There are several things you cannot control in life and most of them occur before you’re even born: 1) who your parents are, 2) your nationality, 3) your genetics and 4) the education you start with. Naturally, all four of these things have a large starting impact on your life. Being born with a billionaire parent vs. under the poverty line, dramatically changes your life. There are always ways to get out of these situations but there is no denying the truth. Being born with the “right” items out of the gate makes life significantly easier. There is good news however. Life is a rigged game so if you play the cards correctly and “hack the system” you’ll get out quite easily.
Since information is a commodity anyone can get rich even if they have bad results from the big “four”. You can still get access to the internet, read for free and get rich without stepping into a classroom. In fact, we have a clear outline for $1 million dollars in 10 years and this is written in less than 10 pages. In the past, information was not equal and it was possible to lie about the truth (the truth about how making money is done) and that is largely left to the foolish. In 2018, anyone who falls for get rich quick schemes is well below the bottom quartile of the intelligence spectrum. Even if someone falls into the bottom quartile, the logic and reasoning is publicly available to be seen and proven over and over again. Maybe the hot stove is touched once… But it is unlikely to continue unless there really is a sucker born every second (based on our experience, this is still true. A sucker is born every second, likely faster!). Jokes aside, the same sucker can learn from his mistakes if he really takes the time to read.
Money is the First Rigged Game
The first rigged game is certainly money and there is one big trap here. The trap? The personality destruction that comes with it. You’ll find that “most” rich people are boring as rocks. They are extremely conservative and simply worked hard all day long slaving away to make money. They are so conservative they don’t even think the 4% rule works and likely live at 35% of annual passive income “just in case”. These are the same people that exhibit large amounts of passive aggressive behavior, live with quiet desperation and just don’t see money as a tool (instead they view it as their actual worth).
If you avoid this trap, you can win the “money game” by simply feeding these individuals what they want to hear “that they are right”. If you have no talents at all, simply put yourself in a position to tell rich people they are smart. This will make you rich. If you do have talents, you can simply sell products that target insecurity. This is exactly why Ferrari’s and name brands exist. Since money is the *identity* of your typical rich person (he has little beyond this) selling to that identity will make you even richer than the most basic strategy of “telling them what they want to hear”. For those that are uninitiated: the typical answer for getting rich is to give people something they need. We just take it further. We already know the highest profitability lies with the rich and we also know they are insecure. So all you need to do is find a product that makes their life easier and make it seem prestigious. An obvious example would be Fiji Water. It is simply expensive water but is branded as prestigious. This is why you see them in all those high end hotels. Absolute non-sense, but a great business.
The difference between a want and a need is that the “need” part cannot be ignored. Frugal people have low “need” levels because they are laser focused on cutting costs. A rich person is the exact reverse. He doesn’t have to cut costs. This leaves you with only one option, which is targeting his or her *need* for approval. Rich people are just regular people on steroids. They believe they are better than everyone else (they believe this deeply) and simply hide the fact. There is no denying the truth though. They have an absolute *need* to be seen as better than other people. Sometimes it is materialism but for the most part it is attention.
Now that you know how the money game works we have given out the two most obvious ways to get rich: 1) You feed the need for attention or 2) you sell them a product that gives them more attention. That is really all there is to it. The second option takes a *LOT* more work and offers a *LOT* more financial gain. The first option is for people who really have minimal skills and just want to benefit off the hierarchy of life. Afterall, if the CEO of a multi-billion dollar company loves you, it is unlikely you’ll be fired within his firm even if you’re simply working in Human Resources handing out the paychecks.
Happiness is the Second Rigged Game
The second rigged game is being happy in general. From the first section you can see that there is a clear way to get rich without having any talents. Once you have this money, it does not guarantee you will be happy. Being happy is more inclusive: personal relationships, self-esteem etc. Fortunately, just like money there is a basic formula to being happy which is as follows: Don’t bother comparing yourself to anyone else and put all your effort into each day. That is really all there is.
