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You are here: Blog / Personal Development / Mindset / The 13 Biggest Differences Between Rich People & Poor People

The 13 Biggest Differences Between Rich People & Poor People

Reading Time: 10 minutes

13-biggest-differences-between-rich-vs-poor-people

November 13, 2019 By T. Harv Eker 17 Comments

Ah yes — the great divide.

Between the rich and the poor. How are they so different from each other?

I’ve got a long rich versus poor explanation here, but read to the very end — I promise you, it will be worth it.

You can be a victim or you can be rich, but you can’t be both. Here are 13 reasons why…

You can be a victim or you can be rich, but you can’t be both. Here are 13 reasons why. Share on X

1. Rich people play the money game to win. Poor people play the money game to not lose.

The goal of truly rich people is to have massive wealth and for many of them, it’s to help a lot of people.

One of the principles we teach in our programs is, “If you shoot for the stars, you’ll at least hit the moon.” Poor people don’t even shoot for the ceiling in their house, and then they wonder why they’re not successful.


2. Rich people are committed to being rich. Poor people want to be rich.

The number one reason most people don’t get what they want is that they don’t know what they want. Rich people are totally clear that they want wealth. They are unwavering in their desire. They are fully committed to creating wealth. As long as it’s legal, moral, and ethical, they will do whatever it takes to have wealth. Rich people do not send mixed messages to the universe. Poor people do.

The third level of wanting is “I commit to being rich.” The definition of the word “commit” is to “devote oneself unreservedly.” This means holding absolutely nothing back; giving 100 percent of everything you’ve got to achieving wealth.

It means being willing to do whatever it takes for as long as it takes. This is the warrior’s way. No excuses, no ifs, no buts, no maybes — and failure isn’t an option. The warrior’s way is simple: “I will be rich or I will die trying.”

In my experience, getting rich takes focus, courage, knowledge, expertise, 100 percent of your effort, a never-give-up attitude and, of course, a rich mindset.

Are you willing to work 16 hours a day? Rich people are. Are you willing to work seven days a week and sometimes most of your weekends? Rich people are. Are you willing to sacrifice for at least a period of time seeing your family, your friends, and give up your recreations and hobbies? Rich people are. Are you willing to risk all your time, energy and start-up capital with no guarantee of returns? Rich people are.

It’s simple — you will be paid in direct proportion to the value you create in the marketplace.

How do you want to live your life? How do you want to play the game? Do you want to play in the big leagues or in the little leagues, in the majors or the minors? Are you going to play big or play small? Are you going to live a level 10 life? It’s your choice.

Your life is not just about you. It’s also about contributing to others. It’s about living true to your mission and reason for being here on this earth at this time. It’s about adding your piece of the puzzle to the world.

Most people are so stuck in their egos that everything revolves around them. But if you want to be rich in the truest sense of the word, it can’t only be about you. It has to include adding value to other people’s lives.

Part of your mission in life then must be to share your gifts with as many people as possible. That means being willing to play big.

The byproduct is that the more people you help, the “richer” you become, mentally, emotionally, spiritually, and definitely financially.

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3. Rich people see opportunities and focus on rewards. Poor people see obstacles and focus on the risks.

Poor people see potential loss and are driven by their fear-based voice.

Rich people see potential growth, take responsibility for the results in their lives, and act upon the mindset that “It will work because I’ll make it work.” Rich people are committed enough to do whatever it takes. Period.

It comes down to this: If not you, then who?


4. Rich people focus on what they want, while poor people focus on what they don’t want.

Did you know that there are no straight lines in the universe? Life doesn’t travel in perfectly straight lines. It moves more like a winding river. More often than not, you can only see to the next bend, and only when you reach that next turn can you see more.

Action always beats inaction.

I have found that the richest people I know are also the nicest.

Bless that which you want. If you see a person with a beautiful home, bless that person and bless that home. If you see a person with a beautiful car, bless that person and bless that car. If you see a person with a loving family, bless that person and bless that family. If you see a person with a beautiful body, bless that person and bless their body.

Everything happens for a reason and that reason is there to assist me.

From now on, I want you to practice reframing other people’s negativity as a reminder of how NOT to be. Nothing has meaning except for the meaning we give it.

Energy is contagious: Either you affect people or you infect people.

