The biggest lie that you believed for most of your life?

[H. Palmer]

Biggest lie: "Knowledge is power".

Reality: "Relevant and applied knowledge is power".

 

[IceCreamKid]

"Getting rich takes too much sacrifice."-My Father

Bro, you know what's a sacrifice to me?

• going to work scared because you might get laid off
• waking up in a bad mood because you know you have to get stuck in rush hour traffic to get to the cubicle which you hate so much
• going home in a bad mood because your boss secretly hates you and won't give you that raise you totally deserve
• handing your financial future to a plan of hope: hope my 401k doesn't drop, hope my house doesn't lose its value, hope my boss doesn't fire me. So much stress comes from having a lack of control over your destiny.
  
• feeling like shit because you didn't pursue your dreams
• giving 30 years of your life to a company, only to have them outsource your job to China
• not having the freedom to spend quality time with those you love because you spend 60-80 hours at a job you hate. I live in the Bay Area where 40 hours a week would be a dream for many. The standard here is 45-80 hours.

Don't get me wrong, you have to work your a$$ off to build a business, but to me that's a small sacrifice to pay compared to what the 9-5ers have to pay.

 

[Allan Black]

Family says: "Do what you love!"
18 yr old idiot me says: "Ok! I'm going to college to learn cooking! Because I love eating!"
Family says: "yay, my son/nephew/grandson/brother is going to school!"
(Loves food)
Gone to college for 2 years for culinary arts, and took a part time job at another restaurant.
Halfway through college, felt something very wrong, getting bored.
18 yr ol retarded me says: "but this is the only way, can't disappoint my fam!"
(likes food)
graduation came, Family says: "yay! congratulation!"
20 yr ol disoriented me fakes a smile, thinks: This is bullshit
graduated from college with a culinary arts diploma, got a second job at a restaurant
(Hates food)
Family says: "keep going! live your dream! continue to do what you love!"
21 yr ol perplexed me says: "why?"
Family says: "because everyone else is doing it"
21 yr ol frustrated me says: "Whatever"
(Don't care for food)
quits jobs at restaurants
(Reads The millionaire fastlane )
Puzzled Family says:"What are you doing? Why did you quit your jobs? What about your future as a Head Chef?"
23 yr ol me says: you will never understand.

The End

 

[SteveO]

I am a big believer in positive thinking.

The world that we live in has always been one of opinions, ideas, and challenges. We form our perception by what we live and experience. Our perception IS how we view the world.

People are not trying to tell us lies. So, they are not lies. They are someone else telling us about how they view the world.

If we try and tell the rest of the world about our perception, it is not accepted very well. It will be perceived as bullshit.

We are fortunate that we think differently about how the financial world works. But, we should not look down at others that give us advice that does not fit into our reality. Those people are not trying to mislead us. They are not dumb. They have a different perspective of the world is all.

You can be dirt poor and live a fulfilling and satisfying life. You can be filthy rich and live a horrible existence.

These are not lies. They are other people's truths.

 

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[Andy Black]

No one particular lie that I can pinpoint, but whatever it is that has parents believe the best they can do for their kids is to put them through the grinder so they come out the other end an obedient employee ready for the factory and a lifetime of debt.

Everything that thumps the best out of kids (natural curiosity, delight at the world around them, do without thinking) and turns them into model workers imprisioned in an invisible jail of procrastination and perfectionism.



Go on any local enterprise office "start your own business" course and you'll be given a huge list of BS from government employees who (bless 'em) have no way of knowing better.

You need funding.

You need a business plan.

You need customer avatars.

You need a USP.

You need a logo.

You need a website.

You need SMART goals.

You need, you need, you need.

Argh!!!

Does the lad at your door asking if you need your grass cut need any of that? Or did he just do it?

The invisible chains of over-thinking and over-complicating - created by well-intentioned parents, teachers, and advisors, and passed on dutifully as the right way to do things.

"Measure twice, cut once" versus JFDI already.



The biggest lies are those that keep people as consumers, sacrificing their dreams for two weeks on the beach, all the while oblivious they're being slowly bled in shark infested waters.



Elephants are trained to stay within a 5m radius of the post by a rope around their ankles. Eventually they stay even when the rope is removed.

