Chapter 1: Do you have a mind virus?
I am tired of the mind viruses that are crippling people living in the western world — especially in my own nation. Sadly, Australia is becoming known as a nation of whingers. But it’s not just evident in Australia — I see it in other countries as well. People want to change everything around them.
‘If only I could live in a better suburb!’ they say.
‘If only my children could attend a better school!’
And, ‘If only I could get a better paying job!’
Some of us want the economy to change. For some people there’s too much rain. For others there’s not enough rain. Some people don’t like the summer and others don’t like the winter. You can’t change the economy, you can’t change the weather and you can’t change the seasons.
The answer to your problems is not out there, it’s in your thinking; it’s in your mindset.
Do you drink straight from the bottle?
A young man by the name of Bruce came to the drug rehabilitation centre I was running a few years ago. Bruce used to drink lime cordial straight from the bottle. (Cordial is a very sweet drink concentrate that must be diluted with water before consuming.) One day he saw someone mixing water with lime cordial. ‘What are you doing?’ he challenged. ‘You’re a real tightwad!’
Many [mind viruses] are caught during our childhood.
Surprised, the man turned to Bruce and said, ‘Bruce, let me tell you something. You’re not supposed to drink cordial straight from the bottle.’
Bruce drank lime cordial straight from the bottle because he didn’t know any better. Many of us are like Bruce; we want a better life, we want to be prosperous, we want to improve our relationships, but we’re going about it the wrong way and we just don’t know any better!
What you don’t know will hurt you. You must deal with the mentality that cripples and sabotages your finances, your relationships and your prosperity. The first thing you’ve got to do is shift your mindset, and the next thing you’ve got to do is get rid of some of your mind viruses.
Mind viruses
Before I show you how to create a millionaire mindset, you must first examine your current attitudes to money and your own financial situation. You can’t change the way you think about money if you don’t understand the mind viruses that might be infecting you.
Mind viruses are reflected as attitudes and thought patterns that have quietly and unobtrusively entered your mind over the years. Many of them are caught during our childhood. When we’re young, we’re vulnerable and we absorb both good and bad mindsets because we don’t know any better.
Many of these viruses affect the way we think about money and success. If you catch these viruses, they limit your opportunities for success because they cause you to see everything as negative, as threats and as problems.
For example, for many of us, our reaction to bills shows we have a mind virus about bills. Don’t focus on your bills; instead, focus on your assets. Me? I love receiving bills! You may think I have a problem, but it’s true! Too many people shake in their boots when a bill arrives. If you’re one of those people, you need to shift your mindset. Do you know what bills mean to me? They mean that I am decreasing my liabilities and I am increasing my assets! Now there’s a real mindset shift!
Spotting the viruses
You can quickly recognise mind viruses in other people by the way they react to things, like the success of others. You can easily test whether someone has a mind virus by asking them questions. For instance, women could try this on their partner: next time you go shopping for a dress, ask your partner to go with you. When you see a really expensive dress, tell your husband or boyfriend, ‘I’ve chosen this one! Isn’t it nice!’ Then watch for his reaction, because what comes out of his mouth will reveal whether he has a mind virus. If he says, ‘Not that one! It’s too expensive!’ He has a mind virus.
You can also test whether your friends have mind viruses. Tell a friend about a CEO of a well-known corporation who recently resigned and was given a multimillion-dollar handout ... and wait for your friend’s response. Here’s how they may respond: ‘How could someone be paid so much money! Nobody’s worth that much!’
If you’re earning one million dollars and you’re making the company one billion dollars, your earnings are small change! What your friend is really saying is, ‘Why isn’t that me?’
Would you want someone who is paid $50 000 to be controlling your country’s investments? I don’t think so! Highly paid heads of corporations are paid according to the value they bring to the company. A poverty mindset declares, ‘Nobody’s worth that much!’ But a prosperous mindset says, ‘Yes, but they increased the company’s earnings this year a thousand-fold! They’re worth it!’
Here are more ways to uncover mind viruses. Talk to a colleague about how wealthy people seem to have better tax avoidance strategies ... Next time you are getting a haircut, talk about how so many celebrities end up divorced within a few short years ... Talk to your colleagues about network marketing ... Tell your parents you’re giving up your job to pursue your dream of becoming a musician in a rock band ... Take note of their reactions to see if you can spot any mind viruses.
Thirty examples of common mind viruses
Here are just 30 mind viruses I’ve spotted over the years — some of which you may have caught — and an example of a response from someone with a millionaire mindset:
Do you have any of these viruses? Chances are you do, and so do the people around you. But fear not! By the time you have finished reading this book, you will be free of them!
The results of mind viruses
Now, look at what happens when you let a mind virus affect your judgement. These people obviously had a virus, which meant they missed out on, or closed themselves off from, some pretty big opportunities:
There is no reason anyone would want a computer in their home!
— Kenneth Olsen, president, chairman and founder of Digital Equipment Corporation (1977).
Computers in the future may perhaps only weigh 1.5 tons.
— Popular Mechanics forecasting the development of computer technology (1949).
Man will never reach the moon, regardless of all the future scientific advances.
— Dr Lee De Forest, inventor of the vacuum tube and the father of radio (1967).
I have no political ambitions for myself or my children.
— Joseph P Kennedy (1936).
The horse is here to stay, but automobiles are only a passing novelty — a fad.
— The president of Michigan Savings Bank advising Horace H Rackham (Henry Ford’s lawyer) not to invest in the Ford Motor Company in 1903. Rackham ignored him and bought stock, which he later sold for $12.5 million.
Television won’t be able to hold onto any market it captures after the first six months. People will soon get tired of staring at a plywood box every night.
— Darryl F Zanuck, head of 20th Century Fox (1946).
I confess that in 1901 I said to my brother Orville that man would not fly for 50 years. Ever since, I have distrusted myself and avoided all predictions.
— Wilbur Wright, US aviation pioneer (1908).
What use could this company make of an electrical toy?
— Western Union president William Orton rejecting Alexander Graham Bell’s offer to sell his struggling telephone company to Western Union for $100 000 (1876).
Who the hell wants to hear actors talk?
— Harry M Warner of Warner Brothers Studios (1927).
The Aussie battler mind virus
One of the mind viruses that has pervaded Australian culture is the myth of the ‘Aussie battler’. I have to admit that this is one of my pet hates. The concept of the Aussie battler is nothing more than a negative mindset that keeps people suppressed and contained. It discourages entrep- reneurship and it is a misnomer. It shows a hand-out mentality. People with this mindset say, ‘People owe me. The government owes me. Big business owes me. My workplace owes me.’ Here’s some news: nobody owes you anything. Instead, you owe life. There is nothing proud about the ‘I’m a battler; I’m owed’ mentality.
When we look at any nation’s history, everyone who struggled, even though they may have failed, was honoured for their valour and their conduct in hard times. The ‘battler’ mindset — which, by the way, exists in many cultures outside Australia — wants to tear down that which succe...