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Name: Secrets of the Millionaire Mind
Rating: 4.3 (355 reviews)
Author: T. Harv Eker

T. Harv Eker

Mastering the Inner Game of Wealth

4.3 (355 ratings)

22 mins

Topics

Wealth Success Investments

Table of Contents

Secrets of the Millionaire Mind
Summary of 12 key ideas

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Key idea 1 of 12

Specific thought patterns preprogram our wealth.

Everybody has a different relationship to money and wealth. Some people have the Midas touch, transforming everything they touch into gold. Other people earn lots of money with a good business concept, but then get cocky and throw it all out the window or lose it in bad investments. Others don’t invest a dime and are broke all the time anyway.

Many people think that once they’ve acquired the right knowledge about business strategies and financial management they will automatically be financially successful. However, their income and monetary transactions don’t depend so much on skills or luck and fate as they do on unconscious thought patterns we all have ingrained in us.

Everybody has specific thought structures saved permanently on their internal “hard drives.” Millionaires are programmed for wealth, while others are programmed for a medium or low-income level. Childhood experiences and role models shape these thought patterns and guide our behavior to such an extent that they directly influence our level of wealth later on.

Whether we’re talking thousands, millions or even billions, people’s incomes hardly end up deviating from the levels that were set for them in childhood. Why? Because their subconscious regulates them like a thermostat. If their thermostat is set too low, as soon as they get their hands on some extra cash, they throw their money around. But, if their thermostat is set on high, that is, on wealth, they immediately offset a money shortage by saving and usually make sure their wealth grows.

Most people are programmed to earn a low income, which means that many people have the potential to get rich – but very few people manage to stay rich and accumulate lasting wealth. In contrast, self-made billionaires like Donald Trump may lose unspeakable quantities of money at times, but they always regain their wealth because they think like billionaires. Anybody who wants to follow their example should learn to disregard their old thought patterns and overwrite them with millionaire thinking.

Our thought patterns are shaped by what our parents taught us about money.

Our minds are like computers, where the most important programs were installed in childhood: the patterns anchored within us are based on our earliest impressions. The things we heard our parents saying repeatedly about money as children are permanently saved in our minds, forming our ideas that end up determining the way we think about money later in life.

Sayings like “Money is the root of all evil,” “Money doesn’t grow on trees” and “You can’t buy happiness” ingrain themselves in our minds as our money blueprint and influence our opinion on money. Since our parents influence our behavior most when we’re young, there are only two possible ways to deal with their ideas about money and fortune. We can identify with and accept them, or we can rebel and reject them.

We unconsciously reproduce the income strategies of our parents.

Our internalized attitude towards money and fortune is not only based on what we hear our parents say about money, but also on one specifically conditioned behavioral pattern: the way our parents earn their money and the way they handle it.

“That’s the way my mother always did it” is a valid response to the question of why you handle money issues the way you do – not unlike the question of why you make macaroni the way you do. So when you were a kid and asked your mother for money, and she told you to ask your father, the idea that the man is in charge of the finances and the woman can’t manage money makes an impression in our minds.

Before changing your way of thinking, perform a thorough inventory.

If you don’t achieve the level of affluence you desire, it usually has less to do with external factors than with an unconscious inner setting. But it’s never too late to change it.

The first step to becoming more financially successful is recognizing that you’ve fallen into such a thought pattern and that’s why you’re not getting rich. Once you’ve broken the pattern, the next thing you need to do is recognize where it comes from: Which habits and behavioral patterns did we learn from our parents and what effect did they have? Which thought patterns do you yourself follow? How much wealth are you programmed to achieve? Which unconscious strategies do we use to keep our account balances high?

Breaking the pattern with new guiding principles and new behavior.

As great as it’d be to get rich just by reading books – by knowing the theory behind wealth creation or hearing about what you need to do differently to rake in millions – unfortunately, it’s not enough. We have to overwrite the old information about money in our systems, not just save new information in addition to it.

