Harsh Words for the 99%

I know it seems like a harsh thing to say but it also happens to be the truth a lot of the time. When it comes to money, most of the time people's financial troubles come from making excuses. Because the reality is that even though money, to some people, seems scarce—it is actually rather quite abundant.

I don't write these things to preach. I write about money and ways to achieve wealth to help people have a different perspective about money.

The thing is, there's always someone to blame if you don't have enough. It's the greedy rich exploiting people. It's the evil employers holding back wages. It's a rigged system. The reality is that it's none of these things.

At least when it comes to living in the United States. Like I said, and I mean it, money is plentiful. It's not to say it's easy, but that's the point. It's not supposed to be. People who achieve wealth largely don't do it by accident.

It takes know-how. It takes hard work. It takes commitment. It takes understanding how money works. It takes understanding what it really is that holds you back. It's being truthful to yourself rather than finding others and situations to blame.

"But you are going to talk about the stock market, and we all know it's rigged and pretty much gambling," you'll probably say.

Wrong. It's not rigged and it's not gambling at all.

In fact, what it is for a lot of people is a terrible and unfortunate missed opportunity. I can't tell you how many times I hear an employee say, "The company's just cheap and cheating me." Especially if it happens to be a publicly traded company I have to ask, "Are you an owner?"

In other words, if you see profits and the business thriving, and people making money from it, why not own it? Why not buy the stock and share in a piece of the action?

In a nutshell, why wait for the company to pay you more? Why not give yourself a raise? Why not be among the shareholders who benefit from your hard labors? It's not like you are barred from being an owner. You might think you are because you maybe feel you don't make enough.

"It's enough just to pay the bills, let alone buy shares." But the reality is, especially when a dividend is offered, that not buying shares is shooting yourself in the foot. You are literally leaving valuable money on the table.

Because one of the keys to building wealth is not from working alone. It's from owning things. It should be common sense. How did the rich guy get rich? He owned the business you work for. If you can also own it, why aren't you doing it? If the company is sharing its profits with shareholders, why aren't you a shareholder?

There are three things you need to have in order to finally get ahead and be less reliant on others for your financial wellbeing. 

You need vision.

You need to understand that your financial stability is not the responsibility nor the obligation of anyone else but you. Your employer needs to fill a position and they pay what they pay. You accepted the job at the pay offered, and that's that. You need to view your situation as an opportunity and have the vision to believe that wealth is achievable even when all the odds seem stacked against you, because other people do it all the time.

You need goals.

Nothing is ever achieved without a plan and a well thought out one. Realize what's possible and then try to figure out how you can achieve what's possible. More importantly, set realistic goals. Wealth is not about luck. It can be in rare situations. But most of the time it's not about luck at all. It's about vision and having a plan and staying committed to it against all odds.

You need courage.

No one achieved wealth without risk. It's just part of the game. You have to be willing to make certain short-term sacrifices in order to achieve long term gains. You have to be willing to put money on the table to gain from it. You have to trust not in the system, but in your judgement. You have to have faith in yourself. Never, ever sell yourself short. Never, ever give in or give up. Never, ever settle. Have an I can attitude. And never, ever look at someone else's success as having held you back from your own.

The world is full of opportunities. Seize every single one of them and never tell yourself you aren't supposed to be part of it.

Because that's the other part of wealth creation many people fail to understand. It's not about them. It's about you. If you don't know something, learn something. If you don't understand something, seek out people and things that can help you to understand things better. Most importantly, look up to successful rich people rather than look down on them.

Concentrate your time and energy on appreciating that rich people represent what is possible if you mimic what they do.

And as I said early on in this post, don't make excuses. Read, learn and execute. Do it early. Don't wait. Because time is money and the more time you waste not doing it, the harder it will be to reach your goals. 

Make money your friend. Not your enemy. Make the rich and the businesses they own your opportunity.

Okay. There's one other thing here. And it may sound controversial. But I am going to tell you it is some of the best advice I ever got in my own personal financial pursuits. Do not listen to your poor friends. Because it's dumb to listen to poor people talk to you about money. They obviously don't know what they are talking about.

They are the ones telling you the rich are just greedy, evil people out to get you. They are the ones telling you the system is unfair and rigged. They are the ones telling you that the stock market is rigged and gambling. They are the ones telling you that you are being exploited. They are the ones saying you can't get ahead. 

They are the ones fortifying the excuse.

Look, say what you want about the 1%. But if you are listening to the 99%? It's the reason you aren't in the 1%. It's also the reason you don't stand a chance to become the 5%, 10% or even the 50%.

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© 2024 Jim Bauer