What Makes Certain People Wealthy?

Only a handful of people in the society become truly wealthy. The majority remain in the middle class and the lower class has a large number of members too. So what exactly makes monetary success this rare?

First, it is what Robert Kiyosaki calls financial intelligence (IQ). In his book ‘Rich Dad's Increase Your Financial IQ: Get Smarter with Your Money’, Kiyosaki writes that the surest way to become truly wealthy is through increasing one’s financial intelligence. Those who become wealthy thus have a higher financial IQ than the rest who do not gain as much wealth. These wealthy people are money-smart. Whereas there are other forms of intelligence, to become truly wealthy, one needs to be money-smart. One may be farm-smart, tech-smart, book-smart but without being money-smart, it is impractical to gain wealth. Steve Siebold in his book ‘How Rich People Think’ writes that “getting rich is not in the mechanics of money, but in the level of thinking that generates it.” To be truly wealthy, one ought to think in a wealthy manner.

Secondly, those who pursue wealth continually improve themselves. This improvement takes different forms and it ranges from mental improvement, physical improvement and social improvement. They read a lot to increase their knowledge. They know they need more wealth and thus will often read titles that increase their financial IQ. They know that one of the secrets to productivity is physical wellness or health. They thus exercise and eat healthy foods. Without the right people in one’s network, it is hard to achieve success. Those who become truly wealthy continually improve their networks by eliminating the people going the opposite direction and gaining others headed in the same direction: read wealth creation. Siebold observes that “The greatest fortunes are built through the collective mental and physical contributions of a world-class team.”

Thirdly, they dream big. Long before they became wealthy, they could visualize their wealthy future.

Fourthly, to create wealth, the wealthy had to defy norms. Norms only act to make one normal, and normal people are just that: normal and not wealthy. To create wealth, the usual and ordinary rules will not work. Those who become wealthy take risks to create and follow paths that have not been followed before. They are not afraid to be labeled as ‘weird’. Only they are weird in a wealthy manner.

Those who become wealthy think of money and wealth positively. They use nice phrases on money such as ‘money is liberating’, ‘money gives one the freedom’, ‘money gives one the power to determine their destiny. On the other hand, the middle class and the poor think of money negatively and use negative phrases on money such as ‘money is the root of all evil’, ‘money doesn’t grow on trees’, ‘the rich are mean’. Money needs to be loved and used well for it to stay.

To be truly wealthy, you will need to cultivate all these characteristics. The good thing is: you can start learning them at whatever age and start a new trajectory towards wealth.