I believe that everyone has the power to be who they really want, as long as they believe in it and keep doing their best. It bothers me when others complain and be pessimistic about who they will be and what they are capable of.

I have known and talked to a lot of successful and wealthy people. I have admired how they live. It’s not because they are rich or own stuffs, but because they always try to help others, motivate others, support others, care about others. They have a way of life of “giving”, not just “taking”. I think that’s amazing.

In this post I will try to explain about why mindset is the most important thing a person has to master. When we have a scarcity mindset, we will always be pessimistic and unhappy with our situation. When we have an abundance mindset, we will always be optimistic and happy with our situation.

Being successful and wealthy is not about what we have, it is about what we believe.

I always say this when people complain about not having enough resources: “If you take away all the billions of dollars from Bill Gates, he will gain back his first 1 billion dollars in less than a year. Wealth is not about merely cash/assets, it is about what a person is capable of.”

In order to really understand what I’m talking about, I will break it down in point forms. I really want people to be happy with what they have and believe in the best possibilities. It is beautiful.

1.Abundance believers are resourceful. Scarcity believers think they are never enough.

When a scarcity believer wants to do something, we often think about the but’s. He/she says things like “but we don’t have the money”, “but we don’t know how to do that”, “but we don’t have connections”, “but we are not allowed to do that”, “but nobody has done that before”, “but we are not ready yet”, etc. Are you familiar with this? A scarcity believer always feels that they are not enough.

An abundance believer will often think about the how’s. He/she will make sure the goal is clear and valuable, then think about how he/she can get the necessary resources. He/she says things like “we need this, how about we do this?”, “we can learn from how others did this before with the same situation with us”, etc.

Example:

“Betty” wants to start a business in a beauty industry. She is an employee in a job she doesn’t like, while she finally found what she wants, she doesn’t have the support and resources to go for training to learn about it or the capital to start her business.

If “Betty” is a scarcity believer, she will talk about how much she likes the industry and the beauty business she wants, but she doesn’t take action to do something about it. When someone motivates her to do it, she will talk about how much it takes and why she can’t.

If “Betty” is an abundance believer, she will share about what actions she has taken. She will think of ways to save money as startup capital. As an example, she thinks that she can save money by providing beauty services after she joins a training. If she doesn’t have enough cash to join a beauty training, she might negotiate with the trainer to become her part-time assistant for free to learn about it. She might ask the trainer to let her pay the training fee in credit over 3 months with additional interest. After she has joined the training, she can start providing services to clients to pay for the training fee. From the skills she has earned, she can save money as capital to start her business.

Both abundance and scarcity “Betty” have the same situation and circumstances, but they get different results. Why? Because they think differently.

2. Abundance believers help others and accept help. Scarcity believers don’t help others and don’t accept help.

An abundance believer knows that no one can succeed by his/her own. He/she understands that everyone needs a helping hand. He/she is also aware that he/she needs help too! This self-awareness is very valuable. Abundance believers help people not to ask for anything in return, they just keep adding value to others because they believe that it is their duty to help. While they always help others, it doesn’t mean they sacrifice themselves or help people to the extend that they fall. They are also aware of their own limits. They have a great self-awareness about what they can give to others. They grow by flying freely, because when they help others even without asking for something in return, people love them and support them.

A scarcity believer thinks that everyone has to take care of themselves and nobody cares! He/she seldom helps others, or they help only when they have already been helped before. They don’t have a great self-awareness. They don’t really know what they can give to others or maybe they just don’t want to. These people grow by slowly crawling up. A scarcity believer won’t be able to achieve great things in their lives. They are limited to their own capabilities, they are not aware that a human’s capability is limited and the only way to achieve great things is by growing with others.

Example:

A friend just lost a job or is in a job he/she doesn’t like and ask for help. Abundance believers will help this friend to get a job, they will go to the extend of contacting their own boss, their friends, the people they know or even barely know. Why? Because they feel happy to see their friend happy!

Meanwhile, a scarcity believer will try to avoid the conversation and say that they don’t know anyone that can help. He/she may really think that he/she knows no one that can help (not resourceful), or he/she just doesn’t want to help. As if he/she will lose money if he/she sees someone grows. This is the wrong way to live. Everyone always knows someone who can help!

On the other side, abundance believers are not afraid to accept help. They think that it is normal to ask for help and accept help, because they have always been helping others. This is why they always achieve greater things.

Scarcity believers are afraid of accepting help. They think that if someone helps them, it means they owe that person and they will ask for something in return. The funny thing is, even if they ask for something in return, what’s wrong with that? Grow together!

3. Abundance believers feel happy and motivated to see others succeed. Scarcity believers feel miserable and negative to see others succeed.

Whenever they can, abundance believers always congratulate their friends, acquaintances, and family members that have recently achieved new heights. They feel happy when others are happy, they feel motivated because that is a proof for them that they can actually make it too! They understand the efforts someone makes to be able to achieve something and they truly appreciate it.

Scarcity believers seldom congratulate. They feel miserable and try to avoid talking about others’ successes. Scarcity believers are usually not capable of achieving their goals as quick as abundance believers, because of not being resourceful and not wanting to help or accept help. So when they see others succeed, they see it as a pressure, not as a motivation.

4. Abundance believers are happy and grateful with what they have. Scarcity believers are unhappy and ungrateful.

Abundance believers know how to appreciate little things in their lives. They understand that they have everything they need, they just need to “access” it. They always share what they have with others because they know that they are blessed with many opportunities and possibilities.

Scarcity believers think that who they are and what they can do are already determined when they are born. They complain about everything in their lives. They are not grateful with what they have, they envy others. They sometimes even knock others down to be at their level. They use circumstances as reasons to live an unhappy life. They blame others for their miserable lives.

The truth is that life is not fair, but everyone has got something to offer. Everyone is blessed with different opportunities. The real difference that separates successful people and unsuccessful people is this: abundance believers use what they have, scarcity believers complain about what they have and do not have!

Example:

An abundance believer that has little money will be content and grateful with what he/she has. He/she will find ways to actually make money and enjoy the ride. He/she understands that everything is a process and it takes time.

A scarcity believer that has little money will be grumpy and sad almost the whole time. He/she will complain and blame the boss, the government, his/her parents, etc.

Why this matters

Here is the sad thing, more than 90% of the population are filled with scarcity believers. I always help the people around me, and recently I found out that one of the people I have helped actually do not want to help someone that needs his help. It is very disappointing. It is a golden rule that to live a meaningful life, we should contribute to others as long as we can. That’s why self-awareness is important, it is about knowing how we can add value to others while not sacrificing ourselves. It is not wrong to sacrifice ourselves when needed, but 90% of the time it is usually enough without sacrificing at all.

The most successful people I know are always happy for others, support others, motivate others, help others. This is the right way to live. Live a purposeful life. Life is so much beautiful when it is filled with abundance. There is vast wealth and opportunity out there, supporting others won’t ruin your success.

Share this article to the people you care about, let’s grow together. 🙂