06.26.08
To Make Money, You Have to Understand It
I grew up poor. When I saw how rich people lived, I decided to get rich. I learned from rich people how to get rich - that kind of made sense to me. To master a skill, you have to learn about it. One of the most effective explanations of money that I have ever read is this excerpt from my favorite book by Ayn Rand, “Atlas Shrugged”.
In Wayne Dunn’s exceptional article, “An Open Letter to Businesspeople“, he clearly teaches us how to regard money and business in a sane, rational way that will pave the way to your success. The prevailing socialist view of business and money keeps people enslaved in jobs and debt, since they eagerly consume the garbage they’re fed by their collectivist masters. By understanding how money and value work, you can break free from group-think and scarcity conditioning.
When we change the way we think about money, we adjust our expectations, values, and choices accordingly. By rethinking our conditioning and questioning the tripe we have been sold by the mystics and politicians, we can discover a whole new world of abundance, opportunity, and prosperity. Jim Addison wisely warned us not to take advice from people who are more screwed up than we are. I would like to add that it is always prudent to question the motives of those who would teach you. Jim Stoval said we should be careful to learn only from those who already have what we want. I agree. Poor people cannot teach one how to attain wealth, and cretinous has-beens, of whom I have met far too many, should be avoided like the plague; the chips on their shoulders are lethal weapons.
Michael Roach, a monk who helped build a $100 million business, is the author of The Diamond Cutter, in which he shows how he studied the diamond business in order to successfully apply his philosophy to it. Without defending the seeming contradiction between perceived mysticism and capitalism here, my point is that he studied the business in order to excel in it, and his underlying philosophy is one of limitlessness.
When Michelangelo sculpted the David, it is said that he studied the marble block for months before he even touched it. He “saw” the David imprisoned within the marble and he chipped the marble away to liberate his masterpiece. I have spent a lot of time reading about escapes by prisoners of war. One of the most important aspects of the escape was studying the prison or concentration camp, the movements of the guards, and the way things worked. We need to study in order to escape mediocrity and financial limitations.
Finally, the philosophy of wealth can only be learned by those who would put aside their preconceived ides, prejudices, and assumptions. One’s conditioning takes some taming, but the rewards are endless.
Robin J. Elliott www.DollarMakers.com
