Wealth File #10
Rich people are excellent receivers. Poor people are poor receivers.
If I had to nail down the number one reason most people do not reach their full financial potential, it would be this: most people are poor “receivers.” They may or may not be good at giving, but they are definitely bad at receiving. And because they are poor at receiving, they don’t! People are challenged by receiving for several reasons. First,many people feel unworthy or undeserving. This syndrome runs rampant in our society. I would guess that over 90 percent of individuals have feelings of not being good enough running through their veins. Where does this low self-esteem come from? The usual—our conditioning. For most of us it comes from hearing twenty nos for every yes, ten “You’re doing it wrong”s for every“You’re doing it right,” and five “You’re stupid”s for every“You’re awesome.”
Even if our parents or guardians were incredibly supportive,many of us end up with feelings of not being able to continually measure up to their accolades and expectations. So once again, we’re not good enough. In addition, most of us grew up with the element of punishment in our lives. This unwritten rule simply states that if you do something wrong, you will or should be punished.Some of us were punished by our parents, some by our teachers... and some of us in certain religious circles were threatened with the mother of all punishments, not getting into heaven. Of course, now that we’re adults, all this is over. Right?Wrong! For most people, the conditioning of punishment is so ingrained that, because there’s no one around to punish them,when they make a mistake or just aren’t perfect, they subconsciously punish themselves. When they were young,this punishment might have come in the form of “You were bad, so no candy.” Today, however, it could take the form of“You were bad, so no money.” This explains why some people limit their earnings, and why others will subconsciously sabotage their success. No wonder people have difficulty receiving. One tiny mistake and you’re doomed to carry the burden of misery and poverty for the rest of your life. “A little harsh,” you say? Since when did the mind become logical or compassionate? Again,the conditioned mind is a file folder filled with past programming, made-up meanings, and stories of drama and disaster. “Making sense” is not its strong suit. Here’s something I teach in my seminars that might make you feel better. In the end, it doesn’t matter whether you feel worthy or not, you can be rich either way. Plenty of wealthy people don’t feel overly worthy. In fact, it’s one of the major motivations for people to get rich...to prove themselves and their worth to themselves or to others. The idea that self-worth is necessary for net worth is just that, an idea, but it doesn’t necessarily hold water in the real world. As we said earlier, getting rich to prove yourself may not make you the happiest camper, so you’re better off creating wealth for other reasons. But what’s important here is for you to realize that your feeling of unworthiness won’t prevent you from getting rich; from a strictly financial point of view this could actually be a motivational asset. Having said that, I want you to get what I’m going to share with you, loud and clear. This could easily be one of the most important moments of your life. Are you ready? Here goes. Recognize that whether you are worthy or not is all a made-up “story.” Again, nothing has meaning except for the meaning we give it. I don’t know about you, but I’ve never heard of anybody who went through the “stamping” lineup at birth. Can you imagine God stamping each person’s forehead as he or she came through? “Worthy...unworthy... worthy,worthy...unworthy. Yuck...definitely unworthy.” Sorry, I don’t think it works that way. There’s no one who comes around and stamps you “worthy” or “unworthy.” You do that. You make it up. You decide it. You and you alone determine if you’re going to be worthy. It’s simply your perspective. If you say you’re worthy, you are. If you say you’re not worthy, you’re not. Either way you will live into your story. This is so critical,I’m going to repeat that again: you will live into your story. It’s that simple.
WEALTH PRINCIPLE:
If you say you’re worthy, you are. If you say you’re not worthy, you’re not. Either way you will live into your story.
So why would people do this to themselves? Why would people make up the story that they’re not worthy? It’s just the nature of the human mind, the protective part of us that’s always looking for what’s wrong. Ever notice that a squirrel doesn’t worry about these things? Can you imagine a squirrel saying, “I’m not going to collect many nuts this year to prepare for winter because I’m not worthy?” Doubtful, because these low-intelligence creatures would never do that to themselves.Only the most evolved creature on the planet, the human being, has the ability to limit itself like this. One of my own sayings is “If a hundred-foot oak tree had the mind of a human, it would only grow to be ten feet tall!”So here’s my suggestion: since it’s a lot easier to change your story than your worthiness, instead of worrying about changing your worthiness, change your story. It’s a lot faster and cheaper. Simply make up a new and much more supportive story and live into that. “Oh, but I couldn’t do that,” you say. “I’m not qualified to decide that I’m worthy. That has to come from someone else.”Sorry, I say, that’s not quite accurate, which is a nice way of saying “Bull poo!” It wouldn’t make a difference what anyone says or said in the past, because you have to believe it and buy into it for it to have any effect and that can’t come from anyone else but you. But just to make you feel better, let’s play the game and I’ll do for you what I do for thousands of participants at the Millionaire Mind Intensive Seminar: I will personally anoint you.
WEALTH PRINCIPLE:
“If a hundred-foot oak tree had the mind of a human, it would only grow to be ten feet tall!” —T. Harv Eker
This is a special ceremony, so I’m going to ask you to eliminate any distractions right now. Stop munching, stop talking on the phone, and stop whatever you’re doing. Men, if you like, you can change into a suit and tie, although a tuxedo would be best. Women, a formal evening gown and heels would be perfect. And if you don’t have anything that’s classy or new enough, this would definitely be an occasion to go buy yourself a brand-new dress, designer label preferred.
If you’re all ready, let’s begin. Please kneel down on one knee and bow your head in respect. Ready, here goes. “BY THE POWER INVESTED IN ME, I HEREBY ANOINT YOU AS ‘WORTHY’ FROM NOW UNTIL FOREVERMORE!” Okay we’re done. You can stand up now and hold your head high because you are finally worthy. Here’s some sage advice: stop buying into that “worthiness” or “unworthiness”crap and start taking the actions you need to take to get rich!
