The word “poor” can usually be linked to someone’s monetary status, but it also has significance in many other ways.

In numerous cases, financially poor individuals have poor mindsets, which is oftentimes why they stay poor. There are exceptions of course, but we are talking about the majority of people.

Over the years, my goal has been to help more individuals change their poor perspective and mindset to find financial freedom through entrepreneurship with my book Third Circle Theory.

There are a few things; however, that you can associate to poor people’s behavior and I have pointed them out to make sure you don’t fall victim to them.

1. Poor People Always See the Problem Ahead; Never the Solution.

In my office, no one is allowed to state that they have a problem unless they can come to the table with possible solutions. Problems occur for everyone at any time, but the difference between poor and successful people is that all their focus goes on the problem itself rather than the solution.

For example, most poor people who get in an accident spend the next three days talking about the accident, what happened, how it happened, etc.

On the other hand, successful people will immediately call their insurance company, schedule an appointment to fix their car at a shop, and be done with it.

You can’t change what happened, but you can make sure to move on faster in order to focus on things that matter.

2. Often Have a Lot of Advice, but Never Any Experience to Share.

A huge personal pet peeve is when I hear people giving others advice when they have yet to accomplish something for themselves.

Have you ever seen a broke guy trying to motivate others? I see this shit everyday, and it really pisses me off.

Poor and unmotivated people who haven’t accomplished anything do not have any business motivating others or giving them business advice.

Yet, it seems that every time someone has something to say, they are the first ones to have feedback. When people speak in generality and not from experience, it is their desire to be accepted as a successful person even though they are not.

3. Spend Money That They Don’t Have.

People have budgets to allocate their spending; and while it’s an important way to get to a better state of financial being, most cases poor people spend money they haven’t received yet.

I knew a bunch of guys that used to work with me who spent 90% of their paychecks before they even cashed them. They would borrow from friends or buy something completely irrelevant like designer clothes and improve their cars instead of saving money.

Wealth is accumulated, not made in one hit, and poor people often work as if they will one day be liberated with some great payment that will wipe their debt. I never understood how someone could wear a $300 belt, yet not have $2 in his or her pocket for a cup of coffee.

4. Focus on What They Can Buy, Not How Great They Can Be.

When poor people work, start businesses, or focus on making money, they do because of their desire to buy things rather than their ability to truly be the best at what they do.

Too often I hear broke people saying ”Mark my words, I’ll be a millionaire one day” or “I will own a Lambo one day.” These are all traits of idiocy and poverty and indicate that it is 99.9% unlikely for them to reach their goals.

The reality is that owning a Lambo or being a millionaire isn’t a goal, it’s a fantasy. They should instead focus on their traits, talents, or skills that could lead them to a goal, even though it might not be as fun, that is something poor people should learn to do.

Next time you hear someone saying: “I’ll be a millionaire,” then ask them, “How do you plan to get there?” and in most cases you’ll receive a stupid answer like “Own my own business“, “Build a brand“, or something general and stupid.

The right answer; however, would not be to become a millionaire, but rather to become the best at what you want to be.

Becoming the best car salesman or becoming the #1 restaurant in the city are examples of being the best at what you do, which possibly could lead them to become a millionaire, not the other way around.

5. Are Excited About Work-Life Balance, Not Work.

Every time I see someone working a 9-5 job complaining and about to quit, I ask him or her why they would want to leave?

The answer is something stupid like “I want work-life balance” which is probably the dumbest reason to quit your job to go work for yourself.

Why? Because working for yourself gives you less work-life balance than working for others.

The ignorance is amazing, and it’s typically the reason why poor people never actually quit. Most poor people believe that when they work a 9-5 job, they work for others, and they blame their boss for their low wages or hours they are scheduled.

The reality is that none of us work for others no matter what company we work for. If you make money working somewhere, then you are accepting that your worth for the hours you work there is worth just that.

No one forces you to work there, and you only benefit from the money you earn. So don’t seek work-life balance, instead seek better work.

6. Always Have a Story or Excuse Why They Haven’t Made It Yet.

I love talking to poor people about success (sarcasm), as they will give you every reason in the book to why they haven’t done anything yet to accomplish their dreams, ideas, or projects.