I believe negative thinking is like having measles of the mind. Instead of itching, you get bitching; instead of scratching, you get bashing; instead of irritation, you get frustration. Now, do you really want to be close to people like that? 

13-biggest-differences-between-rich-vs-poor-people


5. Rich people are almost always excellent promoters.

They are willing to promote their products, their services, and their ideas with passion and enthusiasm.

Resenting promotion is one of the greatest obstacles to success. People who have issues with selling and promotion are usually broke.


6. Poor people will do almost anything to avoid problems.

Poor people see a challenge and they run…

The secret to success, my friends, is not to try to avoid, or get rid of, or shrink from your problems; the secret is to grow yourself so that you are bigger than your problems.

If you have a big problem in your life, all that means is that you are being a small person!

If you want to make a permanent change, stop focusing on the size of your problems and start focusing on the size of you!

I go over this specific principle in my upcoming free web class, “Don’t Believe A Thought You Think.”


7. Rich and successful people are solution-oriented.

Rich people spend their time and energy strategizing and planning the answers to challenges that come up and creating systems to make certain that problem doesn’t occur again.

Think of yourself as a container for wealth. If your container is small and your money is big, what’s going to happen? You will lose it. Your container will overflow and the excess money will spill out all over the place. You simply cannot have more money than the container. Therefore you must grow to be a big container so you not only hold more wealth, but you also attract more wealth.

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8. Rich people do not back away from problems, do not avoid problems, and do not complain about problems.

Rich people are financial warriors.

The bottom line is that if you become a master at handling problems and overcoming obstacles, what can stop you from success? The answer is nothing! And if nothing can stop you, you become unstoppable!

If a 100-foot oak tree had the mind of a human, it would only grow to be 10 feet tall!

Again this is something I cover a lot in my free web class, “Don’t Believe A Thought You Think.” 


9. Rich people work hard and believe it’s perfectly appropriate to be well rewarded for their efforts and the value they provide for others.

Poor people work hard, but due to their feelings of unworthiness, they believe that it is inappropriate for them to be well rewarded for their efforts and the value they provide.

Get really rich and then help the people who didn’t have the opportunity you did.

If you have the wherewithal to have a lot of money, have it. How you do anything is how you do everything.

There’s nothing wrong with getting a steady paycheck unless it interferes with your ability to earn what you’re worth. There’s the rub. It usually does.

Living based in security is living based in fear.

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10. Rich people believe in themselves. They believe in their value and in their ability to deliver it.

Poor people don’t. That’s why they need “guarantees.”

The only way to earn what you’re really worth is to get paid based on your results.

Do you want a successful career or a close relationship with your family? Both! Do you want a focus on business or have fun and play? Both! Do you want money or meaning in your life? Both! Do you want to earn a fortune or do the work you love? Both! Poor people always choose one or the other, rich people choose both.

Let’s set the record straight. Money is important! To say that it’s not as important as any other things in life is ludicrous. What’s more important, your arm or your leg? Could it be that both are important?

Money brings freedom — freedom to buy what you want, and freedom to do what you want with your time. Money allows you to enjoy the finer things in life as well as giving you the opportunity to help others have the necessities in life.

Most of all, having money allows you not to have to spend your energy worrying about not having money.


11. Poor people either mismanage their money or they avoid the subject of money altogether.

I don’t know about you, but where I went to school, Money Management 101 wasn’t offered. Instead, we learned about the War of 1812, which of course is something I use every single day.

The single biggest difference between financial success and financial failure is how well you manage your money. It’s simple:

To master money, you must manage money.

Saying, “I’ll start managing my money as soon as I get caught up,” is like an overweight person saying, “I’ll start exercising and dieting as soon as I lose 20 pounds.”

You must acquire the habits and skills of managing a small amount of money before you can have a large amount.

Money is a big part of your life, and when you learn how to get your finances under control, all areas of your life will soar.

It comes down to this: Either you control money, or it controls you. To control money, you must manage it.

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12. Rich people have their money work hard for them while poor people work hard for their money.

Rich people see every dollar as a “seed” that can be planted to earn a hundred more dollars, which can then be replanted to earn a thousand more dollars.

Eventually, rich people get the choice to work or not.

Poor people don’t invest their money and are stuck working for the rest of their lives.