Similarly, the biggest lie to the crabs is that they're in a bucket, when they were free all along.

 

[MJ DeMarco]

There's no such thing as get rich quick.

or

Get rich quick is a scam.
(If that was true, then under-30 millionaires and under 40-billionaires wouldn't exist.)

 

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[MJ DeMarco]

Money doesn't matter, lol.

 

[MidwestLandlord]

I'm a huge fan that the "biggest lies" we ingest came from our childhood upbringing, especially school.
...
You sit at a desk for 12 years basically being told that you know nothing and that the only way to know something is being taught that thing. ...

So true.

My kids get excited for Friday. Why? Because no school on the weekends.

Then I go to my retail locations and hear all day from customers how they are excited cause it's Friday. Why? Because there is no work on weekends. (for them)

The slowlane indoctrination (lie) starts early.

 

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[million$$$smile]

"YOU WILL NEVER AMOUNT TO ANYTHING!!"

Funny thing was, he came back around and asked to borrow 10 grand so he could keep his house...

I learned the value of forgiveness and gave him the money...

Randall

 

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[SteveO]

On a similar topic. Not only do we believe lies but we lie to ourselves through doubt. We all probably do this to some extent.

I ran a number of marathons a few years ago. One race in particular required all runners to be shuttled to the start on busses. A few of the invited runners were driven up in a vans. The rest of us were crammed into busses. There were a few thousand participants.

I found myself looking around at the young, lean participants thinking how fast they might be. I was 48 and heavier than most runners. Not lean and mean for sure. But, worked hard at the training regiment.

Anyway. I finally snapped out of it and looked around again. The reality clicked in that it was unlikely that any of them would beat me. I was psyching myself out without the conscious thought of it.

I finished 16th place overall.

It is unlikely that the doubt would have changed the results. But, it could certainly affect decision making on a daily basis. Don't allow yourself to fall into that trap of thinking others are better than you.

 

[DennisD]

"You need money to make money" was a huge limiting belief most of my life.

 

[Arrabista]

My Father's paradigm " Never buy property!.why do you want to get your self into debt?.. trust me son ..you will never be able to sleep at night worrying about all that money you owe the bank"
hmmmm..

I never share with him in full my property portfolio /investment strategy because if he knew the full story ....he would not be able to sleep at night worrying about my debt !

 

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[MJ DeMarco]

MSM Lie: Options are risky. (But buying stocks is perfectly normal!)
MSM Lie: Starting a business is risky. (But having a job and a corporate overseer is perfectly normal!)

 

[socaldude]

I'm a huge fan that the "biggest lies" we ingest came from our childhood upbringing, especially school.

So called "Social roles", "False personalities", "False social expectations".

Think about it.

You sit at a desk for 12 years basically being told that you know nothing and that the only way to know something is being taught that thing. Instead of creating something new with your mind and finding true self-esteem.

The result? 95% of people become sleepwalkers so to speak. Never really finding their true capacities because of how powerful this social conditioning is.

 

[A-Mat-Zing]

"Being an inventor is not a profession. You can't make money with it. Everything is already invented. If you really want to get rich, you need to become a lawyer or dentist" - my grandfather to 8 yo me, when I told him I want to become an inventor.

Just wondering where I'd be today, If I hadn't shared my aspiration with him back then.

-

 

[startinup]

I just realized some intriguing ideas while reading through this thread...

The reason that so many of people stick to unsatisfying lives, working jobs they don't care about, is because as a kid they were told they couldn't do/be/become something. But the worst part, is that the people telling them are relatives. Who are bitter and unsatisfied with their own lives and recruiting someone else into their unhappy life.

When I am a parent, I want to foster independence and growth, not limit my children. Why teach them to be mediocre?

Maybe people born into wealth are able to be successful because they aren't given such limiting beliefs on what they can do...

 

[Andy Black]

"Opportunity knocks once in a lifetime. When it does, grab it by both hands and hang on."


Errr, no. When your ears are tuned to the sound of opportunity then it's like a drumroll on your door.

 

[MTF]

Making money is hard.

But well, it's not entirely a lie because it is hard if you don't understand that making money is all about providing value.

 

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[masaldana2]

for me was
"if you dont go to school, you will end up like me(low pay job)"
I been told that all my life.