They will say it’s family related, an illness, or just about whatever reason they can come up with to do nothing whatsoever with their life.

Successful people don’t have reasons why they are not wealthy yet because they are working on something to get there, even if it’s at someone else’s company.

Yes, you can become a millionaire by working for others, and no, it’s not easy, but nothing ever is.

So giving excuses about lack of education, poor parenting, and lack of time is exactly what poor people do. The worst part is that they want others to empathize with them.

7. Have Great Ideas but Do Nothing About Them Other than Talk About Them.

Every time a successful person shares an idea or story about how they made it, a poor person also has a great idea in their head that they wish to share. They expect someone to say what a great idea it is and that perhaps they should partner up together.

Fairy tales, I tell you.

Poor people don’t realize that their inability to take action is looked at as a disease by others who take risks and go out of their comfort zone daily.

Why would anyone want to partner up with someone who is always afraid?

If you have a great idea, but are not willing to start the work needed because you expect a partner or expert to come in and help you, then dream on and stay poor.

Successful people start and put all their energy forward, which in turn, attracts more incredible people who have common beliefs to join them along the way.

Poor people don’t start on ideas alone, because they don’t want to fail alone and simply don’t want to put in the work needed to get them to a stage where they can take on the skills needed to move forward. It’s either they have it or they don’t, and that’s never how business works.

8. Surrounds themselves with stupid, so that they don’t feel bad.

You ever wonder why poor people are always friends with other poor people? There is a simple explanation for that. First, poor people have the same mindset; therefore, they like to be around people who think like them.

This gives them less stress and requires them to think less as opinions are shared amongst poor people, rather than elevated to new thinking grounds.

The second and simplest reason is because by being surrounded by other poor people, the comfort zone they live in gives them a falsified level of satisfaction with their current life.

In other words, no one likes to hang out with people who make him or her feel unimportant or stupid all the time.

9. Believe That Others Should Help Them Reach the Top.

I get in many arguments with people about this as I get hundreds of emails asking for my Secret Academy membership for free or at extreme discounts.

When I respectfully decline, I get tons of angry emails from people saying I don’t want to help others. The thing is that poor people have a higher level of entitlement and countless times without merit.

They feel that since $100,000 is nothing for me, then $20 or $100 shouldn’t matter either; therefore, I am automatically a dick for not helping them.

Instead of focusing on either making more money or pushing himself or herself further to get something, they focus on why they can’t have it for less.

This is a typical mentality for poor people, because it feeds into their laziness. Poor people are lazy, but believe they are not.

Instead, they say I work hard during my 9-5 job, but that doesn’t make any sense as you are paid to work hard. It’s not how you spend your time at work, but how you work on your free time.

10. Ask for Feedback, but Never Listen.

Ten to fifteen times a week random people who need advice ask me to coffee, and often I randomly pick one or two to actually meet at a local Starbucks.

I have met over 500+ of my fans for coffee since the beginning of the year and many ask for feedback, take the feedback, and succeed.

But there is about 20% who love to argue their views on what works and what doesn’t, even though they are asking someone who has done it, made more money than they’ll make in the next 10 years; and still they argue that they have the right answers?

That doesn’t make any sense if you ask me.

If I were asking my mentor for advice and opinion, then why would I argue with someone else’s perspective that has lived through my challenges?

I simply wouldn’t do so.

There you have it, harsh or not, here is the reality of the situation.

If you are indeed doing any of these things, you may want to stop immediately and correct yourself before one day you realize you are surrounded by constant episodes of stupid.

Don’t be one of these people; you can change if you can identify with any of these 10 problems and read Third Circle Theory.

Do you wonder why others become successful millionaires while others stay poor?

Now that you know the poor habits of poor people, perhaps you can learn the habits of successful people. I have a free upcoming webinar where I breakdown the 5 lessons I’ve learned after interviewing over 200 millionaires (and several billionaires) for the Secret Academy. Click here to reserve your seat and check times.

Afraid this is you? Get a free course to help change your mindset.