Part 2: Millionaires vs. The Middle Class

Below is part 2 in my Blog Series on the “The Top Ten Distinctions Between Millionaires and the Middle Class” by Keith Smith.

PART 2 - Millionaires talk about ideas. The Middle Class talks about things and other people.

“What do you spend your time talking about? Your words are like a ship’s rudder. They determine which direction you are going in life. Millionaires spend most of their time talking about ideas and very little time talking about things or other people. The middle class rarely talks about ideas and spends the majority of its time talking about things and other people. I once saw a plaque in a businessman’s office that said ‘Big people talk about ideas, average people talk about things, and small people talk about other people.’ What do you spend your time talking about? Ideas, things, or people? I am sure you have heard the old saying ‘There are three types of people, those who make things happen, those who watch things happen, and those who wonder, what the heck just happened?’”
I talk to a lot of people every week, and as I read this chapter the more and more it struck me as being dead on right. When I go into a real estate office and talk with realtors, or I go to a business networking event and talk with other business professionals, there really are two basic types of conversations I end up having depending on the person I am talking with. When I am talking with one of the top producers in our industry, or another business owner who is doing really well, we end up talking about different marketing ideas we have been trying, and thinking about putting together to get more business, or something similar focused on ways to make more money. When I am speaking with someone who is a moderate or low producer, or a business owner who is struggling, we tend to talk about sports, or cars, or how bad the economy and the market are, or something happening in the news or on TV.
“Millionaires talk about ideas and make things happen. The Middle class talks about things and watches things happen. The poor talk about people and ask, what just happened? Middle-class people talk about things that came from a millionaire’s idea. They talk about cars, sports, entertainment, music, vacations, etc. Millionaires own the car companies. Millionaires own the sports teams. Millionaires produce the movies and television shows… The middle class spends its money on things created by a millionaire’s idea. Let’s look closer at entertainment. The middle class and the very poor are often Hollywood’s biggest fans. They live for the gossip. They can’t wait to see who did what. They are glued to their television sets… Sure, millionaires enjoy entertainment; but they don’t spend much time talking about it. One of the reasons the middle class and the very poor love entertainment so much is because they are easily impressed with fame and fortune. Millionaires choose fortune over fame. They are not easily impressed with the superficial lifestyles of so-called stars.”
The perfect example of this is all of the TV shows on the air today that are all about celebrities, how they live, what houses they live in, and what cars they drive. Shows like MTV’s cribs, or TMZ, or various versions of life styles of the rich and famous. Too many people today are obsessed with what other people have. They spend their time talking about these things and people vs. spending their time thinking about and talking about ideas, or ways to make money so they might be able to afford to live in a similar manner. A big part of the credit crisis today is being fueled by middle class and poor people trying to be like these so-called stars they idolize. They are spending money that do not have, on things that they do not need and can not pay for, to impress people that they do not know.
“Why do millionaires spend their time talking about ideas? The answer is because they understand that it takes ideas to make money. The middle class thinks that you have to have money to make money. Millionaires know better. They understand that the right ideas will attract the money they need. Ideas are the most valuable asset in the world. People who come up with great ideas end up with great wealth.”
Here are two steps to help gain greater success. First, change your thinking and talk. Be more positive. “Use words like possible instead of impossible, can instead of can’t, and I will instead of I should.” Second, “Stop complaining and start learning… Millionaires are not whiners… The words you use reveal your heart and mind… There is always a lesson to be learned when something does not go your way or when things appear difficult.”

It's a Good Life!!!
Greg Novak MBA
Branch Manager
Eagle Nationwide Mortgage Company
Office - 386-756-8228 Cell - 386-846-6686 Fax - 386-756-8108
Web site - http://www.mynationwidelender.com/

Oh, by the way, if you know someone who is thinking about buying or refinancing a home, or anyone who is struggling with or currently behind on their mortgage payment, please give me a call with their name and number, I will be happy to follow up with them for you.



Serving; Daytona Beach Florida, Volusia County, Florida, All 50 states, Nationwide Mortgage Lender.

Part 1 Millionaires vs the Middle Class

Below is the beginning in a series of Blogs based on a book I have been reading, “The Top Ten Distinctions between Millionaires and the Middle Class” By Keith Cameron Smith. I highly suggest picking up a copy of this book; it is inexpensive, very short and to the point, only 95 pages, but some great information.
I have decided to pass along these distinctions in Blog form to you, because as I have stated before, I want to do every thing I can to help as many people as I can get through these trying economic times as possible.

