A self-made millionaire who studied 1,200 wealthy people found they view money differently than the rest of us
"Your background, highest level of education, or IQ is irrelevant when it comes to earning money," writes Steve Siebold, a self-made millionaire and the author of "How Rich People Think."
After turning around his own personal financial situation and studying more than 1,200 of the world's wealthiest people, Siebold found that getting rich has more to do with your mentality than anything.
This ranges from your view of higher education to the words in your vocabulary.
He also found a critical difference between how rich and average people view money: Rich people think about money logically, while average people see money through the eyes of emotion.
"An ordinarily smart, well-educated, and otherwise successful person can be instantly transformed into a fear-based, scarcity-driven thinker whose greatest financial aspiration is to retire comfortably," Siebold writes. "The world class sees money for what it is and what it's not, through the eyes of logic. The great ones know money is a critical tool that presents options and opportunities."
The wealthiest people see money for all the good things it can provide - freedom, opportunity, possibility, and abundance - and are not afraid to admit that, logically, it can solve most problems.
Meanwhile, the rest of us tend to view money as an enemy. "Most people have a dysfunctional, adversarial relationship with money," he writes. "After all, we are taught that money is scarce - hard to earn and harder to keep."
However, there are times when money can buy happiness - the rich recognize and admit this.
"If you want to start attracting money, stop seeing it as your enemy and think of it as one of your greatest allies," the self-made millionaire writes.