What is Prosperity, if not your material wealth? While, of course, money is a piece of the puzzle, true Prosperity is a bit more specific. The kind of Prosperity we want to help others cultivate requires you to look internally. Because while Net Worth or income can reveal some insights, they don’t really explain whether someone is rich in opportunities, experiences, gratitude, or memories. The amount of money someone has does not always represent how much they can do with their money either. 

At Prosperity Thinkers, we aim to help you do more with what you have by building a stronger foundation. As a byproduct of that work, we hope to help you learn how to cultivate a mindset that supports your Prosperity journey and helps you combat “scarcity thinking.”

The Principles of Prosperity

To understand true Prosperity we believe that it’s important to begin with the 7 Principles of Prosperity, which can act as guidance in your decision-making. While these Principles are meant to guide your financial decisions, they can also help you with non-financial decision-making too! 

The 7 Principles are:

• Think (from a Prosperous Mindset)
• See (the big picture of your finances)
• Measure (your Opportunity Costs)
• Flow (by creating Cash Flow)
• Control (keep it, don’t relinquish it!)
• Move (your money THROUGH your assets, not just TO them)
• Multiply (your money by making it multitask)

When you learn to assess your major assets and subsequent financial decisions through these Principles, incredible things can happen. For example, you can always start with how you Think about things. Prosperity and abundance are first a state of mind: when you think and act as if things are possible for you, things tend to work out better than when you are doubtful and afraid. You don’t just have to apply this to money! 

How to Develop a Prosperity Mindset

The problem with creating a mindset of abundance is that it can be HARD to overcome your existing relationship with money. We all have preconceived notions about wealth and money, as well as beliefs we hold about ourselves and our journeys. We must work through these ideas and beliefs in order to get to a more positive space. 

If you’re on the journey to Prosperity, here are some tools that you can use to grow and cultivate a more positive mindset. 

1. Learn How to Go Against the Grain

The reality is, when you’re seeking Prosperity, you’re taking the road less traveled. In the United States, we refer to the wealthy as the 1% because that’s the ratio of people who actually have most of the wealth. To even get to that position requires that you know how to go against the grain and think differently about money. The 1% didn’t get where they are by doing the same things as everyone else. 

There are a multitude of ways to develop this kind of “Unbelievable Thinking,” and you can start by throwing out notions of failure and fear. So many of us are afraid of going against the grain because it feels uncertain. Yet when 99% of people are doing the same financial strategies with the same assets and NOT finding great success, isn’t that the more uncertain path? 

Studying unconventional financial wisdom, and developing faith in yourself can go a long way toward your journey to Prosperity, if you can let go of fear. How many times have you stopped yourself from pursuing your dreams because you felt you didn’t have what it took, or were unwilling to make sacrifices and take risks? Did the longing to do “something more” with your life ever go away? Don’t let this be you.

2. Know That Some Rules Are Breakable

You may know the story of Cliff Young, the marathon runner who broke records against all odds. What he did revolutionized marathons for runners everywhere, by proving that the impossible WAS possible. And he did this through slow and steady progress. 

Some rules are only “rules” because they’re all we know. Once upon a time, we also believed that a four-minute mile was impossible. Thanks to another runner, we now know this isn’t true. The lesson here is not to let limiting beliefs hold you back from doing things. 

The lesson within that is that you don’t have to make progress all at once. You can still win the race and defy the odds with slow and steady progress, like Cliff Young. When it comes to money, it doesn’t actually matter how much you make—only how much you keep. It’s irrelevant how much you gain—if you lose your temporary paper profits. And it doesn’t matter how fast you start—only how you finish.

3. Create Passive Income

Passive income is the income you earn in the background. When you create passive cash flow, you’re actually practicing one of the Principles of Prosperity. This is income that you can make without putting in consistent and intensive work. When you do this, you not only create more future opportunities for yourself, you also give yourself more time in your day. This is time that you can use to cultivate the life you want. Making memories with your family, taking long weekends, and spending time doing work you LOVE as opposed to work you have to do to survive. All of these elements are critical to the “richness” of your life beyond money. 

4. Take Control Where You Can

Prosperity is within your control, you must simply take charge. That’s the funny thing about control, you won’t have it if you don’t take it. When it comes to your personal life, taking control of your Mindset is key. That means you must first recognize that you are responsible for your own peace, joy, satisfaction and time. Even if life keeps throwing your curveballs you CAN’T control, you have the power to choose what happens next. This is the secret to success in life and work.

In your work environment, one of the best ways to regain a sense of control is to be your own boss. Being an entrepreneur or a business owner, at the core, is about creating more control in your life. When you are your own boss, and you call the shots in your business, you have the power to make your life what you wish. You can make more money if you want more money, or take more time to spend with your family if that’s what you wish. When you can control your circumstances to this degree, you are on the path to true time and money freedom.

If you’re not in a position to be your own boss (or even if you are), another way to take control of your circumstances is to hone your morning routine. Success experts like Tim Ferriss, Ben Hardy, and more conclude that one of the common denominators of the wealthy is a powerful morning routine. Cultivating your morning habits can set the tone for your day, and increase your productivity drastically.

5. Look at the Big Picture

On the subject of control, taking ownership of your financial actions is as simple as looking at the big picture and asking good questions. Many people work with a financial expert, and believe that they must relinquish some control. However, the person you go to should be able to set you up for Prosperity, not just sell you a product. Learning how to ask questions that provide you with more certainty can get you closer to Prosperity. For example, many people choose to focus on rates of return in their financial decisions. What they’re NOT asking is whether a bad market will make them lose money, or how they can have steady growth without losses. (Remember Cliff Young—slow and steady wins the race!)

The “big picture” when it comes to your money is that you’re going to want a lot of it, for as long as possible. If you focus solely on ROR, without considering protection or certainty, you’re taking a big gamble. Thinking about the greater context of your money, on a generational level even, puts you in an even better position in the long term. It also helps you to ask all the right questions when you’re choosing assets and buying products.

6. Be Grateful

Gratitude is the cornerstone of Prosperity. After all, it’s difficult to move beyond your circumstances if you are too bogged down by negativity.

In order to have real, lasting impact, however, you must up-level your gratitude. By this, we mean diving deep into the specifics of why you are grateful for something. When you understand your feelings of thankfulness, you can use those feelings to spur you into action. Appreciating your spouse, for example, can be deeper than just appreciation. Maybe they express certain qualities that set an example for the kind of qualities you would like to express yourself.

When you take gratitude and put it into action, you actively create more good in your life. Appreciating what you have is the first step to abundance. Using it to guide your actions is the next step!

You Are Your Greatest Tool for Prosperity

At the helm of your Prosperity journey is YOU. You’re the common denominator, and all of the potential for Prosperity is within you. Staying success-minded and geared for growth can go a long way. At the end of the day, Prosperity isn’t about how big your pile of money is. True Prosperity is about what you control, what you can use, and the richness of your experiences. In other words: can you do the things you want to do, and feel at peace? There’s no price tag on that.

If we can help you on your journey to Prosperity, we’d love to connect. We can help you buy whole life insurance that provides certainty, protection, and growth. If you have any questions, you can also email us directly at welcome@prosperitythinkers.com.