The Difference Between My Rich Friends And Poor Friends

Being rich isn’t about money. It’s about abundance. Here’s why.

You might be thinking that this one is obvious. Rich friends have more money.

And that’s true :)

But let’s break down why.

There’s a secret that goes beyond how many zeros are in their bank account — and this secret isn’t about money at all. It’s about mindset, and the idea that wealth is not just about money.

I define wealth to mean what you value, not what you own.

If you prefer to listen to this, listen to episode #5 of Seeking Wisdom and fast forward to the 7:00 mark. PS. Here’s my list of the top 10 books that I’ve read that have helped increase my wealth. Click here to get access to it.

Rich Friends vs. Poor Friends

My rich friends are optimists.

These are the friends that are always pushing the way that you’re thinking and opening your worldview.

These are the people that are always thinking about what’s possible instead of what’s going to be impossible.

And there are poor friends.

These are the people that always think the world is working against them and someone is trying to bring them down.

These are the people that you want to avoid. They will always try to bring you down to their level — since THEY aren’t happy, then dammit, YOU shouldn’t be happier either.

Wealth is all about changing your mindset.

Scarcity vs. Abundance

The other thing I’ve noticed is what these two groups of people do with their time and their money.

Rich friends have an abundant mentality.

They’re willing to spend more money, invest in their education and give away money — they have this mentality that the world is abundant, and as a result, all of their goodwill will eventually come back to them.

Poor friends have a scarcity mentality.

They want to keep everything tight. They don’t want to spend any money, they don’t want to invest in their own education.

Even though they might be walking around with the latest sneakers or the latest car — if you asked them to invest in their education, they’re going to tell you they don’t have the money or keep that money because they have a scarcity mindset.

The other big difference?

Rich friends are generous with their money, but not with their time.

Time is the one thing you can’t get back.

You can lose all your money and get it back — but you can never get back time.

Rich friends are really selfish and protective with their time, and laser focused on what they’re trying to accomplish.

Poor friends are really cheap with their money, but have all the time in the world.

One of my favorite examples of this is Derek Sivers.

Derek got to a place where he had an abundance of opportunity but committing to these things was not making him any happier — so he decided to change his mindset.

Unless his response to a request or an ask is “hell yes, I want to do this,” he says no.

And this is super hard.

It’s human nature to want to help people. I want to help those who have helped me, but there simply aren’t enough hours in a day.

When it comes to time and money, my rich friends are generous with their money, but not with their time.

So surround yourself with rich friends.

And that does not mean surround yourself with those that have the most money, but surround yourself with those that think about abundance.