Everyone wants to become rich and successful, but very few end up doing it. In order to learn how to make more money, we must understand what we need to change about our mindsets and daily routines.
One of the major reasons we do not live up to our potential is because we fear change. We are fearful of change because we are afraid of losing something, even though this fear is often irrational. There is much more to gain by trying new things than there is to lose. If you would like to read more about fighting fear and how to look at change in a positive light, I recommend you read this summary of the book, “Who Moved My Cheese,” where I break down 6 of my favorite quotes from the book.
Another reason we do not pursue more money-making opportunities is that we are skeptical they will lead to success and are cynical of our ability to compete with others. I have experienced this many times throughout my pursuit of additional income streams. I would feel doubtful in my ability to compete, letting the imposter syndrome kick in. If I ever got over that, I would be cynical that I could ever produce a product or service that would be better than existing competitors. To combat this, try to think of the risk assessment of pursuing new ventures. In the beginning, all you are really losing is your time and you are trading that time for new experiences that can aid you in the future. Unfortunately, our current culture has been bred to knock people down and tell them they can only operate in a box of what has worked in the past. Oftentimes, people are afraid to pursue what they are passionate about because of the cynicism of others. I encourage you to censor this internal and external cynicism and put your effort into working on the ideas you care about that you think could lead to success.
The battle between our desire to do work and our desire to watch Netflix comes down to the concept of procrastination. I do not believe that anyone is born lazy, we just sometimes lack the motivation and clear plan of action to get into a task. If you would like to read more about why you procrastinate and the 4 characteristics of tasks that lead to procrastination, read this concept summary. To overcome laziness, we must understand how to frame our work so that it does not fall into the procrastination trap, which is covered in detail within the hyperlinked article. People often suffer from environmental influences that increase our likelihood to act lazy, which ties in with the next concept of bad habits.
Bad habits are the bane of our existence. Just when we think we are making meaningful progress, our bad habits are there to suck us back in. If we can begin to replace our bad habits with more good habits, we open the door for more time and energy to work on meaningful projects that could lead to making more money. If you are unfamiliar with the theory of habits, I encourage you to read this summary of the book, “Atomic Habits,” which is one of my favorite books. This summary should help you understand what components make up a habit, and give you the strategies to break bad habits.
One of the most important things to consider in the fight to make more money is the idea of arrogance. As Socrates once said, “The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.” We need to be aware of our arrogance and work towards trying to lessen it in specific areas. The 3 main areas to focus on reducing our arrogance are 1) obtaining specific knowledge that we can leverage, 2) the avenues of making money and 3) the avenues that lead to losing money. Once we gain more specific knowledge, we can apply this knowledge to make more money. If the knowledge is specific and relevant enough, it will be in high demand. Being aware of the different avenues to make money will allow you to try out multiple routes, which increases your chances of being successful. Being aware of the avenues that can lose you money will help reduce the time and resources expended on dead ends. The largest asset you have is your mind and filling it with specific knowledge will help set you up for a more successful future.
Hopefully, you are better aware of what you could prioritize in order to make more money with your future endeavors. Whether it be with the mindset changes of accepting change and censoring cynicism, or the lifestyle changes of improving daily habits and fighting procrastination, there is plenty to work on to better yourself and better your odds at being successful financially.
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