I have an idea why most people will not be rich

What do you need in order to be rich? Money? Network? Opportunity? Idea? Hard work? Determination?


How poor are we? I think most of us are poor in mindset. We think of ways to be poor, and don’t dare to do anything to be rich. A friend might ask, “This is a good business idea. Let’s invest xxx dollar into this business and work together.” Most of time the answer will be “I am afraid to loose my money. There are this problem and that problem, and what if there is an earthquake? What if we don’t have sales?” So let’s scrap the business idea and continue working our job. What does that prove? We have all the courage in this world to remain poor, and we don’t have the courage to be rich.

There is no single business idea which is 100% solid. Almost every business would require some investment, is whether we can fork out the money and can we afford to take the risk. Is Old town Kopitiam a solid franchise, and can we fork out RM 500,000 for it? If I take out RM 20,000 of investment, how much can I earned back and how long would it take? Is the brand name reputable, or is the product in demand? Does our product provide value, and do people actually need it? All these are valid questions and concerns, where everyone should ask before venturing into the business.

What if you are satisfied with most the answers and let’s say, and you believe the idea is pretty good and the returns are attractive. What happens now? Will you start the business?

Will you start the business? I think 90% of the people still would not join. Why? Refuse to take risk to start a business, or have no confident that they really can do it. Sales and Marketing, we have to admit most business requires good sales and marketing. What if you do not like to do Sales and Marketing? Does it mean it is very unlikely you will start a business? Even a techie like Bill Gates still have to strike deals with IBM and other partners to make the business a success.

What are the main reasons why we refuse to participate in business? Because we want 99.99% security and refuse to do sales related stuff, and have no confident in ourselves. What does that tell us? We do not have the mindset of a business man; we have been trained and conditioned to take a salary and continue running in the rat race. We don’t know how to operate if we don’t work for others.

Since most people won’t start a business outside their rat race, thus most people have a lesser chance to be rich. Is it a problem of money, network, opportunity, idea, hard work or determination? Not yet. We kill ourselves within our own mind. You fail to give yourself an opportunity to be rich; to live your dream and take control of your life, and to gain freedom. You choose instead to whine against the job, bosses and colleagues.

Who will actually stop you from being rich? You?

Another Turning Point in Life

The past one month is the most hectic and anxious transition time that I could recall, because I had made a life changing decision to move out of my comfort zone and try something new again.


There had been so many cycles of changes in my life, from part-time working in college to starting a business with partners, and to fulltime freelancing. There had been definitely a lot of challenges and worries, at the same time proud of painting such a colorful experience. It might be difficult during the transition of change, but looking back it’s not that bad after all.

I thought I had gone through a lot and achieved quite a bit, and again I had realized I am still a frog within a well lately. I might have explored a bigger area within the well, and I though the well is the world which I could have; at least I didn’t dream of jumping out of the well.

Change (or revolution) is never easy, but it’s required for progress. If we didn’t make a change, that means we are not improving. We might work for the past 10 years, or are we repeating the same year 10 times. What did we learned or what did we achieved? Does the past 10 years looks and feels the same, or it’s a new and memorable every year?

I realized again that I am too relaxed in my comfort zone, which makes me happy and worries at the same time. I realized I am progressing too slowly, and the world around me is walking to fast. No matter how bad I think I am, there will always be people who are worst than me; no matter how good I think I am, there will always be someone better. Why compare? I am not trying to beat Bill Gates or Warren Buffets, but to achieve and be someone I am happy with: someone with freedom and dream.

Once the frog realized and felt the world beyond the well, then it is not easy to remain within the well anymore. I realized that is so much I can do which I didn’t try or refuse to do; and so much of my life which could be better, once I change my mindset, perception and methods.

The goal and dream of life never changed, just that I found the path to achieve it. I can choose to take the chicken exit, or take the challenge and reach the top. In life and as in hiking, it’s just a mind game. As long as I continue walking no matter how tired I am, I know I’ll reach my destination one way or another, sooner or later.

In the meanwhile, I need to learn and get all the support I can get. Once I realised the speed and achievement other are making, I realised that I can't afford to be comfortable anymore; else I could not be comfortable in the future.