This time, I would like to explain the poverty mindset that makes it difficult to earn money, especially among people in their 20s to 40s who get trapped by it.
I will talk about the concept of “money scripts”.
As you may know, there are many factors that contribute to the difference between those who can earn money and those who cannot, such as luck or education, and it is not just one problem that needs to be solved to suddenly start earning a lot.
However, it is interesting that the characteristics of people who cannot earn money can be quite clearly identified. It is difficult to identify what kind of thinking makes someone able to earn money, but on the other hand, it is possible to identify certain beliefs that will definitely prevent someone from earning money.
Difference in attitudes towards money
Today’s research is about the idea of money scripts and beliefs and how they may affect income. Humans are not genetically programmed to understand the concept of money. As we grow up, we learn about money, such as how it decreases when we spend it or how to earn it. Therefore, the way we think about money may be heavily influenced by our environment and our parents. Think of wealthy children you know around you. Have you ever felt that their behavior and thinking is more refined than yours, especially if their parents are business owners?
This study examines the differences in perception between business owners and many other ordinary people, including myself. The common mindset that people who cannot earn money share is that they strongly desire money and want to earn it.
I will explain what this seemingly paradoxical conclusion means.
Do you always have such thoughts? That if you have more money, everything will get better and your life will improve?
The idea that having more money will lead to greater happiness, safety, peace, and an easier time finding the meaning of life or a partner may seem obvious at first glance. However, research shows that people with a belief in money, or a money script, have lower income and lower savings and asset levels.
Since everyone seems to be striving to earn money in today’s society, this may be a surprising result. However, people who believe that having more money will make everything better often resort to dishonest or unconventional methods to obtain money, such as gambling or lying to customers in business, and in extreme cases, even fraud.
So what kind of mindset do successful business owners and their children naturally possess?
It is a way of thinking about how to make things better even when you don’t have money. Based on this mindset, creating a business that makes people happy or creating something that everyone wants can lead to success.
In other words, earning money by making things better is what makes things better, and we tend to forget that having money does not automatically make things better.
For example, let’s say there are two people who are called “rich,” and both have assets of 100 million. One is a successful business owner who is appreciated by everyone in their hometown, while the other is a business owner who has made money by committing fraud all over the world.
To those of us who do not have 100 million, both of them may seem enviable, and we may want to become like them. However, we need to recognize the decisive difference between the two. One is a successful person who made money by making the world a better place, while the other is someone who was able to make money by deceiving the world.
The latter type of person is likely to be caught eventually, and they will never be satisfied with their life, no matter how much they accumulate in terms of possessions or money.
Rather than being trapped in the short-sighted idea of wanting to earn money quickly, we need to think about what we really want to become. We may want to improve the world, help others, or solve problems.
Thank you.
