Speaker 1: Before we start, tell me where you're listening from in
Speaker 1: the comments. Maybe you're wondering why some people seem to
Speaker 1: track money effortlessly while others struggle despite working hard. Maybe
Speaker 1: you're curious about the invisible habits that keep people trapped
Speaker 1: in financial mediocrity. Maybe you are ready to hear some
Speaker 1: uncomfortable truths about wealth that most people don't want to face.
Speaker 1: This conversation is for you, at fifty four, having built
Speaker 1: companies worth hundreds of billions, and having observed thousands of entrepreneurs, employees,
Speaker 1: and investors, I've noticed something that might surprise you. The
Speaker 1: difference between rich and poor isn't usually about intelligence, education,
Speaker 1: or even opportunities. It's about daily habits that most people
Speaker 1: never examine. Today, I want to share seven habits that
Speaker 1: rich people never do, but poor people practice religiously without
Speaker 1: realizing their sabotaging their own financial future. These aren't just
Speaker 1: business strategies or investment tips. These are fundamental approaches to
Speaker 1: thinking and living that determine whether money flows toward you
Speaker 1: or away from you. Some of these will make you uncomfortable,
Speaker 1: some might challenge beliefs you've held your entire life. But
Speaker 1: all of them represent patterns I've seen destroy financial potential
Speaker 1: in otherwise capable people habit one. Rich people never complain
Speaker 1: about money problems. Poor people constantly talk about their money problems.
Speaker 1: They discuss their debt, complain about low salaries, blame the economy,
Speaker 1: and bond with others over financial struggles. They think this
Speaker 1: creates connection and sympathy, but it actually reinforces a poverty mindset.
Speaker 1: Rich people never complain about money problems because they don't
Speaker 1: see money as a problem to complain about. They see
Speaker 1: it as a challenge to solve. When Tesla was burning
Speaker 1: through cash and nearly bankrupt, I didn't spend time complaining
Speaker 1: about our financial situation. I spend time figuring out how
Speaker 1: to raise more capital, cut costs, and accelerate revenue. The
Speaker 1: difference is fundamental. Poor people see money problems as as
Speaker 1: evidence that life is unfair. Rich people see money problems
Speaker 1: as data about what needs to change. When you complain
Speaker 1: about money, you're programming your brain to focus on scarcity
Speaker 1: rather than solutions. You're training yourself to be a victim
Speaker 1: of circumstances rather than the creator of circumstances. You're also
Speaker 1: signaling to others that you're someone who dwells in problems
Speaker 1: rather than someone who solves them. Rich people talk about opportunities, strategies,
Speaker 1: and solutions even when discussing challenges. They frame them as
Speaker 1: puzzles to solve, rather than burdens to bear. This shift
Speaker 1: in language reflects and reinforces a completely different relationship with
Speaker 1: money and problems. Have it too. Rich people never wait
Speaker 1: for permission to act. Poor people wait for permission. They
Speaker 1: wait for their boss to give them a raise. They
Speaker 1: wait for the market to be right before investing. They
Speaker 1: wait for someone else to validate their ideas before pursuing them.
Speaker 1: They wait for perfect conditions before starfle guarding anything important.
Speaker 1: Rich people understand that waiting for permission is waiting forever.
Speaker 1: When I wanted to start PayPal, I didn't wait for
Speaker 1: the banking industry to give me permission to disrupt their
Speaker 1: business model. When I wanted to build electric cars, I
Speaker 1: didn't wait for automakers to approve of my plans. When
Speaker 1: I wanted to make rockets, I didn't wait for aerospace
Speaker 1: companies to welcome competition. Permission is a luxury that poor
Speaker 1: people think they need, but rich people know they don't
Speaker 1: have time for the market doesn't wait for you to
Speaker 1: feel ready. Opportunities don't pause while you gather courage. Competition
Speaker 1: doesn't slow down while you seek approval. This doesn't mean
Speaker 1: being reckless or ignoring wise counsel. It means understanding that
Speaker 1: most of the permission you think you need is actually
Speaker 1: just feared disguised as prudence. It means recognizing that action
Speaker 1: creates clarity faster than planning, and that you learn more
Speaker 1: from trying and failing than from waiting and wondering. Poor
Speaker 1: people ask what if it doesn't work? Rich people ask,
Speaker 1: what if it does work? And I miss it because
Speaker 1: I was waiting for someone else to tell me it's okay?
Speaker 1: Have a three. Rich people never trade time for money
Speaker 1: in linear ways. Poor people think wealth comes from trading
Speaker 1: more time for more money. Work more hours, get more pay,
Speaker 1: take on a second job, make extra income, stay late,
Speaker 1: earn over time. Their entire financial strategy is based on
Speaker 1: the assumption that income should be proportional to time invested.
Speaker 1: Rich people understand that this approach has a ceiling. There
Speaker 1: are only twenty four hours in a day, and even
Speaker 1: if you could work all of them, you'd still be
Speaker 1: limited by your personal capacity. True wealth comes from creating
Speaker 1: systems that generate value independently of your direct time investment.
