6% of wealthy say what’s on their mind vs. 69% of poor

[A.G]

Hello Fastlaners,

Yesterday while reading online about the habits of the wealthy, I came across a very interesting statistic that I wanted to discuss with other people.
An author named Thomas Corley did a research on the habits of the rich -vs- the poor. He documented the daily habits of 233 wealthy people and 128 poor people for five years. With this precious information, Corley created a list of 12 things that rich people do and poor people don't.

These statistics about the daily lifestyle habits of the wealthy are very interesting because they talk about lifestyle changes that could increase one's chance of becoming financially successful.

With that being said one stat in particular really intrigues me:

"6% of wealthy say what’s on their mind vs. 69% of poor"

I feel like this saying can have so many different explanations. I have a personal opinion about what this means but i'm very curious to know other people's opinions and discuss about this habit.

What do you think it means?
Why such a small percentage of the rich say what's on their mind?
How important is this habit on the road to becoming wealthy?
Examples of this habit in a real life context?

Thanks all!

A.G

link to the original article: http://www.theloop.ca/12-things-rich-people-do-that-poor-people-dont/

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[Ninjakid]

Depends on how you define, "saying what's on their mind." It's a pretty vague statement that really provides no conclusive data whatsoever.

 

[A.G]

Depends on how you define, "saying what's on their mind." It's a pretty vague statement that really provides no conclusive data whatsoever.

Well in your opinion, what do you think the author meant by that?

 

[Journey2Million$]

"6% of wealthy say what’s on their mind vs. 69% of poor"

I don't believe that. He must be saying it wrong or misinterpreting things.
This is the first time I've heard this assertion, and I've studied nearly all the success advice out there.

The average income of ENTJ's is the highest of all the personality types, and they regularly say very rude things to other people to their face. They definitely speak their mind.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[Mattie]

I would say what he means: Lower class people beat around the bush. They always fear saying something, because they worry about what people will say or think. They're more worried about fitting in and being obedient to authority. They may speak some truth, but they won't tell you how they really feel. They're basically people pleasers and may go along with what ever is happening. Co-dependent behavior. "I will get in trouble, beat, or feel pain and suffering if I speak how I really feel. It's easier to play safe, then set boundaries, think for themselves, and do their own thing. They may be more vulgar and say what's on their mind carelessly.

On the other end of the spectrum wealthy don't. Like someone said in here. Zero give a f. I don't believe wealthier people are stuck in their fears, so more confident, and more willing to say things. And they don't have to be rude. They know when it's appropriate and not appropriate to say certain things. They just know how to manage their emotions and feelings and don't allow them to get in the way as much as the lower class that react rather then responds. There's a lot of difference, so it makes sense a wealthier person would say what's on their mind, because they've done their personal development and always educates himself, learns, and is climbing the ladder to success.

 

[Choate]

I see what you did there OP. You say that the wealthy don't say what's on their mind, and then in some sort of sick twist, you refuse to say what's on your mind regarding the subject, therefore qualifying yourself as wealthy. Son of a ...... just kidding.

To me, this concept is best illustrated in books like the Book of Five Rings, Art of War, or 48 Laws of Power. Talking too much exposes you, your strategy, your goals etc. It serves no purpose other than giving others the ability to tear it apart and bring it down. It leaves you open for attack. Misery loves company. Avoid it all together by going on with life withholding information from others that they don't need to know. Not to be sneaky, but to protect your own best interests.

 

[Karen]

Interesting one. Very unintuitive conclusion.
Some random thoughts:
- restraint of opinion can be useful in certain situations.. in the sense of Dale Carnegie and the negative effects of criticism does give a clue to why it can be important to choose when and how to express opinions
- any form of self restraint, also concerning self expression, will require social calibration skills.. could be attributed to wealth
... I agree with your points Choate

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[DennisD]

What do you think it means?

The more you talk, the less you do

Something I shot last year... relevant.

This is the first time I've heard this assertion,

I hear it all the time, but maybe not in those exact words.

On another note, in a book titled Multipliers, I read that personality-driven type-A ENTJs run less successful companies (while making a higher individual wage) and that it's the low-key type B "Put your head down and quietly do the work" CEOs that have the most successful companies.

 

[James Fake]

I think this means..

Rich people talk less and do more... Poor people just sit around and talk all day about what they're "going to do".

Technically lol.. if you're working your a$$ off, your words per minute would be lower than that of someone not working doing time-wasting things like TV and social media.

