Most people will never be rich. And according to the late Felix Dennis, there’s only a handful of reasons why.

For those of you who are on this journey, it’s helpful to practice inversion - to look at how you might fail so that you can avoid those pitfalls. Knowing how not to get rich helps you get there in the long run.

Let’s invert wealth creation to see why most people will never be rich.

You’re Scared to Fail in Public.

“If you are unwilling to fail, sometimes publicly, and even catastrophically, you stand very little chance of ever getting rich.” - Felix Dennis

This is number one and number eight on this list for a reason - it’s that important. Fear holds back the mass majority of people from ever trying to get rich.

And it’s not just fear of failing. It’s fear of failing in front of the people you love. It’s fear of the embarrassment you’d suffer if you have to go back home broken with your tail between your legs.

But, the reality is you fear a downside that doesn’t usually exist. And to get rich, you must master your fear of failure.

You Care About What Other People Think.

“If you care what the neighbors think, you will never get rich.” - Felix Dennis

To risk comfort for a chance at freedom takes a thick skin. People may snicker behind your back at your audacity to go after something as foolish as wealth. And they may be right.

But you can’t let other people define your life. They have their own path, and you have yours.

You Don’t Want To Worry Your Loved Ones.

“If you cannot bear the thought of causing worry to your family, spouse or lover while you plow a lonely, dangerous road rather than taking the safe option of a regular job, you will never get rich.” - Felix Dennis

The reality is most people don’t care what you do. And if they do, they will get it over it relatively quickly once your strike out on your own. At least, that was my experience.

It especially helps if your spouse or family is far more courageous than you. They then become allies in your journey, not obstacles.

You can never let other people’s anxieties influence your decisions. Instead, surround yourself with people braver than you.

You’re An Artist First.

“If you have artistic inclinations and fear that the search for wealth will coarsen such talents or degrade them, you will never get rich. (Because your fear, in this instance, is well justified.)” - Felix Dennis

You are either trying to get rich or not. You can’t let anything come in between you and your payday, especially your “art.”

If you’re not willing to sacrifice what you do for commercial gain, you’ll never get rich. And that’s okay! Becoming an artist that sticks to your truth is a noble and worthy path. It’s just not one that usually ends in riches.

There are exceptions, of course, but “commercial” is where the money is. And it’s where you must go.

You Don’t Like Hard Work.

“If you are not prepared to work longer hours than almost anyone you know, despite the jibes of colleagues and friends, you are unlikely to get rich.” - Felix Dennis

I built Wealest entirely in my spare time while working a full-time job. You have to want something bad enough that you make it happen no matter what.

Hard work is a component of wealth creation. More important, though, is what you choose to work on and who you work with. Then add hard work to kick up the four different kinds of luck.

You Don’t Think You Deserve It.

“If you cannot convince yourself that you are ‘good enough’ to be rich, you will never get rich.” - Felix Dennis

Most people want to be rich, but don’t believe they can actually do it. This cognitive dissonance usually ends with the person resenting wealth creation as a whole.

Here’s Naval Ravikant explaining this in his How To Get Rich podcast:

“Many people believe they can’t make it; so they don’t want any wealth creation to happen. They virtue signal by attacking the whole enterprise, saying, ‘Well, making money is evil. You shouldn’t do it.’”

If you think wealth creation is evil, or that you don’t “deserve” to have it happen to you, it’s a self-fulfilling prophecy. You’ll never get rich.

I used to think like this. But things changed once I started to see wealth creation as freedom of my time. And that’s something we all deserve.

You Can’t See It As A Game.

“If you cannot treat your quest to get rich as a game, you will never be rich.” - Felix Dennis

Getting money is a game, just let collecting coins and relics in a video game.

Once you can sustain your basic needs like food and shelter, everything above and beyond that should be treated with a playful sense of adventure. It’s not life or death. It’s just the game of money.

Here’s Naval again:

“It is a beautiful game that is worth playing ethically, rationally, morally, socially for the human race. It’s going to continue to make us all richer and richer, until we have massive wealth creation for anybody who wants it.”

Wealth creation is a positive sum game. This just means the total gains and losses in the “game” are greater than zero - hence the positive sum. No one wins at someone else’s expense because there are more resources left over for everyone after the game is played.

That’s why wealth creation is a game worth playing.

You’re Scared of Failure.

“If you cannot face up to your fear of failure, you will never be rich.” - Felix Dennis

We’re back to where we started. Fear of failure is why most people will never be rich. If you haven’t openly battled with your fear, you haven’t yet dealt with it.

If you want some ideas on where to start, check out my article on conquering fear. It will be the most important thing you ever do.

Here’s Felix one more time:

“After a lifetime of making money and observing better men and women than I fall by the wayside, I am convinced that fear of failing in the eyes of the world is the single biggest impediment to amassing wealth. Trust me on this.”

Master your fear of failure, and anything is possible.

Start now, and good luck.

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SOURCES

Dennis, Felix. How to Get Rich: One of the World's Greatest Entrepreneurs Shares His Secrets. Penguin Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.

Naval Ravikant: How To Get Rich: Every Episode