The biggest myths about getting rich

The biggest myth about getting rich is that it's easy to become rich

The biggest myth about getting rich is that it's easy to become rich.

Everybody wants to be rich unless you are a monk living in the mountains of Tibet. It’s not the desire to be rich that is hampering us but it is all the lies about getting rich.

The truth is there is no easy way, there is no quick way and there is no comfortable way to get rich.

Don’t be fooled by any promises of lounging on the beach while you’re making money or switching on your laptop and finding that money magically appeared in your bank account.

I’m sorry to burst your bubble but if it was that easy to get rich, then why are there so many poor and suffering people living in poverty and misery?

Will it really help if all the rich people give away their hard-earned cash to the rest of the population who can hardly get by?

And is there really a secret to wealth?

But before I delve into getting rich, what does it mean to you? For some people having a million dollars means they are rich, while others spend more than that in a single day. If you think about riches, what does it mean to you and how do you measure true wealth?

Only you can answer these questions. But before you do, let's look at the lies you'll hear about getting rich.

Myth no.1: Getting rich is easy

This is probably one of the biggest lies ever told. When you ask a truly rich person how they become rich their story of struggles, losses, and disappointments will have your mouth hang open. Elon Musk was a lonely boy without friends and was constantly bullied at school; Julius Mwale, the billionaire from Kenya who built a smart city in his home country was homeless in America before he got his big break, Sally Wynter from London grew up poor and had to sell her gin walking from bar to bar. Nothing in life was easy before they got their big breaks. Theirs was a life of constant struggles and living under immense stress before they were able to live their dream life.

Myth No.2: Rich people have a life of leisure

How many of us have fallen for those online ads where you get promises that all you have to do is sign up for a certain course and money will automatically flow in? They claim you can relax on the beach, wake up late every day and do whatever you want whenever you want.

All lies. The richer you are the harder you have to work. Rich people work their butts off so they can get rich. They have an insane workload and have difficulty switching off. They are so consumed by their vision that it keeps them awake at night, and they spend all their waking hours working on their vision. They are always looking for ways to become better.

Rich people keep long hours and are always looking for the next best thing to invest their money and grow their wealth. They don’t just work hard. They work with intent while always keeping their eye on their vision. Everything they do is well-planned and thought-through. They don’t just work with the hope that things will change, They work towards that change and make every effort to make things happen the way they planned it. They don’t leave anything to chance. They observe, plan and calculate every decision they make.

And they don’t do it in their pajamas when they wake up in the middle of the day.

Myth No.3 You can get rich on your own

Another big lie. You need a team around you if you want to become seriously rich. You have the idea and the team is there to execute that idea. Steve Jobs had a vision for Apple and his engineers had to make it happen. Henry Ford had a vision that everybody should have a car, and he assembled a team to turn this into a reality.

In the beginning, you might be all alone but as your vision starts taking shape the first thing most rich people do is to assemble the right people around them. Without the right team, the vision might just stay exactly that, a vision.

Most rich people are visionaries and relentless in their pursuit of that vision. They have tunnel vision when it comes to pursuing that dream to see the vision become a reality. That tunnel vision allows them to only select the best people who share their vision and passion.

Even though the road to riches is a very lonely one, it doesn’t mean that you can get to riches on your own.

Myth No.4 Getting rich will solve all your problems

Actually, no it doesn’t. Life will be a whole lot easier when you are rich because you’ll have the money to buy things and go to places that you could only dream of. But being rich comes with its own set of problems. You’re going to need a lawyer, a tax advisor, an accountant, a financial planner, and a manager to manage your wealth and hold on to it. Being wealthy comes with bigger tax obligations, and you’re going to have to structure your wealth in a way that will be beneficial to you and those you care about.

You're going to need more money to maintain the lifestyle you’ve been working so hard to get. Choosing friends also becomes a little bit more difficult because now you have to wonder if they like you or your money.

The challenge now is how to find more opportunities and network with the right people to keep money coming in and preserve what you have.

Myth No.5 Rich people are just lucky and got rich because they knew the right people

Absolutely not true. As I’ve mentioned earlier, becoming rich is a very lonely road, and luck plays only a small part in it. Luck means nothing if you’re not prepared and ready for the big opportunity when it comes. Before people got rich nobody knew who they were, and nobody cared about them.

It does help to know the right people but you must still offer something worthwhile for them to take an interest in you. Many people make the mistake of thinking that associating with the right people will get them noticed and closer to opportunities. But if all you do is name-dropping and hang around hoping to get noticed so you can ride on the coattails of a rich person you'll never taste a moment of your own wealth.

Knowing the right people only becomes an advantage when you have something they want. Bragging that you know them and flattering them doesn’t count.

You only get lucky when you actually do what needs to be done and put yourself out there. Luck begins when you tell everyone what you are capable of with some proof that you can actually do it.

Myth no.6 You can get rich overnight

Unless you’ve won the lotto, inherited a fortune, or robbed a bank, you will not get rich overnight, especially if you were not born into money. When you start from scratch with the burning desire to get rich it will be one of the most difficult and seemingly impossible things you’ll ever do. 

When you start out, you’ll have to outperform everyone else, and you will work more hours than you thought was possible. You will work yourself into a stupor every single day and still not be even close to getting rich. It will take years before you can be comfortable and start seeing the results of all those days and nights of sacrifice. Your relationships will suffer, your finances will become non-existent, your health might suffer and you will lose heart very often.

It takes time to become rich. If anyone promises you quick riches your alarm bells should go off. Everybody’s looking for a quick way to everlasting wealth. No one has found it yet.

Myth No. 7 Once you get rich you’ll never be poor again

Also not true. Countless people have lost their fortunes and few have been able to make it back. Rich people lose money all the time and some have been bankrupt many times over.

But just like being rich is relative, so is being poor. Once you’ve been rich your idea of being poor changes drastically because your living standards have improved so greatly.

There are rich people who've lost everything and ended up poor and destitute with only painful memories of the life they once had, while others manage to bounce back every time.

Being rich is wonderful but there is no guarantee that you will stay that way. That’s why rich people put measures in place to safeguard their wealth because they understand how easy it is to lose it all.

If you want to be rich, ask yourself what kind of house you want, what car you want to drive, and where you want to live. And you have to ask yourself, how much is enough? Or do you want to be in the top one percent or five percent richest people in the world?

People who are really rich have a huge appetite for risk but they’re not reckless with their money. Do you have a stomach for that risk? Or do you just want enough to be comfortable, take care of your family, and be financially free?

If you want to know the difference between a truly rich person and a wannabe rich, just watch their social media accounts and online presence. Wealthy people are intensely private and don't flaunt their wealth and their lifestyles. They are all about ideas, innovation, and making money.

Which model are you following and aspiring to? That question only you can answer.

Share your thoughts on what are some of the myths about getting rich. If you're looking to take your business to the next level, and manage your business finances better, send me an email at profitsandbooks@gmail.com