How People Get Rich || Why Most People Wont Get Rich Whether or not you’re willing to admit it, unless you’ve reached complete enlightenment, everyone desires at least some level of wealth. However many people believe becoming rich is a completely unattainable goal, and that the only way to achieve it is by some stroke of good fortune; be it winning the lottery, inheritance, or coming up with the next million dollar idea.
After all Some savvy and not so savvy business people have hit the proverbial gold mine in some really bizarre ways. For instance, Roni Di Lullo struck her millions by inventing doggles, which as the name suggests are goggles for your dog.
Or how about Erik Finman, who at the young age of 12 years old, bought 1,000 dollars worth of bitcoin in the summer of 2011 when it was trading for a mere 10 dollars. He cut a deal with his parents that if he could turn that 1000 dollars into 1 million he wouldn't have to attend university. Needless to say a few millions dollars later you won't find the young entrepreneur walking the academy halls.
Perhaps most bizarre on this list Gary Dahl who racked in a smooth 15 million dollars with his invention the pet rock, which was quite literally a rock in a box.
You hear rags to riches stories all the time, and yet so many people have such a strong belief that they could never get rich. Why is that?
Of course, depending on where you live, and your desired lifestyle, your idea of what “being wealthy” means can vastly differ. As a worker making minimum wage in Venezuela one can expect to earn 250,000 bolivars, or about 10 cents, per day when measured in US dollars. Whereas when compared to renting an apartment downtown new york one would be lucky to find a studio that has working cooling for under 3 thousand dollars a month. Then there are those individuals with richer tastes who don’t even bat an eye at the price tag of their newest super yacht. With such vastly differing ideas of what constitutes wealth it's hard to resonate with everyone's idea of what “being wealthy” really is.
Which leads us to the third roadblock, yourself. It's human nature to desire nice things, it strokes one's ego and fuels that sweet dopamine rush. When we see other people with nice things, be it a Tesla or Rolex, we in turn want these nice things as well. The system has made it unbelievably easy to recharge our dopamine with an endless list of consumer driven desires. All you have to do is wake up and go to work for the next 40 years and you'll certainly be able to afford many nice things! And if you can't afford something, don’t worry! You can just take out a loan, you’re good for it, and after all you've worked hard and certainly deserve it.. Right?! I certainly couldn't fault anyone for choosing to live this way. Go out and get yourself the nicest newest car you can, buy the most expensive watch you can find, buy your fiance the largest ring they will let you walk out of the store with. Just remember your ability to save now is what sets you up for future success, not that Tesla in your garage or the Rolex on your wrist.
Which leads us to our fourth major roadblock, lifestyle creep; the act of subconsciously or consciously increasing one’s lifestyle as your income increases. For example your boss tells you to go out and buy the nicest car you can afford, you have job security, you will surely be good for the money. Whether or not you realize it you're becoming a slave to the losing side of capitalism. You now feel obligated to put in extra hours at a job you have no passion for just to make the payments on a car you can't afford.
The most sinister part is that once an opportunity comes your way, you won't be able to take it because all of your cash is tied up. If you become a slave to consumerism and spend all of your money now you may miss out on opportunities to invest in your future.
Furthermore, if you spend money you don’t have you become a prisoner to a lifestyle you’ve bought but can’t afford, reinforcing the perpetual cycle of debt. Remember this isn't how you are taught to think in school, after all the capitalist system needs the worker ants and it would hurt the production system if everyone was taught a proper financial education from a young age. By the time many people realize the system isn't working for them it's too late and they don't have the money they need to make sustainable changes. Imagine you have an amazing idea 6 months from now, maybe it’s an investment opportunity you heard here on quick stocks, or perhaps a once in the lifetime business proposition, and you can't invest in it because you're giving your money away to someone else. In the United States the average student loan debt is 37 thousand dollars, the average car loan 32 thousand, the average credit card debt is 5,700. Now add in health care, insurance, mortgage, vacations, food, and kids, it's no wonder many people feel like the system has let them down.
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