WEALTH PRINCIPLE: There is no such thing as a really rich victim!

Meanwhile, being a victim definitely has its rewards. What do people get out of being a victim? The answer is attention. Is attention important? You bet it is. In some form or another it’s what almost everyone lives for. And the reason people live for attention is that they’ve made a critical mistake. It is the same error that virtually all of us have made. We’ve confused attention with love.

Believe me, it is virtually impossible to be truly happy and successful when you’re constantly yearning for attention. Because if it’s attention you want, you’re at the mercy of others. You usually end up as a “people pleaser” begging for approval. Attention-seeking is also a problem because people tend to do stupid things to get it. It is imperative to “unhook” attention and love, for a number of reasons.

First, you will be more successful; second, you will be happier; and third, you can find “true” love in your life. For the most part, when people confuse love and attention, they don’t love each other in the true spiritual sense of the word. They love each other largely from the place of their own ego, as in “I love what you do for me.” Therefore, the relationship is really about the individual, and not about the other person or at least the both of you.

By disconnecting attention from love, you will be freed

up to love another for who they are, rather than what they do for you. Now, as I said, there is no such thing as a rich victim. So to stay a victim, attention seekers make darn sure they never get rich. It’s time to decide. You can be a victim or you can be rich, but you can’t be both. Listen up! Every time, and I mean every time, you blame, justify, or complain, you are slitting your financial throat. Sure, it would be nice to use a kinder and gentler metaphor, but forget it. I’m not interested in kind or gentle right now. I’m interested in helping you see exactly what the heck you’re doing to yourself ! Later, once you get rich, we can be kinder and gentler, how’s that?

It’s time to take back your power and acknowledge that you create everything that is in your life and everything that is not in it. Realize that you create your wealth, your non-wealth, and every level in between

Victim Clue #3: Complaining

Complaining is the absolute worst possible thing you could do for your health or your wealth. The worst! Why? I’m a big believer in the universal law that states, “What you focus on expands.” When you are complaining, what are you focusing on, what’s right with your life or what’s wrong with it? You are obviously focusing on what’s wrong with it, and since what you focus on expands, you’ll keep getting more of

what’s wrong. Many teachers in the personal development field talk about the Law of Attraction. It states that “like attracts like,” meaning that when you are complaining, you are actually attracting “crap” into your life

Have you ever noticed that complainers usually have a tough life? It seems that everything that could go wrong does go wrong for them. They say, “Of course I complain— look how crappy my life is.” And now that you know better, you can explain to them, “No, it’s because you complain that your life is so crappy. Shut up... and don’t stand near me!” Which brings us to another point. You have to make darn sure not to put yourself in the proximity of complainers. If you absolutely have to be nearby, make sure you bring a steel umbrella or the crap meant for them will get you too! I stay as far away from complainers as possible because negative energy is infectious. Plenty of people, however, love to hang out and listen to complainers. Why? It’s simple: they’re waiting for their turn! “You think that’s bad? Wait till you hear

what happened to me!” Here’s some homework that I promise will change your life. For the next seven days, I challenge you to not complain at all. Not just out loud, but in your head as well. But you have to do it for the full seven days. Why? Because for the first few days, you may still have some “residual crap” coming to you from before. Unfortunately, crap doesn’t travel at the speed of light, you know, it travels at the speed of crap, so it might take a

while to clear out. I’ve given this challenge to thousands of people, and I’m blown away at how many of them have told me that this one, teensy-weensy exercise has transformed their lives. I guarantee you’ll be astonished at how amazing your life will be when you stop focusing on—and thereby stop attracting—crap into your life. If you’ve been a complainer, forget about attracting success for now; for most people, just getting to “neutral”

would be a great start! Blame, justification, and complaining are like pills. They are nothing more than stress reducers. They alleviate the stress of failure. Think about it. If a person weren’t failing in some way, shape, or form, would he or she need to blame, justify, or complain? The obvious answer is no. From now on, as you hear yourself disastrously blaming, justifying, or complaining, cease and desist immediately. Remind yourself that you are creating your life and that at every moment you will be attracting either success or crap into your life. It is imperative you choose your thoughts and words wisely! Now you’re ready to hear one of the greatest secrets in the world. Are you ready? Read this carefully: There is no such

thing as a really rich victim! Did you get that? I’ll say it again: There is no such thing as a really rich victim. Besides, who would listen? “Tsk, tsk, I got a scratch in my yacht.” To which almost anyone would respond, “Who gives a hoot

Victim Clue #2: Justifying

If victims aren’t blaming, you’ll often find them justifying or rationalizing their situation by saying something like “Money’s not really important.” Let me ask you this question: If you said that your husband or your wife, or your boyfriend or your girlfriend, or your partner or your friend, weren’t all that important, would any of them be around for long? I don’t think so, and neither would money!

At my live seminars, some participants always come up to me and say, “You know, Harv, money’s not really that important.”