AND.. if we count social media as a form of word count, then I would def say someone that is grinding hard af is posting and checking their stuff and commenting a lot less than an average slow laner.

 

[AntEmpire]

I think rich people are just more calculated about saying what's on their minds. This would make them seem less talkative when, in reality, their silence is speaking volumes on their behalf. I'm not rich, but I personally learn so much more when I listen rather than speak.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[Griff]

Honestly, I think this information is kind of pointless. There are more important things to worry about than matching up with every little behavior and habit that "wealthy people" partake in. What matters most is aligning with the BIG things/the most important things, like creating value, having courage, and seeing things through to the end. Whether you say what's on your mind or not is an insignificant detail in the grand scheme of entrepreneurship.

But with that said, I love a good challenge so I'll take a stab at what the statistic means. I think only 6% of the wealthy people say what's on their mind because they are too different from most of society. Most people are not wealthy and believe outside circumstances dictate their lives. Not to mention the fact that wealth is seen as evil these days. I can't even count how many times I've seen a movie or tv show that has the villain as the "greedy, evil, ceo" who cares about nothing but profit. It's considered morally reprehensible to desire wealth these days. So with that said, it's NO WONDER most wealthy people don't freely speak their minds. The rest of society would disagree strongly so, for the sake of peace, it's easier just to keep to yourself.

At least, this is how I feel. I am not wealthy yet but I am developing the mindset of a wealthy person. The more I study and take action, the more my mindset changes. With my mindset, I know it is only a matter of time before I become wealthy. This is why I'm always hesitant to speak my mind. The masses won't understand me. I am obsessed with personal growth. They, on the other hand, only care about instant gratification. Where I prefer to read a book that will teach me valuable lessons, they would rather get hammered every weekend to forget, if only for a brief moment, their sad excuse for life.

 

[Phones]

I could make an huge post,

but I'm not saying what's on my mind. Gotta improve those odds /lol

 

[MIA]

Hello Fastlaners,

Yesterday while reading online about the habits of the wealthy, I came across a very interesting statistic that I wanted to discuss with other people.
An author named Thomas Corley did a research on the habits of the rich -vs- the poor. He documented the daily habits of 233 wealthy people and 128 poor people for five years. With this precious information, Corley created a list of 12 things that rich people do and poor people don't.

These statistics about the daily lifestyle habits of the wealthy are very interesting because they talk about lifestyle changes that could increase one's chance of becoming financially successful.

With that being said one stat in particular really intrigues me:

"6% of wealthy say what’s on their mind vs. 69% of poor"

I feel like this saying can have so many different explanations. I have a personal opinion about what this means but i'm very curious to know other people's opinions and discuss about this habit.

What do you think it means?
Why such a small percentage of the rich say what's on their mind?
How important is this habit on the road to becoming wealthy?
Examples of this habit in a real life context?

Thanks all!

A.G

link to the original article: http://www.theloop.ca/12-things-rich-people-do-that-poor-people-dont/

My first impression is that having wealth in itself empowers you to say what's on your mind more often. Simply because there are fewer people who can influence your circumstances and thus fewer reprucussions should someone not like what you have to say. Id say that's one main motivator as to why so many people desire wealth. I assure you in the customer service oriented job I currently hold that speaking what's on my mind is not an option. And certainly not with any any regularity if I wish to stay employed. Which, ironically, I don't want to be employed but my employment is contingent upon the pay and thus; most poor (job having types) will shut the hell up and take your food orders or clean your house vs. wealthy (more likely to be self employed or asset owners) will be the ones expressing feedback on how satisfactory the job was done. And yet I know many people who are working poor that speak their mind freely usually because they're in a contract/tenor type situation but they are not wealthy. So just like having leanings toward pretension doesn't require wealth, speaking ones mind I don't think necessarily preceedes or encourages wealth either, I'd say it's more a byproduct of wealth and one of the many freedoms wealth can allow a person.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[GSF]

Profitable Self discipline

 

[Determined2012]

Because they'd rather be rich, not right.

 

[Determined2012]

I am obsessed with personal growth.

I am too.

I, as well, prefer to read books in my iPad opposed to getting drunk and being unproductive. I still love to have fun, when that time comes, but I don't choose to waste my time doing things that don't increase the odds of who I want to be as a person.

I also agree with what you say here:

"Most people are not wealthy and believe outside circumstances dictate their lives."

I can't stand people who think that everything that happens to them is always on account of something or someone else. I hate it so much, and it upsets me so much when these type of people are around me. All they do is blame others, people/things and never hold themselves accountable.
I don't understand where or how people came to the conclusion that everything else is to blame or be accountable for how THEIR life is. Like how does this narrative even comes to be? And they truly, honestly believe this. It baffles me.

