04-16-2015, 04:25 AM
When I started on my path to wealth, I was very, very poor. I mean, had $5 to my name and no job, and I could not get a job for medical reasons type poor. I was also raised by a worker bee mother who bought the whole "go into debt for 10+ years to go to college, get a degree, get another degree, get a third degree, and then sign up to be a slave of the state government for 20+ years to (maybe) earn a retirement pension" line of thinking hook, line and sinker. Which, by the way, she tried to force down my throat, and only succeeded in putting me in debt for 10 years doing it. That was all she knew, and all she could understand. And that's what she taught me.
My mentality was very much against "wealthy people" because I was raised to view them as snobbish, extravagantly spendy with money, inconsiderate, arrogant and a few other descriptive words that escape me right now. Our family always blamed them for the ills of society and they were seen in a very negative light.
But then I started to get to know some people who were what I thought of as wealthy at the time. They were, in some cases, stealth millionaires. I had no idea until I accidentally found out. And when I did, it was challenging for me to square away what I knew about them with what I "knew" about "wealthy people". I realized that as with anything, there are good and bad examples of both, and while the negative aspects I was aware of disgusted me, I also realized that if I become wealthy, I don't have to act in those ways or display those characteristics just because I have wealth!
In fact, like these eye-opening neighbors, I realized further that I don't even have to be obvious about having wealth!
So this gave me an option to start down the path of becoming wealthy. You will never allow yourself to become what you resent or hate. Now I knew of a form of "wealthy" that did not deserve those responses. Add to that the fact that making the world a better place is much easier when you have money, and it became a no brainer: I can do more good with wealth, than without it. I need to make myself wealthy.
So that may be something helpful for you to think about when you consider the negative sentiment toward wealth. You don't have to be pretentious, rude, arrogant, belligerent, snobbish, snotty, or any of the other negative things that some wealthy people sometimes do. You can be as wealthy as you like, and still be a regular jeans and a t shirt guy. (I dress nicely, but very casually in most cases, myself. As in, I know what looks good on me, and I want to look good, but I do so in an understated manner that does not make it easy to pick me out of the crowd in most cases.) I met a number of self made millionaires while researching BAMM 2.0 who are very much about wearing "normal" clothes and making those clothes last a decade or two while they're at it. In fact I still have and wear a couple of pairs of jeans that still fit me from decades ago, myself!
It's all about what you choose to do with your wealth.
My mentality was very much against "wealthy people" because I was raised to view them as snobbish, extravagantly spendy with money, inconsiderate, arrogant and a few other descriptive words that escape me right now. Our family always blamed them for the ills of society and they were seen in a very negative light.
But then I started to get to know some people who were what I thought of as wealthy at the time. They were, in some cases, stealth millionaires. I had no idea until I accidentally found out. And when I did, it was challenging for me to square away what I knew about them with what I "knew" about "wealthy people". I realized that as with anything, there are good and bad examples of both, and while the negative aspects I was aware of disgusted me, I also realized that if I become wealthy, I don't have to act in those ways or display those characteristics just because I have wealth!
In fact, like these eye-opening neighbors, I realized further that I don't even have to be obvious about having wealth!
So this gave me an option to start down the path of becoming wealthy. You will never allow yourself to become what you resent or hate. Now I knew of a form of "wealthy" that did not deserve those responses. Add to that the fact that making the world a better place is much easier when you have money, and it became a no brainer: I can do more good with wealth, than without it. I need to make myself wealthy.
So that may be something helpful for you to think about when you consider the negative sentiment toward wealth. You don't have to be pretentious, rude, arrogant, belligerent, snobbish, snotty, or any of the other negative things that some wealthy people sometimes do. You can be as wealthy as you like, and still be a regular jeans and a t shirt guy. (I dress nicely, but very casually in most cases, myself. As in, I know what looks good on me, and I want to look good, but I do so in an understated manner that does not make it easy to pick me out of the crowd in most cases.) I met a number of self made millionaires while researching BAMM 2.0 who are very much about wearing "normal" clothes and making those clothes last a decade or two while they're at it. In fact I still have and wear a couple of pairs of jeans that still fit me from decades ago, myself!
It's all about what you choose to do with your wealth.
Subliminal Audio Specialist & Administrator
The scientist has a question to find an answer for. The pseudo-scientist has an answer to find a question for. ~ "Failure is the path of least persistence." - Chinese Fortune Cookie ~ Logic left. Emotion right. But thinking, straight ahead. ~ Sperate supra omnia in valorem. (The value of trust is above all else.) ~ Meowsomeness!
The scientist has a question to find an answer for. The pseudo-scientist has an answer to find a question for. ~ "Failure is the path of least persistence." - Chinese Fortune Cookie ~ Logic left. Emotion right. But thinking, straight ahead. ~ Sperate supra omnia in valorem. (The value of trust is above all else.) ~ Meowsomeness!