I look them directly in the eyes and say, “You’re broke! Right?” They usually look down at their feet and meekly reply with something like “Well, right now I’m having a few financial challenges, but . . .” I interrupt, “No, it’s not just right now, it’s always; you’ve always been broke or close to it, yes or yes?” At this point they usually nod their head in agreement and woefully return to their seats, ready to listen and learn, as they finally realize what a disastrous effect this one belief has had on their lives. Of course they’re broke. Would you have a motorcycle if it wasn’t important to you? Of course not. Would you have a pet parrot if it wasn’t important to you? Of course not. In the same way, if you don’t think money is important, you simply won’t have any. You can actually dazzle your friends with this insight. Imagine you’re in a conversation with a friend who tells you, “Money’s not important.” Put your hand on your forehead and look up as though you are getting a message from the heavens, then exclaim, “You’re broke!” To which your shocked friend will undoubtedly respond, “How did you know?” Then you stretch out your palm and you reply

“What else do you want to know? That’ll be fifty bucks, please!” Let me put it bluntly: anyone who says money isn’t important doesn’t have any! Rich people understand the importance of money and the place it has in our society. On the other hand, poor people validate their financial ineptitude by using irrelevant comparisons. They’ll argue, “Well, money isn’t as important as love.” Now, is that comparison dumb or what? What’s more important, your arm or your leg? Maybe they’re

both important. Listen up, my friends: Money is extremely important in the areas in which it works, and extremely unimportant in the areas in which it doesn’t. And although love may make the world go round, it sure doesn’t pay for the building of any hospitals, churches, or homes. It also doesn’t feed anybody

Victim Clue #1: Blame

When it comes to why they’re not rich, most victims are professionals at the “blame game.” The object of this game is to see how many people and circumstances you can point the finger at without ever looking at yourself. It’s fun for victims at least. Unfortunately it’s not such a blast for anyone else who is unlucky enough to be around them. That’s because those in close proximity to victims become easy targets

Victims blame the economy, they blame the government, they blame the stock market, they blame their broker, they blame their type of business, they blame their employer, they blame their employees, they blame their manager, they blame the head office, they blame their up-line or their down-line, they blame customer service, they blame the shipping department, they blame their partner, they blame their spouse, they blame God, and of course they always blame their parents. It’s always someone else or something else that is to blame. The problem is anything or anyone but them

Rich people play the money game to win. Poor people play the money game to not lose

If you want to create wealth, it is imperative that you believe that you are at the steering wheel of your life, especially your financial life. If you don’t believe this, then you must inherently believe that you have little or no control over your life, and therefore you have little or no control over your financial

success. That is not a rich attitude.

Did you ever notice that it’s usually poor people who spend a fortune playing the lottery? They actually believe their wealth is going to come from someone picking their name out of a hat. They spend Saturday night glued to the TV, excitedly watching the draw, to see if wealth is going to “land” on them this week. Sure, everyone wants to win the lottery, and even rich people play for fun once in a while. But first, they don’t spend half their paycheck on tickets, and second, winning the lotto is not their primary “strategy” for creating wealth. You have to believe that you are the one who creates your success, that you are the one who creates your mediocrity, and that you are the one creating your struggle around money and success. Consciously or unconsciously, it’s still you.

Instead of taking responsibility for what’s going on in their lives, poor people choose to play the role of the victim. A victim’s predominant thought is often “poor me.” So presto, by virtue of the law of intention, that’s literally what victims get: they get to be “poor.” Notice that I said they play the role of victim. I didn’t say they are victims. I don’t believe anyone is a victim. I believe people play the victim because they think it gets them something. We’ll discuss this in more detail shortly. That said, how can you tell when people are playing the victim? They leave three obvious clues. Now, before we talk about these clues, I want you to realize that I fully understand that none of these ways of being has anything to do with anyone reading this book. But maybe, just maybe, you might know someone who can relate. And maybe, just maybe, you might know that person intimately! Either way, I suggest you pay close attention to this section

WEALTH PRINCIPLE: There is no such thing as a really rich victim!

Meanwhile, being a victim definitely has its rewards. What do people get out of being a victim? The answer is attention. Is attention important? You bet it is. In some form or another it’s what almost everyone lives for. And the reason people live for attention is that they’ve made a critical mistake. It is the same error that virtually all of us have made. We’ve confused

attention with love. Believe me, it is virtually impossible to be truly happy and successful when you’re constantly yearning for attention. Because if it’s attention you want, you’re at the mercy of others. You usually end up as a “people pleaser” begging for approval. Attention-seeking is also a problem because people tend to do

stupid things to get it. It is imperative to “unhook” attention and love, for a number of reasons.

First, you will be more successful; second, you will be happier; and third, you can find “true” love in your life. For the most part, when people confuse love and attention, they don’t love each other in the true spiritual sense of the word. They

love each other largely from the place of their own ego, as in “I love what you do for me.” Therefore, the relationship is really about the individual, and not about the other person or at least the both of you. By disconnecting attention from love, you will be freed The

up to love another for who they are, rather than what they do for you. Now, as I said, there is no such thing as a rich victim. So to stay a victim, attention seekers make darn sure they never get rich. It’s time to decide. You can be a victim or you can be rich, but you can’t be both. Listen up! Every time, and I mean every time, you blame, justify, or complain, you are slitting your financial throat. Sure, it would be nice to use a kinder and gentler metaphor, but forget it. I’m not interested in kind or gentle right now. I’m interested in helping you see exactly what the heck you’re doing to yourself ! Later, once you get rich, we can be kinder and gentler, how’s that? It’s time to take back your power and acknowledge that you create everything that is in your life and everything that is not in it. Realize that you create your wealth, your non-wealth, and every level in between

WEALTH PRINCIPLE: When you are complaining, you become a living, breathing “crap magnet.”

