Over Lunch Yesterday, My Daughter Asked Me This Question.
We had enjoyed kayaking down Indian Arm, and now we were having lunch in a restaurant overlooking the bay. It was beautiful day in the incredibly beautiful British Columbia. Seagulls swooped overhead and the meal was delicious. We were discussing some businesses I created and sold in the past, and my daughter asked me, “Dad, how many of those people succeeded?” Well, well, well. My favorite subject.
Let’s look at this example. Two men. Equal intelligence and age. One grows up in a middle class family in North America, the continent with the most opportunities and money, gets sent to university or college by his parents, has his first house down payment made for him by his parents, and fails miserably. The other one risks his life crossing the Mexican border, arrives with nothing, has no support system or education, hardly speaks the language, and ends up a millionaire. Two men can each be given an identical business, in the same market, selling the same products and services at the same price, and one fails while the other succeeds. Some people can take a run down, bankrupt business and turn it into a roaring success. Others will take a prosperous, profitable, growing business with unlimited potential and run it into the ground within months. Why is that?
Look at the hard statistics and you will find that 87% of new businesses fail in the first five years, and 87% of the remaining 13% fail in the next five years. That leaves 1.69% standing after ten years. Only about 1.8% of the population can be considered wealthy. A small percentage of people will make a success of their lives, regardless of the cards they are dealt. Most live lives of failure, mediocrity, and quiet frustration. Most people are paid slaves, and the majority will never be able to retire.
People win millions in the lottery. The vast majority of them spend all the money and end up worse off than they were before their winnings! Why? David Dubeau attended my Joint Venture Broker Bootcamp and now earns $60,000 per month. Patrick Giesbrecht retired in seven months after attending. Dr. Kumar Ramlall saved $140,000 after attending my Bootcamp. Many have made a lot of money from the information I taught them. But most people don’t get those kinds of results. Why?
On a macro scale, I lived in Rhodesia for the year of 1979. A friend of mine recently sent me a copy of the magazine, “Rhodesia Calls”, printed in 1976. It was a beautiful, successful, prosperous, well-managed country. In 1979, Mugabe took over, renamed it Zimbabwe, and it was downhill from then on. He has ruined his own country. Typical of Africa. South Africa is following Zimbabwe in lock step. I lived in Africa for 45 years. I know. The civilized world can pump unlimited billions of dollars into Africa, and it will still have the same problems, only worse. Anyone who knows Africa will agree. Why is it that a small percentage of people succeed? Why will Africa never be the success it can be?
It all boils down to one answer: PHILOSOPHY. Regardless of your age, education, background, or race, you can change your life by changing your philosophy of life – your worldview, belief system, and values. Look at Cuba and Eastern Europe and see the macro results of socialism. At any level, philosophy determines interpretation, thoughts, words, choices, deeds, and results. The top 2% of people are there by design – by choice. They see life differently. They say the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. That’s right. The rich have a different philosophy and their lives get better. The lives of poor people get worse. Until they change their philosophy and break free from poverty, scarcity, mysticism, collectivism, and blame.
The philosophy that works for me is Objectivism, and you can learn more about it in Ayn Rand’s book, “Atlas Shrugged.” It will open your eyes and explain a multitude of things that seem illogical and unfair.
Robin J. Elliott www.DollarMakers.com
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