Look up the term millionaire mindset and you won’t be hard-pressed to find information about it. It’s something a lot of people want to know about.
It’s as if becoming a millionaire is the pinnacle of financial success. You’ve probably landed here because you’re intrigued by the thought of learning how to cultivate a millionaire mindset. And heck, who could really blame you?
I honestly don’t know what you are expecting to hear, but I will you tell you this — these are some of the things you’ll read if you do a quick google search.
- Millionaires don’t spend beyond their means.
- Millionaires take risks.
- Millionaires work harder.
- Millionaires create good goals.
- Millionaires have the right mindset.
- Millionaires always learn.
Pretty much stuff we’ve all heard before. right?
And I would say, for the most part, many of these are true. Of course, there are a few outliers. Not all millionaires spend within their means and not all millionaires work harder. But I can easily agree with the majority of these statements.
However, this one is really intriguing but there isn’t enough information that will actually help you cultivate the mindset you’re after — millionaires have the right mindset.
I mean, what does that exactly mean? Are they positive all the time? Do they look at the glass as being half full versus half empty? I mean, we need details, right?
The more I study personal finance and evolve on my own money journey, the more I’ve come to realize there is a lot more to mindsets than personal finance bloggers are talking about.
To get where we wanna go, we need to have the right discussions. You wouldn’t be hard-pressed to find information about how to invest in an IRA, create a budget, or open a savings account. There is plenty of free information about that stuff right here on this website.
But this generic bs about having a millionaire mindset is hardly enough to actually help people.
There is certainly much more to it than the stuff you’ll read in great books like The Millionaire Next Door (which I did a review on here).
Many aspire to have a millionaire mindset; however, no matter how many times they read that book, few will achieve that status. Shouldn’t we be trying to dig deeper and figure out why?
Because, after all, if that book was enough and people were implementing what they learned, more folks would have a millionaire mindset, right?
Well, no. It doesn’t quite work like that. What I’m learning is financial literacy and cultivating that “millionaire mindset” is only half the battle. Folks are battling something way bigger. It’s something deep within themselves and neglecting it is the thing that’s keeping them stuck.
There’s an element that’s missing and it has to be dealt with before you can actually achieve a millionaire status.
You need to understand your money mindset and there’s more than one type. The millionaire mindset is most common because that’s what you hear about all the time. There’s also the poverty mindset, and like it or not, that’s usually the mindset most people are battling.
However, there is one more we should know about and once I learned more about it, I’ve decided I no longer want to chase the millionaire mindset. I’ll explain in a minute, but first, let’s do a brief rundown of all three money mindsets.
The Three Types of Money Mindset
1) Poverty Mindset
- Won’t shop at expensive stores because they don’t feel like they deserve to be there.
- Won’t shop at expensive stores because they don’t feel like they can afford to shop there.
- Afraid to spend money because they think there isn’t enough.
- Jealous of people who have more money than they do.
- Hoards stuff because you’re afraid you’ll need it later.
- Unable to save money or make more money than they need.
- Believe it’s noble to live a life without much money.
- Talk poverty language – being broke, not enough money, etc
- In debt and feel bad about it instead of empowered to do something about it.
- Think that all rich people are shady or evil.
- Thinks money is the root of all evil (and let’s be clear, the bible says, for the love of money…)
And before you go and declare this isn’t you because you don’t have all of these beliefs or characteristics, let me just say that all it takes is one! Just one. And that one can keep you from that sparkly mindset you’ve come here to read about.
2) Millionaire Mindset
We’ve discussed a few of the characteristics of a millionaire mindset above, but let me give you a few more.
- They are focused.
- They build with others.
- They are generous.
- Not afraid to take charge.
- They don’t identify as being broke or anything indicating lack.
- They incur debt with a purpose (such as business expansion, etc)
- They keep trying after many failures.
- They’re not afraid of new opportunities.
- They focus on new ways of diversifying their incomes.
- They are always learning.
3) Abundance Mindset
Those with the abundance mindset embody all of the characteristics of a millionaire mindset and more.
- Believe there is plenty for everyone.
- Are genuinely happy for others success.
- Accepts change willingly.
- Take inspired action to living a fulfilled life.
- They continue to learn new ways to better themselves.
- Don’t identify as a victim blaming others for anything.
- Focus on the way they want things to be instead of “telling it like it is“.
- Look for the good in every situation.
