Secrets of the millionaire mind book summary: When it comes to becoming a millionaire, most think about how to make money. In the book, Secrets of the Millionaire Mind, author T. Harv Eker discusses in detail what we must do FIRST if we ever want to become wealthy & it all has to do with your mindset (get your mind right!).
“If you want to change the fruits, you will first have to change the roots. If you want to change the visible, you must first change the invisible.”
The invisible are things others cannot see, your thoughts and beliefs. Most of us run on auto-pilot and pay little attention to our thoughts and beliefs. Only when you do pay attention to these can you make changes.
The book mainly discusses his “17 Wealth Files” which help to explain why the rich are “rich” and why the poor are “poor.” Here’s a 5 minute summary that should get you in the right “mindset” after completion.
Here is my Secrets of the Millionaire Mind book summary…
Secrets of the Millionaire Mind Book Summary – 17 Takeaways
1) Rich people believe “I create my life.” Poor people believe “Life happens to me.”
If you want to be wealthy, you MUST realize that you and only are in control especially with your financial life. Many poor folks play the “blame game.” The object of the game is to come up with as many people or circumstances they can point their finger at without ever looking at the person in the window.
Another reason the poor are poor is many do nothing but complain. When people complain, they focus on what’s WRONG with their life. What you focus on expands so they’ll keep getting MORE of what’s wrong.
The Law of Attraction states, “like attracts like,” meaning when people are complaining, they are attracting “crap” into their lives.
Mr. Eker states that he avoids complainers all together because negative energy is infectious. He also says, “I guarantee you’ll be astonished at how amazing your life will be when you STOP focusing on – and thereby stop attracting – crap into your life!”
It’s time to take back your power and acknowledge that YOU create everything that is in and not in your life. Realize that YOU create your wealth, your non-wealth and every level in between.
2) Rich people play the money game to win. Poor people play the money game to not lose.
In sports, teams that strictly play defense and no offense have a hard time winning. Unfortunately, most people play the money game on defense where their primary concern is survival instead of wealth and abundance.
Poor people want to have “enough” to pay bills. When your intention is to have enough to only pay the bills, guess what? That’s EXACTLY how much you’ll get…and nothing more.
The middle class step it up a notch and want to be “comfortable.” Being financially comfortable is OK but these people usually look at the right side of the menu before ordering their food.
Bottomline: Eker states, “If your goal is to be comfortable, chances are you’ll NEVER get rich. But if your goal is to be rich, chances are you’ll end up mighty comfortable.”
3) Rich people are committed to being rich. Poor people want to be rich.
People have a lot of negative wealth files floating around in their subconscious mind that tell them there’s something wrong with being rich.
Examples:
- “What if I make it and lose it? Then I’ll be labeled a failure.”
- “I’ll never know if people like me for myself or for my money and success.”
- “It’s too much work.”
- “I’ll be at the highest tax bracket and have to give half to the government.”
- “I could be robbed.”
- “It’s too much responsibility.”
Many of us have mixed internal messages about being wealthy. One part wants it because life would be a lot more fun but the other part screams that they’ll have to work like a dog to get it.
These mixed messages are WHY most become never become rich.
“The #1 reason most people don’t get what they want is that they don’t know what they want.”
Rich people are 100% clear that they want wealth. They are fully committed. Rich people do not send out mixed messages, only poor people do.
4) Rich people think big. Poor people think small.
My kids are selling snow cones this summer. This has been a great opportunity to teach them about running a business & the BIG 3:
- Sales
- Marketing
- Customer Service
I told my youngest the other day, “One of the ways to be successful in business is to always give people more VALUE than they expect.”
The Law of Income states, “You will be paid in direct proportion to the VALUE you deliver according to the marketplace.”
Buckminster Fuller, great inventor and philosopher said, “The purpose of our lives is to add value to the people of this generation and those that follow.”