Distinction number 10. Millionaires think long-term, and the Middle Class thinks short term.
“Society can be broken down into five groups of people: the very poor, poor, middle class, rich, and very rich. Each group of people thinks differently about money. Very poor people think day-to-day. Poor people think week-to-week. Middle-class people think month-to-month. Rich people think year-to-year, and very rich people think decade-to-decade.” If you think about this statement, you would have to agree that it holds some weight. Do you agree that most of the people in real estate, mortgages, car sales, and other similar types of small businesses and sales professions fall into the middle class in terms of financial wealth? Why do you think this is? Could it be partly because since the first day we entered the business we have been trained to think of everything on a month to month basis? Whenever I go around and speak with people the question usually comes up, “So, how is your month going?”, or “How many deals did you do last month?”. Nobody has ever asked me how my decade is going, or how many deals I closed last decade, or project to close this decade. Those questions seem kind of crazy, and we may not talk in those terms, but why not plan in those terms.
“Thinking decade-to-decade, as the very rich do, is there you find business plans that reach far into the future… It is where people learn how to pass their assets onto future generations without the government taking part of what they spent their lives building. Very rich people typically make well over $500,000 a year. Most very rich people consistently make a minimum of $1,000,000 a year.”
Do you have a business plan? Do you have goals that are WRITTEN DOWN on paper? If not, why? There is an old saying, “those who aim for nothing, tend to hit it with amazing accuracy”. If you do not have a business plan and goals, what are you aiming for? Right now, with the way the economic state our country and local markets are in, it is imperative that you have a business plan and goals. You might say, why do I need a business plan, I don’t own a business, or I am not self employed. One thing everyone must realize, and all rich and future rich people already do, is that no matter who signs your paycheck, you are self employed, and you determine how much you get paid.
Think about it for a second. If you go to work and do less than what is expected of you, you will probably get fired, and therefore you have reduced your own income. If you go to work and do only what is expected of you, you will make what ever the minimum is your position makes. But if you go to work and do more than what is expect and give everything you have to give to your job, you will get raises, and promotions and bonuses; therefore, you have increased your income. People who are CEO’s and presidents of organizations did not get there by accident. If you want to advance your career, you need to first figure out where you want to be, or how much you want to make, or what position you want to have, and put a plan together on how to get there.
Start with your big goal, then figure out what you need to do to get there ten years from now, then figure out what you will need to have accomplished 5 years from now, then one year, then one month, and lastly figure out what you need to do everyday in order to achieve your goal ten years from now. These day to day activities could be a little as making 5 calls to your database of lead sources, or doing at least one sales call, or sending an e-mail to 10 current or past clients. The problem is that these daily tasks will seem easy, and almost insignificant, which is dangerous, because after a while you will start thinking that they are not paying off, or you are not seeing any results, and that it will not hurt to miss a day, or a week, or a month, and the next thing you know you are not doing this activities at all and you have just blown your 10 year plan. The most important thing to keep in mind is that the activities you are doing today are not designed to get you results today, they are designed to build over time and give you tremendous results over a period of time. Make a poster or something you can place in a location you will see everyday to remind you to win today, in order to win the year, in order to win the decade and achieve the goal.
Lastly, “When you have long-term goals you will find it easier to develop perseverance. All millionaires have had to preserver through challenges in their lives. In order to see your dreams fulfilled you have to become a ‘whatever it takes’ kind of person. Middle-class people give up when the pressure is on. Since they value comfort, they don’t preserver when the going gets tough. Millionaires go the second mile, and the third, and the fourth. They do whatever it takes to experience abundance. Since they think long-term, they keep on keeping on until they achieve abundance and freedom.”

Here are two very short clips, on the basic steps of becoming wealthy, and how to plan your day.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lXS4XavZCa4&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sX0eZxANWmI&feature=related

It's a Good Life!!!
Greg Novak MBA
Branch Manager
Eagle Nationwide Mortgage Company
Office - 386-756-8228 Cell - 386-846-6686 Fax - 386-756-8108
Web site - www.MyNationwideLender.com

Oh, by the way, if you know someone who is thinking about buying or refinancing a home, or anyone who is struggling with or currently behind on their mortgage payment, please give me a call with their name and number, I will be happy to follow up with them for you.