Is Wealth and Riches a choice?

If it was simply a matter of wanting it more than far more people would be rich.

There's also timing, aptitude, luck, personal circumstances, location, education, and health.

Billions of people are extremely hard workers who would do whatever they can within their power to get rich and they'll undoubtedly fall short because of many circumstances which can be considered beyond their control.

Also, wealth and riches really shouldn't be considered a mark of success. If your only goal is financial freedom then you should reevaluate your metrics for happiness because your net worth doesn't account for your personal happiness. If it is you're probably filling a void that you need to meet on a different level.

If anything lots of money brings an entirely foreign set of problems, most of which are unrelatable... Like feeling alienated by your family and old friends because of your financial status, dating with money when single, developing trust issues when creating new friends, dealing with wealth management on a daily basis, etc,etc...

Most Americans seem to have this preconceived notion that if they just work hard enough then they deserve to be "rich" and once they're rich they've won.

In my experience it attracts an entirely new set of problems than simply being able to afford things.

Careful about stating absolutes like "EVERY SINGLE PERSON," but I agree that anyone reading your post with the good fortune of having access to the internet can achieve "uber-success."

It's all about choice. Here's my favorite quote from The War of Art by Steven Pressfield:

"Those who will not govern themselves are condemned to find masters to govern over them."

I can choose to go after success myself, or I can choose to accept an hourly wage to go after it for someone else.

I think that being successful at IM is definitely a choice. Like you said, Kenster, some people will find it easier because of their circumstances etc. But ultimately I think it's possible for just about anyone to be successful.
　
　
Many people blame their lack of success on “circumstances.” They place the blame of not accomplishing their goals on something that they can't control. (To resolve themselves of taking the responsibility for their “failure.”)
　
　
However, something a person can always control is how they react to their circumstances and how they react to “failure.” As Brian Tracy put it: “You cannot control what happens to you, but you can control your attitude to what happens to you, and in that, you will be mastering change rather than allowing it to master you.”
　
　
I think for a person to understand¾and really believe¾that success is a choice and they can choose to be successful, they have to be in a certain “mind-space.” Here are a couple of tips from my experience for fostering this “mind-space.”
　
　
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I. Decide on a long-term goal. And write it down. For instance “I'm choosing to be a successful Entrepreneur who will accumulate $1 Million by the time I'm 35.”
　
　
II. Learn from “failure/setbacks/mistakes.” Instead of thinking it as something that holds you back, learn something from the experience that will make you more successful next time. For instance your first attempt at affiliate marketing may fail because you didn't target a specific niche.
　
　
III. Create a plan; something that's been proven to work for other people that you can follow to increase your chances of success. For beginners this can take some time because they have to understand all the various components of a successful IM business (affiliate marketing, SEO, article marketing, etc). However with time you will be able to have a plan to act upon.
　
　
IV. Take responsibility, as well as learning from, your “failures.” As W. Clement Stone said: “If you realise that you have created your current conditions, then you can un-create and re-create them at will.”
　
　
V. Choose something that you're passionate about. Instead of “chasing the money” choose a business venture that truly improves to lives of other people in some way. Something that you can be proud of and enjoy working on every day.
　
　
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Thanks for the OP Kenster. I look forward so seeing other people's perspectives on the subject. : )

Every comment here is simply an expression of our own personal belief systems.

There is no ultimate "truth" other than what we each individually decide.

Including this response too.

Something to take into consideration...

wanting is the start to achieve something. that's a first step to guide you serious and make your work done.
first you need to have a dream, then you set a goals, make it work, try the best and get the goals.
if you dont even want it, how come you even start it?

cheers

Very great comments and discussion here.

Success isn't defined as "wealth and riches", though I put that as a topic as "wealth and riches" is one aspect of "success" that many people focus on...particularly in industry.

With that said...

I should be more careful about using absolutes like EVERY SINGLE PERSON

With that said,

I STRONGLY believe that a vast majority of people have the ability to become wealthy and rich...and many types of success as well.

Well said all commentors here...wishing everybody more health, wealth and happiness!!

I like the part about "lucky choice trumps circumstance".

I agree this is possible due to consistent "positive choice" over time. Of course persistence is mandatory if a lucky outcome is to be realized. Nice post!

LLS

Money should never be the ULTIMATE goal and you should not base your success on it.

I will not do whatever it takes to get material success, although I will race beside others and try hard to pass them, I will not tackle them and step over them to get ahead, and believe it or not 99.99% of the time the guy that allows himself to be a dick to his competition also becomes a dick to the waitress, his friends, his dog, and family.