Have you ever noticed that complainers usually have a tough life? It seems that everything that could go wrong does go wrong for them. They say, “Of course I complain— look how crappy my life is.” And now that you know better, you can explain to them, “No, it’s because you complain that your life is so crappy. Shut up... and don’t stand near me!” Which brings us to another point. You have to make darn sure not to put yourself in the proximity of complainers. If you absolutely have to be nearby, make sure you bring a steel umbrella or the crap meant for them will get you too! I stay as far away from complainers as possible because negative energy is infectious. Plenty of people, however, love to hang out and listen to complainers. Why? It’s simple: they’re waiting for their turn! “You think that’s bad? Wait till you hear what happened to me!” Here’s some homework that I promise will change your life. For the next seven days, I challenge you to not complain at all. Not just out loud, but in your head as well. But you have to do it for the full seven days. Why? Because for the first few days, you may still have some “residual crap” coming to you from before. Unfortunately, crap doesn’t travel at the speed of light, you know, it travels at the speed of crap, so it might take a

while to clear out. I’ve given this challenge to thousands of people, and I’m blown away at how many of them have told me that this one, teensy-weensy exercise has transformed their lives. I guarantee you’ll be astonished at how amazing your life will be when you stop focusing on—and thereby stop attracting—crap into your life. If you’ve been a complainer, forget about attracting success for now; for most people, just getting to “neutral” would be a great start! Blame, justification, and complaining are like pills. They are nothing more than stress reducers. They alleviate the stress of failure. Think about it. If a person weren’t failing in some way, shape, or form, would he or she need to blame, justify, or complain? The obvious answer is no. From now on, as you hear yourself disastrously blaming, justifying, or complaining, cease and desist immediately. Remind yourself that you are creating your life and that at every moment you will be attracting either success or crap into your life. It is imperative you choose your thoughts and words wisely! Now you’re ready to hear one of the greatest secrets in the world. Are you ready? Read this carefully: There is no such

thing as a really rich victim! Did you get that? I’ll say it again: There is no such thing as a really rich victim. Besides, who would listen? “Tsk, tsk, I got a scratch in my yacht.” To which almost anyone would respond, Who gives a hoot

Victim Clue #3: Complaining

Complaining is the absolute worst possible thing you could do for your health or your wealth. The worst! Why

I’m a big believer in the universal law that states, “What you focus on expands.” When you are complaining, what are you focusing on, what’s right with your life or what’s wrong with it? You are obviously focusing on what’s wrong with it, and since what you focus on expands, you’ll keep getting more of what’s wrong.

Many teachers in the personal development field talk about the Law of Attraction. It states that “like attracts like,” meaning that when you are complaining, you are actually attracting “crap” into your life.

Victim Clue #2: Justifying

If victims aren’t blaming, you’ll often find them justifying or rationalizing their situation by saying something like “Money’s not really important.” Let me ask you this question: If you said that your husband or your wife, or your boyfriend or your girlfriend, or your partner or your friend, weren’t all that important, would any of them be around for long? I don’t think so, and neither would money!

At my live seminars, some participants always come up to me and say, “You know, Harv, money’s not really that important.” I look them directly in the eyes and say, “You’re

broke! Right?” They usually look down at their feet and meekly reply with something like “Well, right now I’m having a few financial challenges, but . . .” I interrupt, “No, it’s not just right now, it’s always; you’ve always been broke or close to it, yes or yes?” At this point they usually nod their head in agreement and woefully return to their seats, ready to listen and learn, as they finally realize what a disastrous effect this

one belief has had on their lives. Of course they’re broke. Would you have a motorcycle if it wasn’t important to you? Of course not. Would you have a pet parrot if it wasn’t important to you? Of course not. In the same way, if you don’t think money is important, you simply won’t have any.

You can actually dazzle your friends with this insight. Imagine you’re in a conversation with a friend who tells you,“Money’s not important.” Put your hand on your forehead and look up as though you are getting a message from the heavens, then exclaim, “You’re broke!” To which your shocked friend will undoubtedly respond, “How did you know?” Then you stretch out your palm and you reply

“What else do you want to know? That’ll be fifty bucks, please!” Let me put it bluntly: anyone who says money isn’t important

doesn’t have any! Rich people understand the importance of money and the place it has in our society. On the other hand, poor people validate their financial ineptitude by using irrelevant comparisons. They’ll argue, “Well, money isn’t as important as love.” Now, is that comparison dumb or what? What’s more important, your arm or your leg? Maybe they’re both important.