I teach my children to always use self introspection first in their lives when trying to figure out how something went wrong. I teach them about the power of THEIR choices, and make them aware, that even as children they are making choices every day. I try to teach them now about forming good habits. I hope that I am preparing them to be high quality people, with high ethics and integrity.


If I can state 1 takeaway that changed my life for the better from the military it was them instilling in me the facts about personal accountability and personal responsibility. I'm very grateful and thankful for that. The military doesn't like excuses. They just want you to execute and get it done, there is no reason for excuses.

I posted your statement on my FB page, but I deleted the "are not wealthy" part because I know that would be received as very negative.

Rep for your post, because it resonated with me!

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[Durete]

Well, you can look at it at many ways.

My communication is very direct. and some people, especially from other cultures. cannot take that.
So even while I mean something on a good way, or just a suggestion, Some people always think that I'm criticizing them.(Especially Americans do, as they live in a "cocoon" with communication in compared to the rest of the world, political correctness is valued highly over there etc.)

So you could look it at this way: If you say what's on your mind, you might hurt the feelings of your business partner= they are less likely to do business with you as it jeopardizes the relationship.
And less business= less money.

 

[Myron van Yolo]

These statistics about the daily lifestyle habits of the wealthy are very interesting because they talk about lifestyle changes that could increase one's chance of becoming financially successful.

Increase? Did he study all the people who also have this habits but aren't wealthy? Is there causation here?

 

[Digamma]

Because they'd rather be rich, not right.

This. So many reasons to shut up, one could hardly list them all. Omit needless words.

Increase? Did he study all the people who also have this habits but aren't wealthy? Is there causation here?

I don't think there is any claim of statistical relevance with samples of just over 300 people. It's observations, I guess. But while there is no way to claim causation, it shows a pretty neat difference in certain habit trends. Nothing surprising, really, if one has ever looked at people in the real world.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[Formless]

I was reading 'Hooked' by Nir Eyal last night, one thing he mentioned in the book was about a study done where people were actually willing to pay money in order to have the right to voice their opinion, because to voice your opinion is to express yourself, and to express yourself to other people is to increase the chances of getting 'brownie points' with your 'tribe'.

I presume wealthy/successful people attach less of their self-worth to 'tribal recognition' and more to intrinsic motivation.

 

[Ninjakid]

Well in your opinion, what do you think the author meant by that?

I think what the author meant was that rich people are more likely to hide their authentic points of view/feelings.

I've seen other studies on socioeconomics that suggest that people from high SES tend to freely express themselves more than those of low SES. The reason is pretty obvious: people of low SES tend to hold low positions in companies and such, and go their whole lives being told (not always directly) that their opinion doesn't matter and they need to do what they're told. People of high SES on the other hand usually end up feeling like their opinion is all that matters and raise their kids with much the same attitude.

So I think either the researcher is wrong, or the author paraphrased a tad much and didn't effectively state the point.

 

[Esquire]

There is an expression among the old money blue bloods:

"Your name should appear in the newspaper three times: when you're born, when your married, and when your dead."

In other words ... far better to stay off the radar lest class envy lead to class revolt.

That's one reason reason why rich CEOs drive Fords and Buicks to work.

Best to fly below the radar unnoticed. Flaunting your wealth in front of your workers ... is a bad idea.

Another plausible theory is that those without power feel disenfranchised and are more likely to seek out (any) avenue to be heard.

Another theory is simply this ... the more you stand to lose ... the less likely you are to risk saying something that could ruin your career.

Lose your job at McDonalds ... no big deal. Lose your six figure salary at the office ... whole different ballgame.

I think the dynamic reverses itself (however) once you have acquired sufficient "F*ck you" money.

Until then ... you need to think about whether your comments will cost you customers.

These are (of course) mere generalities.

But I think they all make sense.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[Jamesdoesmith]

There is an expression among the old money blue bloods:

"Your name should appear in the newspaper three times: when you're born, when your married, and when your dead."

In other words ... far better to stay off the radar lest class envy lead to class revolt.

That's one reason reason why rich CEOs drive Fords and Buicks to work.

Best to fly below the radar unnoticed. Flaunting your wealth in front of your workers ... is a bad idea.

Another plausible theory is that those without power feel disenfranchised and are more likely to seek out (any) avenue to be heard.

Another theory is simply this ... the more you stand to lose ... the less likely you are to risk saying something that could ruin your career.

