There are lots of deterrents to this book, primarily its resemblance to a high-pressure sales pitch for upsells, but at face value and just beyond, there was a wealth of knowledge beyond the standard "Think & Grow Rich" fare. It focused more on why we think the way we do than why we do what we do, and truly that distinction is a critical difference in all-around wealth than appreciated. It is one reason why so many lottery winners can win big but still outspend their gains.
The first part of the book introduces a "Wealth Principle" (or "Money Blueprint") formula that reads as "T --> F --> A = R" and it means "Thoughts lead to feelings; Feelings lead to actions; Actions equal Results." Ultimately, we do what we feel more than what we think.
This lesson is not only reinforced by repetition, but also by actions. Readers must accept it to get anything out of the book. So much of the book was written to drive cynics insane, intentionally or not. If you let your thoughts stop you from getting anything out of the book, it is to your own detriment in the long run.
I had mixed feelings throughout, especially the pro-MLM rhetoric, but I found the book to be an excellent thought experiment (plus, the target audience is for entrepreneurs, many of whom have the potential to become billionaires, which is not me).
Here are 39 of his Wealth Principles discussed in the book:
1. "When the subconscious mind must choose between deeply rooted emotions and logic, emotions will almost always win" (p. 22)
2. "If your motivation for acquiring money or success comes from a non-supportive root such as fear, rage or the need to 'prove' yourself, your money will never bring you happiness." (p. 31)
3. "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." (p. 44)
4. "Consciousness is observing your thoughts and actions so that you can live from true choice in the present moment rather than being run by programming from the past." (p. 45)
5. "You can choose to think in ways that will support you in your happiness and success, instead of ways that don't." (p. 51)
6. "Money is extremely important in the areas in which it works, and extremely unimportant in the areas in which it does not." (p. 57)
7. "When you are complaining, you become a living, breathing 'crap magnet'." (pg.58)
8. "There is no such thing as a really rich victim!" (pg. 60)
9. "If your goal is t o be comfortable, chances are you will never get rich. But if your goal is to be rich, chances are you'll end up mighty comfortable." (p. 64)
10. "The number one reason most people don't get what they want is that they do not now wat they want." (p. 68)
11. "If you are not fully, totally, and truly committed to creating wealth, chances are you won't." (pg. 70)
12. "The Law of Income: You will be paid in direct proportion to the value you deliver according to the marketplace." (pg. 73)
13. "Bless that which you want." (Huna philosophy) (pg. 94)
14. "Leaders earn a heck of a lot more money than followers!" (pg. 104)
15. "The secret to success is not to try to avoid or get rid of or shrink from your problems; the secret is to grow yourself so that you are bigger than any problem." (pg. 107)
16. "If you have a big problem in your life, all that means is that you are being a small person!" (pg. 108)
17. "If you say you are worth, you are. If you say you are not worthy, you are not. Either way you will live into your story." (pg. 113)
18. "If a hundred-foot oak tree had the mind of a human, it would only grow to be 10-feet tall!" (pg. 114)
19. "For every giver, there must be a receiver, and for every receiver, there must be a giver." (pg. 116)
20. "Money will only make you more of what you already are." (pg. 119)
21. "How you do anything is how you do everything." (pg. 121)
22. "There is nothing wrong with getting a steady paycheck, unless it interferes with your ability to earn what you are worth. There's the rub, it usually does." (pg. 123)
23. "Never place a ceiling on your income." (pg. 125)
24. "Rich people believe 'you can have your cake and eat it too.' Middle-class people believe 'cake is too rich, so I'll only have a little piece.' Poor people don't believe they deserve cake, so they order a doughnut, focus on the hole and wonder why they have 'nothing'." (pg. 134)
25. "The true measure of wealth is net worth, not working income." (pg. 138)
26. "Where attention goes, energy flows and results show." (pg. 143)
27. "Until you show you can handle what you've got, you won't get any more!" (pg. 147)
28. "The habit of managing your money is more important than the amount." (pg. 147)
29. "Either you control money, or it will control you." (pg. 153)
30. "Rich people see every dollar as a seed that can be planted and earn a hundred more dollars, which can then be replanted to earn a thousand more dollars." (pg. 165)
31. "Action is the 'bridge' between the inner world and the outer world." (pg. 167)
32. "A true warrior can tame the cobra of fear." (pg. 167)
33. "It is not necessary to try and get rid of fear in order to succeed." (pg. 168)
34. "If you are only willing to do what is easy, life will be hard. But when you are willing to do what is hard, life will be easy." (pg. 169)
35. "The only time you are actually growing is when you are uncomfortable." (pg. 171)
36. "Training and managing your own mind is the most important skill you could ever own, in terms of happiness and success." (pg. 174)
37. "You can be right or you can be rich, but you cannot be both." (pg. 180)
38. "Every master was once a disaster." (pg. 182)
39. "To get paid the best, you must be the best." (pg. 185)
Thankfully, the book is not just soundbites, even if his writing (and speaking) often comes off that way. There were far more perils of wisdom splattered throughout the book, and I share a few of those below (but, admittedly, if I re-read his book, then I would likely have a significantly different set of takeaways):
"Wanting alone is useless. Have you noticed that wanting doesn't necessarily lead to having? Notice also that wanting without having leads to more wanting. Wanting becomes habitual and leads only to itself, creating a perfect circle that goes exactly nowhere." (pg. 65)
"Research shows that the happiest people are those who use their natural talents to the utmost. Part of your mission in life then must be to share your gifts and value with as many people as possible. That means being willing to play big." (pg. 75)
"Poor people expect to fail. They lack confidence in themselves and in their abilities. Poor people believe that should things not work out, it would be catastrophic. And because they constantly see obstacles, they are usually unwilling to take a risk. No risk, no reward (...) Although poor people claim to be preparing for an opportunity, what they're usually doing is stalling." (pg. 79)
"One of the reasons rich people are bigger than their problems (is) they don't focus on the problem; they focus on their goal (...) Either you are whining about the problem or you are working on the solution." (pg. 109) --> End goal: complaining?
"Don't wait to (invest), (invest) and then wait." (pg. 163)
"The more comfortable you 'have to be,' the fewer risks you will be willing to take, the fewer opportunities you will be willing to take, the fewer people you will meet, and the fewer new strategies you will learn." (pg. 171)
--> I note herein that the interesting caveat is that money is power, so quite often you will find that, once you have a lot of money, you can make yourself right -- but then, you might stop growing.
-"Becoming rich isn't as much about getting rich financially, as about whom you have to become, in character and mind, to get rich. I want to share a secret with you that few people know: the fastest way to get rich and stay rich is to work on developing yourself." (pg. 183)
-"The goal of creating wealth is not primarily to have a lot of money, the goal of creating wealth is to help you grow yourself into the best person you can possibly be." (pg. 184)