We all have natural talents and part of your mission in life must be to share your gifts and value with as many people as possible. That means being willing to play BIG.
Do you know the definition of an entrepreneur? A person who solves problems for people for a profit. AKA a “problem solver.”
Would you rather solve problems for a handful of people or tons of people? The more people you help, the richer you become.
Bottomline: Too many of us are NOT living up to our full potential in terms of both our own lives and our contribution to others. The world doesn’t need more people that play small. It’s time to step up and play BIG.
5) Rich people focus on opportunities. Poor people focus on obstacles.
Rich people see opportunities. Poor people see obstacles. Rich people see potential growth. Poor people see potential loss. Rich people focus on the rewards. Poor focus on the risks.
Are you starting to see a trend here? Poor people make choices based out of FEAR.
Their thoughts are constantly focused on the negative or what could go wrong in each situation. “What if it doesn’t work?” or more often, “It won’t work.”
Your field of focus determines what you find in life. If you want to get rich, focus on making, keeping, and investing your money. If you want to be poor, focus on spending your money.
Action beats inaction. Rich people get started whereas poor people never take action and therefore always lose.
6) Rich people admire other rich and successful people. Poor people resent rich and successful people.
We see this in the news quite often as they make the one percenters out to be “the evil rich.” If you view rich people as bad in any way, shape, or form, and you want to be a good person, then you can NEVER be rich. How can you be something you despise?
Typically, poor people are angry towards the rich and believe that rich people make them poor. This if perfect victim talk.
If you have any of these types of thoughts, Ekers wants you to break this habit with practice. Instead of resenting rich people, practice admiring them. He wants you to bless them and practice loving them. That way, you unconsciously know that when you become rich, other people will do the same to you instead of resenting the you know what out of you.
If you resent what people have, in way way, you can NEVER have it. Bless that which you want.
7) Rich people associate with positive, successful people. Poor people associate with negative or unsuccessful people.
When you think of positive, successful people, who comes to mind? I immediately think of Tony Robbins. I’m not saying I agree with all of his teachings, but that guy is positive and full of energy.
Successful people look at other successful people as a means to motivate themselves. Modeling is one of the primary ways people learn.
Energy is contagious: either you affect people or you infect people.
If you watch Tony on stage, you can’t help to catch some of his energy.
You may have been affected by a coach in the past that was full of energy. Maybe your team was down at halftime and his “energized” speech brought your team back to life. The point being is that their energy was transferred to you in some form or fashion.
Ekers wants us to model rich and successful people and know that if they can do it, we can too.
8) Rich people are willing to promote themselves and their value. Poor people think negatively about selling and promotion.
Resenting promotion is one of the greatest obstacles to success. People who have issues with selling and promotion are usually broke. How can you create a large income in your own business or as a representative of one if you aren’t willing to let people know that you, your product, or your services exist?
Rich people on the other hand are excellent promoters. They are willing to promote their products and services with enthusiasm. Which leads us back to value. If you believe in your VALUE, how could it be right to hide it from the people that need it?
What if you had a cure for some type of disease? Would you hide it from a person that was suffering from it? I don’t think so.
If you believe that what you have to offer can truly assist people, it’s your duty to let as MANY people know about it.
(As a side note: One of the reasons I originally started this blog was to help others. It took a while to realize that getting out of debt and building a 7 figure net worth by the time I was 41 was something that others wanted too…so why not give them the resources to do it themselves? Duh?)
9) Rich people are bigger than their problems. Poor people are smaller than their problems.
If you want to be successful with anything in life, it’s going not only be hard but you’re also going to face obstacles along the way, right? This is one of the main differences between the rich and the poor. The poor don’t want to deal with the hassles and the responsibilities…they don’t want problems.
If they see a challenge, they run. The irony is that in their quest to avoid problems, they have the BIGGEST problem of all…they’re broke and miserable.
The secret to success is NOT to try to avoid or get rid of your problems; the secret is to grow yourself so that you are BIGGER than any problem.
