Rich People vs Poor People
This time of the year is a time for reflection! Especially in this household, and that's what my wife and I were sharing with our family earlier this evening around the dinner table.
We shared the story of an adventure we can during a Canadian 'Boxing Day Sale' about 6 years ago or so. For those not familiar with Boxing Day, it's a holiday here in Canada that is basically like American Black Friday. Stores open super early on December 26th, and the best prices you'll find all year long as on display.
My wife and I decided it was time for a 'extra large TV' set, and we started the hunt for the best Boxing Day deals out there. On Christmas evening, we decided that we'd brave a local Best Buy at 6am the next day, when their doors opened. The mission....
To grab a 75 inch TV at a massive discount!
6 years later, the TV is still here in the home, but ask me how many times I actually turn it on?
What's the point of this story?
The story this evening began when I quoted a popular personal development saying. I think it might have been Brian Tracy who said it or maybe even Jim Rohn, but the message when something like this...
"Poor people have big TVs and rich people have big personal libraries!"
What's interesting in thinking about this quote, is around 5-6 years ago my life took a major 180. Up until then, I really never watched TV and had a little hobby that took up most of my time....
Building my personal library!
And I'm not saying, my life went downhill after I bought that big TV lol Far from it, I've been extremely blessed with 2 new healthy children, my health and a loving wife. But my 'obsession' with growing my personal library really did take a back seat.
Obviously, I had a brand new family to think about, plus combine that with I've been in survival mode for most of those years lol. But the 'mindset' changed, and I can't deny it. I went from thinking about personal development and growth all the time, to putting it on the back burner.
Personal development is a commitment!
It's got to be intentional because at the end of the day, there's no 'boss' or professor over your shoulder telling you to keep your nose into the books! It's it's meant to be, it's up to me (I think that's how that saying goes lol)
And as the new year approaches, there's going to be a lot of resolutions that will be written down. And I'm making a commitment today, not just writing it down, but following through...On continuing my goals of:
Focusing on personal growth
Continuing to build my personal library
The latter is very important to me and I want to end this little 'resolution' with why....
I want my children, to have all these books when I pass on. I want them to fall in love with reading like I did. It's one of my most important assets and I truly believe it will help them on their journey through life in one way or another.
So yeah....
Poor people have big TVs. Rich people have big personal libraries...
I guess....
To me, it all depends on how you define rich. I don't consider 'rich' a monetary number attached to your bank account. I think I'm the richest guy on the planet because I have my health, my family and my love of reading that I hope to pass down to my kids so they fall in love with personal growth and development like I did!
i need to read more for sure! Is there a book that you recommend to start my personal library?
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Depends on the niche and what you want to focus on.
For marketing - Purple Cow by Seth Godin
For leadership - Winning With People by John Maxwell
General life lessons - The Book of Proverbs
But again, totally depends on what your focus is :)
!CTP
thank you for the options i appreciate it. think ill check out Winning With People first.
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You've got a wonderful outlook on what's important to you, and I hope that you're able to live up to your own expectations and find happiness in fulfilling your goals. Your children will be grateful as well.😊
On a slightly related note, I would support renaming "Black Friday" to "Boxing Day" because it's not very far from the truth! 😂 People in the States go berserk on Black Friday and a small number of people actually die from injuries every year.
ha ha ha ha Very true! And it was even worse 5 years ago or so. People literally, fighting over a new TV lol
!CTP
A very noble ideal, sir.
You are really leaving something that will be a treasure for your next generation.
Instead of leaving fish in their freezer, they can empty the freezer in seconds. If you give them the tools and knowledge to fish, they will be able to find fish for themselves in their lives.
Best of luck to you and your children.
Thanks for the comments! I mean, I hope to leave them much more :) But I think a love of learning is so important. I hope I leave them with that!
!CTP
This is so true, poor people buy liability whereas rich people buy assets.
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Absolutely! And when you get the money making assets for positive cash flow, you are winning!
!CTP
I take your point, at least as a door into self-reflection. Not sure who came up with your quote but it is a part of the trend of observing different investments of time, attention, energy, and money that different people make. I'm pretty sympathetic to the view, I admit, because it has a kernel of truth to it, but outside of that kernel there is a lot of glorifying people who make it rich regardless of how they earned it (Hi SBF!) and blaming people who struggle no matter how firmly the system is stacked against them. I very much appreciate that your post didn't pile on with that dynamic at all! And i also appreciate so much, especially in crypto where pump moon and lambo is so much of the culture, that you focus on what matters in making a wealthy life, and it is not only money.
Now I'm going to watch 2 more hours of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia haha!
Peace and blessings!
!CTP
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Yeah, I think it always comes down to choice. We can choose to spend our time behind a TV screen and watch re-runs of Seinfeld. Or we can learn something to try to get better each and every day. Doesn't matter if we have millions in the bank, or 2 bucks...It's all mindset.
