From: alexhormozi
This article offers “brutally honest advice” for those struggling with their financial situation, drawing on the speaker’s own painful experiences and the lessons learned from overcoming poverty [00:00:00]. The core message emphasizes radical self-responsibility and aggressive action.
The Pain of Poverty and Early Struggles
The speaker recalls a time when he had to hustle just to pay rent, thinking he would be okay if he didn’t wake up the next day [00:00:03]. Thirteen years prior, his goal was to earn $10,000 a month [00:00:17]. His 20s were largely consumed by working to escape this pain [00:00:41].
Starting his first brick-and-mortar business at 23, he initially did everything himself—cleaning, billing, sales, teaching sessions, fixing equipment—because he didn’t know he could hire employees and couldn’t afford to [00:01:11]. He took a significant step down from a white-collar job to minimum wage, facing patronizing comments from clients [00:03:25]. These experiences forced him to develop a thick skin, prioritizing closing sales over personal anger to pay rent [00:04:10].
The First Step: “It’s My Fault”
To escape a difficult financial situation, the first crucial step is to admit, “It’s my fault” [00:01:37]. This means owning everything that has led to the current moment, including missed opportunities and financial missteps, without blaming parents, circumstances, country, or zip code [00:14:06].
Blaming external factors or other people transfers power to them [00:14:36]. If you attribute your lack of success to external causes, you give those causes control over your life [00:15:07]. Accepting personal responsibility, therefore, is the foundational layer for any future success [00:16:52]. You cannot build success on a “foundation of sand” by blaming others [00:17:07].
CAUTION
“You cannot both desire to get better and also maintain blame. You have to pick.” [00:18:31]
A personal realization for the speaker came from writing an essay about his mother’s tough upbringing, which shifted his perspective to seeing her as a “massive success” despite her hardships [00:19:47]. This led him to take responsibility for his own relationship patterns rather than blaming his mother [00:20:40].
Leveraging Pain and Anger for Motivation
Unlike many self-help books that emphasize positive thinking, the speaker found that his own motivation stemmed from “sheer anger” and the fear of being proven wrong by those back home [00:02:50]. This anger served as his “passion” because nothing else made him happy when he was struggling [00:36:50].
He encourages using whatever emotion is available – anger, sadness, shame, pain – to propel oneself forward, rather than waiting for positive feelings [00:38:03]. Money, while not buying happiness, can significantly help to avoid pain by providing the means to deal with inconveniences, hassles, and health issues [00:37:32].
The Concept of “Eating Glass”
When you have little money, the only asset you truly possess is time [00:04:45]. Success requires “sheer brute force” and an enormous amount of “soul-driving energy” outside of normal life [00:04:57]. This means living one person’s normal life (work, sleep, eat, clean) and then starting a second workday to get ahead [00:05:12].
This intense effort is described as “eating the glass” today to endure pain and pull future benefits closer [00:05:27]. The initial period of this journey will be painful (“glass in the beginning”), gradually becoming smoother [00:05:43]. The theory is that if one lived long enough, everyone would eventually be successful, but people often “wait too long and they die too early” [00:06:01].
His own experience involved relentless work, even on weekends, because he knew no one in a new city and had no distractions [00:06:31]. This focus allowed him to learn how to sell memberships, market, and manage his business [00:06:59]. He even stopped watching his favorite sports team (the Ravens) to dedicate more time to his goals [00:07:09].
Foundational Personal Finance Habits and Strategies
The first $100,000 is often the hardest to accumulate, taking the speaker five years [00:11:16]. This typically requires saving “a dollar at a time” [00:11:29].
Many people seek complex money-making skills without mastering the basics, like showing up on time [00:12:14]. Simple, foundational skills are crucial, though they may not be as exciting [00:12:35]. A common trait of those struggling financially is delaying pain, always pushing off action until “tomorrow” [00:12:54].
QUOTE
“Rather than delaying gratification, they delay pain and so rather than trying taking pain now for pleasure later they take pleasure now and pain later and so they flip the equation and so they’re surprised when today is later from yesterday that they’re in pain…” [00:13:11]
The three foundational steps to achieve financial independence are:
- “It’s your fault.” (Taking responsibility) [00:25:49]
- Spend less than you make. [00:25:51]
- Reinvest all excess income into making more money. Saving alone is insufficient for significant advancement from minimum wage [00:25:52].
This often means living on nothing and “swallowing the pride” of appearing to “amount to nothing” in the short term [00:26:25].
Investing in Skills and Gaining “Experience Points”
Investing in personal and financial growth means continuously learning skills [00:29:16]. Money is made by voluntarily exchanging something valuable [00:30:11]. This can involve selling products (either manufactured or someone else’s) or selling skills/outcomes [00:32:03]. Learning to sell is crucial, and the best way is to start selling something [00:31:27].
The speaker’s path involved:
- Learning something and getting good at it [00:33:50].
- Having evidence of that skill (e.g., state records in powerlifting, owning multiple gyms) [00:33:53].
- People then asking for help with that specific skill or outcome [00:33:54].
Experimenting with new ventures often results in failures, but these are not losses; they are “experience points” that contribute to leveling up and increasing earning potential [00:27:31]. While starting a business costs money (e.g., ads, e-commerce subscriptions), it’s significantly less risky today than in the past, when it might involve mortgaging a house [00:28:13].
Shedding Negative Influences and Embracing Loneliness
The journey to financial improvement often means sacrificing social comfort and potentially losing friends [00:42:42].
WARNING
“A friend who supports you is someone who deliberately decreases the possibility of failure… If the answer is decrease [your possibility of hitting your goal], then get rid of them.” [00:41:42]
Friends who don’t have similar goals or are not progressing may inadvertently hinder your progress [00:43:01]. The speaker suggests that “there are no social obligations, only social consequences” [00:43:20]. If avoiding social events means people stop inviting you, it can be a “win-win” as you save time for your goals [00:43:57].
This path can be very lonely, as you may be too different from old friends but not yet successful enough for a new tier of acquaintances [00:45:48]. However, loneliness provides the time necessary to acquire skills and invest in yourself [00:45:50].
The Ultimate Mindset Changes for Achieving Financial Goals
The fundamental choices are:
- You can be “right” about why your life sucks (blaming external factors), or you can be “rich” [00:15:27].
- You can take comfort today and guarantee a long-term loss, or take small risks today for a long-term gain [00:24:27].
Balancing life priorities and financial goals requires an ability to “future pace” and imagine the pain of future inaction [00:40:23]. Change occurs when the pain of changing is less than the pain of staying the same [00:40:07]. If you are comfortable, you must actively make yourself more uncomfortable to initiate movement [00:40:17].
TIP
“You can still get the good guy’s ending if I just did the thing that they do to get the ending. So I didn’t have to do it with pure intentions. I didn’t have to do it as a great guy. But if I just still did the things, I could still get the ending.” [00:38:53]
This ruthless focus on “what do you do” – eliminating emotional noise and just taking action – is key [00:39:21]. The speaker encourages self-approval for taking steps and disregarding the opinions of those whose lives you don’t aspire to [00:47:12]. If you continue walking and taking steps no matter how painful, you will eventually reach your goals [00:47:32].