Thankfully I am already uber successful since I have a large group of family and friends that care about me, and that is the more important thing to me, I hope to add to that wealth throughout my life.

The people that will do ANYTHING for money end up alone, and unhappy, and that's just the type of hell they deserve.

Some people should double check their priorities in life.

On another note, it is my belief that turning $50 into $100 takes much more effort than 5 Billion into 10 Billion. The higher you go up the more the competition thins out. You can go from rags riches, but a homeless guy that actually was in filthy rags, and laying on the street, working himself into a position of buying a suit and car is a heck of a lot more impressive to me than some Harvard grad becoming a multi millionaire.

Attitude is part of choice.

Hey Kenster, nice post, very inspirational! I believe wealth is a result of a lifetime of compounding choices. It's also the result of a lot of trial and error and the willingness to keep getting back up and trying new things. After a while you grow numb to failure and you just keep pressing on. That state of continuous drive without any regard the obstacles that you mentioned breeds wealth. But not without creativity.

I think it is a choice because we choose to be on this forum. We choose to get out of bed each day and pursue this dream. We choose to follow this path with motivation on good days and without motivation on bad days. We even choose to not listen to our peers, even our loved ones in some cases when they tell us we can't do our passion.

Success is a choice. It comes with hard work and determination. There will always be setbacks in life, but you must keep moving forward and never give up! If you truly have a desire to be successful, and a willingness to work for it, the sky is the limit!

do you want both? because they are two different things.

Choice is very powerful if it is used in the right way.

I think we choose to be anything we want as long as we can stay focused on what we desire both good and bad. If we focus on bad things happening then that's what we get. If we choose not to focus on the bad but, keep our eye and mind on the good that's what we get as well.

If this is what you truly desire, this is what you will find. Many people have the ambition to be wealthy without having real desire.

circumstance can dictate the meaning of sucess to you ..

are people enjoying the circumstanses of their lives or are they syffering from the circumstances ..

the choice we have is to one by one change our circumstances to guide us into a life with better experiences ..

there are many people who make more money than we make but are misserable because they only make a million a year while those they surround themselves with make more ..and they try to live like they are making more .

divorcing the long term wife and getting a token young hot girlfirend ..

while there are other people who make 1000 or a bit more a month ..live on a tropical beach in a luxury furnished apartment..and have a hot girlfriend who is happy tp live with him because here standard of living jumps 30 fold .

unless you are in prison you are able to change many circumstances around you .. maybe not all at once .. but you caNn learn to cook tasty food better than you can get in a non high end eating place..

you can move somewhere you can do more outside ....

being able to earn your income from almost anywhere with an internet connect ..giv es you an unlimited choice over your circumstances .

right now i am taking care of my parents .. my mother may not live to much longer and my father has had 2 heart attacks in the last 2 and a half years .. and between taking care of them and a back injury that doesn't allow me to stand for too long i have made no money in the last 2 years ..

in the last six months or more like three i have done an intense identification of the circumstances that i need to change.. those i am able to right now i have been workding on.. and then there is the list of changes i need to make after my mom dies ..

the problem many people have is they move from one set of cirumstances that suck for them .. to a similar set of sucky circumstances ..

i will not do that again .. i have 35 years of experiences living in condition that where not right for me .. now to mov e into conditions that suit me ..

there have been some wise words spoken on here.

I think it is a choice. Most people choose not to do something about it because they're lazy but a few people choose not to do it because they think there is more to life than being rich and making money.

Everything we do is a choice whether its action or inaction, whether is positive or negative thinking at the end of the day you choose whether to be positive and go after success or negative and sit and wait and hope for it to happen either way is a choice its just one will bring more reward than the other

It absolutely is a choice.

That doesn't mean it is easy, or it is fast, or it is painless, but it is a choice.

Wealth and riches are not about a bank balance. Bank balances have absolutely no relevance to wealth or riches for one’s life.

Quite frankly I believe Success is a phenomenon which is rather active than it is Passive. So Yes my Friend It is a Decision you'd have to make at EVERY point of ur beautiful Life.

The journalist get paid more. Man can professional copywriter. It's true.

Success lies in DOING! Just ONE idea, ONE plan, ONE business is all you need to start building your profits. No one knows better than you what your desires are, what you like to do, what preparation, education and experience you have had. Whatever your motives are for seeking an independent business of your own, always remember you must be willing to pay a price for it — hard work!

If wealth and riches is foremost in your mind, never let it lead you astray from the fact that it can only be achieved by your willingness to put your all into the particular business you have in mind. This means that you MUST focus on that business and nothing else. Not giving it your all is like giving it nothing at all.

Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going.