The "Lack" Mentality

Last weekend, I listened to an interview with fitness entrepreneur Ryan Lee over at jpfitness.com. Love him or hate him, Ryan has done an excellent job of marketing himself and others, and making a fair amount of money along the way.

One of the topics he talked about in this podcast was the "lack" mentality. I've heard it called several other things along the way.

Alwyn Cosgrove refers to it as the "scarcity" mentality. If someone is making more money than you, they must be taking it FROM you in some form or fashion. The scarcity mentaliy would be contrasted by an abundance mentality. In this mindset, you don't think of taking from someone else's pie, but rather growing the pie so that everyone gets a piece.

In modern day slang, it's referred to as being a "hater." If someone has something that you want (money, prestige, knowledge, etc.), you "hate on them" for having what you desire.

Along those same lines, Chris Shugart once wrote an article titled "Beware the Saboteur." The saboteur is the worst kind of hater - not only do they not have what they want, but they don't want you to have it either! These people are generally close to you and will actually sabotage your efforts to improve yourself.

I must admit, I've never really understood the lack mentality. Why put so much time and focus into someone else, when you could easily be more productive by investing it in yourself? It just doesn't make sense to me.

Whether your goal is to become stronger or leaner, make more money, develop successful relationships or simply feel better about yourself, it's much easier to do so when you stop worrying about other people and focus on making yourself the best person you can be.

Stay strong
MR