The second major reason most people have a problem with receiving is that they have bought into the adage “It’s better to give than to receive.” Let me put this as elegantly as possible:“What a crock !” That statement is total hogwash, and in case you haven’t noticed, it’s usually propagated by people and groups who want you to give and them to receive.
The whole idea is ludicrous. What’s better, hot or cold, big or small, left or right, in or out? Giving and receiving are two sides of the same coin. Whoever decided that it is better to give than to receive was simply bad at math. For every giver there must be a receiver, and for every receiver there must be a giver.
WEALTH PRINCIPLE:
For every giver there must be a receiver, and for every receiver there must be a giver.
Think about it! How could you give if there weren’t someone or something there to receive? Both have to be in perfect balance to work one to one, fifty-fifty. And since giving and receiving must always equal each other, they must also be equal in importance. Besides, how does it feel to give? Most of us would agree that giving feels wonderful and fulfilling. Conversely, how does it feel when you want to give and the other person isn’t willing to receive? Most of us would agree that it feels terrible.So know this: if you are not willing to receive, then you are “ripping off” those who want to give to you. You are actually denying them the joy and pleasure that comes from giving; instead, they feel lousy. Why? Again,everything is energy, and when you want to give but can’t, that energy cannot be expressed and gets stuck in you. That“stuck” energy then turns into negative emotions. To make matters worse, when you are not willing to fully receive, you are training the universe not to give to you! It’s simple: if you aren’t willing to receive your share, it will go to someone else who is. That’s one of the reasons the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. Not because they’re any more worthy, but because they are willing to receive while most poor people are not. I learned this lesson in a big way while camping by myself in the forest. In preparation for my two-day sojourn I made what’s called a lean-to. This means tying the top part of a tarp to a tree and then fastening the bottom to the ground to create a forty-five-degree roof over my head when I slept.Thank goodness I prepared this mini-condo because it rained all night. When I came out of my shelter that morning, I was noticing how dry I and everything else under the tarp was. At the same time, however, I couldn’t help but notice this unusually deep puddle that had collected at the bottom of the tarp. All of a sudden I heard this inner voice say to me,“Nature is totally abundant but not discriminating. When the rain falls, it has to go somewhere. If one part is dry, another part will be doubly wet.” As I stood over the puddle, I realized this is exactly the way it works with money. There’s plenty of it, trillions of trillions of dollars floating around, it’s in definite abundance, and it has to go somewhere. The deal is this: if somebody isn’t willing to receive his or her share, it must go to whoever will. The rain doesn’t care who gets it and neither does money. At this point in the Millionaire Mind seminar I teach people the special prayer I created after my experience under the tarp.Of course it’s a little tongue-in-cheek, but the lesson is obvious. It goes like this: “Universe, if anyone has something great coming to them and they’re not willing to take it, send it to me! I am open and willing to receive all of your blessings.Thank you.” I have the entire audience repeat this with me and they go crazy! They’re excited because it feels amazing to be totally willing to receive, and it feels great because it’s totally natural to do so. Anything you’ve made up to the contrary is,again, just a “story” that isn’t serving you or anyone else. Let your story go and your money come. Rich people work hard and believe it’s perfectly appropriate to be well rewarded for their efforts and the value they provide for others. Poor people work hard, but due to their feelings of unworthiness, they believe that it is inappropriate for them to be well rewarded for their efforts and the value they provide. This belief sets them up to be perfect victims,and of course, how can you be a “good” victim if you are well rewarded? Many poor people actually believe they are better people because they are poor. Somehow they believe they’re more pious or spiritual or good. Baloney! The only thing poor people are, is poor. I had a gentleman at the course come tome in tears. He said, “I just don’t see how I could feel good about having a lot of money when others have so little.” I asked him a few simple questions: “What good do you do for poor people by being one of them? Whom do you help by being broke? Aren’t you just another mouth to feed? Wouldn’t it be more effective for you to create wealth for yourself and then be able to really help others from a place of strength instead of weakness?” He stopped crying and said, “For the first time, I got it. I can’t believe what garbage I’ve been thinking. Harv, I believe the time has come for me to get rich and, along the way, help others. Thank you.” He went back to his seat a new man. I got an e-mail from him not long ago telling me he’s making ten times what he used to earn and that he’s feeling awesome about it. Best of all, he says, it feels tremendous to be able to assist some of his friends and family who are still struggling. This leads me to an important point: if you have the where withal to have a lot of money, have it. Why? Because the truth is that we are extremely fortunate to be living in this society, a society whereby each person is in fact rich compared to many other parts of the world. Some people just don’t ever have the opportunity to have a lot of money. If you are one of the lucky people who do have that ability, and each of you is or you wouldn’t be reading a book like this,then use your wherewithal for all it’s worth. Get really rich and then help people who don’t have the opportunity you did.That makes a lot more sense to me than being broke and helping no one. Of course there are the people who will say, “Money will change me. If I get rich, I might turn into some kind of greedy jerk.” First, the only people who say that are poor people. It’s just another justification for their failure, and it comes from just another one of the many “inner” weeds in their financial garden. Don’t buy it! Second, let me set the record straight. Money will only make you more of what you already are. If you’re mean, money will afford you the opportunity to be meaner. If you’re kind, money will afford you the opportunity to be kinder. If you’re a jerk at heart, with money you can be jerkier. (I know there’s no such word, but if you were a real jerk, you’d find a way.) If you’re generous, more money will simply allow you to be more generous. And anyone who tells you different is broke !
DECLARATION:Place your hand on your heart and say...“I am an excellent receiver.I am open and willing to receive massive amounts of money into my life.”Touch your head and say...“I have a millionaire mind!”
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