How Your Mind Interferes with Your Wealth Building
The difference between commitment and attachment
I just got back from the Fynanc Annual Community Event in Las Vegas, where nearly 300 active wealth builders met to learn and connect about advanced strategies for building wealth. On the first day, I sat next to a lady who owns a 4-plex and manages the property herself. I could tell she was older, but when we went to lunch, she told me she is 80 years old. She has a vision of creating wealth and passing it on to her family, and here she was at this advanced conference, learning and implementing strategies most of my fellow real estate investors don’t even know about.
She asked if I would help her complete one of her investing actions… She wanted help using her phone to make a transfer into Income Amplifier system. (!!!) Here is someone, 80 years old, still learning new ways to manage money and create wealth on her phone. Unbelievable! She went on to tell me how a big financial firm had told her they could turn her nest egg into $1 million in 15 years (when she would be 95 years old). She told them no; she can do better herself in less time.
I know the system (Fynanc.com) she’s working on, and I know she started around two years ago when I did. That means at 78 years old, she allowed a new possibility and strategy to enter her mind, and she is pursuing it full blast. She is committed to her vision without being attached to what she may have learned before. That’s what it takes to become a savvy wealth builder.
The human experience conditions us accept and reject ideas. We can’t use or participate in everything possible, so we have to filter. Each of us has different patterns for what ideas and opportunities we like to pursue or reject. In the extremes, we do more than enough of some things, and we defend against doing other things. We adopt these habits and patterns to do what we think will lead to the experiences and success we want. Sometimes with intention; sometimes out of necessity, and sometimes without awareness at all.
Shining light on interferences
Seeing your own habits and patterns can help you become more a savvy, shrewd, and successful wealth builder. Here are some of the ways we allow attachments to interfere with considering or adopting a new possibility.
We’re not sure the current path isn’t working, so we hold on a little longer.
The current results don’t look good, but there’s a story why it’s going to come back, or it “averages out”, or it “always” works out in the long run.
We don’t know or believe in any alternative. How can I change if I don’t know what to change to?
Fear of going it alone - I might do even worse. I don’t trust myself.
I’m not happy with results so far, but I trust the experts and authorities.
I’m not happy with results, but my family, friends, colleagues, etc. are doing the same thing. It can’t be that bad if everyone else is doing it.
I’ve learned about alternatives, but they might be scams.
The current strategy might work with just a tweak or once I turn the next corner.
All the experts I’ve talked to are giving answers in the same general direction. How can there be a better answer that I haven’t heard yet?
I think I’m hearing half truths… How do I know if a half truth matters a little or a lot?
We are told that “too good to be true” must be a lie or a scam. How do we know?
If this new idea were the real deal, I would have heard about it before.
We often trust what is common or familiar. How do we discover something we don’t know that we don’t know?
Experts have told me there are no viable alternatives. How do we know whether to accept this conclusion?
I have done it this way for as long as I know. This is who I am. This is what I believe.
Raising awareness, having humility
The list above highlights many ways our minds lead us not to explore a new path. Stories and narratives can masquerade as sound reasoning. Having these thoughts doesn’t mean we’re on the wrong path or that another path is certainly better. Awareness of having thoughts like these can be your trigger for humility, for considering whether your thoughts are keeping you from curiosity, discovery, or deeper reasoning. The story that justifies not exploring is not proof that exploring is a mistake or a waste. The story might just be a cover for avoiding effort or defending against a conclusion we secretly don’t want.
Some might consider this lack of confidence, but I don’t see it that way. We can be convinced to pursue paths that appear on the surface to make sense but that don’t really arrive where we want to go. We might feel confidence when we repeat a story we’ve been given, but our attachment might lead us to overlook that it doesn’t really stand up to scrutiny.
The goal of the savvy wealth builder is to have the awareness, courage, and skill to challenge ourselves and others enough and to seek better ideas, better help, and better paths when the current ones are no longer convincing.
I find it helpful to be confident but with the humility that I may learn something that leads me to change my mind and adapt. Here are some ways to discover or navigate potential attachments that might interfere with your decision making.
Identity
When I say, “I am a real estate investor,” I limit myself to doing the things I believe real estate investors do. I might miss opportunities to do more or better or different, and I might fail to recognize when doing real estate can be an opportunity cost. I like to avoid specific labels for myself, but that has challenges, too. People like to know what you are and how to relate to you.
Experts
Without a doubt, using and trusting experts can be essential. I tell myself, “Do enough homework that you can see other viewpoints and that you can tell when an expert is dismissing your concerns or blowing smoke.” I want to understand my own problem, not just symptoms, as well or better than the experts I consult. I don’t want to believe a surface story and not be able to see the holes. I want to know enough that I believe in the expertise I’m buying.
Familiarity
Familiarity is good for going deeper and becoming an expert. It becomes a vulnerability when we allow fear or anxiety about the areas beyond what we know to keep us from learning.
Alternatives
There’s a continuum for alternatives between focus and shiny objects. Some focus and some variety are both good. We can ask, “Am I too focused and narrow?” and “Am I spreading myself too thin?” and “Am I exploring a possibility or doing another project I know?”
Confidence and Conviction
Strong belief in what we know and believe is great for focus, drive, and progress, but if we let confidence and conviction push us too hard and too fast, we can make mistakes. Real estate investors might do too many projects at once and get overleveraged. No matter how much I believe in a goal or strategy, I reserve just a bit of space in my mind for discovery of opposing factors I didn’t know how to apply before. Instead of allowing my conviction to become an attachment, I think “it’s working, but under what circumstances?” By checking over my shoulder, I discover things to integrate and adapt for a stronger and more resilient strategy.
Some other ways to discover attachments
Sometimes the questions we ask ourselves reveal vulnerabilities in our decision making. We want to uncover them before we make decisions that lead to bigger problems, like choosing the wrong investment partner or buying an investment that sounds good but doesn’t meet our criteria.
Here are a few question I use to challenge myself:
What am I doing or using that might be wrong?
What am I hearing that is not always true?
In what way might I be lying to myself?
In what ways might I be allowing myself to be influenced?
What fear, anxiety, or frustration do I have? Am I allowing that to replace my clear thinking?
What are some of the ways you challenge yourself when considering new ideas about wealth building?
Disclaimer: This content is for educational purposes only. You should not construe any information or other material contained here or on our Sites at www.savvywealthtools.com or savvywealthtools.substack.com, as legal, tax, investment, financial, or any other professional advice. Nothing contained here or on our Sites constitutes a solicitation, recommendation, endorsement, or offer, by Savvy Wealth Tools or its owners, affiliates, or third party service providers to buy or sell any securities or other financial instruments in this or in any other jurisdiction in which such solicitation or offer would be unlawful under the securities laws of such jurisdiction.