13. Rich people are willing to act in spite of fear. Poor people let fear stop them.

It’s imperative to realize that it is not necessary to try to get rid of fear in order to succeed. Rich and successful people have fear, rich and successful people have doubts, rich and successful people have worries. They just don’t let these feelings stop them. Unsuccessful people have fears, doubts, and worries, then let those feelings stop them.

We need to practice acting in spite of fear, in spite of doubt, in spite of worry, in spite of uncertainty, in spite of inconvenience, in spite of discomfort, and even to practice acting when we’re not in the mood to act.

If you are willing to do only what’s easy, life will be hard. But if you’re willing to do what’s hard, life will be easy.

Either you’re a person who will be stopped, or you are a person who won’t be stopped. You choose.

Now It’s Your Choice: Who Would You Rather Be Like?

If you want to be rich, do what rich people do. If you don’t, then do what broke people do. Simple, right?

But where to begin? It all starts with what is inside of you — more specifically, your mind. Your thoughts lead to your feelings, that lead to your actions that lead to your results. Either you control your mind or it controls you.

So if you’re not living every aspect of your life at 100%, join me for my free web class…

Don’t Believe A Thought You Think:
The Greatest Secret to Life

This web class is one of my signature, most sought-after free web classes where you’ll discover how to tame your fear-based mind so you can master your life, succeed even in the face of fear and challenges, and become truly unstoppable.

On this web class, you’ll also learn:

  • How to increase your inner strength and confidence to take on any challenge that stands in the way of reaching your peak potential.
  • How to become incredibly trustworthy using T. Harv Eker’s universal law so that you don’t only trust yourself, but also gain respect and trust from others.
  • How to unleash your “inner warrior” and empower yourself to take unconditional action in spite of your fears, doubts, barriers, and obstacles.
  • How to become crystal clear about what you want, need, and deserve, so you can actually achieve your goals (instead of just dreaming about them).

Click here to register for FREE or select a date and time below that works best for you. See you there!The 13 Biggest Differences Between Rich People & Poor People

The 13 Biggest Differences Between Rich People & Poor People

You want to be living at 100% like other rich and successful people by making choices based on your inner power, not fear. Fear will keep you from having what you truly want in life, and that’s no way to live. So to make sure that doesn’t happen to you, I highly encourage you to join me on my class as my guest.

For Your Freedom,

The 13 Biggest Differences Between Rich People & Poor People

 

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The 13 Biggest Differences Between Rich People & Poor People

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Filed Under: Mindset, Popular Tagged With: don't believe a thought you think, inner power, millionaire mindset

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Comments

  1. Arturo says

    August 29, 2017 at 4:32 pm

    Toda esta inforacion es extraordinaria, realmente a mi me encantaria formar parte de este gran aprendisaje. Mi pregunta es ¿ como veo los videos en Espaňol? No hablo ingles

    Reply
  2. Isolde Kühn says

    August 30, 2017 at 5:23 am

    Hallo Harv Eker,

    vielen herzlichen Dank für das wertvolle Programm.
    Dankeschön,ich bin 7 mal in meinen Leben gefallen und wieder aufgestanden.
    Meine Mission,ist es gesund,glücklich und reich zu sein und anderen Menschen zu helfen.
    Geld und Reichtum bringt mir die Freiheit,eine glückliche Familie zu haben,ein Luxus-Haus zu haben,ein wunderschönes Auto und in der Weltrum zu reisen,um Menschen zu helfen und Urlaub zu machen an den schönsten Orten der Welt und in den herrlichsten. Hotels der Welt
    Dafür danke ich Gott im Namen Jesus-Christus.AMEN
    Ich lerne in einer Privat-Schule englisch und dafür bin ich so dankbar.DANKE LIEBER GOTT. AMEN
    VIELEN DANK FÜR DAS PROGRAMM UND ICH FREUE MICH.
    ICH WÜNSCHE IHNEN EINE HERRLICHE ZEIT.

    HERZLICHE GRÜSSE AUS DEUTSCHLAND

    IHRE ISOLDE KÜHN

    Reply
  3. Jessica says

    August 30, 2017 at 7:51 am

    Thank you Harv!! 🙂 Fantastic and very very inspiring! I love it! You are amazing! I love to give myself a high five like you do. “I am amazing!” Haha! Have a fabulous day!
    One of the biggest things I got (I got many) was it is important to give Universe clear messages. I have too many things going on in my website. FOCUS! I will take care of that.

