Get Out of Debt 101 Blog

Have you ever wondered how come some people are so “lucky” and seem to get everything they want, while others just struggle to survive? I have, many times. And it upset me, simply because I didn’t know better. I admit it, I believed in luck. I believed that some people are just luckier than others, and I belonged to the “others” group.

I took me a long time to find out what the real reason is. Once I did, boy, what a discovery!

One of the main reasons some people struggle financially while others thrive (even in the same economy)  is because they have different mindsets and beliefs about money (and about life for that matter).

Let me give you an example. When I was growing up in Argentina, money was always tight in my family. My father lost his job when I was 8 years old and could never (to this day) get a job that paid him enough. I grew up in an environment of lack, of there is never “enough money”. I “learned” that “money is in short supply and it belongs to the rich people” (these were some of my limiting beliefs). I remember one day when my parents were explaining me why we didn’t have money, they said it was because “we were middle class”, which I accepted as a fact that could not be changed. After all, my parents knew everything and I was just a kid.

Every time I wanted something, my parents would tell me that they didn’t have the money to pay for it. We always had clothes and food on the table, but money was always tight. How do you think this belief system affected my financial life? I was sabotaging myself all the time. My self esteem was very low.

It took me quite a few years to learn the truth. The moment I did, a whole universe opened up for me! I discovered (I admit that it was like a revelation, I couldn’t believe I had been so blind all my life) that the main differences between a rich person and a poor person are their mindset about money and their beliefs. When you hold something as “true”, you don’t question it and you act accordingly.

Let me give you a specific example of a great mindset and an even better belief system.

A couple of days ago I was listening to Joe Vitale (from www.MrFire.com) interviewing David Ledoux from www.DidYouSmellThat.com (by they way, I am very grateful to David because I learned so much from him) and they were talking about how David gets things done, and he said matter-of-factly “I think up an idea and I just believe I can do it”. I stopped the cd player and as I repeated the phrase over and over in my mind, as I said to myself, “this is another example of somebody that will always achieve whatever he desires, because his beliefs are aligned with his goals”. Successful people focus on the end result already accomplished, and they do it naturally. They focus on what they can do, not what they cannot do.

People who struggle (and I do know what struggling is like, I’ve been there) have a different set of beliefs. A common one is “I don’t think I can do it” whenever a good opportunity shows up. Some of my old beliefs were “I could never be a successful person since I was not born one”, “I could never make a lot of money because I am middle class”, etc. The moment I changed my beliefs and my mindset about money, my life changed.

One habit that I urge you to develop right away is the habit of reading a positive, inspiring book just before going to sleep. Read for about 30 minutes (more if you can) so you can plant a positive seed in your mind and you will slowly but surely be changing your mindset for the better. I cannot stress this enough. Stop watching the news (PLEASE!)  and start reading every night. Your life will change, I promise you.

The process of changing your mindset and changing your beliefs about money (and about life in general, for that matter) is explained in detail in my eBook, Get Out of Debt 101 (available at www.GetOutOfDebt101.com)

Thank you Joe and David because I learned so much from both of you.

You may want to read more about them by visiting their sites now.