The attitudes we’ve adopted towards money were spelled out in front of us on a regular basis when we were young. If we want to change them, we have to find new and better principles about money and fortune, and make a habit of spelling them out to ourselves like a mantra.

If you want to be rich, you have to learn to take fate into your own hands.

If you want to be financially successful, you have to internalize the idea that you are the one in control over your own (financial) life. Rich people know they’re at the wheel, while financially weaker people are always in the back seat, yielding control over their income to others.

It’s quite striking that people who are already poor will often spend half their salary on lottery tickets, hoping to get lucky and hit the big time. Rich people, by contrast, don’t gamble to get rich or wait for wealth to fall into their laps.

Future millionaires should have a positive attitude towards money.

The idea that virtue and wealth can’t be reconciled is widespread among people without means, not among millionaires.

In order to get rich, you also have to like money. Poor people often harbor too many negative thoughts about wealth. They’re afraid that somebody would only like them because of their money, or even worse, that it could turn them into bad people. In addition, they’re afraid of the work and responsibility associated with wealth, which is a hindrance in many areas.

You can only get rich if you give it your all.

Rich people know from the beginning that their goal is affluence and thus develop an unconditional commitment to their prosperity. People who just want to get rich, but put limits on how much they’re willing to do or sacrifice to get rich stay poor.

Only people who are fully committed to wealth and would bet their lives on it will be prosperous. Working hard 16 hours a day for an indefinite period of time and accepting that you’ll have less freedom are part of that commitment.

Reach for the stars if you want to become a millionaire.

Millionaires set their sights on having lots of money, while everyone else just wishes they could have a secure and sufficient income. The universe will, in turn, fulfill these wishes, because the scale of wealth you think about also plays a role.

The equation is simple: big thinking leads to big actions, which opens up the door to making big money. Small thinking in small dimensions equals a small income.

You can only make money grow when you handle it properly.

Earning massive amounts of money is one thing – not letting it slip through your fingers and making it grow is another. Dealing with money in a disciplined way and managing money cleverly are very important factors for achieving wealth and prosperity.

Many people erroneously think that a high income is all that makes you rich. The proper way to measure people’s wealth is, however, their net worth, that is, the cash value of all their possessions. Savings and investment gains also count. You should strive to have as big a net income as possible and invest your money with an eye on the financial future.

You have to think highly of yourself if you want to be successful and rich.

One trait that separates wealthy people from less well-to-do people is that they know their value and are convinced that they deserve to be rich. Less well-to-do people often deem themselves unworthy and don’t believe in themselves. They remain financially unsuccessful because they think that they aren’t worth it and – often unconsciously – back away when it comes to distributing funds.

Since rich people are convinced of their value, they also understand how to promote themselves, their business ideas or their company. Leaders are usually rich because they earn more in these positions. But in order to be a leader, you have to find followers, which only works if you sell your ideas well.

Final Summary

The main message in this book is:

Our level of prosperity is preprogrammed by thought and behavioral patterns we learned as children. We can only change it if we consciously recognize it, actively adopt a new attitude and implant “millionaire thinking” into our minds.

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What is Secrets of the Millionaire Mind about?

Secrets of the Millionaire Mind (2005) explains how people unconsciously develop rigid attitudes and behavioral patterns in their relationship to money that they learned from their parents – and that will determine their future wealth. It presents the key guiding principles and thought patterns that millionaires live by and anybody who wants to get rich should adopt.

Who should read Secrets of the Millionaire Mind?

Anyone interested in the secrets to accruing wealth
Anyone who wants to see a steady rise in their fortune in the long term

About the Author

T. Harv Eker is a bestselling author, entrepreneur and motivational speaker. In just two-and-a-half years, he developed his business and became a multimillionaire. He now spreads his knowledge about financial success in his Millionaire Mind Intensive seminars.

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Money & Investments Career & Success

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