This 1 Question Is Holding You Back From Building Wealth, According to Ramit Sethi
Written by
Nicole Spector
Edited by
Molly Sullivan
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When it comes to building wealth, there is no shortage of external factors and circumstances that can get in our way. But we can get in our own way, too. Perhaps we self-sabotage or wait for opportunities to come to us instead of proactively seeking them. Or maybe we ask ourselves the wrong questions — or ask ourselves the right questions, but in the wrong ways.
Ramit Sethi, host of the Netflix series “How to Get Rich” and a self-made millionaire, recently sent out a newsletter to his subscribers in which he discussed a common question holding people back from building wealth. The question, which applies specifically to aspiring entrepreneurs, is, “Why would someone pay me?” Sethi wrote that he’s asked himself this same question, but argued that it must be reframed in order to not hold you back. Here’s what to do.
Know That Your Brain Can Work Against Your Best Interest
Each of us has made judgments, for better or worse, about the kind of person we are. Take Sethi’s examples of things you may say — things like, “I’m not a morning person” or “I’m no good with money.” You may mean to be expressing some degree of humbled self-awareness when you say these self-judgments aloud, but you’re actually just doing what your lizard brain wants you to do, which is to stay the same and not change because change is inherently scary.
“This isn’t humility and it’s not you being ‘realistic,'” Sethi wrote. “It’s your brain stopping you from doing what you want to do. And it’s costing you money, freedom and the life you say you want.”
So, by asking yourself, “Why would someone pay me?” you’re heavily suggesting that there’s no good, objective reason to pay you. Here’s where the reframing begins.
Turn Limiting Self-Judgments Into Inspired ‘What If?’ Questions
The key way to reframe is to go through those self-limiting, judgy statements and turn them into “what if” statements. So, if you’re thinking, “I’m not the kind of person who’s into networking,” you would think, “What if I were the type of person who was into networking?” Or if you’re thinking, “I’m a bad cook,” you would alter that to, “What if I learned how to be a great cook?” The idea here is to open up worlds that have, for who knows how long, been sealed shut from the prospect of growth.
“We all have something we’re really good at,” Sethi wrote. “Our friends might even say, ‘Wow, you should teach people that. You should write a column. You should even write a book.’ And what is our usual reaction? We’re like, ‘Oh, I don’t know about all that. I don’t write books.’
“But the truth is you don’t have to be an expert to make money. You just need to be a little further ahead than the people you are trying to help.”
Find That One Person Who Could Need What You Can Offer
When you’re beginning to think about starting your own wealth-building business, think of just one person who has a need that you, as an expert, can solve. This person, Sethi assured, will gladly pay you to solve this problem.
“It is possible to take what’s inside of you and share it with the world,” Sethi said. “And people will be happy to pay.”
Of course, in time, you will need more than one person in demand of your services, but for now, in the initial phase of thinking about what you have to offer the world in terms of services or products, this is enough.
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