Transcription
Fifteen Things Poor People Do That the Rich Don't
Welcome to Alux.com, the place where future billionaires come to get inspired. Hello, Aluxers, and welcome back to a slightly different video. We know that many of you are on your way to achieving financial success. So we wanted to put together a list of things that poor people do which guarantees their mediocrity. Please take all of these with a grain of salt and realize these are here to make you think about your current situation and what you could do to better yourself.
The thing is, whenever we do a video like this one, some people will always take offense. While you're busy bashing us in the comments, the true Aluxers write these down and see if there's room for improvement in their own lives. In order to make a list that's actually valuable for you guys, we've consulted with some of our own mentors and millionaire friends about some of the differences between the poor and the rich in their day-to-day life. As always, there are plenty of exceptions to these rules; not everyone is in control of those circumstances. But being aware of these habits and activities might give you a slight edge, and who knows, if you stop doing them, maybe you'd be closer to that goal you've been dreaming about.
Here are 15 things poor people do that the rich don't.
Number One: Poor people watch a lot of TV. Let me put it this way: if you have the time to watch reality TV, you're probably poor. It's always amazing how much time poor people waste on meaningless television. It's one of those distractions that grabs you and doesn't let go. If you know which celebrity is dating who, and if you're watching TV shows every week as the episodes come on, if you have a favorite news channel, you're probably watching too much television; hence why your life is the way it is. Let us explain: celebrity gossip and buzz offers no value to your life. It only serves the celebrities. Rich people aim to *be* on TV instead of watching it, you might say. But, "Alux, I'm watching *The Big Bang Theory*, which is a really funny show, and it helps me disconnect." That's exactly the issue: you disconnect from your problems instead of dealing with them and getting them out of the way. There are rare occasions where, in the words of John Lennon, "time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time." But really think about it: should sitting and passively watching a screen be something you really enjoy doing?
Before we move forward to the second thing poor people—let me explain what we meant by having a favorite news channel. You might say that the only good reason to watch TV is to be aware of what's happening in the world, staying informed. The problem we're seeing with this is that TV stations are always biased in order to pick their own agenda. Instead, use the power of the internet to get a quick glimpse of what the world is like today and move on to do your own thing.
Number Two: Poor people eat fast food. Health is really important, and many poor people have no interest in knowing what's in their food, what an actual healthy meal should look like, or barely know anything about nutrition. Poor people are blasting their brains with large quantities of sugar and fats with no nutritional value. They are actively ruining their bodies and, as an effect, they cannot perform at 100% of their potential. If you're not healthy, all aspects of your life are directly affected: you'll suffer physically, mentally, professionally, and even romantically.
Number Three: Poor people buy clothes or products that are on sale. Let me put it this way: the only thing you should buy on sale are stocks. While poor people are looking to conserve or stretch the little that they have, the rich are focused on increasing their incomes. Just think about it: the clothes that end up being on sale are the ones that people who could afford to pay the full price didn't want. By buying clothes on sale, you're just making sure that you're looking exactly like someone who can't afford to pay the full price.
Number Four: Poor people wake up later than rich people do in their early years. Poor people are often lazier than the rich in the early days. We know that some of you will be bothered a lot by the previous statement, but statistically it's the truth. Someone who used their youth to grow themselves is a lot less likely to remain poor later on in life. Instead, if you wake up late, don't educate yourself, waste time on meaningless activities, at one point you'll find yourself so far behind what the world needs from you that you'll end up miserable. The paradox is that people who do not focus on growth in the early days end up working a lot harder with little success rate later in life, just to stay afloat. We've done an entire series on inspiring people on our channel, and almost all of them—Bill Gates, Elon Musk, Warren Buffett, and more—wake up early. You can check the series out in the top-right corner.
Number Five: Poor people are really into sports. The truth is, unless you're a professional athlete or an owner of one of the teams, there's really no reason for you to watch sports. It's the same with television: it's escapism from your current reality. Think of it like this: you're putting yourself in a position where you, as an individual, have no impact on the outcome of the game—zero impact. This behavior then sticks with you, and you end up being a spectator in life instead of being a player or an owner. And that's when you start criticizing other people when you yourself haven't done anything better.
Number Six: Poor people don't shower as often as rich people. Who initially we thought this was just a made-up fact, but it turns out to be true, and amazingly it explains a lot when you really think about it. Most of the jobs today are in the service industries where human contact is a must in order to have a successful exchange of value. People who don't have good personal hygiene will, in time, be less successful than their counterparts. People tend to trust them less; people want to spend less time in their presence; and all of this has ramifications in their personal life. If people don't like you and don't want to be around you, what kind of partners will you attract exactly? It might seem ridiculous, but the first step to success should be an early morning shower.
Number Seven: Poor people blame others for their misfortune. How many people do you know that have some sort of excuse or blame other factors for not being successful? Yet there are some things that are out of our control, but 99% of your life is on you. Remember that you are in charge of your life. You are in charge of your relationships. You are in charge of your health. You want these to change? Do something about it. Life is not what happens to us; it's how we react to what happens to us. When something bad happens, the poor choose to victimize themselves, while the rich look into it, study it. They seek to find out what happened, why it happened, and how they can protect from it in the future. While one assumes the position of vulnerable victim, the other uses it as a growing point.
