There are many definitions of what it means to be rich.
Being rich is more about mindset than the amount of money. The truth is, the rich can be poor, and the poor can be rich.
For example, even a family of five, sharing a piece of bread with love in a poor place, can be rich. And a family of five living in a 12-room villa may not be able to afford all the luxury payments they would like in high society.
In practice, being rich means having it all. The ideal would be a combination of all situations: a happy family enjoying a plentiful meal in a big house. And yes, this is possible. But to achieve this kind of wealth, this kind of personal peace, and this kind of happiness, you must be determined from the start.
So, you must have the ability to enjoy the wealth you have. Some people work all day, make money, but neglect their families during the process. There are others who focus so much on their families that they can’t fully engage in work due to obligations. Of course, the balance between the two is what helps you find true wealth, but you must also have the ability to enjoy it.
If you want to have it all in life, here are five ways to become rich:
First and foremost, you need to have the mindset of a producer, not a consumer. Your first effort should be to move from being a consumer to becoming a producer. What does this mean? Consumers eat pizza. Producers make pizza. Consumers watch movies. Producers make movies. Consumers look for jobs, producers create jobs. Every millionaire, without exception, is a producer. Only producers get rich.
Producers can offer not only products but also heart operations, books that sell a lot, etc. Once you’ve adapted the mindset of a producer, you’ll be rich.
Secondly, you need to know how much you earn per day based on the efforts you make each day. What does this mean? Have you calculated how much money you make each day with the amount of work you do? $10? $100? $500? Then think about what you need to do to double that number. For example, when I started my business, my value was $200 a day. I didn’t want to stay at that number, so I looked for other ways to improve the work I offered to clients.
What can you do to increase your daily profits? Calculate the daily efforts you make for that number and double it. If you’re making 10 calls a day in a call center, start making 20. If you’re a nanny, start taking care of two children. Of course, it’s good to maintain the quality of your work while increasing efforts. How do you do that? Number three.
Thirdly, you must be able to sacrifice everything. Most people are afraid to make sacrifices because it means losing something. A mother raising her child alone might not sacrifice buying a $20 book, but that book might help her child earn $20,000 one day. The same mother, who fears this sacrifice, might buy her child an equally expensive toy just to make them happy.
But before becoming rich, you must first become poor. Excluding lottery winners or heirs, you are the ones who must pay with sacrifices, and even be ready to sacrifice everything. You need to have the strength to face the worst if you want to achieve the best. This means you may need to stay away from daily pleasures just to reach the bigger goal. In the end, it will be worth it.
When you hesitate to take risks, ask yourself, “What is the worst that can happen if I take this risk? What is the best that can happen?” You need to have the strength to sacrifice everything to become rich, even if it’s the last dollar.
Fourthly, spend your free time doing rich things. People who don’t get rich are those who like to spend their free time in poor places. People often get into poor environments when they are surrounded only by poor people. If you hang out with poor people, you’ll never become rich.
When I was a teenager, I spent my free time playing basketball with negative people in poor places. They smoked, wasted money on unnecessary things, and did other useless activities. Even though I didn’t do the same things, the environment I was in had a big influence on the productivity of my life. Many people tolerate gossip, violence, and drama around them, but this ends up affecting them. I stopped staying with them and started spending my free time visiting luxury homes for sale or expensive car markets. That changed my life.
Fifth, use your talent for profit. Some people have many talents, others have just one. What’s important is to understand what talent you have and use it beneficially. People often show modesty and undervalue their talents or allow others to do things for them instead of doing it themselves. You need to cultivate your talents and surround yourself with people who support you.
Talents may not always be obvious. School, workplaces, or religious places rarely encourage people to follow the talents they have and improve them. So, most people, pressured by financial and social pressures, or conformism, end up bowing their heads and adjusting to their environment instead of using what distinguishes them from others to rise above.
I personally have always wanted to tell my story. My talent was to write. I started writing articles and giving free speeches. Through this, I had the opportunity to connect with millions of people, even though I had done very poorly in grammar in school. But the more you use your talents, the happier and richer you will be. Talents will open doors for you.
Money continues to be printed every day. Make sure you go and grab what’s yours. Money is the tool that gives you the opportunity to be more than you are. Enough surviving, now start lifting your head. If you commit to wealth, you can gain much power.
(The author is an entrepreneur)