It doesn’t matter if you’re rich or poor, you’re going to face problems. The size of the problem is never the issue – what matters is the size of YOU.
The bigger the problems you can handle, the bigger the business you can handle; the bigger the responsibility you can handle, the more employees you can handle; the more money you can handle, the more wealth you can handle.
Why do you think so many lottery winners go bankrupt? They can’t handle the problems association with having that large amount of money.
10) Rich people are excellent receivers. Poor people are poor receivers.
People are challenged by receiving for several reasons. First, many feel unworthy or undeserving. I personally feel this has increased since the advent of social media. It seems that many people have feelings of not being good enough. Maybe that’s why the suicide rate has increased?
It seems that this low self-esteem stems from past conditioning. For most of us it comes from hearing the 20 “nos” for every “yes”, or 10 “You’re doing it wrong” for every “You’re doing it right.” Think about growing up and getting this feedback from parents, teachers, coaches, etc.
Even with good intentions from them, we end up with feelings of not being able to continually measure up to their expectations = we’re not good enough.
Also, a lot of us grew up knowing that if we do something wrong, punishment will follow.
Of course, now that we’re adults, one would think that this is all over. Right?
Unfortunately, it’s not! Most people strongly believe in the conditioning of punishment so much that even if there’s no one around to punish them, every time they make a mistake, they punish themselves without noticing it.
No wonder people have difficulty receiving. One wrong move and you’re fated to be unhappy and poor for the rest of your life.
In the end, it doesn’t matter if you feel worthy or not, you can be rich either way. Some of the rich people don’t feel exceptionally worthy either. It is even one of the main motivations for people to get rich… to prove themselves and their worth to themselves and to others. That self worth is necessary for net worth is only an idea, which doesn’t hold water in the real world.
But, what’s important is that you understand your feelings of unworthiness and that it won’t stop you from getting rich. From a financial point of view, this could even become a motivational asset.
11) Rich people choose to get paid based on results. Poor people choose to get paid based on time.
Most poor people focus on getting a “steady” paycheck. Being able to get a steady paycheck is not wrong, unless it gets in the way with your ability to gain what you’re worth. There’s the rub. It usually does.
Poor people choose to be paid a steady salary or hourly wage.
They want “security” of knowing that the same amount of money comes in at exactly the same time, month in and month out. What they don’t know is that this security is costing them a chance to becoming wealthy.
Rich people on the other hand prefer to get paid based on the results that they produce. Rich people generally have their own business. They usually work on commissions or a portion of revenue. Wealthy individuals choose stock options and profit sharing over higher salaries.
Rich people trust in themselves. They are confident in their value and in their ability to provide it. Poor people on the other hand don’t, which is why they need “guarantees.”
Poor people exchange their valuable time for money. The problem with this approach is that your time is limited.
“Never have a ceiling on your income.”
If you prefer to get paid for your time, you are losing your chances of becoming wealthy.
12) Rich people think “both.” Poor people think “either/or.”
Poor people focus more on scarcity. They believe in sayings like “There’s only so much to go around, there’s never enough, and you can’t have everything.”
What do you want to have?
- A great career or do you prefer a close connection with your family? Both!
- Do you want to make business your center of attention or have quality time for fun and play? Both!
- Do you want to make a good fortune or have the option to do the work that you love? Both!
Most of the time, poor people only choose one while rich people choose to have both.
I guess the saying is true, you can “have your cake and eat it too.”
Rich people deal with an either/or option by asking themselves, “How can I have both?”
13) Rich people focus on their net worth. Poor people focus on their working income.
When it comes to money, the common question that people ask is “How much do you make?” The question “What is your net worth?” is only very rarely heard unless you’re at your local country club.
Wealth is measured by net worth (are you tracking yours with Personal Capital?) and not by working income.
Rich people know the big difference between working income and net worth.
Unfortunately, most poor and middle-class people only think about working income, and that the only way to get rich it to earn a lot of money.
