“All achievement, all earned riches, have their beginning in an idea.”
Napoleon Hill
Rich, according to Merriam-Webster, means “having abundant possessions and especially material wealth.” In other words, being rich means you have the ability to acquire more than necessary.
But I don’t like that definition.
Therefore I’ll create a definition that is more suitable for my taste and reasoning.
According to Jose Torres, rich means ” the ability to live one’s life however one desires without constraints.”
I often overhear others saying they can’t do something, such as traveling around the world or starting their own business, because they don’t have money or aren’t rich. It pains me to hear when someone can’t do what they want because they’re trapped in something they believe is out of their circumstances.
Last week, one of my coworkers told me he loves psychology and would like to study it in college, but he won’t because he thinks it is too expensive and doesn’t have the money to pay for it.
Dreams and goals can and will be ruined by the thought of not having the appropriate assets.
Notice how I worded that sentence. It is our thoughts that dictate how live.
A wise man once said, “He who says he can, and he who says he can’t, are both usually right.”
I understand that each individual has their circumstances for why they aren’t where they want to be. But I strongly believe each individual can overcome their circumstances and accomplish their dreams. The best way to start is to believe you can.
Now going back to the main question: why do you want to be rich?
The obvious answer would be that being rich allows us to focus our time on things we want to do, such as spending time with family or drawing without fear of time or resources. The fear of not having enough money to make ends meet catapults us thinking that it is better to have more money than you can spend. And I agree, I’d rather have too much money than too little.
But that way of thinking won’t get us off our butts and start making more money. If anything, it’ll make us less likely to become rich because the reasoning is too vague.
To become rich and attain all that you desire, you must first become specific with your reasoning; you must have a personal reason.
If you asked a random stranger why they would become rich, they would likely tell you to stop talking to them because you might have coronavirus—at least in America. But of the few random strangers you ask, they would tell you that they would become rich to support their family better, become comfortable in their lifestyle, or make the world a better place by donating to charities. There are noble goals, but they have become too common to successfully accomplish. In other words, having these reasons won’t increase your chances of being rich because it is too common.
To truly make your reasoning for wealth concrete and achievable, it must be selfish, selfless, and unique.
- Selfish: having a selfish reason will make it more likely to strive for wealth because it is something that you desire. For example, your selfish reason can be because you want a new car that can outlive your previous ones, or getting on airplanes to travel to various countries without worrying about the price.
- Selfless: having a selfless reason will make your motivation for wealth feel nobler and garner more respect from your peers. For example, your selfless reason may be to give your family members the best presents every year or creating your own scholarship for students.
- Unique: making your reason unique is the most important factor that’ll make you stand out from the others. Your unique reason can be selfish or selfless as long as it is something meaningful to you. For example, your reason can be something as small as ordering an appetizer every time you got out to eat or something as big as starting your own private school.
Your reason must be short and concise as that’ll make it far easier to remember whenever someone asks you. The goal here is to make your reason stick.
In my case, this is my reason for why I want to be rich: to prove to my parents that their efforts of immigrating to America have been successful by completing college, running my own business, and traveling to over 50 countries all before I turn 25. I also want to own an enormous private library because I love books and want others to feel the same.
What is your reason to become rich?
TAKEAWAY: Make your reasoning for becoming rich selfish, selfless, and unique. Doing so will make you more likely to achieve it.
Here is my inspiration for the day.