Daily Finance published an article on Feb. 23, 2013 about ways rich people think differently from the middle class based on Steve Siebold's book, "How Rich People Think."
The author has come to the conclusion after three decades of interviewing self-made rich people that they have views about money that are completely opposite to those that middle-class people hold.
Siebold writes in his book:
"Rich people see money as freedom and opportunity instead of as the root of all evil. We're taught that money is the root of all evil, so why would we want to acquire something that we have a general disdain for?"
Even though Siebold's book reveals 100 differences between the way rich people think and middle-class people think, the top five examples are listed here:
- The middle class focuses on saving. The wealthy focus on earning. Siebold says that rich people save money, but first they focus on boosting their earnings so that the percentage they save will be more meaningful.
- The middle class sees starting your own business as risky. The wealthy see starting a business as the road to wealth. Rich people look for ideas that can solve problems for other people and they make money from those ideas. Rich people take calculated, well-researched risks to start their own businesses.
- The middle class sees money through the eyes of emotion. The wealthy see money through the eyes of logic. Rich people do not make financial decisions from a place of fear. Money is not something to fear losing, but instead a tool that presents greater options and opportunities.
- The middle class has loosely defined goals with flexible deadlines. The wealthy have firm goals with "do or die" deadlines. Siebold says that wealthy people focus wholeheartedly on one goal at a time rather than taking a scattershot approach to making money.
- The middle class lives beyond their means. The wealthy live below their means. Most wealthy people live more modestly and own average cars and average-priced houses even though they might have $5 million in the bank.
Siebold concludes:
"If you're rich you can be completely free and not be a slave to someone else. The desire for economic freedom is the main catalyst for success. It's what drives people to build their own wealth."
Siebold's strategy is simple: "Learn how rich people think, copy them, take action and get rich."
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