Number Eight: Poor people have no money saved. One of the differences between poor people and the rich is that the former don't get ready for what's next. Having money put aside allows for growth. Let's say something bad happens; if you have money put aside, the problem is solved, and you can resume your life. If you don't, and the situation is urgent, what do you do? You either liquidate an asset, like your car, house, etc., or you can take a loan. For the rich, when the situation is over, they're left in the same position—the savings. While for someone who's poor, their lifestyle has been dramatically hit, or now belongs to the creditor. Now let's look at the exact opposite: an opportunity arises. Those who have money put aside now have the chance to expand their lives, while the other can't afford to take full advantage of this opportunity. That's why the rich are growing richer while the poor are getting poorer.
Number Nine: Poor people use credit cards or take out loans for useless things. One of the main differences between rich and poor is how they make use of credit. The rule is simple: if you take out a loan to buy something that doesn't generate more money than the loan, don't take it. It's that simple. You should only use credit if what you'll be using it for is an investment. Want to take out a loan for a large TV? Don't. Want a loan to buy that new Supreme gear? Don't. Want to use credit cards to get the new iPhone? Don't. Unless you're flipping the Supreme gear for profit or you're using your iPhone to develop a new app to grow your business, these items should not be on your credit. Instead, earn the money and then spend it. You'll learn more about this on number 12.
Number Ten: Poor people tend to have more kids and earlier in life. The truth is, kids are really, really expensive. We all know how fun it is to make them, or at least practice making them, but people get stuck up to this point. They don't think it's true. Just to give you a sense of perspective, if you're living in one of the more developed countries, raising a child will cost you approximately two hundred and fifty thousand dollars. Because of a lack of education, that environment, and other factors, poor people have, on average, more children and at a younger age than their rich counterparts. While the rich wait a couple of years until their standards of living improve in order to assure the right environment and prime conditions for their child to flourish, the poor just go ahead with it. Once the baby comes, the struggling begins, just so they can stay afloat, and progress beyond barely surviving is almost impossible to achieve.
Number Eleven: Poor people do not do regular check-ups with their doctors. We've touched on the importance of health in the past, but this is an especially important point. People do not get themselves checked regularly. Let's say, by mere chance, you end up having a difficult disease, let's say cancer. If you do regular check-ups, you'll discover it in early stages, making the treatment possible at a lower cost. If, on the other hand, you neglect to do so, you might discover it only when it's too late. It will cost both you and your entire family a fortune, and no matter how much money you have, you might still lose your life.
Number Twelve: Poor people spend money before they get it. One of the biggest dangers in life is spending money before you have it. The second you start borrowing money or acquiring expenses before you're able to pay them, your life starts to spiral down. If you don't have money for something that you're willing to part with without affecting your life, then you can't afford it. Go back to work and then get it.
Number Thirteen: Poor people surround themselves with other poor people. True Aluxers know that you are the sum of the five people you hang out with most. If you're surrounded by four poor people, guess who's the fifth? One of the ways people make sure they stay poor is by associating themselves or hanging out with other poor people that reinforce their core beliefs. You need people around you that will inspire you and push you further, that are doing incredible things themselves, whose success will only motivate you to exceed your current reality. If you're hanging out with the same people you did when you were young, you might want to double-check. Don't be afraid to step away from a crowd and move on to something better. If you don't, your potential will probably be crushed by those who want to feel better about their miserable lives by making sure you suffer the same fate.
Number Fourteen: Poor people never follow through on their ideas or potential. You're not able to control who your parents are, where you are born, or the way society treats you. The only thing you can control is the amount of hours you put into your dream. Every single person alive only has 24 hours per day, and yet some do a lot more than others. If you dedicate yourself to learning and implementing more about what you're passionate about, it's only a matter of time until you reach success. You've heard that 9 out of 10 businesses fail in their first three years. Well, do you know how many businesses fail because they never got started? The answer is all of them. If you have an idea, work on it, put it out, get feedback, improve it, launch again and again and again. It took us three years of writing thousands of articles on Alux.com before we decided to take the jump and make videos here on YouTube.
Number Fifteen: Poor people believe that others should help them reach the top. The world doesn't owe you anything. Nobody does. Believe it or not, you're in this by yourself. You are in charge of what happens in your life. The thing is, everyone believes when they're young that they're going to be successful, but then reality happens. This world we're living in rewards only the best—the best, those that never quit, those that keep learning, keep adapting, and understand that nobody will solve their problems for them. Face them head-on, and along the way you might meet people who feel the same way and might share parts of the journey with you. Otherwise, you'll just be a part of that majority that's meant to fail.
We know this video was pretty long, but we believe that maybe this video will help you in your journey. If you know someone who's guilty of any of these 15 things, please do them a favor and show them this video. We're curious to know, Aluxers, what things do you believe poor people do that the rich don't? What would you add to this list? Let us know in the comments. Oh, you're still here? Quite interesting. Thank you for being a true Aluxer. Here's your bonus fact: poor people are a lot more religious than rich people. Can you imagine the chaos if we started the video with this one? The fact is that, statistically speaking, successful people rely on their own forces for their well-being, while the poor hopes that a mythical force will somehow reward them for being a good person. Even though presidents or CEOs might mention God in their speeches, they are not really religious. One great example is Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, who's been, for the biggest part of his life, an atheist, but since he might consider a position in politics in the near future, decided to change his stance. If you've hung in up to this point and want to prove that you're a true Aluxer, please write, "I will be rich" in the comments section. Make your desires public so we can keep you accountable for them. Thank you for spending some time with us, Aluxers. Make sure to like and subscribe so you never miss another video. We also hand-picked these videos which we recommend you watch next. Thank you for being an Aluxer, and we'll see you back to Alux.