I don’t know that your mindset or even your work ethic necessarily guarantees your financial success, per se. I always hate when I hear wealthy people credit their success exclusively to their hard work. I know a lot of poor people who bust their asses every single day and never get ahead, and while I know that sounds contradictory to the traditional American philosophy, it’s simply the truth—luck and circumstance play a massive part in financial success or failure. However, I do feel that your mindset affects every other aspect of how you navigate that reality.
I’ve heard a lot of wealthy people preach the idea of living below your means. I think it’s okay to be careful with your money, but I don’t think somebody has to be like those people on that old TV show Extreme Cheapskates where they’re reusing plastic bags and stuff like that—to me, that’s borderline OCD if not OCD outright. At the same time, I don’t think people have to be like someone who buys those 50-cent plates at Target and then throws them away like they’re paper. To me, that’s just not being smart with your money. I don’t care how much money you have; that’s just throwing money away. It’s about finding a healthy middle ground where you aren’t being an extreme cheapskate, but you also aren’t spending more money than you make.
We hear a lot of stories about celebrities and athletes who go broke because they are not wise with their spending. I think about stories from old shows like Behind the Music about how as soon as one “makes it big,” every person they’ve ever known seemingly comes out of the woodwork asking for money or a job. We hear stories about NFL rookie boot camps where, among other things, new players attend classes on financial planning just because there are so many stories about players who blow their newfound fortune.
It’s real funny to think about that “out of the woodwork” crowd. Just the other night, Sierra and I watched the Michael Jackson biopic. And while the movie—authorized by the estate—doesn’t get too heavily into it, it’s clear that Joseph Jackson had a severe, abusive level of control over his wife and children. Even later on when Michael did the Victory Tour with his brothers, I think he felt a certain sense of obligation, and it wasn’t until he reached a breaking point that he realized enough was enough and he was going to strike out on his own. He was so much like so many other child entertainers who were treated like a gravy train. Michael was a pretty broken dude regardless of whatever else you want to say about him, and it takes a specific kind of mindset to break away from that family dynamic and protect what you’ve earned.
I’m not going to sit here and pretend that it’s easy to stick to a financial plan or avoid temptation. When you’re making that kind of money, I think it’s okay to get yourself a financial advisor or financial planner, as long as it’s somebody you know you can trust. Maybe even literally set up a trust fund for yourself so that you don’t dip into too much of your money.
Ultimately, mindset does affect your finances in that you have to have some sort of financial plan—or at the very least, there has to be some sense of control, and you shouldn’t be frivolous with your money.
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