I was stuck in traffic the other day with my son in the car and as always we got to talking. And, yes even full time work-at-home marketers get stuck in traffic sometimes.
My son told me he didn’t want to be rich because rich people were mean and grumpy. I asked him where he heard this and he said from TV shows and his friends in school. Now he is 8 years old and he’s getting this type of talk aimed at him early on in his life. Imagine what a lifetime of this anti-rich prejudice will do to his entreprenuerial blood!!!
Here is my response to him. The reason I am posting it here is so you can understand why you must think properly before starting a business. I told him,
“Rich people are not all mean and grumpy. There a poor people and “medium” people who are mean and grumpy, too. Sometimes it’s better to be rich, as long as you’re happy, too”
He said: “But Dad, you can’t buy happiness”
“True” I said , “but having lots of money makes life easier. rich people longer, and have less stress in their lives. They still have stress, but it’s usually less than what other people have simply because they have more money and less stress about money.
The only difference between poor and “medium” people and rich people is the amount of money they have. People are the same everywhere you go, and there are mean and grumpy types in every money category, rich, medium, or poor. Sometimes rich people ARE better in that they’re able to separate themselves from everyone else by thinking a little bit differently, and by working hard to get what they want in life. Rich people work hard, just like poor and “medium” people.
The difference is that rich people feel like they deserve to be rich and aren’t really worried about what people will think of them when they do become rich.”
He said, “but Dad I like being nice like you say I am, so how can I be rich and nice at the same time”
This is what it’s like to be a parent, constant hammering into their heads the principles and morals you want them to be endowed with. Anyways, here’s how we wrapped this conversation up:
ME: Well, like I said before there’s bad people in every type of income level, how much money someone makes, so being mean and grumpy isn’t something that applies to only rich people, remember?”
HIM: Yeah
ME: Well, let me ask you this. You’re a wonderful boy who has a good heart and is well liked by all your friends right?
HIM: Yup
ME: So, being “good” isn’t something you want to give up for anything is it?
HIM: No way, money can’t make you a good person and you can’t buy happiness, Dad.
ME: That’s right, you can’t buy happiness, but would you want to be rich if you could be happy at the same time and continue being the wonderful person you are?
HIM: Oh yeah, ‘cuz I could ( he names about 10 things he’d do for people with this $$$, including “helping all the world”)
ME: OK, big guy listen up. You’ll never be rich if you think that being rich is bad. If you keep saying and thinking that being rich is bad, and you want to be good, then those 2 things will oppose each other, conflict with each other. The reason this kind of thinking keeps you from ever becoming rich is because deep down inside you, you’re gonna have to make a choice between being rich or good. And that’s wrong thinking. Once you realize that you can be rich and good, you have a much better chance of becoming rich.”
END OF DISCUSSION
Points to poinder here:
- Money doesn’t buy you happiness
- Having lots of money doesn’t make you a bad person
- If you have a prejudice or bias against rich people for whatever reason, then you will never become rich because it goes against some internal and subconscious stuff going on inside your head.
- Be in alignment with your goals in order to achieve them.
- You can’t be rich if you really don’t want to be rich, and that’s a deep mental thought for you to ponder.
- Ask yourself if you want to be rich, if you deserve to be rich, and if you’re willing to make some temporary sacrifices of time and effort to make that happen.
- True wealth comes from within, but an improved quality of life for your children and all those around can come for attaining wealth.
- I don’t want to get into deep discussions of true inner wealth, beauty, wisdom, happiness, etc… since I could do that all day long and get lost in it.
MY REAL POINT is that the reason there are so few entrepreneurs out there in this world is because people slap labels on them out of envy, distrust, fear, jealousy etc…..and that’s the reason who the rich get richer and the poor get poorer.
That’s life, and business.
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{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Ok, but think of it this way. You’re a kind rich person and you’ve just found a few charity organizations that are in dire need of money. Being nice, you’d try to give them money. That’s when things start to get iffy.
If you decide to give them very little, well, that’s not very nice of you, now is it? But you’d be able to stay rich!
If give as much money as you can while still having enough to live, then you can’t really be rich anymore, since a large amount of money is going to charity, leaving yourself to live in a middle or lower class home in the process. This would let be a very kind person, almost a hero really. But then you’re not rich.
There can be a balance, but in both you aren’t as rich or kind. You’re just halfway to each. (Tax deductiables kind of mess this situation up a bit, but you get the general idea.)
Good points