Speaker 1: This is why I focus on building companies rather than
Speaker 1: just being a highly paid employee. Tesla doesn't stop making
Speaker 1: money when I sleep, SpaceX doesn't pause revenue generation when
Speaker 1: I take a vacation. My wealth grows from the value
Speaker 1: these companies create from hours I personally work. Poor people
Speaker 1: often resist this concept because it feels unfair. They think,
Speaker 1: why should someone make money while they sleep when I
Speaker 1: have to work hard for every dollar. But this resistance
Speaker 1: to leverage is exactly what keeps them trapped in linear
Speaker 1: income models. Rich people look for ways to multiply their impact.
Speaker 1: They build products that serve millions of customers. They create
Speaker 1: systems that operate without constant supervision. They invest in assets
Speaker 1: that appreciate over time. They understand that scalability, not hard work,
Speaker 1: is the key to significant wealth. Have it for. Rich
Speaker 1: people never avoid learning about money. Poor people avoid financial education.
Speaker 1: They think money management is boring, complicated, or somehow beneath them.
Speaker 1: They delegate financial decisions to others or make them based
Speaker 1: on emotion and guesswork. They're more interested in earning money
Speaker 1: than understanding money. Rich people are obsessed with understanding how
Speaker 1: money works, not just how to make it, but how
Speaker 1: to keep it, grow it, protect it, and deploy it strategically.
Speaker 1: They study markets, understand tax implications, learn about different investment vehicles,
Speaker 1: and constantly expand their financial literacy. I spend significant time
Speaker 1: understanding the financial aspects of my businesses, not just the
Speaker 1: technical aspects. I know how cash flow works, how different
Speaker 1: funding structures affect control and returns, how tax strategies can
Speaker 1: impact long term wealth building. This knowledge directly influences every
Speaker 1: major decision I make. Poor people often say they don't
Speaker 1: have time to learn about money, but then spend hours
Speaker 1: watching entertainment or scrolling social media. They say financial education
Speaker 1: is too complicated, but then make complex emotional decisions about
Speaker 1: money without any framework for evaluation. The irony is that
Speaker 1: avoiding financial education because you think it's complicated guarantees that
Speaker 1: money will remain complicated for you. The more you understand
Speaker 1: about how money works, the simpler and more intuitive financial
Speaker 1: decisions become. Rich people read financial statements like poor people
Speaker 1: read social media regularly, carefully, and with genuine interest in
Speaker 1: what they reveal. Hab At five. Rich people never spend
Speaker 1: money to feel better. Poor people use spending as emotional regulation.
Speaker 1: They buy things when they're sad, stressed, celebrating, or bored.
Speaker 1: Shopping becomes therapy, and purchases become rewards for surviving difficult
Speaker 1: experiences or achievements deserving recognition. Rich people understand that emotional
Speaker 1: spending is one of the fastest ways to destroy wealth.
Speaker 1: Every dollar spent on temporary emotional relief is a dollar
Speaker 1: that can't compound over time. More importantly, using money to
Speaker 1: manage emotions creates a cycle where you need more money
Speaker 1: to feel good, which creates more pressure to earn, which
Speaker 1: creates more stress, which requires more spending to manage. When
Speaker 1: Tesla was struggling and I was under enormous pressure, I
Speaker 1: didn't cope by buying expensive toys or taking lavish vacations.
Speaker 1: I coped by focusing on solving the problems that were
Speaker 1: causing the stress. I understood that emotional spending would have
Speaker 1: made our financial situation worse, not better. This doesn't mean
Speaker 1: rich people never enjoy their money or never make purchases
Speaker 1: for pleasure, but they make those purchases from a place
Speaker 1: of abundance and strategy, not from emotional need or compulsion.
Speaker 1: Poor people often justify emotional spending by saying they deserve
Speaker 1: something after working hard or dealing with stress. Rich people
Speaker 1: understand that what you deserve is financial security and freedom,
Speaker 1: and that emotional spending works directly against those goals. The
Speaker 1: fastest way to build wealth is to find free or
Speaker 1: cheap ways to manage your emotions. Exercise time in nature,
Speaker 1: conversations with friends, creative hobbies, spiritual practices, and use money
Speaker 1: only for purchases that align with your long term financial goals.
Speaker 1: Habit six. Rich people never surround themselves with other poor people.
Speaker 1: This sounds harsh, but it's critically important. Poor people tend
Speaker 1: to surround themselves with other people who share their financial
Speaker 1: struggles and mindset. They bond over money problems, reinforce each
Speaker 1: other's limiting beliefs about wealth, and collectively normalize financial mediocrity.
Speaker 1: Rich people intentionally spend time with other people who think
Speaker 1: about money differently, not to show off or feel superior,
Speaker 1: but because mindset is contagious. The conversations you have, the
Speaker 1: assumptions you absorb, and the possibilities you can imagine are
Speaker 1: all influenced by the people you spend time with. When
Speaker 1: I was starting my companies, I sought out mentors and
Speaker 1: peers who had built successful businesses. I wanted to learn
Speaker 1: how they thought about risk, opportunity, growth, and wealth building.