!CTP
There are definitely more important things than money :) What kind of books do you prefer??? Other than personal growth of course :)
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Leadership, entrepreneurship and faith are my preferred topics these days :)
!CTP
There are definitely more important things than money :) What kind of books do you prefer??? Other than personal growth of course :)
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My goal is a book a week in 2023. I can read or listen.
I think I can do it this year. I hope to ready at least 1/3 of those. listen to the other 2/3rds.
I used to be on that pace...A book a week, and then it got down to about a book a month lol Need to step up lol
!CTP
I love Brian's books. Very good points about wealth. It is more than a measure of your material possessions. Happy Boxing Day Jon.
Change Your Thinking, Change Your Life....One of the best books I've ever read and it's a Brian Tracy one too lol
!CTP
In this life, that is why we have different personalities because we all have what is really important to us and I am glad setting up your library is one of your personal growth. It is really making a lot of sense
Nothing more important than making sure our kids are set for the future in my opinion :)
!CTP
Poor people have big TV, Rich people have big libraries and Geeks have Wide angle Monitors lol.
I fall into geek category, too many windows, wide screen, too much attention across multiple windows, lot of things going on. I think 2023 would be the year for me to reduce distraction and do fewer things and do them great. I am also going strong on hive with time. So I think I need to make a habit of writing - what I learned from specific book in my reviews. I guess i need to regularly post such book reviews on CTP community :)
No matter what's the medium, as long as we are learning everyday :)
!CTP
I don't really read books much anymore. If I have time for something like that, I tend to just go read some blog posts and blogs from taskmaster fit that quite a bit. Sometimes I wonder if physical books will go out of date and digital books or stuff like that is what is to stay in the future.
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Depends on the topic. A book about tech will go out of date pretty quickly. But a book about leadership, faith and self improvement, stands the test of time.
!CTP
Reading a book is good habits .You have made a very good point that rich people have libraries while poor people have their time for watching. Man can become successful in the world only by writing
Soaking up good information and learning every day...Is a habit to never let die.
!CTP
You have to be clear about what is really important in life and this time is a good time to reflect on it.
Absolutely! When you have that focus, your world opens up!
!CTP
Its my personal opinion money is nothing but we can't survive without money in this world. I read many interesting books in my like. Your collection is great and valuable. We can have only one thing, respect and love, nothing more than that.
Just make me comfortable and I'll deal with it. I dont need all the money in the world, just enough to make sure my family is safe.
!CTP
I think everyone comes to that realization at some point, one has to put in the effort or create time for growth. But it first has to matter to the person. Mine came from a paradigm shift I had a couple of years ago. If I didn't make a 180 turn, I would have fallen into an abyss. It was a necessary change.
Completely hear you! And it's crazy what happens, but it's a switch that just goes off in our minds. Once it's turned on, no turning back!
!CTP
Exactly, you never feel comfortable going your old ways. Sometimes you even wonder whether you were a zombie before that lol.
said the guy who studied film.
I don't have a TV though, I have a movie projector haha.
And yes, I love books
but I also have an E-reader since 4 years or so.
I still read plenty of actual tangible books too though.
And I listen to loads of podcasts ;<)
Nice write up!
Oh for sure, I'm a podcast addict as well lol
!CTP
I remember hearing that back in the books on tape days from Jim Rohn.
https://www.azquotes.com/quote/485631
"Poor people have big TV's. Rich people have big libraries."
I believe Jim Rohn's quote was a shorter derivative of the famous Zig Ziglar quote.
https://www.azquotes.com/quote/365735
"Rich people have small TVs and big libraries, and poor people have small libraries and big TVs."
All good things to consider as we enhance and expand our personal lives an by extension those around us both locally and globally.
Good food for thought as we round out the year and prepare to begin anew @jongolson!
Without a doubt it is vital to keep learning and educating ourselves. We have so many tools available to us.
Hive is like a personal learning tool.
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Thanks for using Veews man! Appreciate it and it looks good in comments!!! lol
!CTP
I agree. Today big TVs are great for learning. I spend lots of time in front of a screen watching news, documentaries and videos. The funny part is the brunt of my library in terms of books is all digital. I just counted 300 personal books I own on Amazon Kindle. Not to mention the other digital platforms. So I think it's hard to pin down the idea of library today. I worry that my kids won't see all the books I have and that serendipity of finding interesting reads will be lost. Different days.
You have just unveil the truth here. Personally, i don't fans tv but always focus in learning something. Being rich does not call for the figures attached to your bank account but having a rich mindset. Thank you for sharing such a valuable content. I really found value here.
Glad to hear you found it useful, thanks for stopping by my blog!
!CTP
Thank you @jongolson