In this week’s video, I share some of my personal story and talk about how to get out of poverty.
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VIDEO SUMMARY
There are people who are watching this video who might be struggling with not having enough money. Poverty is difficult. It is more than difficult. Money problems are brutal. It can feel like you are being shattered at your core as a human being. If you are struggling with money problems, I just want to offer you a different perspective. This is a completely different perspective, and this is going to shock you. There are benefits to poverty.
Any struggle in life presents an opportunity to learn a valuable lesson. And I know you are probably thinking, “what possible lesson could poverty be teaching me?” I am going to give you three. When you have no money, there are three things you learn how to do really well.
- Creativity. Having no money forces you to learn how to develop creative solutions.
- Self-discipline. Having no money requires self-discipline to manage your expenses.
- Drive. Having no money gives you a drive to get out of poverty.
You might be in a horrible struggle with poverty. You should realize that as you are going through this struggle, you are learning these three skills. These three skills are unbelievably valuable. If I am hiring a business person, don’t you think I would want to hire someone who has creativity, self-discipline, and drive? You better believe I would. If you are watching this and you are poor, you are sitting on something that is very valuable: these three skills. If you are smart, you can use these skills to launch yourself out of poverty.
I am making this video, because I have been through this myself. I have been through poverty and come out the other side. When I first started out on my own, I had nothing. I know what it is like to go to bed hungry because you cannot afford food to eat. Let me tell you something. If you go through that experience, you never forget that feeling in your stomach. You never forget it. But that gives you a drive that rich people will never know. You have a fire in your belly to make sure you do not go hungry again. You may not realize this yet, but that drive is more valuable than all the money those rich person have. They will never know that feeling, and in your career, that drive will become your competitive advantage.
Now some people will say that this is a mentality of lack, or a scarcity mindset. These people will say that your drive for success is bad, and you have a chip on your shoulder that you should let go. I agree with part of this. If you have negative thoughts about money, of course you should let that go. I look at it differently. If you have lived through poverty, that is part of your life story. You should cherish your life story and any lessons you learned from it. The lesson you learn from poverty is that you know the value of a dollar. You understand it so well that it is engrained as part of your character. That is your life story and you should celebrate that.
You also need to understand that poverty is relative. For this to work, I am going to need you to take a step back from your personal situation and try and look at the big picture. Let me show you some statistics. If you go to the webpage for World Bank Open Data https://data.worldbank.org/ you can search for “GDP per capita (current US$).” This is essentially the income generated in a country divided by the population. This is a good indicator of the wealth that is experienced in these countries. I am showing you this just so you can see there is a big difference between countries. The GDP per capita for the world in 2017 was $10,714. You can scroll down to find the United States at $59,532. So you might be in poverty in the United States, but someone else in the world is looking at you and thinking you are rich. I do not care how much money you have in your back account, someone thinks you are rich. You need to start realizing that poverty is relative. This struggle you are going through, from someone else’s perspective is an opportunity. You have two choices: you can complain about your bank account, or you can appreciate all the opportunities that are sitting right in front of you. You get out of poverty by taking those opportunities and getting to work making some money.
There is a core concept here you should understand: People who see challenges as opportunities are more likely to succeed. Success can come just by changing your mindset. This idea is much bigger than poverty. I am focusing on poverty in this video, because so many people can relate to it. But this applies to everything. Whatever you are struggling with in your life, there is a lesson to be learned and an opportunity for success. You may not like certain things about your life: where you were born, your family, your appearance, or your education. Your struggles can also be the source of your greatest achievements.
I know it is the holiday season, and poverty is a difficult topic to talk about during the holidays. You probably have a lot of pressure to spend money you do not have. You want to buy things, and you are frustrated you cannot. Let me just end by telling you this: You are not alone. You will get through this. I encourage you to try and take some time this holiday season to sit and think about your situation. Try to realize that you are sitting on something so valuable: your own potential. If you can figure out how to unlock that potential, you can achieve greatness beyond your wildest dreams.
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Neither Zach De Gregorio or Wolves and Finance Inc. shall be liable for any damages related to information in this video. It is recommended you contact a CPA in your area for business advice.