You’d think the formula would be more complex but it isn’t. The problem is that most people can’t do either one. Comparing yourself to others is encouraged by practically everyone. You’ll get passive aggressive comments suggesting someone who is your age or younger is already more successful. You’ll get passive aggressive comments about being less important or “inferior” to older people as well. It is interesting because people who exhibit this behavior are not happy otherwise they wouldn’t waste their time with the comments in the first place! If someone is both happy and rich they don’t even bother, they are more interested in having a good day.
The second one is more psychological. Once you’re set financially, you may go through the classic drug and alcohol addiction cycle as becoming financially independent is the hardest hurdle to jump through in the game of life. After this you’ll find a balance in the stress spectrum. At the lowest end, if you do nothing, you’ll get bored. Flat out bored. On the other end, if you try to do too much, you’ll be stressed out again and defeat the purpose of beating the “money game” in the first place. We’ll leave it up to the reader on how to adjust when they get there, but we’ve found that working until “tired” and calling it a day is just enough. No more long nights, no more stress. The only time the far end of the stress spectrum is acceptable is when you know it is temporary in nature. Then you balance this out with an equal amount of time of relaxation. Remember, just because those digits go up doesn’t really mean much. Sure you may upgrade from a three bedroom to a four bedroom… but it’s definitely not going to compare to the original dopamine rush of being “done”.
Relationships is the Third Rigged Game
Eventually, you learn human psychology. If the general framework is learned, you’ll never have a problem with relationships. Well… Never is a strong word, but you can reduce the probability by a large amount (probably 90%). Relationships are no longer a topic of this blog, it hasn’t been for a couple of years since it should be figured out by late 20s (at minimum). Continuing to talk about “strategies” to meet people becomes ridiculous since you’ll end up attracting the people who like your personality if you move up the value chain enough. We haven’t met a single rich and lonely person who didn’t have some sort of personality disorder. Learning how to strategize is essentially a Bandaid on a gun shot wound. It will bleed out eventually so don’t bother.
How to win this rigged game? Quite simple. Never enter into a single relationship that you don’t think will last a lifetime. That is right. As soon as you see a single character flaw you have to leave. You’re essentially front-running the inevitable (which would be a parting of ways). It may take one day to figure this out or it may take three years. It does not matter. Once you realize the relationship isn’t going to work you should leave. We’re using the word relationship broadly because you can apply it to anything: people you hire, people you date, people you are friends with etc. This makes your real relationships extremely clear cut and dry when compared to your “acquaintances”.
How to manage acquaintances? Yet again change the expectations here. If you have an acquaintance for swimming, don’t expect them to be interested in your businesses or other hobbies if they are completely unrelated to his field of work. Generally, an acquaintance is someone who you have a single item in common with. There is no reason to expect more out of someone who only have one overlapping interest. This also allows acquaintances to come and go throughout your life without doing any sort of damage to your personal life. Yes it is terrible when your golf buddy leaves and you’re forced to find someone else but it’s not the end of the world. Sure beats hiring the same guy to your company for a role he wouldn’t succeed in and leaving on a negative note.
The last item: believe in incentives. No matter what, people are animals. If they are incentivized to do something and it increases over time… Don’t be surprised when it happens. This means you should not be surprised to see your closest relationships (not acquaintances) turn sour if they are put into a situation where they are incentivized to act poorly. People are capable of accomplishing practically anything. That said, it would be wise to incentivize them to align with your interests. Before asking for something, make sure everything is aligned otherwise you’ll be sorely disappointed long-term. This is naturally more of an art than science since everyone does favors here and there. The “tit-for-tat” is mentally noted no matter how close the person is.
Momentum is the Fourth Rigged Game
Physics applies to everything: Objects in motion stay in motion. Once you’ve established yourself, the key is simply moving in the “right direction”. We constantly laugh when people believe they will “officially retire”. Anyone who makes it to a few million dollars early in life, is ideally smart enough to realize he will get bored doing nothing. The key is simply maintaining “momentum”. This is a massively rigged game. If you have $5 million dollars, with just 4% return you’re looking at $200,000. This means your “money momentum” only requires you to spend under $200,000. Many people assume this means you should spend $200,000… That couldn’t be more wrong.