- Believe they create their own reality.
Why I Don’t Want a Millionaire Mindset
It’s easy to see why folks want to cultivate a millionaire mindset within themselves. Anything to get closer to having a cool million (or more) in the bank. I understand because I’m sure it would ease more than a few monetary concerns.
However, it’s not going to fix those deep rooted issues within yourself that have to change before you can live a truly fulfilled life. See, millionaires may be focused, build with others, spend less than they earn, and all that good stuff, but with the wrong mindset, they can still easily lose all of their monetary riches.
We hear about millionaires filing bankrupt all the time. Some of them file bankruptcy multiple times. I don’t wanna do that and I’m sure that’s not what you’re setting out for either. You don’t want to get what you want in life just to lose it. Nor do you want to get what you think you want in life and still end up unhappy.
See, there’s gotta be something missing when this happens. And I’ve discovered it’s still a mindset issue, but not some on the surface type of mindset issue you hear bloggers talk about.
I’m not talking about thinking positive, look for new opportunities, take risks, create a debt repayment plan, work hard and all of that good stuff. Yeah, that’s good and all, but it only scratches the surface. We have to dig deeper.
The reality is the millionaires who get rich, lose it all, and/or still end up unhappy don’t have an abundant mindset.
They might believe you have to do things you don’t like, shed blood and cry tears just to get to monetary riches. Sometimes, so much to the point that they will work themselves toward a mental breakdown.
Rich folks can wear themselves down just as good as someone living paycheck to paycheck. When you believe you have to work hard just to keep earning more money, that’s how it will be. A sixty-hour work week for a big paycheck and no time to enjoy it.
Same thing for those with a poverty mindset. They may believe they need to work endless amounts of overtime to keep the bills paid at the expense of their health. And from their perspective, they don’t believe things will ever get better financially.
Well, I don’t want either one of these! And I’m not knocking those that have to do this because at the moment it’s all they know. That’s not what this is about. I’m just saying that it really doesn’t have to be this way if you really want to change your mindset.
I mean, I would rather have the mindset that there is enough for everyone. I want to believe in taking inspired action versus working myself to death for a living. I don’t want to believe living paycheck to paycheck is a way of life and there’s no way to change it. Talking about feeling hopeless – there’s no joy in that way of thinking.
I’ve chosen to cultivate an abundance mindset. When I eat, I want to see everyone around me eating, thereby believing there is enough out there for us all to be financially successful.
I want to celebrate others success instead of envying them and being afraid my success isn’t coming because sister girlfriend over there is getting all of the success.
To cultivate a mindset of abundance you have to continuously learn about your negative money beliefs so you can get rid of them. You have to be willing to take responsibility for your reality instead of blaming the government, your job, or Billy Bob next door for having more money than you currently do.
Looking for the good in every situation, thinking of how you want things to be, and knowing there is enough for you to have cake too will certainly get you closer to a millionaire status than the latter. This is why we’re going to start focusing more on money mindset here at Life and a Budget.
Life and a Budget Money Mindset Challenge
There are some good things coming, but first, let’s start with a challenge. This challenge is designed to help you uncover any negative beliefs you have about money.
These beliefs could be holding you back from doing simple things such as successfully implementing a budget, saving more money, or making more money.
You may not think it’s connected, but I promise you it is. This is the one thing I see many people struggling with.
Folks will ask me what they can do to make extra money, but they will shut down at any suggestions provided because they have limiting beliefs.
Sometimes the belief is that they don’t have enough time to do something. Other times it goes something like, “Nobody will pay me to do that or I can’t do that.”
They will throw the entire book of reasons why they can’t change their reality and it honestly sucks.
But I truly believe if you uncover your limiting beliefs, you can finally get a grip on your finances. This is why I created this FREE challenge to help you. Seriously, I’m thinking of all kinds of resources I can provide, but ultimately, I’m not responsible for the change. You are.
So, for 30 days, you will use this money mindset journal I’ve created which has some thought-provoking prompts. These prompts will help you dig deep and discover limiting beliefs that are currently holding you back.
Once you finish the challenge, you will have a better understanding of why it seems like you can never stick to a budget. You will understand why you’re never able to save money. And let me tell you this — it has nothing to do with how much money you make.
Click here to grab a free copy of the journal!
So I want to hear from you. Do you want to cultivate an abundance mindset? Already have one and care to share some tips that may help someone else? Weigh in…