They don’t understand Parkinson’s Law, “Expenses will ALWAYS rise in direct proportion to income.”
Take a look at our society today. When you start making money you typically:
- buy a better car
- nicer clothes
- bigger house
In general as income goes up, so do expenses.
That’s why income along will NEVER create wealth.
And as a result on focusing on income only, they get a low or no net worth.
14) Rich people manage their money well. Poor people mismanage their money well.
“Rich people are good at managing their money.” Rich people handle their money well. Poor people, on the other hand, mishandle their money.
Wealthy people are not smarter than poor people in any way. They just have different and more supportive ways of handling money.
It may not be a very glamorous topic, but it leads to this: how well you manage your money is the only difference between financial success and financial failure. It’s easy: to be able to master money, you must learn to manage it properly.
Until you show you can handle what you’ve got, you won’t get any more of it. You must acquire the habits and skills of managing a small amount of money before you can have a large amount.
The habit of managing your money is MORE important that the amount. (That’s why I insist on people getting in the habit of saving, even if it’s a small amount. It’s the habit that I’m more interested in them getting.)
Bottomline: Either you control your money, or it will control you.
15) Rich people have their money work hard for them. Poor people work hard for their money.
Most people grow up being told that they “have to work hard for money” just like the 80’s hit song by Donna Summer.
Yes, working hard is vital, but if you do it alone, working hard will never make you rich. Why? Think about the millions of people that work hard for the money…are they rich? Nope!
On the other hand, whom do you see golfing or playing tennis at the country clubs or vacationing several months out of the year? Rich people, right?
Ekers states, “I agree that you do have to work for your money. But, for rich people, this situation is only momentary. For poor people, it’s unending. Rich people believe that in order for your “money” to work hard for you until it’s enough to take your place, “you” have to work hard first. They also know that the more your money works, the less amount of work you will have to do.”
Ekers claims that the main objective is to become “financially free” as soon as possible. He defines financial freedom in a simple way: it is the ability to live the lifestyle you desire without having to work or rely on anyone else for money.
The key is acquiring Passive Income.
16) Rich people act in spite of fear. Poor people let fear stop them.
Early in the book, Ekers talks of the Process of Manifestation formula. It states:
- thoughts produces feelings
- feelings will then lead to actions
- actions will lead to results
Millions of people “think” about being rich. In the real world where we exist, “action” is needed to succeed.
If action is such an essential role in achieving success then what is keeping us from taking these actions, that we so well know we have to take?
Fear!
Fear, doubt, and worry are the most common barriers, not only to success, but also to happiness. One of the biggest differences observed between rich and poor people is that the rich are still willing to act even if they feel fear. Poor people on the other hand, allow fear to stop them.
In Susan Jeffers book, Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway, she claims that the biggest mistake people make is waiting for the feeling of fear to subside and disappear before they take action, something that will usually take them forever.
17) Rich people constantly learn and grow. Poor people think they already know.
In Ekers live seminars, he discusses “the three most dangerous words in the English language.” Those words are “I know that.” So how do you know that you know something?
If you live it, you know it. Otherwise, you heard about it, you read about it, or you talk about it, but you don’t know it.
Frankly, if you are not rich & happy, there is a good chance that there is still a lot of things you can learn about:
- money
- success
- life
Consider this, If you’re not as successful as you’d like to be, there’s something you don’t know.
One of Ekers more well-known lines is “You can be right or you can be rich, but you can’t be both.” You are considered “right” if you hold on to your old ways of thinking and being. But, these are also the ways that brought you to where you are now.
Author and speaker Jim Rohn that actually makes perfect sense here: “If you keep doing what you’ve always done, you’ll keep getting what you’ve always got.”
There you have it, The Secrets of The Millionaire Mind Book Summary.
What do you think of Mr. Ekers 17 Wealth Principles?
I’d love to hear your thoughts.
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