What this means is that your CASH FLOW is what determines what you spend in a year. We’ve said this many times but it continues to get mis-interpreted. Cash flow is more important than net worth because it determines your long-term net worth. Your net worth is going to go up and down a ton every single day. Anyone who is actually rich knows this and does not worry about the fluctuating digits in the air. If you have $5M and the portfolio tanks 10%… There is practically no way to offset this since that is a $500,000 decline in a single day. Instead you should look at your quarterly cash flows and decide if it was net positive or net negative. That is all that matters. If your cash flow coming in is always well above your cash spend you’re not going to go broke. Once this capital machine is up and running you’ll realize why rich people don’t “know” what they are worth. But they certainly know exactly how much cash flow came in last month or last quarter. If the passive income drops to say $100,000 for a year… It still isn’t a big deal. You simply hold onto those investments, spend under the total annual income for the year. No change. (Total annual income would be $100K + cash flow from your business). It bears repeating. Once the nest egg is made, the momentum game is yours to screw up! Practically impossible for any intelligent individual.
Importance is the Fifth Rigged Game
The final rigged game is this desire to be seen as important. Once we realize we’re just a spec on the earth and no one cares if we stay or leave, the ego takes a big step back. Attention is natural as humans do want interactions. That said, keep this level as low as possible. Much better to let people believe they are smarter than you and better than you unless there is a clear reason to show your cards. We’ve seen nothing but negative ramifications from being an attention monkey. Attention is certainly a way to make money… that said you don’t need the money anyway… so why bother? Just an ego stroke. Once basic way to avoid this pitfall is by avoiding brand names for as long as humanly possible. Since it is all but guaranteed you purchase a few fancy items in the future, limiting these items is key. There is a line between “doing this for me” and “doing this to impress others”. The second item in quotes always ends in tears.
Conclusion: These are the five rigged games. We’ve been blogging for about 6 years and yet we still get mis-interpretations of all of them. This is likely because there is too much marketing out there. While this is a publicly available article… We’re still going to invest heavily in brands (targeting insecurity), fast food (terrible for health) and insurances (related to fear, similar to those stock market going to zero articles). While we don’t believe in them ourselves, it doesn’t mean that they will fail. In fact, it means they will succeed since 99% won’t get through the first step! This is all good news for anyone reading this, they know exactly how to play the game… They know that people won’t change and therefore… they know how to take advantage of this rigged game.
For the newer readers… if you’re interested in learning more about making money, staying in shape and doing so without choking off your personality… You’ll probably like Efficiency, Get Rich Without Giving Up Your Life. The benefits include: 1) How to get into the top 10% physically with one hour a day of exercise; 2) How to eat correctly to be in the top 10%; 3) How to figure out what type of intelligence you have; 4) How to use this type of intelligence to choose a career and the *right* company: Wall Street, Technology or Sales; 5) How to start an online business and sell (the basics and all you need to start); 6) Clear outline of how to create and start an online product business with correct copywriting; 7) How to go into affiliate marketing if someone wants to take a stab at the competitive space; 8) Overview of how affiliate marketing operates and how to do it, 9) How to do all of this and maintain a normal social life (avoid choking off your personality). As a bonus you can read a success story by Clicking Here.
Wow, this post was truly amazing!
When you say: “If they are incentivized to do something and it increases over time…” do you imply that the incentive increases over time for the same behavior to continue?
P.S. After reading your post on luck a few times, I have stopped comparing myself to others for the past 9 months and it’s really liberating, thank you
Yes if you tell a dog to sit when there is a steak 5 seconds away… eventually he’ll get up and eat it.
People are no different we just have larger amounts of will power that break down over time.
Importance is a really interesting concept. I think one way to get rid of that feeling of importance is to have a negative life changing event (major health problem). Another more practical way is to practice an art that levels the playing field such as Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. Rich, poor, old or young, somebody on the mats can and will put you in a triangle.
Momentum should be rigged game #1. Money, people, happiness & importance (perceived at least) all follow once momentum is gained.
Everything is directional. When you’re moving in the right direction, all these things want a piece of the action.
