Wealthy Mindset Series #21

Growth versus Zero-sum Game   

As you know, one of the most important keys to creating wealth is the right attitude. In Series #20 we spoke about how the wealthy network with other high net worth people in their philanthropy and develop business at the same time.

In this series today we will talk about how the wealthy recognize that wealth creation is NOT a zero-sum game.

In a zero-sum game what one person gains equals what someone else loses, so the net change in wealth is zero. An example would be in playing poker: The winner has the money that the other players lost, and the total amount of money on the table did not change, only who gained or lost the money.

Economies and creating wealth do not work that way. As your wealth grows it is not at the expense of others. As an example, when you purchase groceries, the money you spent is used to pay wages to someone else, and that person uses those wages to buy their groceries, and the cycle continues. For each dollar spent, it could be multiplied ten times or more in the economy.

I have been in workshops where a mini-economy is created by people who have various products or services for sale. We each buy and sell things and the flow of money expands. The size of the wealth pie is not fixed. It can grow, it can shrink, but your cut of the pie does not reduce another person’s cut of the wealth pie.

Wealthy people operate on the basis of an expanding economy where their wealth does not grow at the expense of others. It is not a zero-sum game, but an expansion and increased velocity of money flow.

This also touches on the difference between a scarcity money mindset versus a prosperity mindset, as though hoarding money helps it to grow. Are you operating from a scarcity mindset and acting as though you are playing in a zero-sum game? Are you helping others gain wealth?

In the next article of the series we will talk about how the wealthy focus on output or value versus input or effort.

To your prosperity,

Rennie