Millionaires vs Broke People

There’s a famous book called Rich Dad Poor Dad which identifies the differences between what a rich dad and a poor dad teaches their child. Those teachings and perceptions of life are what make all the difference.

I was reminded of this book when I came across this graphic which compares the difference between what Millionaires do versus broke people.

millionaires-versus-broke-people

While this graphic isn’t 100% true, there is a truth in the difference in what people focus on with their time. I’ve been lucky to make a living as a full time blogger. It’s been great and a unique opportunity. Certainly, I wasn’t the first to start blogging. So, what’s the difference between me and others? Not much, but I’ve often said that if I had cable TV, then my blogs likely wouldn’t exist today. My point being that in order to become a successful blogger I had to focus on the right things and not get distracted by the many things that can easily distract us.

The same is true for any careers. It’s easy to be distracted by the latest ding or ping on our phone. I understand how tempting and enticing those things are. Hollywood is built on the back of producing something that’s hard to ignore. However, the most successful people learn how to ignore it and focus on the things that matter most.

That doesn’t mean you never indulge in a new movie, your favorite TV show or a sporting event. You can engage in those and still be successful. However, you have to find a balance between them all. The question you might want to ask yourself is whether these pleasures are a reasonable break from your focus or if they are so overwhelming that you’re not able to achieve what you need to in order to further your career.

About the author

John Lynn

John Lynn is the Founder of HealthcareScene.com, a network of leading Healthcare IT resources. The flagship blog, Healthcare IT Today, contains over 13,000 articles with over half of the articles written by John. These EMR and Healthcare IT related articles have been viewed over 20 million times.

John manages Healthcare IT Central, the leading career Health IT job board. He also organizes the first of its kind conference and community focused on healthcare marketing, Healthcare and IT Marketing Conference, and a healthcare IT conference, EXPO.health, focused on practical healthcare IT innovation. John is an advisor to multiple healthcare IT companies. John is highly involved in social media, and in addition to his blogs can be found on Twitter: @techguy.

4 Comments

  • Spot on John. I’ve never understood the fascination with and amount of time people spend on watching sports. (And TV too)

    I get the idea of balance and that there are always exceptions but I will say that the majority of people I know who are ‘totally in to sports’ don’t seem that ‘successful’ to me.

    Now I know this isn’t going to go over very well with some people. 🙂

  • It’s certainly a tough balance for me. I absolutely understand people’s fascination with TV and sports. I could do them all day every day. I love them. However, if I did, then I’d have to give other things like success in my business and/or career. Balance is the key to enjoy life, but also be successful in your career that opens up more opportunities for fun.

  • Great comparison and an excellent breakdown. I always say Hustle now (even if it means skipping the favorite TV shows) and Party later. They key, as you mentioned, is balance and may I humbly add, prioritization.

    “Change is inevitable, growth is optional… choose to grow daily”

  • Love that saying Jide. Reminds me of the famous quote from Dave Ramsay that says “Live now like no one else so that later you can live like no one else.” He applies it to your spending, but it applies to your investment in learning early on too. It pays off so you can “party” much better later.

    Thanks for the great extension Jide. Prioritization is important. Although, some people have some mixed up priorities and short range vision. So, they often need to adjust their priorities to change their behaviors.

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