Comments on: The Financial Power of the Self-Fulfilling Prophecy http://www.psychologyofmoneyblog.com/2009/04/the-financial-power-of-the-self-fulfilling-prophecy/ James W. Gottfurcht, Ph. D. and Zoreh Gottfurcht Thu, 11 Jun 2009 17:11:33 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 By: Al Secunda http://www.psychologyofmoneyblog.com/2009/04/the-financial-power-of-the-self-fulfilling-prophecy/comment-page-1/#comment-10 Al Secunda Mon, 11 May 2009 18:06:18 +0000 http://www.psychologyofmoneyblog.com/?p=28#comment-10 Dr. Gottfurcht - I love how you focus as much (if not more) on poverty thinking) as you do on prosperity thinking. Just as an architect would first want to take care of the foundation before putting on the roof: in a similar fashion, I agree whole heartedly with you that we should deal with poverty thinking before prematurely getting distracted and focusing on poverty thinking. On a similar theme, thanks for your article on "suicide" and on what a man is "worth." While we all know that we come in with nothing and leave with nothing - apparently somewhere "in the middle" we get stuck. Once again, BRAVO!!!! Al Secunda/Author "The 15 Second Principle" Dr. Gottfurcht -
I love how you focus as much (if not more) on poverty thinking) as you do on prosperity thinking.

Just as an architect would first want to take care of the foundation before putting on the roof: in a similar fashion, I agree whole heartedly with you that we should deal with poverty thinking before prematurely getting distracted and focusing on poverty thinking.

On a similar theme, thanks for your article on “suicide” and on what a man is “worth.” While we all know that we come in with nothing and leave with nothing – apparently somewhere “in the middle” we get stuck.

Once again, BRAVO!!!!
Al Secunda/Author
“The 15 Second Principle”

]]> By: Rennie Gabriel http://www.psychologyofmoneyblog.com/2009/04/the-financial-power-of-the-self-fulfilling-prophecy/comment-page-1/#comment-6 Rennie Gabriel Tue, 05 May 2009 00:52:54 +0000 http://www.psychologyofmoneyblog.com/?p=28#comment-6 My comments represent a different side of the coin from the blog post that Marc provided. Marc mentioned how his Poverty Thinking of not charging other people enough for his services cost him profits while my comments are about not paying other people enough for their services cost me extra. Prosperity Thinking: There was an apartment building in Burbank that I wanted to buy, but it already had an offer on it near the asking price. I was allowed to attend the initial inspection by the selling broker with the new buyer. The new buyer did not show up and I was able to submit an offer. With a partner, we were able to buy the building, and it needed substantial remodeling work. Poverty Thinking: Instead of hiring a regular construction company, we used an unlicensed contractor to save money. While the work was excellent, it took 6 months longer than planned which deferred the rental income we could have been collecting. What I learned: Paying a little bit more for professional work would have allowed me to make more money sooner. My comments represent a different side of the coin from the blog post that Marc provided. Marc mentioned how his Poverty Thinking of not charging other people enough for his services cost him profits while my comments are about not paying other people enough for their services cost me extra.

Prosperity Thinking:
There was an apartment building in Burbank that I wanted to buy, but it already had an offer on it near the asking price. I was allowed to attend the initial inspection by the selling broker with the new buyer. The new buyer did not show up and I was able to submit an offer.

With a partner, we were able to buy the building, and it needed substantial remodeling work.

Poverty Thinking:
Instead of hiring a regular construction company, we used an unlicensed contractor to save money. While the work was excellent, it took 6 months longer than planned which deferred the rental income we could have been collecting.

What I learned:
Paying a little bit more for professional work would have allowed me to make more money sooner.