Listen up, my friends: Money is extremely important in the areas in which it works, and extremely unimportant in the areas in which it doesn’t. And although love may make the world go round, it sure doesn’t pay for the building of any hospitals, churches, or homes. It also doesn’t feed anybody.

Victim Clue #1: Blame

When it comes to why they’re not rich, most victims are professionals at the “blame game.” The object of this game is to see how many people and circumstances you can point the finger at without ever looking at yourself. It’s fun for victims at least. Unfortunately it’s not such a blast for anyone else who is unlucky enough to be around them. That’s because those in close proximity to victims become easy targets.

Victims blame the economy, they blame the government, they blame the stock market, they blame their broker, they blame their type of business, they blame their employer, they blame their employees, they blame their manager, they blame the head office, they blame their up-line or their down-line, they blame customer service, they blame the shipping department, they blame their partner, they blame their spouse, they blame God, and of course they always blame their parents. It’s always someone else or something else that is to blame. The problem is anything or anyone but them.

Rich people believe “I create my life.” Poor people believe “Life happens to me.”

If you want to create wealth, it is imperative that you believe that you are at the steering wheel of your life, especially your financial life. If you don’t believe this, then you must inherently believe that you have little or no control over your life, and therefore you have little or no control over your financial success. That is not a rich attitude. Did you ever notice that it’s usually poor people who spend a fortune playing the lottery? They actually believe their wealth is going to come from someone picking their name out of a hat. They spend Saturday night glued to the TV, excitedly watching the draw, to see if wealth is going to “land” on them

this week.

Sure, everyone wants to win the lottery, and even rich people play for fun once in a while. But first, they don’t spend half their paycheck on tickets, and second, winning the lotto is not their primary “strategy” for creating wealth. You have to believe that you are the one who creates your success, that you are the one who creates your mediocrity, and that you are the one creating your struggle around money and success. Consciously or unconsciously, it’s still you. Instead of taking responsibility for what’s going on in their lives, poor people choose to play the role of the victim. A victim’s predominant thought is often “poor me.” So presto, by virtue of the law of intention, that’s literally what victims get: they get to be “poor.”

Notice that I said they play the role of victim. I didn’t say they are victims. I don’t believe anyone is a victim. I believe

people play the victim because they think it gets them something. We’ll discuss this in more detail shortly. That said, how can you tell when people are playing the victim? They leave three obvious clues.

Now, before we talk about these clues, I want you to realize that I fully understand that none of these ways of being has anything to do with anyone reading this book. But maybe, just maybe, you might know someone who can relate. And maybe, just maybe, you might know that person intimately! Either way, I suggest you pay close attention to this section

So What Is Your Money Blueprint Set For?

Now, it’s time to answer the “million dollar” question. What is your current money and success blueprint, and what results is it subconsciously moving you toward? Are you set for success, mediocrity, or financial failure? Are you programmed for

struggle or for ease around money? Are you set for working hard for your money or working in balance? Are you conditioned for having a consistent income or an inconsistent income? You know the scoop: “First you have it, then you don’t, then you have it, then you don’t.” It always appears as though the reasons for these drastic fluctuations come from the outside world. For instance: “I got a greatpaying job but then the company folded. Then I started my

own business and things were booming, but the market dried up. My next business was doing super, but then my partner left, et cetera.” Don’t be fooled, this is your blueprint at work. Are you set for having a high income, a moderate income, or a low income? Did you know there are actual dollar amounts for which many of us are programmed? Are you set for earning $20,000 to $30,000 a year? $40,000 to $60,000? $75,000 to $100,000? $150,000 to $200,000? $250,000 a year or more? A few years ago, I had an unusually well-dressed gentleman

in the audience during one of my two-hour evening

seminars. When the seminar was complete, he came over and asked if I thought the three-day Millionaire Mind course could do anything for him, considering he was already earning $500,000 a year. I asked him how long he’d earned that kind of money. He responded, “Consistently, for about seven years now.”

That was all I needed to hear. I asked him why he wasn’t earning $2 million a year. I told him that the program was for people who want to reach their full financial potential and asked him to consider why he was “stuck” at half a million. He decided to come to the program. I got an e-mail from him a year later that said, “The program was incredible but I made a mistake. I only reset my money blueprint to earn the $2 million a year as we discussed. I’m already there, so I’m attending the course again to reset it for earning $10 million a year.”

The point I want to make is that the actual amounts don’t matter. What matters is whether you are reaching your full financial potential. I know many of you might be asking, why on earth would anyone need that kind of money? First, that very question is not overly supportive to your wealth and is a sure sign you’ll want to revise your money blueprint. Second, the main reason this gentleman wanted to earn massive amounts of money was to support his work as a huge donor to a charity that assists AIDS victims in Africa. So much for the belief that rich people are “greedy”! Let’s go on. Are you programmed for saving money or for spending money? Are you programmed for managing your money well or mismanaging it? Are you set for picking winning investments or picking losers? You might wonder, “How could whether or not I make money in the stock market or in real estate be part of 

my blueprint?” Simple. Who picks the stock or the property? You do. Who picks when you buy it? You do. Who picks when you sell it? You do. I guess you’ve got something to do

with the equation. I have an acquaintance in San Diego named Larry. Larry is a magnet when it comes to making money: he definitely has a high income blueprint. But he has the kiss of death when it comes to investing his money. Whatever he buys drops like a rock. (Would you believe his dad had the exact same problem?

