3

Middle class believes hard work 

creates wealth… World class 

believes leverage creates wealth

I

f hard work was the secret to financial success, every construction 

worker and cocktail waitress would be rich. The wealthy strategi-

cally focus their efforts on the most profitable areas of their business 

while leveraging their contacts, credibility and resources to maximize 

the results of every action they take. World-class performers work 

hard, but not in the traditional sense. Hard work to the wealthy means 

out-thinking their competitors and leveraging the collective brain-

power of their advisors. The middle class sees hard work as a badge 

of honor. The world class sees success as a more important badge 

of honor. While one group is mentally and physically exhausted at 

the end of the day, the other is fresh and excited about thinking of 

new solutions and ideas that will keep the first group employed. As a 

result, the middle class lives paycheck to paycheck and the world class 

lives without limits. The only real difference lies in their approach and 

ability to use leverage in place of linear effort.

The average person is playing life's proverbial slot machine, while 

the wealthy own the slot machines. The beauty of living in a capi-

talistic society is that anyone in the middle class is free to make theSteve Siebold 21

necessary changes in their thinking to capitalize on the concept. Most 

people won't do it because they are either unaware of how they can 

think differently, or don't believe it's possible. Either way, the wealthy 

will continue to amass fortunes while the masses sit on the sidelines 

worrying about how to pay their bills.

"People with leverage have dominance over people with less 

leverage. In other words, just as humans gained advantages 

over animals by creating leveraged tools, similarly, humans 

who use these tools of leverage have more power over humans 

that do not. Saying it more simply, 'leverage is power'."

— Robert Kiyosaki

᏷ Rich Resource

Your Money & Your Brain: How The New Science Of Neuroeconomics 

Can Help Make You Rich by Jason Zweig

᏶ Critical Thinking Question:

What were taught about hard work when you were growing 

up?

ᏸ Action Step:

Make a decision to let go of any limiting beliefs you have about 

hard work, and start thinking about how you can use leverage 

to become more successful.

  How Rich People Think 22