]]> By: MikeS http://www.psychologyofmoneyblog.com/2009/04/the-financial-power-of-the-self-fulfilling-prophecy/comment-page-1/#comment-5 MikeS Sun, 03 May 2009 03:10:43 +0000 http://www.psychologyofmoneyblog.com/?p=28#comment-5 I agree with Andrea that Poverty Thinking can be difficult to ferret out. For me, this type of thinking is typically hidden in one of my blind spots. It's unusual when I can identify it by myself. What I find that works is to discuss my financial frustrations with someone I trust, like my wife, a close friend, or a psychologist. Another thing that has helped me was taking one of Dr. Gottfurcht's workshops at UCLA Extension. We did exercises in groups of two or three and provided each other feedback. Again, it came back to someone else being able to see something inside of me better than I could. I'd be interested to hear what Dr. Gottfurcht has to say about the clues to Poverty Thinking. The first clue for me is usually frustration. Something is not working. I'm not getting what I want or expect. The more overt clue is when I see a repetition of unmet expectations. At that point, the thinking and analyzing begin. This is where I think a series of leading questions or list of traps would be helpful. I agree with Andrea that Poverty Thinking can be difficult to ferret out. For me, this type of thinking is typically hidden in one of my blind spots. It’s unusual when I can identify it by myself. What I find that works is to discuss my financial frustrations with someone I trust, like my wife, a close friend, or a psychologist. Another thing that has helped me was taking one of Dr. Gottfurcht’s workshops at UCLA Extension. We did exercises in groups of two or three and provided each other feedback. Again, it came back to someone else being able to see something inside of me better than I could.

I’d be interested to hear what Dr. Gottfurcht has to say about the clues to Poverty Thinking. The first clue for me is usually frustration. Something is not working. I’m not getting what I want or expect. The more overt clue is when I see a repetition of unmet expectations. At that point, the thinking and analyzing begin. This is where I think a series of leading questions or list of traps would be helpful.

]]> By: Andrea B http://www.psychologyofmoneyblog.com/2009/04/the-financial-power-of-the-self-fulfilling-prophecy/comment-page-1/#comment-4 Andrea B Wed, 29 Apr 2009 18:31:32 +0000 http://www.psychologyofmoneyblog.com/?p=28#comment-4 I loved reading Mark's story because it was such an inspiring example of prosperity thinking. The poverty thinking really illustrated that sometimes such thought patterns are very subtle and not so glaring in our daily lives, but still need to be addressed. It seems to me if you had overt clues and subtle clues to poverty thinking, it might be an interesting and helpful area to explore. I loved reading Mark’s story because it was such an inspiring example of prosperity thinking. The poverty thinking really illustrated that sometimes such thought patterns are very subtle and not so glaring in our daily lives, but still need to be addressed. It seems to me if you had overt clues and subtle clues to poverty thinking, it might be an interesting and helpful area to explore.

]]> By: Michael http://www.psychologyofmoneyblog.com/2009/04/the-financial-power-of-the-self-fulfilling-prophecy/comment-page-1/#comment-3 Michael Wed, 29 Apr 2009 16:55:08 +0000 http://www.psychologyofmoneyblog.com/?p=28#comment-3 I’m happy that you’re now inviting public comments on your blog and I’m honored to respond. I learned so much from watching this week’s video. It is truly fascinating to observe you teach other therapists. As I was watching I felt like a fly on the wall eavesdropping on a brilliant conversation between master and student. The one thing that always resonates with me regarding your Psychology of Money philosophy is the way you dissect Prosperity vs. Poverty Thinking. As I observe my self in the matter I notice that I flip from positive to poverty thinking all the time depending on the situation. In certain financial or investment challenges that come up I often fall back on the innocence of that unsure kid that dwells deep inside me and I begin to make immature choices and decisions. Other times I feel fully confident and make choices out of strength and surety. It’s only after reading your books, blogs and website that I am now continually aware of exactly who I’m being at any given time (the kid or the man) and have the tools to make the appropriate correction. Thank you so much Dr. Gottfurcht for the work you’re doing to help people peel away the emotions from an often very emotional topic, like money. I’m happy that you’re now inviting public comments on your blog and I’m honored to respond. I learned so much from watching this week’s video. It is truly fascinating to observe you teach other therapists. As I was watching I felt like a fly on the wall eavesdropping on a brilliant conversation between master and student. The one thing that always resonates with me regarding your Psychology of Money philosophy is the way you dissect Prosperity vs. Poverty Thinking. As I observe my self in the matter I notice that I flip from positive to poverty thinking all the time depending on the situation. In certain financial or investment challenges that come up I often fall back on the innocence of that unsure kid that dwells deep inside me and I begin to make immature choices and decisions. Other times I feel fully confident and make choices out of strength and surety. It’s only after reading your books, blogs and website that I am now continually aware of exactly who I’m being at any given time (the kid or the man) and have the tools to make the appropriate correction. Thank you so much Dr. Gottfurcht for the work you’re doing to help people peel away the emotions from an often very emotional topic, like money.

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