How Rich People Think Differently Than You Do
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If you want to be a rich person, you gotta start thinking like a rich person. That's the TLDR of Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill, who's definitely one of my top three favorite Napoleons, right after Bonaparte and Dynamite. And while the book is slightly older than Joe Biden, it's way more relevant.

Off to a great start. But really, the author finds a common thread in successful people of his time, including Dale Carnegie, Henry Ford, Theodore Roosevelt, and Thomas Edison. And that common thread is that their thoughts play a powerful role in their ability to win with life and money. And he distills their ways of thinking into 13 principles.

So in today's video, I'll be your human cliff notes and I'll share how each one can help you on your journey toward personal success. But before we jump in, hit those like and subscribe buttons and share this video with your one friend who still quotes Napoleon Dynamite at least bi-weekly. It's time to move on, man. Idiot.

Okay, the first principle Napoleon Hill talks about is desire, which he calls the starting point of all achievement. And the kind of desire he's talking about here is not just an I'd like to kind of desire. It's the I'm willing to do whatever it takes kind of desire, which makes sense to me. If you're only half interested in changing your financial future, you're not going to follow through. And he gives six steps for turning the desire for wealth into actual wealth. Here they are. Number one, decide how much money you want.

Easy. Number two, determine what you're willing to give up in order to get it. That's the harder one. Number three, set a specific deadline. Number four, make a plan for how you'll actually get the money. Number five, write all this down. And number six, read it out loud twice a day, preferably in private.

That's a George note. I just don't do it publicly. That's weird. Thank you for the clarification. Now, if you've read the book, you might notice I updated the wording a little bit. And that's because this book was published in 1937, two years before the movie Wizard of Oz came out. So the language was wicked dated. And quite frankly, it took so much braverism to decipherate it. I believe congratulations are in order.

That's a choice. If you've seen Wicked, let me know in the comments. If you haven't, you weren't gonna see it. Don't act like I spoiled it for you. Everyone dies.

Okay, the next principle he writes about is faith. Now this one is all about belief, specifically believing in yourself. Now I know that might sound like some trite cliche you'd hear Jiminy Cricket say between songs in a Disney World fireworks show, but there's some legitimacy to this. If you don't believe you can achieve your goals, you've already lost the battle. And faith, according to our boy Napoleon, isn't just positive thinking. It's acting as if success is inevitable.

It's about showing up and putting in the work even when it feels like nothing is happening. So when it comes to your finances, it's about believing that even though it seems impossible, you will get rid of your debt. You will be able to pay for your kid's college or you will be able to retire a multimillionaire. And for me, there's a little more to it. It's also about trusting God with the outcome, but working my tail off in the meantime. Next up, auto-suggestion. Not to be confused with auto-correct, which I'm not a fan of as someone whose last name is Camel.

No? Camel with a K, guys. Okay, very clever. Forget it. I give up. Good job, editors. You happy now? Is this the only joy you have left? Just to mess with me and my own channel? You got me! This auto-suggestion is different. According to the book, it's the medium for influencing the subconscious mind.

And if that sounds too hokey for you, let's just call it affirmations. All right, you love that. Hill suggests repeating your goals out loud every single day. For example, I will become debt-free in one year, or I will not buy another Stanley at Target today. And why does this work? Because what you focus on shapes your thoughts, and your thoughts shape your actions. So if you constantly remind yourself of your goals, they'll stay top of mind, and you'll be more likely to achieve them. And you know what they say, what you focus on...

expands, which is why my clover patch in the yard keeps growing and growing. Stop, stop thinking about it. Stop. Shrink. Don't need the HOA on me again. Okay, the next principle is specialized knowledge. He says general knowledge is not enough. You need specific skills or expertise that gives you an edge. And I agree with this. So ask yourself, what is one skill that could make you indispensable in your career? Or if you're starting a business, what expertise would give you an edge?

Nunchuck skills, bow hunting skills, computer hacking skills. - Girls only want boyfriends who have great skills. - Whatever it is, if you can offer someone value in a specific area that not a lot of others can help them with, it's going to be a huge advantage. And the cool thing is, it doesn't necessarily require a traditional four-year degree.

For example, I had some experience with music and songwriting, and so I used that skill to earn some extra money when I was paying off my debt. And there are all kinds of ways you can learn new skills. Books, online courses, internships, and one of my personal favorites, YouTube. In fact, here you are right now learning. So gold star for you. Or Spotify, could be that, or Apple Podcasts.

We're in a lot of places. Tune in. Okay, next up, imagination. Hill calls imagination the workshop of the mind. And he's not just talking about daydreaming, about eating caviar out of your heritage leather Birkin as a billionaire. The imagination he describes is more about problem solving. Take the Wright brothers, for example. Did they imagine flying? Heck yeah. Did they stop there? No. They worked out the mechanics, they built prototypes, and they probably got brutally roasted by all their bros in Kitty Hawk. But they imagined something really cool, and then they found a way to do it.