Very true, should be another paragraph explaining they all interrelate
Not comparing yourself to others is very challenging, especially when it’s close friends & family. That definitely plays a key role in your happiness.
Good stuff guys!
Great post. Just when I needed it.
It’s easy for me to read a lot of your wise-ass tweets and say you guys are assholes, but this is god’s work, you guys are really good people for putting all this out there, and you literally have impacted my life in big ways, just wanted to say thanks
Kyle Jenner made $400M in a very short time period targeting insecurity. More than major beauty brands and corporations.
You might not like fame, but it sure makes things hell-of-alot easier.
You guys know that the new media is taking over.
If you’re not getting attention and fame as an individual on the internet… you have to target venture capitalists money.
If that isn’t an option, get ready to seek fame in order to sell *digital* insecurity products to the rich.
The first rule of marketing, faces attract attention. How else would you sell digital products without fame? I’ve been my whole life in the gaming industry and it sucks. Most kids can’t spend more than $50-$100.
I don’t see any other way other than the Tai Lopez way.
However, I’ll gladly have someone change my mind.
WSP going hard with the brutal truths of life.
I never really thought much about these sorts of things until I entered college to see how much of a disadvantage I had compared to kids who grew up in wealthier areas, truly shook the fuck out of me and gave me a lot of depressing nights.
It doesn’t just mean money alone, it means actually having decent classmates to be around as opposed to classmates on reduced lunch. The rich kids got to go on nice trips with their high school friends, join prestigious frats in college, build that network, and truly enjoy the “college experience”.
Always notice now how the kids who are truly enjoying the college experience and even high school are always the rich kids with wealthy parents that pay for their hobbies and social life. I still struggle with the fact that I missed out on so many life experiences at an early age because my parents weren’t rich and I didn’t have those social connections that come with growing up in middle class or wealthier households.
Then they tell you that friendships and all the social fun is supposed to end after college, well tough luck for those of us who are new money and grew up poor.
I am still in my 20s so I am naive, hoping that maybe some parts of life after college are fucking amazing and I am sleeping on them but man I wonder what can top the fun of a great college experience being spent at a party school and in a nice frat.
Worst part about it is most of these guys get ahead in life and get pretty good jobs after graduating too.
What gets me is the amount of catching up I am having to do socially compared to some guy who was in a nice frat in college.
What you’ll have, that the rich kids do not, is grit.
When you hardscrabble your way out of the dirt, it makes you a stronger, harder, smarter man.
Don’t ever long for the coddled lifestyle.
Get out there, and leverage your work ethic!
Hey man – Your comment is insightful but lacks the sort of authoritative voice needed to actually manifest the “catching up” you want to do. Lose the whole woe-is-me attitude. Can you control the fact that some people had the privilege of having fun while you had to grind? No, so don’t even think about it. Read some Stoicism to get the idea (Marcus Aurelius and Epictetus are good places to start). Honestly, you should be indifferent to their lives – if you play your cards right than hopefully your own kids will get to live that life! Just don’t spoil them!
So how do you solve the “socially catching up problem you speak of?” Well, WSP have said a couple of times that it is exponentially easier to “catch up” socially than it is financially. Once you’re an established, confident, and valuable man, a year or two of going out/joining a club/doing cool hobbies will be more than enough. And regarding relationships, “Don’t seek to be known, focus on making yourself a man worth knowing.” – Confucius.
Hope this helps – I was one of those “party school frat kids” my first year of university until I realized that that path of hedonism was unsustainable given my background, and that I didn’t deserve the right to live that sort of life until myself and my family are more than well off.
Cheers,
$Train
lol hang out with the rich kids and you’ll quickly realize how depressed the majority of them are (like most people) and unfulfilled they’ll be later in life.
Also that frat life, while it is a ton of money, is not by any means a pinnacle. I was lower middle class growing up, and enjoyed the frat life for a year. It’s fun, but lol dude there’s way more to life than those 2 hours of partying. The sense of community is great in a frat, but you can get that outside of the fraternity without having to hang out with a bunch of retards.
Just go make some mills, evolve yourself, and find a community. You’ll be 50x better off.
Sounded a little bit like Ray Dalio when talking about importance. How did you like his book?