Duh!) I keep in close touch with Larry so I can ask him for investment advice. It is always perfect... perfectly wrong! Whatever Larry suggests, I go the other way. I love Larry! On the other hand, notice how other people seem to have what we termed earlier the Midas touch. Everything they get involved with turns to gold. Both the Midas-touch and the kiss-of-death syndromes are nothing more than the manifestations of money blueprints. Once again, your money blueprint will determine your financial life—and even your personal life. If you are a woman whose money blueprint is set for low, chances are you will attract a man who is also set for low so you can stay in yourfinancial “comfort zone” and validate your blueprint. If you are a man who is set for low, chances are you will attract a woman who is a spender and gets rid of all your money, so you can stay in your financial “comfort zone” and validate your blueprint. Most people believe the success of their business is primarily dependent on their business skills and knowledge or at least their timing of the marketplace. I hate to be the one to break it to you, but that’s la-la land, which is another way of saying, not a 

chance

How well your business does is a result of your money blueprint. You will always validate your blueprint. If you have a blueprint that is set for earning $100,000 a year, that’s exactly how well the business will do, enough to earn you about $100,000 a year. If you are a salesperson and your blueprint is set for earning $50,000 a year and somehow you make a huge sale that makes you $90,000 that year, either the sale will cancel or if you do end up with $90,000, get ready for a crummy year to follow to make up for it and bring you back to the level of your financial blueprint. On the other hand, if you’re set for earning $50,000 and you’ve been in a slump for a couple of years, don’t worry, you’ll get it all back. You have to, it’s the subconscious law of the mind and money. Someone in this position would probably walk across the street, get hit by a bus, and end up with exactly $50,000 a year in insurance! It’s simple: one way or another, if you’re set for $50,000 a year, eventually that’s what you’ll get. So again, how can you tell what your money blueprint is set for? One of the most obvious ways is to look at your results. Look at your bank account. Look at your income. Look at your net worth. Look at your success with investments. Look at your business success. Look at whether you’re a spender or a saver. Look at whether you manage money well. Look at how consistent or inconsistent you are. Look at how hard you work for your money. Look at your relationships that involve

money. Is money a struggle or does it come to you easily? Do you own a business or do you have a job? Do you stick with one business or job for a long time or do you jump around a lot? Your blueprint is like a thermostat. If the temperature in the room is seventy-two degrees, chances are good that the thermostat is set for seventy-two degrees. Now here’s where it gets interesting. Is it possible that because the window is open and it is cold outside, the temperature in the room can drop tosixty-five degrees? Of course, but what will eventually happen? The thermostat will kick in and bring the temperature back to seventy-two. Also, is it possible that because the window is open and it’s hot outside, the temperature in the room can go up to seventyseven degrees? Sure it could, but what will eventually happen? The thermostat will kick in and bring the temperature back to seventy-two. The only way to permanently change the temperature in the room is to reset the thermostat. In the same way, the only way to change your level of financial success “permanently” is to reset your financial thermostat, otherwise known as your money blueprint

The Third Influence: Specific Incidents

The third primary way in which we are conditioned is by specific incidents. What did you experience when you were young around money, wealth, and rich people? These experiences are extremely important because they shape the

beliefs—or rather, the illusions—you now live by. Let me give you an example. A woman who was an operating-room nurse attended the Millionaire Mind Intensive Seminar. Josey had an excellent income, but somehow she always spent all of her money. When we dug a little deeper, she revealed that when she was eleven years old, she

remembers being at a Chinese restaurant with her parents and her sister. Her mom and dad were having yet another bitter argument about money. Her dad was standing up, screaming and slamming his fist on the table. She remembers him turning red, then blue, then falling to the floor from a heart attack. She was on the swim team at school and had CPR training, which she administered, but to no avail. Her father died in her arms. And so, from that day forth, Josey’s mind linked money with pain. It’s no wonder then that as an adult, she subconsciously got rid of all of her money in an effort to get rid of

her pain. It’s also interesting to note that she became a nurse. Why? Is it possible that she was still trying to save her dad? At the course, we helped Josey identify her old money blueprint and revise it. Today she’s well on her way to becoming financially free. She’s also not a nurse anymore. Not

that she didn’t enjoy her job. It’s just that she was in the nursing profession for the wrong reason. She’s now a financial planner, still helping people, but this time one-on-one, to understand how their past programming runs every aspect of

their financial lives. Let me give you another example of a specific incident, one that’s closer to home. When my wife was eight years old, she would hear the clanging bells of the ice cream truck coming down the street. She would run to her mom and ask for a quarter. Her mom would reply, “Sorry, dear, I don’t have any money. Go ask Dad. Dad’s got all the money.” My wife would then go ask her dad. He’d give her a quarter, she’d go get her ice cream cone, and she was a happy camper. Week after week, the same incident would repeat itself. So what did my wife learn about money

