Everyone says they want more money. But you’ll never get more money if you keep believing the lies you’ve been told about it. Let’s bash 11 common money myths that make succeeding harder.
1. “Wanting more money is evil.”
Let’s start with the premise that in all likelihood, you are an honest, ethical person who wants to do good in the world and have fun along the way. All of that requires money. But if you believe that only evil, bad or dishonest people get money, you sabotage your ability to make it. Why would you do something that is evil? If you don’t think this is true, remember that most of your thoughts are happening in your subconscious mind. You don’t even realize it’s happening.
2. “I have to be lucky.”
Luck is great in the short term, but long-term sustained wealth requires hard work, discipline and letting yourself make plenty of mistakes. Successful people say luck is only a small part of it. In order to actually experience luck, you have to do stuff all the time. The more you do, the more chance you’ll have of luck happening.
3. “Money will change me.”
Money doesn’t make you good, bad or anything in between. It just amplifies what you already are. If you are intent on doing bad things, it allows you to do more bad things. If you are intent on doing good things, money lets you do more of those good things. Since you’re probably a good person, make more money so you can do more good things.
4. “Money is a thing.”
Money is not a real thing; it’s a concept. It’s something we humans have designated as a standard representation of value. When you get money, it’s because you provided some value. Maybe you helped someone with their taxes, worked for them for 8 hours or gave them a coffee cup that doesn’t tip over in their car. You did something that helped someone—something of value. Money is just a representation of that value you created. It’s not a thing.
5. “If I’m really cheap, I’ll get ahead.”
Pinching pennies does not make you rich. Pinching pennies makes you a gal with a bunch of pennies. Making money requires thinking with a big goal in mind. You’ll get whatever you think about. If you think about pennies, you’ll get pennies. If you think about millions, you’ll get millions.
“You have to think anyway, so why not think big?”
—Donald Trump
6. “Rich people aren’t like me.”
Rich people are not smarter than you. They’ve probably been knocked on their bottom a few times—probably a few hundred. They don’t have any mysterious quality that allows them to have more money than you. The difference is that they believe they can achieve success. When you think you are different, inferior or superior to rich people, you block yourself from success. It’s that subconscious thing from #1 again. You believe that only a certain type of person can be rich. If you are not that type of person, how can you have money?
7. “It won’t make me happy, so why bother?”
Beyond your basic needs of food, clothing, shelter, etc, money will not make you any happier. When you tie money to happiness, you create an expectation that it’s going to provide something it will never provide. You then believe that money (or lack of) is preventing you from being happy. Now you resent it. You’re pissed at money and you’re pissed at people who have it. Not a great mindset (that subconscious thing from #1 again) to be in when you’re trying to make money.
8. “There’s not enough of it.”
Money is a plentiful resource. Since it’s just a representation of value, there is as much of it as there is value. When more people spend money, it moves around more. More people are giving and receiving value and getting the things they need and want. There is always more value, so there’s always more money.
9. “I have to save money to get rich.”
When you believe that money is a scarce resource that you must hoard, you aren’t willing to take the risks required for success. You believe that sitting on money like an egg you’re trying to hatch will make you rich. That doesn’t work because it prevents you from thinking big and using the money you have to acquire the resources you need to make more.
10. “Making money sucks and it’s hard.”
Making money doesn’t have to suck. The most successful people say that if you want to get rich you’d better be doing something you love. Doing something you enjoy sucks much less than doing something you don’t like. It also gives you the motivation to push through the boring and mundane tasks.
“Don’t do it if you don’t enjoy it.”
—Richard Branson
11. “If I make money somebody else can’t pay their rent.”
Monopoly is a fun game, but it taught you a terrible lesson: somebody wins and somebody loses. That’s true in Monopoly, but life wasn’t invented by Hasbro. This is the worst and most limiting money myth. It goes back to the premise that you are a good person who doesn’t want bad things for anyone except the guy who dinged your car door and didn’t leave his contact information—your subconscious (there’s #1 again) simply won’t let you do it.
When you get money, it doesn’t mean someone else lost. Don’t believe that if you get money for a product or service you provided, someone else can’t pay their rent or buy food because you took that money from them. The opposite is true. Money moves from person to person when value moves from person to person. In other words, when people help each other, money flows. Everyone gets what they need and everyone gets money. Making money helps everyone.
Quit believing these 11 myths about money. Go make some.
Featured photo credit: Tax Credits via photopin via flickr.com