Have not read it
Probably the best article you’ve written so far. Pretty much sums of the philosophy of this blog.
Thanks
cant agree more with the importance of cash flow! For years I have been focusing on increasing networth but just came to realize that passive income is key! Gradually shifting growth investing to dividend investing now!
How do you beat the rigged game of actually getting a job? i.e. primary income stream
The following applies to anytime you’re facing someone who holds your entire livelihood in your hands. (A doctor when you’re facing major health problems, a potential employer when you’re broke, your landlord when you can’t afford first and last somewhere else, etc.)
1. Say as little as possible. What little you do say, make sure it’s pleasant. People don’t remember what you said, they remember how you made them feel. You need this person to think you’re easygoing and low maintenance. You need their good opinion, or they aren’t giving you shit.
2. If there’s a bureaucracy involved (trying to get the classes you need to graduate college on time, HR department that you’re trying to get benefits from, etc.) just assume they’ll screw you over. It’s always easier for the clerk to not file the papers than it is to actually do the job. Expect that they’re going to fuck you over, and keep a paper trail so you can insist they follow up properly. If you show up, polite, with all the papers in order, it becomes impossible for the clerk to ignore you without losing their job. Show up in person every day if you have to. Make it impossible for them to say no to you.
3. If you hate someone, it’s because they have too much power over you. If you hate your boss, it’s because you don’t have a second income or a second job lined up. If you hate your landlord, it’s because you have no idea where you’re going to live if they screw you over. If you hate the people living with you, it’s because you can’t afford to live on your own yet. Every time you’re angry like that, channel it into a new job application/a new rental application/a hunt for something else, somewhere else.
4. Say yes to a really crummy job, then do whatever it takes to impress the boss until something measurably better is available. Don’t leave Burger Prince for McDorffle’s and think you’re moving up in life. (Seen that so many times.) Leave Burger Prince for a construction job that pays better. Use Burger Prince as a good reference. Every job has something good you can milk from it to help you get ahead. The key is to churn through them quickly until you get to where you’re going. A snapshot of your life now should be wildly different from a snapshot six months prior or six months after. Milk what you can from the situation and move on.
5. Do one thing each day that you will never have to do again, and that makes your life better in the long run. It can be a job app. It can be a paper for college. It can be a doctor’s appointment or selling your old car or working for cash under the table. Whatever. The day you “take a break” is the day you stagnate and die. Use today to prep for a better future, even an uncertain one. There’s never a sure bet “this will make my life better”. There’s only “well it can’t be worse than what I’ve got going on”.
great comment, hope you post more here
Absolutely do not stay quiet with your doctor. You are obviously not an adult with real life experience. Anyone who has ever dealt with a doctor knows to ask questions and second guess their every suggestion. They’re no different than plumbers, carpenters, any other trade. Most are garbage. If my.mother had been meek and quiet with the first worthless oncologist she had, she would have been dead in a year. Instead she lasted a decade.
Worthless run of the mill “advice”.
Agree with Jon; I think this is your best article.
I’ve only been reading a year but I’ve dug through the archives.
Interested in when you will be taking questions again: I have an above average length question that I wanted your commentary on rather than actionable advice.
I may have more in common with you than I initially thought.
Man…
I wait for the day when you guys go deep on the estoreic arts of game.
That is the real shit right there.
“Don’t bother comparing yourself to anyone else”
This is true, there are few quicker paths to unhappiness then comparing oneself to others and keeping score when it comes to money, material possessions, social stature etc. That said, if used strategically, comparison breeds competition, which can result in positive outcomes. It’s only if you let it consume you that you cross over to the dark side…
Quite a few people who achieve high degrees of success do so in part because of an intense competitive drive. This likely isn’t the only reason (or even the primary reason) someone succeeds as there are equally powerful and often overlapping motivations found in curiosity, the thrill of discovery, besting a previous milestone (internal competition), recognition by one’s peers or the public, the pleasurable experience from engaging in a particular activity and the byproducts of it (in the case of starting a business: wealth, influence, connections, “making a difference”) etc. But, if you look deep enough, you’d be hard pressed to find a high performing individual that is completely devoid of competitive drive, regardless of their field.
