The Hindu Business Line : Play the money game to win

Why are some people rich and others destined for a life of struggle? "It all comes down to this: If your subconscious `financial blueprint' is not `set' for success, nothing you learn, nothing you know, and nothing you do will make much of a difference," says T. Harv Eker in Secrets of the Millionaire Mind, from HarperBusiness (www.harpercollins.com).

Aren't the laws of money all about `business knowledge, money management, and investment strategies?' They are just the `outer laws,' according to Eker. "These are essential. But the inner game is just as important... It's not enough to be in the right place at the right time. You have to be the right person in the right place at the right time."

Eker studies financial disasters and finds that though they may seem to happen due to `bad luck, a downturn in the economy, a lousy partner, whatever,' the real cause is inside. "If you come into big money when you're not ready for it on the inside, the chances are your wealth will be short-lived and you will lose it." Not a curse, but a fact, because "the vast majority of people simply do not have the internal capacity to create and hold on to large amounts of money and the increased challenges that go with more money and success."

The Mind

On the contrary, the self-made millionaires, even if they lose all, get back more, because "they never lose the most important ingredient to their success: Their millionaire mind." Check, therefore, what your financial `thermostat' is set for? Is it set for billions, millions, thousands, hundreds, or below zero?

You'd agree when Eker says, "Most people do not reach their full potential. Most people are not successful." Why so? "The reason is simple. Most people are unconscious. They are a little asleep at the wheel," he replies. "They work and think on a superficial level of life — based on what they can see. They live strictly in the visible world."

To help think rich and get rich the book offers nuggets of wisdom in the form of `wealth principles,' strewn among the pages. Your income can grow only to the extent you do, says one. "If your motivation for acquiring money or success comes from a non-supportive root such as fear, anger, or the need to `prove' yourself, your money will never bring you happiness," cautions another snatch.

"No thought lives in your head rent-free," says Eker. "Each thought you have will either be an investment or a cost. It will either move you toward happiness and success or away from it. It will either empower you or disempower you." But aren't thoughts and beliefs what make us? No, they have no more importance and meaning than you give them, explains Eker. "Nothing has meaning except from the meaning you give it." Therefore, observe your thoughts and entertain only those that empower you.

Wealth files

Part two of the book is about `the wealth files' where Eker speaks about `seventeen ways rich people think and act differently from poor and middle-class people.' First, train yourself to believe, `I create my life,' instead of resigning to the thought, `life happens to me.' The rich attitude is to be at the steering wheel of financial life; the poor take no responsibility for what's going on in their lives, and `choose to play the role of the victim.'

To switch from an ineffective attitude that is holding you down, try this simple technique: "Every time you catch yourself blaming, justifying, or complaining, slide your index finger across your neck, as a trigger to remind yourself that you are slitting your financial throat." How crude! Yes, agrees Eker. But "it's no more crude than what you're doing to yourself by blaming, justifying, or complaining, and it will eventually work to alleviate these destructive habits."

The second tip is to play the money game to win, rather than `to not lose'. If your primary concern is `survival and security' instead of `wealth and abundance,' you need to change. "When your intention is to have enough to pay the bills, that's exactly how much you'll get — just enough to pay the bills and not a dime more," says Eker, talking about the power of intention.

Middle-class people go a step further; "they just want to be comfortable." But there is a huge difference between being comfortable and being rich, points out Eker. "People who are only financially comfortable usually decide on what to eat by looking at the right-hand side of the menu — the price side."

Moral for the middle-class is this: "If your goal is to be comfortable, chances are you'll never get rich. But if your goal is to be rich, chances are you'll end up mightily comfortable."

A book with keys to wealth!

http://BookPeek.blogspot.com