading, listening and watching content like this on a consistent basis, then you are in serious trouble.
It means that you are addicted to the motivational crap that the whole internet world seems to be pushing nowadays.
Look, motivation alone does not work. It needs to be followed by massive action. Otherwise, it is just a “feel good” chemical reaction that accomplishes nothing.
Even worse, you might be scammed by fraudsters trying to manipulate your emotions to get into your wallet.
I understand that motivation is extremely important, it is the basis of all human action. But here is the thing. It needs to be internally based. Otherwise, it is not going to work.
And make sure that the content you consume is mostly actionable. A good ratio between actionable and motivational content is 80-20%, not 1-99% like most outlets out there.
9) You are bouncing from one idea to another
Another classic symptom of entrepreneurial fuckarounditis.
In the quest of making money, you are always chasing the next big thing.
One day it is ForEx trading.
One day it is Real Estate.
One day it is Kindle Publishing.
One day it is e-commerce.
Are these avenues appropriate for making money?
Of course they are. The problem begins when, instead of choosing one path and sticking to it, you are bouncing around from project to project failing to generate momentum and gain traction.
The only way to make it is to investigate all available options, pick one that seems more appropriate to you and your circumstances and then CRUSH IT!
You need to be 100% focused to that, and treat everything else as a distraction. It might take 10 years to build your empire, but the reward will be totally worth it!
10) You’re not committed to it
The worst offence of all. You are not getting richer because you are not committed to it.
You believe that it “would be nice” to be rich.
You are going to “try this project”.
You think that building a business “might work”.
This is the language that people use when they are uncommitted to their goals, most of which they will never achieve.
Here is another lovely quote from Felix Dennis:
“If the odds of getting rich put you off, then you deserve to stay poor. Or, to put it more kindly, whether you deserve it or not, you will stay poor.”
Look, getting is rich is freaking hard. Unless you are committed to it, it is not going to work.
You need to be 100% unforgiving for your desire and march ahead.
Conclusion
The majority of people are not getting richer and they are never going to be.
There are many reasons for this, and we discussed some of the most common ones in this post:
1) You are still trading time for money
2) You try to live the good life before you deserve it
3) You want to “help” others before you have helped yourself
4) You are going to start “someday”
5) You care about what other people think of you
6) You are taking advice from clueless people
7) Your ego is larger than your bank account
8) You are addicted to motivational material
9) You are bouncing from one idea to another
10) You’re not committed to it
You need to make sure that you are not falling for these mistakes. If you do, then becoming rich is just a matter of time.