"the only way to buy big toys at a young age is through financing.."(thank god i never did)

"be nice, dont make too much noise, and dont break the rules"

 

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[Rawr]

You are special/talented/going to be great.

Took years until finally someone finished the sentence. " if you apply those talents through hard work."



Also,

"everyone hates their jobs."

 

[MidwestLandlord]

Hard to think of the "biggest lie" I was told, but the most relevant would be:

"All rich people are evil"

• He's just a friend.

Well, that brought back some...memories.

Thanks a lot @G-Man

 

[MorgothBauglir]

Luckily I've always been a complete a**hole of a skeptic, questioning everything my supposed authority figures tried to impress onto me. It got me in a lot of trouble, but it's also been the key to my freedom.

If I believed anything though, it's that your friends will always want the best for you. And yet some of my closest mates have been the biggest haters. You gotta be careful, and really take care to tune out the negative chatter. Keep hustlin'

 

[Almantas]

That "good things come to those who wait". I've learned that good things come to those who go out and fokin' earn it.

 

[DeletedUser2]

wow.

Its amazing to see all the junk that clutters up the mind.

I have forgotten a lot of the fears of my youth. and the things i used to believe like that.


its refreshing to read what still exists, as if it were real, for some folks.



one that I can still remember vaguely was something along the lines of something something, bad stuff, no money, something something.

well its close.


Its really amazing the changes over time.

losing fear is my favorite thing to have ever lost.

Z

 

[aardvarky]

Pretty much everything I have experienced has been a lie. The reason being is its not what I want.

Totally agree with this. A lot of beliefs I was raised with turned out to be a lie - at least because they proved quite untrue for me, once I decided to test them out.

As Marcus Aurelius said, "Everything we hear is an opinion...Everything we see is a perspective." Whatever anyone tells us might be truth for them, but it's up to each of us to make sure we don't adopt anyone else's truth as our own without examination and trial.

One of the most helpful realizations I've had in my "adulthood" was understanding that everyone speaks from the place of their own truth. And truth is a not a fixed concept.

I still get told silly things by people I care about:
"Work on building up your resume so you can be secure later on."
"You'll feel more secure once you buy a house."

...and the silliest of them all come from a source I love dearly - my mom:
"Work hard and listen to those 'above' you." - Seriously?!
"Your 'life' won't matter so much to you once you meet a man you love." -WHAAA?!
"Life isn't supposed to be fun." - Then what's the point of this whole life thing?!

It helps to take a few deep breaths and then carry on with what you were doing.

 

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[IceCreamKid]

If I believed anything though, it's that your friends will always want the best for you. And yet some of my closest mates have been the biggest haters. You gotta be careful, and really take care to tune out the negative chatter. Keep hustlin'

This one left me feeling bitter for a long time...until I realized that people typically become haters because they're frustrated or dissatisfied with their own lives.

That's when the bitterness towards them morphed into compassion.

 

[SteveO]

So, on to the spirit of what this topic is about. The idea that ANY other forces, people, or institutions hold the ability to affect my life. That any other outside influence can negatively affect me.

 

[G-Man]

Possible to have multiple biggest lies?

• The check is in the mail.
• I'm asking cause we're friends.
• I'm not pre-selling, I already have the stock.
• He's just a friend.
• You know I've got no interest in taking your job.

 

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[Andy Black]

Making money is hard.

But well, it's not entirely a lie because it is hard if you don't understand that making money is all about providing value.

Similarly, that you even have to "make" money.

It's all around us, flowing like a huge current (currency anyone?).

We just have to connect to it and get some of it to flow through us.

 

[tak]

1 - My schooling is the key to my future
2 - Women love nice guys
3 - Without a degree i am nothing
4 - People with degrees are automatically entitled to larger paycheck
5 - you need to have a degree to start a business
6 - 18-20 something year olds shouldn't focus on starting or creating a business but rather getting drunk, chasing women and partying
7 - pop culure is much more important than learning how to better yourself
8 - the dream of owning a business and profting more than your parents is a pipe dream
9 - "dude..that sounds like such a pipe dream"
10 - friends/family/girfriend/boyfriend will always support you no matter what
11 - its impossible to make real money online