Lose your job at McDonalds ... no big deal. Lose your six figure salary at the office ... whole different ballgame.

I think the dynamic reverses itself (however) once you have acquired sufficient "F*ck you" money.

Until then ... you need to think about whether your comments will cost you customers.

These are (of course) mere generalities.

But I think they all make sense.

in the movie The Gambler John Goodman's character is giving a life lesson to Mark Wahlburg stating that when you have nothing, you can tell the world F*ck you, and when you have so much and are untouchable you can say F*ck you to the world. But at no time in between.

for sure NSFW but the message resonates. Great movie

 

[daivey]

I would say what he means: Lower class people beat around the bush. They always fear saying something, because they worry about what people will say or think. They're more worried about fitting in and being obedient to authority. They may speak some truth, but they won't tell you how they really feel. They're basically people pleasers and may go along with what ever is happening. Co-dependent behavior. "I will get in trouble, beat, or feel pain and suffering if I speak how I really feel. It's easier to play safe, then set boundaries, think for themselves, and do their own thing. They may be more vulgar and say what's on their mind carelessly.

On the other end of the spectrum wealthy don't. Like someone said in here. Zero give a f. I don't believe wealthier people are stuck in their fears, so more confident, and more willing to say things. And they don't have to be rude. They know when it's appropriate and not appropriate to say certain things. They just know how to manage their emotions and feelings and don't allow them to get in the way as much as the lower class that react rather then responds. There's a lot of difference, so it makes sense a wealthier person would say what's on their mind, because they've done their personal development and always educates himself, learns, and is climbing the ladder to success.

but thats not how the stat reads.

it reads "6% of wealthy say what’s on their mind vs. 69% of poor"

This means that out of 100 wealthy people, 6 will actually say what is on their mind... While with poor people, 69% will say whats on their mind.

What this means to me is that the poor will say the wrong thing at the wrong time. While far fewer wealthy will say the wrong thing at the wrong time.

 

[daivey]

Because they'd rather be rich, not right.

the only poster that seemed to get it.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[The Wall]

As much as I enjoyed reading that article I would just like to point out that as well know, correlation =/= causation so copying what the wealthy do won't necessarily make you wealthy and more the reason they have these habits is due to them having a different mindset.

 

[RHL]

Think as you like, but behave like others

or

Think what you want, but rarely say it out loud.

 

[liquidglass]

Because they'd rather be rich, not right.

This, right here. One of my favorite sayings.

My personal interpretation if it matters to anyone reading, is that wealthy people are calculative about what they say and how it's said. Poorer people will say whatever comes to mind as a mental 'knee jerk' reaction. Especially if it's scathing or they feel it will belittle the person they are at odds with, which, at least in their mind, makes them feel like a winner. Where as wealthy people still have the initial mental reaction but they keep it to themselves, calculate the best way to handle the situation, and then they handle it.

It's one of the many reasons Steve Jobs is seen as a business world enigma, it seemed he always said what was on his mind which was different from similar people in his position (eg: Bill Gates). But that also could have been an illusion because for everything he said I'm sure he had 10 other thoughts he didn't say.

I think it's not necessarily that they just don't speak it's that they speak in a way that will lead to the greatest benefit, which does mean reserving an opinion. Something poorer people have a harder time doing or just don't care to do.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[Digamma]

but thats not how the stat reads.

it reads "6% of wealthy say what’s on their mind vs. 69% of poor"

This means that out of 100 wealthy people, 6 will actually say what is on their mind... While with poor people, 69% will say whats on their mind.

What this means to me is that the poor will say the wrong thing at the wrong time. While far fewer wealthy will say the wrong thing at the wrong time.

That is exactly what it means, to "speak ones mind". Blabbering. There is no other possible interpretation. Only losers think that saying what you think is wise. That's why is common sense to congratulate people that do speak up. Common sense -> loser's thinking.

 

[brian951]

The way I interpret it is:

Rich people have a target audience "filter" when they talk as opposed to poor people who say whatever's on their mind to anybody and everybody. The rich understand that only select minority group of people are free of a broke-minded mentality so they don't share and talk about what they TRULY want to talk about because they know the majority can't connect with it. We can assume that all rich people have business strategies and tactics buzzing in their head all day everyday. Creating wealth is simple, but not easy so it takes a mind that is consumed in building wealth(a business).

if
wealthy = minority
and
wealth = (90% mindset)
and
mindset = (how you socialize)

If you go off of this logic, the quote is a given.