Introduction

Google is filled with articles such as “10 things poor people do that the rich don’t” or “15 things rich people do that the poor don’t.”

Many of them are quite interesting and fun to watch, but they don’t really explain the difference.

Do you really think that the difference between the rich and poor is that poor people watch TV while the poor don’t?

Or do rich people shower more often compared to the poor? Neither do I.

If you suddenly start showering more often or watching less TV, you are not going to get rich because the real difference is in their mentality and the way they play the game of money.

In this article, we are going to take a look at eight things that poor people do that are keeping them poor.

1. Defense Players.

Poor people play defense. If you were to play any game strictly on defense, what are the chances of you winning that game?

Extremely low or none, right?

Their key goal is not to win or to be the best, but rather to avoid losing. They simply want to pay their expenses and remain out of debt.

The problem with this strategy is that when your goal is simply to be above the water, that’s the maximum of what you will get.

They save 10% of their salary, put it in the stock market, and pray that the stock market doesn’t crash so that they will have something to rely on when they get old.

But until then, they’ll be stuck in the comfort zone of a low-paying job.

There’s nothing wrong with that, but if your only goal is to pay the bills, you’ll stay where you are. Stop playing defense and start offense, shooting for the stars.

If you want to earn true riches, as a wise man once said, “If you shoot for the stars, you’ll at least hit the moon.”

2. Poor people do not value freedom.

When I mention freedom, I don’t mean whether or not you live in a democracy.

Freedom means living the life you want, not the life someone else wants you to live—doing what you want, how you want, and where you want.

That is why many people say money isn’t important.

Don’t make your life all about money, or the most famous of them, “Money is the root of all evils.”

Yet, you find those individuals working from morning to evening for pennies simply to keep the bill collectors away from their house, performing a job they wish they could quit.

Not just because they hate the job, but also because they undoubtedly detest their boss.

And if given the chance, they would leave that job.

That is why money equals freedom. So how can you expect yourself to seek money if you view it negatively?

3. Struggle

It sounds a bit controversial; aren’t you supposed to work hard for your money? Allow me to explain. What do most individuals do to increase their earnings?

They work harder to get ahead, and if that’s not enough, they may consider doing extra work or another job.

The issue with this is that no matter how much you’re paid, your time is limited at the end of the day, and wealthy people understand this perfectly.

So instead of working hard for their money, they let their money work hard for them.

They see money as a tool that can help them make more money, rather than a piece of paper that they can use to buy anything they want, such as more. But people do.

Of course, you will have to work hard for the money at first, but this is just temporary for the wealthy and permanent for the poor.

Once you make enough, your money can replace you, and you will have more freedom.

4. Poor people focus on obstacles.

A friend of mine wants to start a restaurant chain. In fact, he has been telling me for the last three to four years.

And that’s the problem. Poor people are always on the lookout for things to go wrong.

He may have found an investor or saved enough money to get started in those four years.

He hasn’t even researched the market; he hasn’t even devised a strategy.

Whatever business you wish to start, there will always be challenges.

Some individuals are even on a different level; even if they have all of the necessities, they would state things like, “What if it doesn’t work?

5. Poor Opt for Time-based Pay.

How often do you hear people say, “Do I deserve to be paid 50 bucks an hour or 60 bucks?

I have a degree from such and such a school; I work harder than everyone else, and I am brighter or more skilled than everyone else.” What do you think? No one gives a damn.

Would you read this article since I put so many hours into it?

What counts in the end is how much value you can provide.

You may be working harder than Jeff Bezos, yet Bezos will make $4.5 million per hour while you will not.

6. Poor Resist Rich Success

I was watching an interview the other day with a successful and well-known entrepreneur. Then I scrolled down to read some of the comments, and a lot of people were like,

The guy worked hard to be in that position, even if he inherited part of his riches.

He is likely to be far more disciplined than you. Some people seem to have some kind of moral obligation to hate the top 1% or certain rich families.

7. Poor Overconfidence Syndrome

This is the most ridiculous one. They complain about it. There are a bazillion things you can blame, starting with the politicians who run the country and ending with your boss.

But if you ask them to pick up a book and study the fundamentals of money management, they will tell you, “This is my money, and I know how to take care of it.”

So if you’ve worked everything out, why are you constantly broke?

And then they’ll make even more excuses. Have you ever noticed that when people get into an argument, they try to prove that they are right, even if they are not?

And to be honest, I had this mindset when I was a teenager. I was quite stubborn.

But then I understood that if I kept continuing in this manner, I would never progress.

So I stopped acting as if I knew everything and began focusing on my weaknesses and how I might improve them.

8. Poor Money Management

Knowing how to manage money isn’t something you’re born with; rather, you have to learn.

People think that if they start managing their money, it will restrict their freedom.

They have finally received their salary and want to enjoy it. But the truth is, if you don’t manage your money, you will never achieve financial freedom.

And this short-term feeling of dissatisfaction is not true freedom. Second, many people think that you need a lot of money to manage it.

Trust me, it gets harder than you think. And if you can’t even handle your paycheck properly, do you think you can manage 10 times that amount?

You’ve no doubt learned by now that what makes the poor truly poor is a bad attitude, and lack of money is one of its effects.

That doesn’t mean you’ll be sitting on a lot of cash the next day. No, but gradually, you will start seeing things differently.

You will start thinking differently. And instead of complaining, you will start taking advantage of all the opportunities that you’re coming across. And your financial status will improve with time.

A wise man once said, “The best way to help the poor is not to become one of them.”

This article is based on the book “Secrets of the Millionaire Mind” by Harve Eker.