Even though I was intentionally setting out to dive into some more intriguing areas of AskMen.com, I couldn’t help but notice this conveniently located (didn’t have to scroll the page to see it) and bolded question asked to Robin Leach:

Which houses took your breath away?

“Well, the house in Germany with 365 rooms and a room map so you would not get lost. The house in Australia that was so large, they had a chauffeur driving you from one room to another. A 50,000-square foot house that was on the Pacific coast in Mexico. An all-gold house in Hong Kong. Celebrities are nowhere as rich as some people think they are. It is usually people in the money business, finance, and international trade that are really rich. You generally find that the number of very wealthy [celebrities] is not more than a couple of handfuls.”

Mr. Leach reminiscing about these houses reminded me of all the times, when I was living in Virginia Beach for 12 years, that I’d hop on my mountain bike, head down to the boardwalk, and cruise on into a residential area of the beach called “Croatan”.

It was through this away-from-the-computer time that I’d immerse myself into the culture, richness, and vicariously live through the extreme “vivid” experiences, of the Rich & Famous…

Er, or was is just the rich? Read on to find out…

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The main unanswered question I had, 100% of the time, as I propped my leg up on the right-side bike pedal and stared at the fabulous houses, wonderful swimming pools, tennis courts, and garages full of expensive automobiles, was this:

“Just how in the hell did these people earn, or get, their wealth?“

Well, PNC Wealth Management has confirmed the suspicion I had from the very first day I started this little-known, hard-to-quit habit of mine (Mansion Viewing).

They polled about 1,500 Americans with $500,000 or more in investable assets and found that 69% of respondents made most of their fortune through work, business ownership or investments. Only 6% made their wealth by inheriting it, while 25% made it through a combination of inheritance and earnings.

Nothing new, or surprising, in the way the numbers above break down. However, what is at least mildly interesting is that the survey found some major differences in the two group’s attitudes about money.

Similar to the way poor people think, in comparison to the rich, about how to engage life (see below), heirs seem to be in a restrictive box that keeps them from expanding their value to its full potential.

For instance, fully 37% of earners agreed that “the money I have made so far has come from being in the right place at the right time.” Among heirs, the number was 25%. I guess the heirs don’t subscribe to Warren Buffett’s “lucky sperm” theory.

Similarly, broke people think rich people are lucky. Rich people put themselves into a position to be “lucky,” and then work hard to make the “luck” show up.

In the area of HAPPINESS, 76% of earners agree that “my financial success lets me feel less stress and worry,” compared to 50% of heirs. Half of all earners agree that “as I have accumulated more money in my life I have become happier,” compared to a third of heirs.

Similarly, broke people are glad when the day is over. Rich people love when the day begins.

And about that gnarly, and insidious beast called WORRY — Heirs are more than twice as likely to say “having a lot of money brings about more problems than it solves.” Heirs were at 20%, earners were at 9%.

Similarly, broke people are too concerned about what other people are doing. Rich people are only concerned about what they can be doing to get more done.

And, on that same note, another broke-versus-rich mental truism comes to mind. And this was elaborated on from a recovering ex-Billionaire who, at the height of his career, was changing the way business is done… and was making a whopping half a million dollars a DAY (not a typo) as a result.

The truth goes like this:

Broke people think that other people’s opinions are worth more than their dreams. Rich people know that their dreams are worth more than other people’s opinions.

You can order the interview Heather and I conducted with Bill Bartmann on CD for a mere $14. Close to 80-minutes of solid, real-world, cut-to-the-chase information, from the Billionaire nobody knew, on how to fail and still make millions.

Okay, so back to the last part of the Robin Leach interview quote I pulled from AskMen.com:

“It is usually people in the money business, finance, and international trade that are really rich…”

Climbing a mountain is always more exciting, and brings more of a sense of fulfillment, than the descent. The payoff of a lottery win or 15 minutes of fame on T.V. might seem like the road to easy wealth, but, if you’re an entrepreneur, a passionate business person, or someone who simply does what they love and lets the money follow, keep doing it and never give up.

When the going gets tough — when you wonder about your next promotion, or get up sweating in the middle of the night thinking about ideas to bring in more money or more customers — just do what I do:

Take a breather, don’t think business, and just start imagineering.

That multi-sensory exercise involves you SEEING YOURSELF doing what you want, with whom you want, and where you want.

If you have somebody special cheering you on (a loved one), if you’re putting honest value out into the world, are passionate about why you do what you do, and learn to imagine now and then, there’s no doubt you’ll be having champagne wishes and caviar dreams 🙂

So, before I let you go, check out this inspiring HOUSE — a house on the coast of California on the market for $75 million smack-a-roos:

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Stay tuned… on Saturday, by evening (Pacific Time), Heather will release a REPORT titled: “Passive Income Adventures — Education For Living a Rich, Leveraged Life“

This report will tie in with the monstrous discussion and commentary that is currently being had via our Institionalized Thinking Via Formal Education post.

We’ll talk to you this Saturday.

Until then…

Your Partner in the Quest For
Living a Life Without Limits,

Filed under: Happiness / Fulfillment, Prosperity Mind / Wealth Creation