    Reply
  4. Fany says

    August 30, 2017 at 5:39 pm

    This is awesome, fantastic how you explain things, thank you….

    Reply
  5. Shakti vibhandik says

    December 9, 2018 at 10:20 pm

    Amazing:)

    Reply
  6. Vicki Crawford says

    June 12, 2019 at 10:21 pm

    This is absolutely brilliant Thank you Harv
    I work with clients who live as victims and I am inspired by this post and have got some real nuggets to help me
    I don’t get the poor mindset but I do understand it more after reading this
    Thank you so much

    Reply
  7. sizwe Mokoena says

    July 16, 2019 at 7:29 am

    I enjoy our lessons all the time, thank you very much for the valuable insights. I struggled a lot with my relationship with money, I have a business and my sales are super low, I don’t know exactly what is it in my message that is stopping me from helping people

    Reply
  8. Ongaba stephen says

    August 19, 2019 at 6:10 am

    Manage money let money manage you, money works for you, not working for money

    Reply
  9. Paul says

    October 12, 2019 at 12:22 pm

    Love your class, middle class don’t think of money.

    Reply
  10. Jonas says

    December 1, 2019 at 11:58 am

    Unconditional effort in getting what you want. What would this entail? Crushing any competition, destroying lives of those who get in your way, robbing, lying, cheating? You said the effort should be unconditional, so this must be what you mean. Right?

    Reply
  11. Debasis Roy Chowdhury says

    December 10, 2019 at 8:24 am

    Rich exploits poor to be rich but Poor’s are compelled to be poor.

    Reply
  12. Darren Hansell says

    December 17, 2019 at 6:06 am

    Thanks for that Harv. Im going adopt your rich mindset so I can have all the riches and the pleasures in life so I can share them with my family and friends

    Reply
  13. George Schulte says

    December 20, 2019 at 6:23 pm

    Harv… I believe in ME, my ability, my thoughts, my dreams, my aspirations and positive results. My MOTTO: THE ONLY LIMITATIONS TO THE MIND ARE THOSE WE ACKNOWLEDGE. .GOOD, BAD, RIGHT WRONG, SUCCESS AND FAILURE ALL ARE FIRST A PRODUCT OF THOUGHT!

    This program ; closely parallels my attitude in life. I find it very refreshing and inspiring. I have thoroughly enjoyed it so far. Keep it up!

    Reply
  14. Alicia keeton says

    January 29, 2020 at 5:15 am

    How do i get in this mindset when i am loosing everything i have right now medical issues with both my husband and i for 5 yrs now he lost his job and doing odd jobs when he has some to help. And life is not good i dont want this. Life anymore and need all the help i can get but live day by day some days just hard to keep.lights on and food in fridge. So i hope and pray this is my answer i have so many ideas but no money or time to do anything always workingtrying to stay alive every day

    Reply
  15. kahiri clovis kone says

    February 1, 2020 at 2:04 pm

    etre riche c’est une realite mais demeurer riche au fil du temps c’est une autre realite merci de partager gratuitement tes experiences et ton precieux savoir en effet je suis un exemple vivant de la pauvrete parmit tant d’autre effet jai conçus un algorithme mathématique pour le jeu de pmu qui ma permit de gagner pres de 4 millions et apres seulement 5 mois je suis redevenu pauvre car mes investissements n’ont pas eu de reussite et j’ai claquer tout mon fric que j’ai gagne en un click et depuis tout est devenu complique et ma rentabilite au jeu n’est plus le meme.une chose pour dire que si tu as des millions et que tu ne sais pas gerer tu deviendras pauvre et pour te relever a toujours ete difficile

    Reply
  16. Vincy Diana says

    March 11, 2020 at 1:24 pm

    Very nice thought. Keep on giving good stuff. God bless you.

    Reply
  17. Eben says

    May 13, 2020 at 4:18 pm

    True words spoken. We need to work on our goals and vision as we get taught by poor parants that never understood what they souhld of taught kids from young.
    Thanks so much for your ti.e to share this.

    Reply

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