047 - Success and The Scarcity Mindset

Be the Hero

Title: Success and The Scarcity Mindset

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WELCOME MESSAGE: HELLO EVERYONE AND WELCOME TO, “BE THE HERO”. I’M YOUR HOST, TONY HOOKER AND THIS IS A PODCAST DEDICATED TO HELPING YOU BECOME A PERSON OF ACTION SO YOU CAN FIND YOUR PASSION AND BECOME THE HERO OF YOUR OWN STORY. LET’S GET STARTED…

Main Message: Hello my fellow heroes, and welcome to episode 47.

All the gold that has been mined thus far in human history equals 165,000 metric tons, or 181,881 standard tons, or just over 360 million pounds. At $1,600.00 per troy ounce that means the value of the worlds gold currently stands at $8,487,797,102,400.00

All the diamonds in the world are currently valued at 26.9 Nonillion dollars. Now, I’m sure you are familiar with the way one Trillion is represented in the US which is via a 1 followed by 12 zeros. One Nonillion is represented in the US via a 1 followed by 30 zeros. That is an absurd amount of money.

Why are diamonds perceived to be so valuable? Well according an article, titled “The Billion Dollar Business of Diamonds, From Mining to Retail”, written for CNBC by Bob Pisani gave the following reasoning:

“According to Bain & Company, about 133 million carats of rough diamonds are produced each year. Botswana and Russia are the two largest producers while Australia, Angola, Namibia and Canada make up most of the rest.

Four producers control about 65 percent of the market and commercially viable diamond mines are a rarity. Today, there are only about 20 major diamond mines in the world. 11 of those mines make up 62 percent of the world's production of diamonds by carat! And mines are getting even more rare. The last major diamond mine was discovered in Zimbabwe in 1997.”

The examples gold and diamonds being so valuable is a result of scarcity. Precious metals and gems are finite resources that are costly to mine and produce. Their value is base on availability or the lack thereof and the cost of production. There are other things that have little perceived value today that were once considered extremely valuable. Case in point, Aluminum.

Aluminum, is a very common metal, it’s almost twice as abundant as iron. But for a long time, there was no easy way to extract it. No one succeeded until a German chemist found a way in the 1820s. Aluminum became an instant hit.

People loved the color and luster; it was viewed as—a brand-new precious metal. In fact, aluminum became more precious than gold or silver in the 19th century, because it was harder to obtain. The French government used to show off aluminum bars next to the crown jewels. Napoleon III used aluminum cutlery for special guests at banquets. (Other, routine, guests were only given gold cutlery.) The United States, used aluminum to show off in 1884 off by capping the Washington monument with a six-pound pyramid of aluminum. You see, the value of all things was and is based on scarcity whether that scarcity is real or imagined, or manufactured.

Now think about how scarcity plays into our daily lives. The scarcity mindset is the idea that there simply isn’t enough of something to go around. And one the biggest areas of life that people seem to believe in scarcity is the area of success. There are people who honestly believe that success is finite. And before you disagree, think about it.

When we hear about someone signing a huge contract what do people usually say? There are usually remarks made about “how much money does one person need?” or we say, flat out that, “That person doesn’t deserve that much money to do what they do.” But where do these questions and statements come from? They are often rooted in jealousy. And that jealousy is rooted in the mindset of scarcity. We have thoughts, however fleeting that; if someone else gets the big contract, there won’t be any money left over for us. If that person succeeds then we won’t be able to succeed.

I know that’s hard to come to terms with but it’s true. Think back and answer honestly, have you said something similar to the following?

“I can’t seem to save any money. I guess I’m just supposed to be poor.”

or

“I wish I could afford that.”

or

“I didn’t really want that job anyway.”

I’m sure we have all said something similar at some point in our lives. And it’s usually said when someone else succeeds, achieves, or receives something that we desired for ourselves. It’s said in that moment when we see their success and somehow think that we can’t do or have the same thing. As if success is in doled out in limited quantities. But that is simply not true.

Success is made, its generated. It is not something to be found. Success is created. It’s created through desire and action and contrary to some, there is plenty to go around. There is no limit to the amount of success you can attain in your life, unless you put limits on yourself.

Scarcity is the thought that “there isn’t enough to go around.” so we have to conserve, we have to scrimp and save, and hoard instead of giving and sharing what we have. It also that thought that if someone else has, then that means that we can’t have. Again, this is simply not true.

Success in any area of your life is 100% up to you! What others have in their lives is completely irrelevant to you and the level of success you can attain. Instead of viewing other’s success with contempt, reframe their success and use it as fuel. If someone betters themselves and gets a raise along with a promotion, instead of thinking about how you would have been a better choice, think of how you can increase your value to the company and receive your own promotion. The company has obviously shown a willingness to reward hard work and increased value. So provide those things to the company you currently work for or another company that values them and reap those rewards.

Someone else’s achievement, no matter what area of life their achievement is in, does not diminish your ability to realize success in your own life. With the right planning and right level of action, success is available to each and every one of us. It’s not about having enough money, having the right connections, being from the right part of the world. It’s about belief and action.

Success in any area, at any level, is completely up to you.

I want you to realize something that many quote - unquote, successful people already know. Success and the value of success is not realized in dollars and cents. And the value of success is not based on scarcity. The value of success is based on abundance and what it allows you to do, what it allows you to give back, how it allows you to positively change the world you live in and help others obtain their own success.

I want you to dispose of the scarcity mindset. Understand that success does not come at the expense of someone else being able to succeed as well. Don’t be afraid to show happiness and joy when others succeed. Unlike gold or diamonds success is not finite. Someone else’s success doesn’t have anything to do with your ability to obtain it.

Closing Message: Thank you so much for listening today. I look forward to being with you again next week. In the meantime if you enjoyed this podcast, please take time to rate it and leave comments. I would also encourage you to hit the subscribe button so you will always receive the latest episode of be the hero when it comes out. You can provide your feedback by sending an email to [e-mail].

Instead adopt a mindset of abundance where the success of one means beneficial results for all involved. A mindset of abundance means that there are unlimited opportunities for positive growth and development… Unlimited opportunities to succeed. Rid yourself of the scarcity mindset and adopt a mindset of abundance and you will… Be the Hero.

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