Getting rich isn’t about finding the perfect business model or learning some secret skill. It’s about rewiring how you think about money, time, and what you’re willing to sacrifice. Most people never get there because they’re too busy making “responsible” decisions that keep them exactly where they are.
Why Your Aspirational Hourly Rate Should Feel Delusional
You need to pick a number that sounds absolutely insane. $5,000 an hour. Maybe more. The point isn’t to magically start earning that tomorrow. It’s about forcing your brain to make different decisions.
When you buy something on Amazon for $50 and it arrives broken, what do you do? Most people spend an hour returning it, fighting with customer service, waiting for the replacement. But if you truly valued your time at $5,000 an hour, you’d just rebuy it and move on. That hour you saved? That’s where you build something that actually makes you wealthy.
Your brain literally rewires itself based on what you focus on. Every decision you make either moves you closer to that delusional hourly rate or keeps you stuck. The problem is that most people don’t even realize they’re valuing their time at minimum wage because they never stop to calculate it.
This isn’t about being wasteful. It’s about understanding opportunity cost in a way that actually changes your behavior. When you start thinking this way, you’ll notice problems you could solve that would make you $500 an hour. Then $1,000. Then more. But you’ll never see those opportunities if you’re focused on recovering $50.
The Obsession Nobody Wants to Admit
Everyone who’s actually gotten rich was obsessed with it. Not in some shallow, materialistic way. In the same way a professional athlete is obsessed with their sport. In the way a bodybuilder is obsessed with the gym.
You can’t get to the top 1% by casually working on your goals when it’s convenient. You need concentration of force. That means making getting rich your overwhelming priority until it becomes second nature. Until making money decisions requires as little thought as a basketball player shooting three-pointers.
Does this mean you stop living your life? No. But it does mean you stop pretending that going out every weekend and chasing dopamine hits is compatible with building serious wealth in your 20s or 30s. You have to choose. And most people choose comfort over obsession, then wonder why they’re not getting anywhere.
The beautiful part? This obsession doesn’t make your life worse. Athletes don’t hate their lives because they train every day. They love it because they’re pursuing mastery. The same applies to business. When you’re fully engaged in building something meaningful, you’re probably happier than the person scrolling social media to fill the void.
Create Pressure That Forces Growth
The best decisions I’ve made involved spending money I couldn’t really afford. Sounds irresponsible, right? But when I invested $1,500 in email marketing software while barely breaking even, something shifted. I had to learn copywriting. I had to figure out landing pages. I had to make it work because the money was already gone.
That pressure is everything. Most people only see money as a way to survive or buy nice things. They don’t see it as a tool to force themselves into a better version of who they are. When I moved into apartments that cost twice what I could afford, everyone thought I was making terrible decisions. What they didn’t understand is that I was creating a deadline. I was physically placing myself in the environment of my future self and trusting that I’d bridge the gap.
You need to give yourself no other option but to succeed. Not in some motivational poster way, but literally. Spend the money on the course. Buy the equipment. Hire the mentor. Create real stakes. Then watch how quickly you figure things out when failure means losing something that matters.
Stop Waiting for Perfect Clarity
You don’t need to know exactly which skill to learn or which business model to choose. You need to start the snowball. Pick something. Anything. It’ll probably fail. That’s fine. You’re not looking for the perfect first step. You’re building the habit of learning and building every single day.
Every day you delay because you’re “still researching” or “waiting for the right opportunity” is another day you’re not acquiring the skills and knowledge that actually create wealth. The first business is just a prototype. You test it, you learn, you correct, you try again.
With the right mindset (that delusional hourly rate), the right focus (obsessive concentration), and the right pressure (giving yourself no other option), you’d be shocked how fast things move. Not overnight. But way faster than the 40 year retirement plan society sold you.
So what are you really afraid of? Because it’s probably not failure. It’s probably that you’ll have to admit you’ve been undervaluing yourself this entire time. And once you know that, you can’t unknow it. You have to do something about it.
The question is: are you ready to?
If this post sparked a thought, shifted your mindset, or gave you something meaningful — don’t let it end here.
Buy me a coffee to power more of this work. Every cup helps me stay independent and keep delivering value.
Ready for next-level insights?
Upgrade your subscription and unlock exclusive content made just for committed readers like you.
