Thinking-Rich.com

Have you ever encountered a get-rich-quick opportunity that seemed almost good enough to be true? The kind that really catches your eye and attention and gets the wheels spinning in your head? I know I have and I admit, I’ve even tried one or two.

It wasn’t quick and I’m still not rich.

The problem is that we often think, “Dang, it’s only $749. What do I have to lose?”

Much more than $749.

Whatever the amount, the money represents more than mere dollars and cents. It’s an investment. And if you invest your money in the wrong thing, you’re gonna lose not only the original sum, but the amount the money could have brought you if you had invested in the right thing.

You’ve lost the chance to put that money to use furthering your education, buying some inventory you know you could have sold (maybe not so quickly) on eBay, or paying off some bill or relative that’s been weighing on you.

You also stand to lose some faith in yourself and in others. It’s not good for our self-esteem to find out we’ve been taken. This is such a serious matter that most people won’t ask for their money back no matter what the iron-clad guarantee promised, because they don’t want to be seen as a failure. I mean, the sales letter promised a 3-year-old could make millions on the system - but you couldn’t?

Ouch.

And losing faith in others sucks just as much. Don’t you want to be in a business where people are respected and trusted? Don’t you want your customers/clients/whatever to feel grateful they encountered you and what you had to offer? Do you really want to associate or be associated with rip-offs?

You also lose a dream - no matter how fleeting - of creating the life you want to live. Paying to have your hopes taken away is worse than trying something on your own and failing. If you “fail” while creating your own way to wealth, it only means you’ve learned what doesn’t work. You’ve gained knowledge, experience, and maybe even found what does work.

Winning doesn’t have to come with someone else losing. Every one of us who actually cares about creating value and improving other’s lives with what we offer are hurt by the image presented by these jerks. I think believing in the “essential goodness” of people is a much saner outlook than living in distrust and fear. The get-rich-quick scum chip away at that essential goodness with every dollar and dream they steal.

You can be rich, but if you can’t say you didn’t take advantage of others, you’ll never be truly wealthy.