The Second Influence: Modeling

The second way we are conditioned is called modeling. What were your parents or guardians like in the arena of money when you were growing up? Did one or both of them manage their money well or did they mismanage it? Were they spenders or savers? Were they shrewd investors or were they noninvestors? Were they risk takers or conservative

Was money consistently there or was the flow more sporadic Did money come easily in your family, or was it always a struggle? Was money a source of joy in your household or the cause of bitter arguments?
Why is this information important? You’ve probably heard the saying “Monkey see, monkey do.” Well, humans aren’t far behind. As kids, we learn just about everything from modeling. Although most of us would hate to admit it, there’s more than a grain of truth in the old saying “The apple doesn’t fall too far from the tree.”
This reminds me of the story about a woman who prepares a ham for dinner by cutting off both ends. Her bewildered husband asks why she cuts off the ends. She replies, “That’s how my mom cooked it.” Well, it just so happened that her mom was coming for dinner that night. So they asked her why she cut off the ends of the ham. Mom replies, “That’s how my mom cooked it.” So they decide to call Grandma on the phone and ask why she cut off the ends of the ham. Her answer? “Because my pan was too small!” The point is that generally speaking, we tend to be identical to one or a combination of our parents in the arena of money. For example, my dad was an entrepreneur. He was in the home-building business. He built anywhere from a dozen to a hundred homes per project. Each project took a huge amount of capital investment. My dad would have to put up everything we had and borrow heavily from the bank until the homes were sold and the cash came through. Consequently, at the beginning of each project, we had no money and were in debt
up to our eyeballs. 
As you can imagine, during this period my dad was not in

the best of moods nor was generosity his strong suit. If I asked him for anything that cost even a penny, his standard reply
after the usual “What am I, made of money?” was “Are you
crazy?” Of course, I wouldn’t get a dime, but what I would get
was that “Don’t even think of asking again” glare. I’m sure you
know the one.
This scenario would last for about a year or two until the homes were finally sold. Then, we’d be rolling in dough. All of a sudden, my dad was a different person. He’d be happy, kind, and extremely generous. He’d come over and ask me if I needed a few bucks. I felt like giving him his glare back, but I wasn’t that stupid so I just said, “Sure, Dad, thanks,” and rolled my eyes. Life was good... until that dreaded day when he’d come home and announce, “I found a good piece of land. We’re going to build again.” I distinctly remember saying, “Great, Dad, good luck,” as my heart sank, knowing the struggle that was about to unfold again. This pattern lasted from the time I could remember, when I was about six, until the age of twenty-one, when I moved out of my parents’ house for good. Then it stopped, or so I thought. At twenty-one years of age, I finished school and became, you guessed it, a builder. I then went on to several other types of project-based businesses. For some strange reason, I’d make a small fortune, but just a short time later, I’d be broke. I’d get into another business and believe I was on top of the
world again, only to hit bottom a year later. This up-and-down pattern went on for nearly ten years before I realized that maybe the problem wasn’t the type of business I was choosing, the partners I was choosing, the
employees I had, the state of the economy, or my decision to

WEALTH PRINCIPLE: When the subconscious mind must choose between deeply rooted emotions and logic, emotions will almost always win.

et’s get back to our story. In less than ten minutes at the course, using some extremely effective experiential techniques, Stephen’s money blueprint changed dramatically. In only two years, he went from being broke to becoming a millionaire. At the course, Stephen began to understand that these nonsupportive beliefs were his mom’s, based on her past programming, and not his. We then took it a step further and helped him to create a strategy whereby he wouldn’t lose his mother’s approval if he got rich. It was simple

His mom loved Hawaii. So Stephen invested in a beachfront condo on Maui. He sends her there for the entire winter. She’s in heaven, and so is he. First, she now loves that he’s rich and tells everyone how generous he is. Second, he doesn’t have to deal with her for six months of the year. Brilliant! In my own life, after a slow start, I began doing well in business but never seemed to make money with my stocks. In becoming aware of my money blueprint, I recalled that when I was young, each day after work, my dad would sit down at the dinner table with the newspaper, check the stock pages, slam his fist on the table, and shout, “Those stinkin’ stocks!” He then spent the next half hour ranting about how stupid the whole system is and how you have a better chance of making money playing the slot machines in Las Vegas.

Now that you understand the power of verbal conditioning, can you see that it’s no wonder I couldn’t make any money in the stock market? I was literally programmed to fail, programmed to unconsciously pick the wrong stock, at the wrong price, at the wrong time. Why? To subconsciously validate my money blueprint that said, “Stocks stink!”

All I can say is, by digging out this massive, toxic weed from my inner “financial garden,” I began getting inundated with more fruits! Virtually the day after I reconditioned myself, the stocks I chose began to boom, and I’ve continued to have amazing success in the stock market ever since. It seems incredibly strange, but when you really understand how the money blueprint works, it makes perfect sense.