Next principle, organized planning. Hill refers to organized planning as the crystallization of desire into action. He says you need a clear step-by-step roadmap to achieve your goals. And I completely agree. After all, working a proven plan is how I went from negative net worth to millionaire in under 10 years. You've got to crystallize it. And that plan was the Ramsey Baby Steps. It's a roadmap for your money that works for anyone in any financial situation. So I'm here for this one because I've seen the value of this organized planning in my own life and in the lives of so many others.

So remember this, a goal without a plan is a wish.

We need more than that. Next principle from the book, decision. Hill points out that successful people make decisions quickly and change them slowly, while unsuccessful people do the opposite. So the next time you're at Outback Steakhouse, don't spend two hours deciding between the Tim Tam brownie cake and the chocolate thunder from Down Under. Just pick one. They're both a delicious mistake. Cake is my weakness. And remember, indecision is still a decision. It's just a bad one. That was good. Guys, can we put that on a t-shirt? Quick, make a decision. Too late, you're unsuccessful. Amen.

amateur hour over here. Keep up, keep up. And I've seen this paralysis by analysis play out when people can't decide what exact funds to invest in. Just pick a fund, get in the game, and you can always change it later. That's the way to do it. The next principle from the book is persistence. This is what separates the winners from the quitters.

Hill says persistence is the key to overcoming obstacles, and it's the one trait that you can't succeed without. And I see this all the time with people who are working to pay off debt. When you're throwing everything you can at your payments to become debt-free, it's not a glamorous life, but it's for a short time, and the ones who keep at it are the ones who win.

And this also applies to investing. Consistently putting 15% of your income away into tax-advantaged retirement accounts like a 401k or a Roth IRA year after year is how you build lasting wealth over time. But I'll tell you what you shouldn't stick with, an overpriced phone plan, which would be a total Uncle Rico move, TBH. And that's why I recommend Telo, one of the sponsors of today's video. Telo is a mobile service provider offering the same high-speed nationwide coverage you thought you could only get from the big guys at super low prices.

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down under. Okay, back to the book. The next principle is the power of the mastermind. Hill says you need a team of like-minded people to push you forward. People who challenge you, people who inspire you. And he calls this group a mastermind group. And I like this one because community and accountability are important and they can help you reach your goals. So ask yourself,

Who's in my circle? Are they helping you grow or are they dragging you down? If your group chat is full of people who are just sitting around hoping to make enough money from Dogecoin to afford a storage unit for their LARPing equipment, might be time to make some new friends. Remember, you become who you hang around. So unless you want to become a level six mage who lives in his mom's basement, find some new friends, level seven or above. All right, that's the standard.

This next principle is what Hill calls the mystery of sex transmutation. Easy, I know, you're as shocked as I am. But let me just tell you, he wasn't trying to be a shock jock author here. All he's saying is that take all the desire and passion you have and channel it into meaningful goals instead of distractions. He emphasizes focusing your passion on productive pursuits to achieve big results. And it's just a reminder that discipline and purpose can turn raw ambition into lasting success. See, we good?

All right, don't report me. All right, I didn't write the book. Don't shoot the CliffsNotes messenger. They don't pay me enough for that. Next up, the subconscious mind. Your subconscious is like the backstage crew of your brain. It's running the show even when you don't realize it.

And Hill says to feed it positive thoughts and ideas because what you consume shapes what you believe. So swap the fear-mongering news and the doom-scrolling for books, podcasts, and videos that build you up and help you reach your goals. Change your inputs, and you can change your life. Which is a good reminder. Like and subscribe if you enjoy the output of my input.

Okay, the next principle is the brain. Hill describes the brain as a broadcasting and receiving station for ideas. He says it's where inspiration and intuition come from and that you've got to keep it sharp and keep your mind open to new opportunities and inspiration. That means learning, growing, and staying curious. And if you're wondering, no, Minecraft doesn't count as keeping your brain sharp. But doomscrolling TikTok, Ab, I learned so much. So many recipes. What are you making? Listen, it's a dupe apple pie.

All right, the last principle Hill talks about in the book is the sixth sense. This is the part of the book where you find out Bruce Willis was dead the whole time. Kidding. Also, spoiler alert. Here I go, stop the line, the line.

What the sixth sense is really about is intuition, learning to trust your gut and to make good decisions without overthinking. And this is something you'll get better at over time as you live and learn from successes and failures. So the steps Napoleon Hill outlines in this book are mostly about mindset, discipline and focus. And if you take nothing else from this video, take this. Wealth is seldom the result of luck or coincidence. Winning in any area of your life is an intentional act.

And yes, occasionally someone will win the lottery or get born into a fat trust fund, but even then, keeping that wealth is not guaranteed. Why? Because if you think and act the same way you did before winning the lottery or getting access to your daddy's fortune, and you live on more than you make, you're gonna eventually go broke.

And the majority of wealthy people have done the right things with money over time with the right mindset, discipline, and unique skillset. And that should be encouraging because those are things you can control. You can change your mindset. You can become more disciplined. You can acquire new skills. And if you want a copy of Think and Grow Rich to read for yourself, check out the link below in the description. And if you want some more practical tips for reaching your financial goals, keep watching this next video to see my 12 rules for a frugal life. Or click the link in the description below. Thanks for watching. We'll see you next time.