The $1,000 Rule? These 3 Successful Entrepreneurs Live By It (And You Should Too)

Let’s say you have $1,000 in your pocket. It’s yours. You earned it. You worked hard for it.

Now, would you spend more effort to keep someone from taking that $1,000? Or would you risk losing it in order to learn how to make that $1,000 back again?

In a sense, this question perfectly summarizes the mentality of someone who works hard to earn a living, and an entrepreneur. Most people work for their money and then do everything in their power to make sure they keep it—by either withholding spending, or cutting up coupons to save a few extra dollars at the grocery store. Entrepreneurs, however, tend to share the mentality that sometimes it’s worth giving up a little bit now in order to reap a larger reward later.

This wisdom comes from Branden Hampton, one of the largest independent social media publishers in the world. He has over 30 million followers across various social platforms, and owns popular handles such as @CEO on Twitter and @money on Instagram.

“I know so many people that say, ‘Oh, there’s a deal at the store. Let’s drive two hours to some place in L.A. to save 15 cents on something.’ I don’t understand that thinking. I can’t even comprehend it because for the 2 or 3 hours I am investing in saving a few dollars, I could have invested that time elsewhere and made more for myself. It’s a reactive v.s proactive way of approaching money,” said Hampton.

Another entrepreneur, Mark Lack, the host of the #1 radio/TV show for entrepreneurs, Business Rockstars, and author of the best-selling book, Shorten The Gap: Shortcuts To Success and Happiness, had some commentary of his own on the subject. He said, “Most people spend all their time flipping through the coupon book, spending hours a week looking for how they can save money, instead of investing the same amount of time in learning how to acquire more for themselves. I think most people in life, using the $1,000 example, would rather keep what they have than go after something. And they do that because they are afraid that if they spend time learning how to make more for themselves, and it doesn’t happen right away, then they feel like they’ve lost something.”

What you have to remember, whether you’re an entrepreneur or just someone who wants to be more financially abundant, is that each time you figure out how to make $1,000 for yourself, then week after week, month after month, you will get to the point where you have gotten really good at getting those $1,000s. That’s when the mentality shifts, and you begin to focus on improving your ability to earn more for yourself, rather than spending time keeping the, say, $40,000 you make in a year.

A third entrepreneur, Mike Arce, CEO Founder of Loud Rumor—an advertising agency for studios and gyms—and the host of a top fitness business show, The GSD Show, shared his own perspective as well. He said, “Once you learn how to make $1,000, you now know how to make $1,000. So then you can start learning how to put that on autopilot and focus your efforts on learning how to make $2,000, or $3,000. But if you’re completely focused on protecting the income you already have, you don’t have the same amount of control because you can’t control $1,000 vanishing from your pocket if your air conditioner breaks, or your car needs a new part. Those things are going to happen inevitably. You can’t always hang on to your $1,000. But you can always look for ways to go out and get more.”

When it comes down to it, money and financial freedom either controls you, or you control it. And your relationship with money greatly dictates the way you go about making decisions in your life—whether they’re made out of fear of loss, or ambitious gain.

“Most people would rather have certainty and consistency in their life. That’s why they never climb much higher than average, because they like to keep things the way they’ve always been. But it goes back to the question of what you would do with $1,000 in your pocket. If you want to spend all your time protecting it, by all means. But just know you are trying to keep a little bit more of the pie for yourself, instead of just learning how to bake a bigger pie,” said Lack.

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