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Poor People And Rich People Have A Vastly Different Outlook On Fate
Do you believe in fate?
No, this isn't an online dating questionnaire, but your answer might be able to tell you something about your approach to money.
Overwhelmingly, rich people view this kind of inevitability in the same way: They don't buy it.
Thomas Corley, the author of "Rich Habits: The Daily Success Habits Of Wealthy Individuals," spent five years studying the lives of both rich people (defined as having an annual income of $160,000 or more and a liquid net worth of $3.2 million or more) and poor people (defined as having an annual income of $35,000 or less and a liquid net worth of $5,000 or less).
In his research, Corley asked both groups whether they believe in fate. An astounding 90% of poor people did, while only 10% of rich people agreed.
This gap is in line with many of Corley's findings. For instance, the rich people he interviewed were more likely to believe they were the cause of their own financial status in life and significantly less likely to believe that wealth was accidental.
Notably, many of people in this study were self-made millionaires (51% were business owners).
"I realized that there are two schools of thought in the U.S. battling each other," Corley says. "One is: 'Circumstances dictate our position in life; I'm not responsible.' The other school of thought is the one the wealthy people had: 'I am the cause of my long-term financial circumstances.'"
"The American Dream is the idea that you can make it on your own," he continues. "I think that the risk that we face right now is that these generations, X and Y, think that the American Dream is about getting as much as you can from whatever source — not about making it on your own and creating your own success in life."
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