How to Make More Money in 2010: Think Like a Millionaire.

T. Harv Eker is as aware of how our nonconscious brain works as John Assaraf and Murray Smith are (who wrote The Answer).In his book Secrets of the Millionaire Mind he also concludes that “training and managing your own mind is the most important skill you could ever own, in terms of both happiness and success.”

In other words, if you want to make significant improvements in your financial life, you need to rewire your brain and first think like those who have what you want. Then do what they do. So how do you turn around a financial history that’s less than stellar?

1. Know your money blueprint.

You were taught how to think and act about money before you were old enough to realize it. This conditioning then determines your attitude and behavior towards money. What did you hear, see and experience when you were young? Think this through! Common ‘beliefs’ instilled in us often include: Rich people are greedy; money doesn’t grow on trees; it is better to be poor and spiritual; money doesn’t buy happiness; money is the root of all evil.

The chances are that some of this imprinted itself on you.

Unless you consciously examine your ‘story’ and change these old beliefs and behaviors (see previous articles on my website written recently about overcoming your number one obstacle. Click on the ‘e-zine’ tab), the rest of your financial future is already set in stone. Really, just look at the last five years. Do they match your beliefs that either there is never enough or there is just enough to pay the bills or just enough to save a little?

Assaraf and Murray taught us that we can change our brains dramatically if we persist in creating new beliefs. Eker proves the same thing with thousands of people in his seminars.

2. Fearful thinking is a habit so start empowering thinking as a habit

Fear is the problem, not money. Yes, that’s right, another of those lousy mental habits or beliefs. Fortunately, it is one you can change. Success is an inside job so it starts by you believing that you are enough as a person and that you deserve plenty.

Think bigger about the difference you can make – most people play small. And think about how you can contribute more to others; make your mission sharing your gifts and value. You can be a role model for others. “The world doesn’t need more people playing small.”

Some of this fear is demonstrated by how you self-promote – how you tell the world what you do. Affluent people are rarely bashful about this; they are not ashamed of what they do. 

Yet a surprising number of people I know almost proudly tell me how they don’t talk about their work in public. I’m not saying this is wrong, I am saying that none of these people enjoy financial freedom.

Eker’s solutions will sound familiar:

1) Know what you want and how you can make a difference; and believe you can do it (again, see recent articles on my website. No excuses for not working on this now!)

2) COMMIT to doing it (don’t just hope it or say it): “it means being willing to do whatever it takes for as long as it takes.”

Now you understand how your brain works, this makes more sense. A habitual/old belief is 1,000 times more engrained than a new one so persistence is essential. It explains now why you reading Think and Grow Rich a few years ago did not change your life. You did not repeat the necessary thoughts with enough emotion enough times to create new beliefs. Your old ones were not displaced.

3. Stop complaining, blaming and justifying

Giving air time to negativity simply brings more negativity into your life, not the success you want. “You are slitting your financial throat” when you do this.

Eker gives seventeen examples in his book about how rich people think and act differently from most poor and middle-class people. One of them is that when you do have a problem, be bigger than it so it does not dominate your mind in a negative way. Rather than avoid problems (which is impossible if you are mortal), grow so that you are bigger than them.

It reminds me of a story about Virgin CEO Richard Branson when he was young (over 30 years ago). He was fined $70,000 for tax evasion. Rather than get depressed, he turned on his creative business juices and found as many ways as possible to pay it off as fast as he could.

4. Think like a millionaire

Here’s one example about how opportunities are often perceived by different people:

Poor people: What if it doesn’t work?

Middle-class: I sure hope this works!

Rich: It will work because I’ll make it work.

Here’s another: wealthy people are committed to becoming wealthy. Everyone else hopes to be rich or wants it from time to time.

Many people send mixed messages because they worry about various downsides – maybe they will alienate loved ones. Or they buy into unhelpful beliefs they heard growing up. Eker argues that those who say money is not important also happen to be people who never have any. After all, if you told a loved one he or she was not important, would that person stick around?

5. Rather than resent those who have what you want, bless them.

It will slow down your progress to focus negative energy and send mixed messages about what you say you want. Feed your brain empowering beliefs.

6. Change your stories about not being worthy

“If I had to nail down the number one reason most people do not reach their financial potential, it would be this: most people are poor ‘receivers’. They may or may not be good at giving but they are definitely bad at receiving. And because they are poor at receiving, they don’t!”

Many people have convinced themselves they do not deserve to have plenty. Eker believes that the worthiness argument does not help you become wealthy. His advice is to forget the worthy vs. unworthy debate and start taking the actions you need to become more affluent! 

“Nothing has meaning except the meaning we give it.” Arguably, everything we tell ourselves is not necessarily true. It is simply our perspective or perceived experience. Some of the things we tell ourselves are nothing more than stories. We believe them but so what? Someone else probably has a different version. Do they empower you to fulfill your potential on this planet?

Were you stamped at birth by a divine power as to whether you were worthy or not? Of course not! We just make up stories and give ourselves a life sentence! Why would you do this to yourself?!

One final humbling point: if you were right about everything in your life, you would already be rich and happy. You would already have produced most of the results. And I realize that people like that tend not to read newsletters like this! But just in case, let it be said that first you do need to give up being right about what you think you know. The good news is that becoming more successful financially can be learned. It starts in our minds with awareness about the beliefs we have had. Then it is about training your own mind to take you where you really want to go and then taking actions that support it!

Please forward this on to people you like including in the financial services! If more advisors helped their clients to think like and become millionaires, everyone would win!