So, you want to be rich right? Nothing wrong with that. However, riches just don’t come like manna from heaven. You need to have the right mentality (among other things) for you to start ‘working’ towards being rich. Note that I’m saying ‘to start working towards being rich’.

Rich Mentality v/s Average Mentality

Let’s look at the five key thought differentiators between the rich and the average.

Lottery mentality

Average people have a lottery mentality. It is not uncommon to see long queues of individuals when there’s a lotto roll over. They’re all hoping to win the millions, and become rich. Sadly, research has proven that those who play and win the lotto, lose everything, even the little they owned prior to the winnings, in 10 years or less. This is because they don’t place any value on the money, because they didn’t sweat for it, they didn’t put any effort in acquiring it. So, they blow it with parties, buying meaningless expensive items, and within a short time, they lose it all. On the contrary, rich people have an action mentality. The main difference between the lotto players and the rich is that rich people are always about ‘what can I do’, what can I innovate, how can I improve my service offering, how can I delight my customers more? And not only do they think about what actions to take, they actually get on with the action. They just do it.

More qualifications mentality

Average people think the road to riches is paved with formal education. A lot of people believe that you have to amass qualifications to start your business and become successful, but that is contrary to the truth. I have seen so many people study, and study more, and yet, what they have studied does not yield results, or make a difference in their lives. Rich people believe in acquiring specific knowledge. Richard Branson is a school drop out without matric. Today, he is a leading billionaire with multiple businesses. He’s just but one example of leading world class performers with little formal education. However, this does not take away the responsibility from you to learn. Identify an area in which you’d like to specialise, learn it, and master it.

Because I have to mentality

Average people earn money doing things they don’t love. In my daily encounters, I always meet people who are unhappy in their jobs. Rather than identify the problem, and do something to resolve it, they complain, they whine, and they find fault with everything – about where they work, their boss, their tasks, their colleagues, their customers. If you try to convince them to see things differently, you can say whatever you want to say, so long as their negative mentality is switched on, there’s nothing much you can do to change it. That negative energy is tiring, to say the least. What rich people do is follow their passion. They do what they love, and love what they do. They find ways that they can make an income out of their passion. Of course, they may not necessarily make money outright, but they persevere, they have the drive, the energy, and they get the satisfaction of achieving what they set out to do. This is a very difficult path that only a matured person can walk.

Living beyond own means mentality

Average people live beyond their means. It is very sad to see some people driving flashy cars, and in the meanwhile, they don’t have a bed to sleep on at night, or there’s no food in the fridge. I once came across an individual who was driving around in three very expensive, very flashy cars, and yet, his children’s school fees were 6 months behind. What makes rich people different is that they live below their means. Rich people save money, and do not buy anything flashy until they can afford it. And when they afford it, they pay cash for it. They don’t enjoy having a life of debt. They focus on what they have to live, build on it, acquire it, then live it.

Fun is the way to live mentality

Average people would rather be entertained than educated. Personally, I don’t have a problem with people having fun from time to time. It is necessary for the soul. The problem with having fun all the time is that you don’t invest in yourself. You don’t learn, you don’t read. You don’t feed your mind with how you can improve your life. However, rich people would rather be educated than entertained. It is impressive when you walk into a rich person’s house. You get greeted by throngs and throngs of books, mostly self-improvement books which teach them how to be more successful than they already are. They take time to nurture their brains, and continuously improve any area of their lives.

So, are you ready to change your life now?

My challenge to you: Change the way you think. Empower yourself. Invest in yourself.

‘My biggest motivation? Just to keep challenging myself. I sell life almost like one long University education that I never had – everyday I’m learning something new.’ Richard Branson

This article is an adaptation from an article: 21 Ways Rich People Think Differently than Average People in Entrepreneur.co.za. Here’s the link to the full article: http://www.entrepreneur.co.za/21-ways-rich-people-think-differently-than-average-people/