Think Like a Rich Person

The ultimate anti-rich thinker was George Bailey in It's a Wonderful Life, who wanted to be wealthy but set himself up to be poor. He let others dictate his path instead of taking control of his destiny. He had great vision, but never used it to make his own fortune. He wanted to build skyscrapers, but ended up plugging holes in financial dikes.

Here are some tips on thinking rich.

1-Middle class people wait for their ship to come in; rich people build their own ship. Fortune smiles upon those who create their own opportunities. Adapt an action mentality, not a lottery one.

2-Success comes from working for fulfillment, not survival. Those who excel do so because they love work, as opposed to just earning a paycheck. Donald Trump and other players have a passion for the deal.

3-Money isn't about education. It's about knowledge. Target training and advanced degrees for the end result of maximizing your value in the market.

4-Hard work doesn't equate to money. Leverage does. Tap your greatest strengths and pinpoint how to make them more salable.

5-Referrals create millionaires. Use success with one relationship to create 10 others just like it. Encourage a referral system to deliver opportunity upon opportunity.

6-Money is a tool that must constantly be re-used. Money is infinite. Accomplishing a financial milestone should immediately be followed by a re-investment plan to make more.

7-Logic, not emotion, guides wise investment decisions. Use panic-inspired market sell-offs to invest in companies and industry segments that likely are down only for the moment.

8-Rich people are better at keeping their money than the working class. They study and seek advice on protecting earnings from taxes. They know, for example, that a Roth IRA beats out a traditional one in the long run.

9-Appreciate the value of invisible wealth. Cars, clothes and status objects do not define wealth or success. Assets, strength of portfolio do.

10-We live in a culture of spectacle and instant gratification. Anything wort having takes time so start thinking long term instead of short term.