Again, your subconscious conditioning determines your thinking. Your thinking determines your decisions, and your decisions determine your actions, which eventually determine your outcomes.

There are four key elements of change, each of which is essential in reprogramming your financial blueprint. They are simple but profoundly powerful.

The first element of change is awareness. You can’t change something unless you know it exists.

The second element of change is understanding. By understanding where your “way of thinking” originates, you can recognize that it has to come from outside you. The third element of change is disassociation. Once you realize this way of thinking isn’t you, you can separate yourself from it and choose in the present whether to keep it or let it go—based on who you are today, and where you want to be tomorrow. You can observe this way of thinking and see it for what it is, a “file” of information that was stored in your mind a long, long time ago and may not hold any truth or value for you anymore.

The fourth element of change is reconditioning. We will begin this process in Part II of this book, where we will introduce you to the mental files that generate wealth. Should you want to take this a step further, I invite you to attend the Millionaire Mind Intensive Seminar, where you will be led through a series of powerful experiential techniques that will rewire your subconscious on a cellular and permanent level—retraining your mind to respond supportively in terms of money and success

The First Influence: Verbal Programming

Let’s begin with verbal programming. What did you hear about money, wealth, and rich people when you were growing up? Did you ever hear phrases like money is the root of all evil, save your money for a rainy day, rich people are greedy, rich people are criminals, filthy rich, you have to work hard to make money, money doesn’t grow on trees, you can’t be rich and spiritual, money doesn’t buy happiness, money talks, the rich get richer and the poor get poorer, that’s not for people like us, not everyone can be rich, there’s never enough, and the infamous we can’t afford it

In my household, every time I asked my father for any money I’d hear him scream, “What am I made of... money?” Jokingly I’d respond, “I wish. I’ll take an arm, a hand, even a finger.” He never laughed once.

Here’s the rub. All the statements you heard about money when you were young remain in your subconscious mind as part of the blueprint that is running your financial life. Verbal conditioning is extremely powerful. For example, when my son, Jesse, was three years old, he ran over to me and excitedly said, “Daddy, let’s go see the Ninja Turtle movie. It’s playing near us.” For the life of me, I couldn’t figure out how this toddler could already be a master of geography. A couple of hours later, I got my answer in the form of a TV commercial advertising the movie, which had at the end the usual tagline: “Now playing at a theater near you.” Another example of the power of verbal conditioning came at the expense of one of our Millionaire Mind seminar participants. Stephen didn’t have a problem earning money; his challenge was keeping it. At the time Stephen came to the course he was earning over $800,000 a year and had been doing so for the past nine years. Yet he was still barely scraping by. Somehow, he managed to spend his money, lend it, or lose it all by making poor investment decisions. Whatever the reason, his net worth was exactly zero! Stephen shared with us that when he was growing up, his mom always used to say, “Rich people are greedy. They make their money off the sweat of the poor. You should have just enough to get by. After that you’re a pig.” It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out what was going on inside Stephen’s subconscious mind. No wonder he was 

broke. He was verbally conditioned by his mother to

believe that rich people are greedy. Therefore, his mind linked up rich with greedy, which of course is bad. Since he didn’t want to be bad, subconsciously he couldn’t be rich. Stephen loved his mom and didn’t want her to disapprove of him. Obviously, based on her beliefs, if he were to get rich, she wouldn’t approve. Therefore, the only thing for him to do was to get rid of any extra money beyond just getting by, otherwise he’d be a pig!
Now, you would think that in choosing between being rich and being approved of by Mom or anyone else for that matter, most people would take being rich. Not a chance! The mind just doesn’t work that way. Sure, riches would seem to be the logical choice. But when the subconscious mind must choose between deeply rooted emotions and logic, emotions will almost always win

The Roots Create the Fruits

Imagine a tree. Let’s suppose this tree represents the tree of life. On this tree there are fruits. In life, our fruits are called our results. So we look at the fruits (our results) and we don’t like them; there aren’t enough of them, they’re too small, or they don’t taste good

So what do we tend to do? Most of us put even more attention and focus on the fruits, our results. But what is it that actually creates those particular fruits? It’s the seeds and the roots that create those fruits

It’s what’s under the ground that creates what’s above the ground. It’s what’s invisible that creates what’s visible. So what does that mean? It means that if you want to change the fruits, you will first have to change the roots. If you want to change the visible, you must first change the invisible

Of course, some say that seeing is believing. The question I have for such people is “Why do you bother paying your electric bill?” Although you cannot see electricity, you can cer

tainly recognize and use its power. If you have any doubt as to whether it exists, just stick your finger in an electric socket, and I guarantee that your doubts will quickly disappear

In my experience, what you cannot see in this world is far more powerful than anything you can see. You may or may not agree with this statement, but to the extent that you do not apply this principle in your life, you must be suffering. Why? Because you are going against the laws of nature, whereby what is under the ground creates what is above the ground, where what is invisible creates what is visible

As humans, we are a part of nature, not above it. Consequently, when we align with the laws of nature and work on our roots—our “inner” world—our life flows smoothly When we don’t, life gets rough

