Live Within Your Means: How You Think

In Robert Kiyosaki's best selling book Rich Dad, Poor Dad he states that 95% of the people control 5% of the money and 5% of the people control 95% of the money. He also states that the only real difference between the 5% and the 95% is the way they think.

They don't just think differently, they think oppositely. 95%ers look at money as a way to get things. 5%ers look at money as a means to make more money. Robert calls what the 95%ers do "turning cash into trash."

Now every time I go to purchase something, I try to think "is this going to be of lasting value, or will it end up in the dump in 5 years." Or, as Robert says, am I "turning my cash into trash."

When I got my cell phone, a friend of mine states that I was getting ripped off. He said that for I my another $10 a month, I could get a lot more minutes. He was looking at his money in terms of how much he could buy with his money instead of determining what he needed and buying no more. I looked at it like I just saved myself $120.

I am not saying that I am a 5% thinker, but I think I am heading in the right direction. I think it is important to associate with people who are closer to 5% thinking than we are, and continuously reading books by 5%ers to keep your thinking right.

I have found that there is another aspect of thinking that is equally important. What do you think about when you are not thinking? Most of us are influenced in what we think about by our surroundings and current circumstances. I have found that the more my thoughts dwell on my goals the more I move towards accomplishing them. The more I let my thoughts be influenced by my circumstances or my surroundings, the more my goals seem to slip away. I have got in the habit of asking myself questions when my thoughts go idle. Questions like "what would I do with $100,000?" or "how can I reach the next step?" Simple questions that get my mind on the right track.