If it is used in a limited, controlled and constructive sense comparing yourself to and competing with others are tools that can assist you in reaching a satisfying place in life. Think about that feeling you get in a road race when you see the runner ahead of you and give yourself a little boost to overtake them or come out on stage and just light it up after witnessing the opening act do their thing. After the end of the race, football game, comedy performance, whatever are you still competing and comparing? No, or at least you shouldn’t be…
Its like using medication to reduce pain, a drink to lower inhibition, nitrous oxide to boost engine power or caffeine to increase concentration. Used sporadically in short, controlled doses, they temporarily increase performance at key moments without serious long term side effects. But like any performance enhancer, overuse and reliance will quickly lead to more harm than good. Competitiveness is no different.
Comparing and competing with other salesmen in your office to secure a top spot on the big board isn’t unhealthy as long as 1) When you lose (and many times you will) you don’t get bitter, instead you turn it into a learning experience 2) You keep things in perspective and don’t let competition with your coworkers spread to other areas of your life.
As this blog has stated in the past, 100 years from now you won’t be remembered, as long as you keep this big picture in mind, having some fun competing with others can be one of many tools used to keep you moving toward your ideal life.
You mention the 4% rule… I am wondering if someone has 5-10 million in the bank how that plays out, as passive income from dividends will not reach that, but perhaps with a combination of real estate. What do you think?
I’ve looked at your posts about passive income, and perhaps if you combined your cash flow from various passive income sources you can reach 4% return on your millions.
Thanks and keep up the good work.
Another amazing article gentlemen, thank you for your wise words man. I am going to do my best to put some of your thoughts into practice, I am sure the end result will be great.
Cheers!
Never enter into a single relationship that you don’t think will last a lifetime. That is right. As soon as you see a single character flaw you have to leave.
—> Most young men even rich ones with mills in the bank have a giant flaw in some way. Being too boring, going on drug binges, being too risky, or sucking at social skills in general. Why should someone kick someone else out for a character flaw when they themselves have one?
I know tons of millionaires in their 20s and we’re all off in some way. If someone is working to improve themselves and going up each year – it’s all good, I say keep them in your life if you like them. I know you guys are beasts, but I’ve yet to meet someone in their 20s who doesn’t have a major flaw besides 1 guy who is just a beast.
Unless you meant character flaw like being machiavellian towards friends or lying constantly to friends.
What sort of path did your 20’something millionaires take?
Tech with equity? Founders?
Marketers? From rich families?
Curious to hear more
Owning your own business
tech equity + affiliate marketing
I graduated undergrad 2017 and joined Facebook NY after college. Only people I know earning as much or more out of undergrad are all generally off in some respect (tho that just might be tech). Unlikely you’ll meet someone perfect.
That said, I’m very much trying to find people that are great at something *I want* to be great at, even if they’re not as successful in the other areas. It leads to a good exchange of ideas. e.g. someone who’s got the gift of the gab but needs some help with their careers (24 or younger, so time to fix it).
Genius.
This is just a general comment – I’ve been reading this site for the past 4 years, sporadically – originally thought you guys were just like pickup artists, but as I became more experienced and successful in business (and followed your advice) I learned basically 99% of what you say is true, and I’m sure as the month/years go on its going to be 100%
do y’all ever do meetups?
Treat your employer as any company would treat their rich clients…
Extract as much as possible while staying under the radar.
Thanks man. Solid.
To add on to the happiness section’s advice about not comparing yourself to others…
Bill Gates: “Don’t compare yourself with anyone in this world. If you do so, you are insulting yourself”
Wouldn’t be surprised if WallStreetPlayboys figured it out from Gates.
Who you’re parents are is critical.
They don’t necessary need to be wealthy but they have to be supportive in your endeavour. The worst is when you can’t see eye to eye, netting negative.
If they are cultivating an awful environment, unless you land a top tier career, its going to be tough to escape from them because of student debt + rising living cost.
Read this and got an idea.
Much appreciated.
You mentioned momentum but isn’t there another rigged game for leverage?