In every forest, on every farm, in every orchard on earth, it’s what’s under the ground that creates what’s above the ground. That’s why placing your attention on the fruits that you have already grown is futile. You cannot change the fruits that are already hanging on the tree. You can, however, change tomorrow’s fruits. But to do so, you will have to dig below the ground and strengthen the roots

The Four Quadrants

One of the most important things you can ever understand is that we do not live on only one plane of 

existence. We live in at least four different realms at once. These four quadrants are the physical world, the mental world, the emotional world

and the spiritual world. What most people never realize is that the physical realm is merely a “printout” of the other three

For example, let’s suppose you’ve just written a letter on your computer. You hit the print key and the letter comes out of your printer. You look at your hard copy, and lo and behold, you find a typo. So you take out your trusty eraser and rub out the typo. Then you hit print again and out comes the same typo

Oh my gosh, how could this be? You just erased it! So this time you get a bigger eraser and you rub even harder and longer. You even study a three-hundred-page manual called Effective Erasing. Now you’ve got all the “tools” and knowledge you need. You’re ready. You hit print and there it is again! “No way!” you cry out, stunned in amazement. “How could this be? What’s going on here? Am I in the twilight zone

What’s going on here is that the real problem cannot be changed in the “printout,” the physical world; it can only be changed in the “program,” the mental, emotional, and spiritual worlds

Money is a result, wealth is a result, health is a result, illness is a result, your weight is a result. We live in a world of cause and effect

Have you ever heard someone assert that a lack of money was a bit of a problem? Now hear this: A lack of money is never, ever, ever a problem. A lack of money is merely a symptom of what is going on underneath

Lack of money is the effect, but what is the root cause? It boils down to this. The only way to change your “outer” world is to first change your “inner” world

Whatever results you’re getting, be they rich or poor, good or bad, positive or negative, always remember that your outer world is simply a reflection of your inner world. If things aren’t going well in your outer life, it’s because things aren’t going well in your inner life. It’s that simple

Why Is Your Money Blueprint Important?

Have you heard of people who have “blown up” financially? Have you noticed how some people have a lot of money and then lose it, or have excellent opportunities start well but thengo sour on them? Now you know the real cause. On the outside it looks like bad luck, a downturn in the economy, a lousy partner, whatever. On the inside, however, it’s another matter. That’s why, 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.

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. That, my friends, is the primary reason they don’t have much money.

A perfect example is lottery winners. Research has shown again and again that regardless of the size of their winnings, most lottery winners eventually return to their original financial state, the amount they can comfortably handle.

On the other hand, the opposite occurs for self-made millionaires. Notice that when self-made millionaires lose their money, they usually have it back within a relatively short time. Donald Trump is a good example. Trump was worth billions, lost everything, and then a couple of years later, got it all back

again and more.

Why does this phenomenon occur? Because even though some self-made millionaires may lose their money, they never lose the most important ingredient to their success: their millionaire mind. Of course in “The Donald” ’s case, it’s his “billionaire” mind. Do you realize Donald Trump could never be just a millionaire? If Donald Trump had a net worth of only 1 million dollars, how do you think he’d feel about his financial success? Most people would agree that he’d probably feel broke, like a financial failure!

That’s because Donald Trump’s financial “thermostat” is set for billions, not millions. Most people’s financial thermostats are set for generating thousands, not millions of dollars; some people’s financial thermostats are set for generating hundreds, not even thousands; and some people’s financial thermostats are set for below zero. They’re frickin’ freezing and they don’t have a clue as to why!

The reality is that most people do not reach their full potential. Most people are not successful. Research shows that 80 percent of individuals will never be financially free in the

way they’d like to be, and 80 percent will never claim to be truly happy.

The reason is simple. Most people are unconscious. They are a little asleep at the wheel. They work and think on a superficial level of life—based only on what they can see. They live strictly in the visible world.

Your Money Blueprint

We live in a world of duality: up and down, light and dark, hot and cold, in and out, fast and slow, right and left. These are but a few examples of the thousands of opposite poles. For one pole to exist, the other pole must also exist. Is it possible to have a right side without a left side? Not a chance.

Consequently, just as there are “outer” laws of money, there must be “inner” laws. The outer laws include things like business knowledge, money management, and investment strategies. These are essential. But the inner game is just as important. An analogy would be a carpenter and his tools.
Having top-of-the-line tools is imperative, but being the topnotch carpenter who masterfully uses those tools is even more critical.
I have a saying: “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.”
So who are you? How do you think? What are your beliefs?
What are your habits and traits? How do you really feel about
yourself ? How confident are you in yourself ? How well do
you relate to others? How much do you trust others?

Do you truly feel that you deserve wealth? What is your ability to act in spite of fear, in spite of worry, in spite

of inconvenience, in spite of discomfort? Can you act when you’re not in the mood?

The fact is that your character, your thinking, and your

beliefs are a critical part of what determines the level of your

success.

One of my favorite authors, Stuart Wilde, puts it this way: “The key to success is to raise your own energy; when you do, people will naturally be attracted to you. And when they show up, bill ’em!”