What's In Your Head Determines What's In Your Wallet

Acquiring the Attitude of Abundance

Darren Hardy

Look Within or Go Without

In the book The Instant Millionaire by Mark Fisher, the old millionaire asks the boy who has sought his advice, “Why aren’t you rich already?” That’s a good question to ask yourself. We live in an era of unprecedented wealth and opportunity. More people have become wealthy in the last 20 years than any other time in human history—why haven’t you? Your answer to this question will reveal a lot about yourself. Your answers will expose your self-limiting beliefs, your doubts, your fears, your excuses, your rationalizations and maybe some justifications.

Reprogram Your Mental Hard Drive

One of the greatest limitations to achieving financial abundance is a deep-seated belief that somehow money is wrong and people who have a lot of it are inherently evil. This belief is invented fiction. It goes back to early childhood conditioning when a growing child is often told this because of other people’s envy or desire to rationalize away their own financial failures.

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The fact is money is good. It takes money to build hospitals, churches and shelters. Money is also needed to buy homes, cars, clothes, food, vacations and other glorious experiences in life. Life is limitless abundance. To acquire money is not to take it away from someone else. Money is granted to the creator, the one who has built something where nothing existed before. Money is the instrument of exchange for valued production. Money is earned only by the producer. The accumulation of wealth is accomplished only by consistently applied effort and discipline. Money has an energy of its own, and it is largely attracted to people who understand its virtues and respect its power. Money tends to flow toward those people who can use it in the most productive ways to produce valuable goods and services, and who can invest it to create employment and opportunities that benefit others. At the same time, money flows away from those who use it poorly, or who spend it in nonproductive ways.

To Have More, You Must Become More

You have heard the phrase, “water seeks its own level,” right? Fortunately, or unfortunately (depending on your level), the same is true about money. Money will meet you where you are. Stated another way, your net worth will equal your self-worth. These are not just clever quips, they are wise truths—and stark realities for some. We all have read the stories about someone who earns $30,000 a year and wins $5 million, $10 million or $20 million in the lottery, then within one to three years they have spent it all and are back to making $30,000 a year, living paycheck-to-paycheck. We’ve watched once-wealthy celebrities also play out that saga. Why does this happen? The money was far greater than their level of self-perceived value. The disproportionate money to self-esteem ratio made them uncomfortable. At an unconscious level they did whatever they could to try to rebalance the inequity—ultimately losing it all—thus returning to the comfort level of their self-worth. As Jim Rohn says, “If you win a million dollars, the first thing you should do is become a millionaire.” So learn the character, habits, disciplines and, most importantly, attitudes of a millionaire.

Is your attitude about money attracting it to you or pushing it away? If we build a negative relationship with the dollar bill, it’s reflected in our thoughts, feelings and actions. Worry is one of the most costly attitudes. Worry is a fear emotion. Fearful thoughts deplete your creative energies and inhibit your ability to make smart choices and take progressive action, which ends up pushing us farther away from prosperity.

Conversely, when we have an attitude of abundance we attract money toward us. This isn’t voodoo; it’s plain and simple. You see what you are looking for and get what you expect. When we are confident about money and grateful for what we have, it changes how we see things, how we talk and how we act. This mindset, outlook and behavior stimulate your inner creativity and attract other like-minded people and circumstances that come with money-making insights and opportunities. Positive, ambitious, abundance-minded people like to associate and do business with people of the same ilk. They avoid those with nervous or pessimistic attitudes about what’s possible.

Getting Money Flowing to You

What would make you happy and boost your sense of well-being? You might be surprised. You may realize you really don’t require any more money than you already have. Sometimes a simple change in attitude is all that’s needed to feel good about your life. People often think, “If only I could get a promotion or a new car, I’d be happy.”

Take inventory of the great wealth you already have. Ask yourself, “What do I feel grateful for in my life?” Take a couple of minutes right now to write it down. Show that list to most people around the world and they will indeed call you wealthy. Feel thankful for all you have, and you will feel instantly wealthy. Once you feel wealthy you will continue to think wealthy and act wealthy, and it will charge the magnet that will attract more wealth to you.

People become wealthy because they decide to become wealthy. Those who believe they can become wealthy and are worthy of great financial wealth are the ones who will be. Because they believe this completely, they act accordingly. They consistently take the necessary actions that turn their beliefs into realities. Decide now that you are worthy of great wealth, and it will be your first step toward great prosperity.

America is the “land of milk and honey.” Opportunity is everywhere. No matter where you look, you will find someone pursuing their dream and being rewarded with great abundance. For centuries, people have sacrificed life and limb just to get here. You are here. People with far more difficulties and much greater obstacles and limitations have gone on to become incredibly wealthy—why not you? People who are less intelligent, poorer, who had more difficult childhoods, fewer privileges and no support have gone on to make great fortunes. So can you. If you think you can, you will. Your attitude will determine your destiny.