Speaker 1: I wanted their perspectives to challenge my assumptions and expand
Speaker 1: my vision of what was possible. This doesn't mean abandoning
Speaker 1: friends or family who struggle financially, but it does mean
Speaker 1: being intentional about also cultivating relationships with people who model
Speaker 1: the financial mindset and behaviors you want to develop. Poor
Speaker 1: people often resist this because they think it means they're
Speaker 1: being disloyal to their community or becoming arrogant. But wanting
Speaker 1: to grow financially isn't a betrayal of your roots. It's
Speaker 1: often the best way to eventually help the people you
Speaker 1: care about. The people you spend time with either support
Speaker 1: your financial growth or undermine it. Rich people choose relationships
Speaker 1: that support their goals, while poor people often choose relationships
Speaker 1: that feel comfortable, even when they reinforce limiting patterns Habit seven.
Speaker 1: Rich people never believe money is the root of all evil.
Speaker 1: Poor people have conflicted relationships with money. They want it,
Speaker 1: but they also believe it's somehow corrupt. Spiritual people shouldn't
Speaker 1: care about it, or that pursuing wealth makes you greedy
Speaker 1: and selfish. This internal conflict sabotages their ability to build
Speaker 1: wealth because part of them believes that succeeding financially means
Speaker 1: failing morally. Rich people understand that money is a tool,
Speaker 1: not a moral category. Money amplifies who you already are.
Speaker 1: If you're generous, money makes you more generous. If you're selfish,
Speaker 1: money makes you more selfish. But money itself is neutral.
Speaker 1: I've seen this limiting belief destroy more financial potential than
Speaker 1: almost any other factor. People who could build wealth choose
Speaker 1: not to because they've been taught that wanting money is
Speaker 1: somehow wrong. They settle for enough to get by because
Speaker 1: they think wanting more is greedy. But here's what I've learned.
Speaker 1: The people who do the most good in the world
Speaker 1: often have significant financial resources. Charitable foundations, medical research, educational initiatives,
Speaker 1: environmental projects. They all require capital. If good people avoid
Speaker 1: building wealth, then wealth gets concentrated among people who might
Speaker 1: not use it as wisely. When I built PayPal, made
Speaker 1: money from that success, and then invested it in Tesla
Speaker 1: and SpaceX, I wasn't being greedy. I was using financial
Speaker 1: resources to solve important problems that affect millions of people.
Speaker 1: The wealth was a means to an end, not an
Speaker 1: end in itself. Poor people often quote the biblical verse
Speaker 1: money is the root of all evil, but the actual
Speaker 1: verse says the love of money is the root of
Speaker 1: all kinds of evil. The difference is crucial. Loving money
Speaker 1: more than people, principles, or purpose is destructive, but seeing
Speaker 1: money as a tool for serving those higher values is
Speaker 1: actually virtuous. Rich people pursue wealth not as an ultimate goal,
Speaker 1: but as a means of increasing their ability to solve problems,
Speaker 1: help others, and create positive change in the world world.
Speaker 1: These seven habits might seem small, but they reflect fundamental
Speaker 1: differences in how people think about money, opportunity, and their
Speaker 1: own agency in creating financial outcomes. Poor people practice these
Speaker 1: habits unconsciously, not realizing their programming themselves for financial struggle.
Speaker 1: Rich people avoid these habits deliberately, understanding that wealth building
Speaker 1: starts with mindset and is reinforced through daily practices that
Speaker 1: align with financial growth rather than financial limitation. The good
Speaker 1: news is that all of these habits can be changed.
Speaker 1: You can stop complaining about money and start solving money problems.
Speaker 1: You can stop waiting for permission and start taking action.
Speaker 1: You can stop trading time for money and stop building systems.
Speaker 1: You can start learning about money instead of avoiding financial education.
Speaker 1: You can stop emotional spending and start strategic spending. You
Speaker 1: can surround yourself with people who model financial success, and
Speaker 1: you can embrace money as a tool for good rather
Speaker 1: than seeing it as morally suspect. But changing these habits
Speaker 1: requires honest self examination and the willingness attack differently than
Speaker 1: the people around you. It requires choosing growth over comfort,
Speaker 1: learning over entertainment, and long term thinking of a short
Speaker 1: term emotion. The choice is yours. You can continue practicing
Speaker 1: the habits that keep people poor, or you can adopt
Speaker 1: the habits that create wealth. The market doesn't care which
Speaker 1: you choose, but your future self will live with the consequences.
Speaker 1: What matters isn't where you start, but which direction you're moving.
Speaker 1: Rich people weren't born with different DNA, They just develop
Speaker 1: different habits, and habits can be learned by anyone willing
Speaker 1: to practice them consistently over time. Share this with someone
Speaker 1: who's ready to examine their relationship with money honestly. Subscribe.
Speaker 1: If these conversations help you think differently about wealth, and success.
Speaker 1: And remember the biggest obstacle to building wealth isn't lack
Speaker 1: of opportunity, it's practicing the daily habits that push money away.
Speaker 1: Which of these habits do you need to change first.