Thread by @ElevatedStory

Young men:

You were lied to about money.

Here's how money ACTUALLY works ↓

Living paycheck to paycheck is common.

But it's not normal.

And I know how you feel.

The life you're living right now...

It isn't what you had in mind for yourself.

Again...

Common.

Not normal.

But this needs to be addressed.

Because here's the problem:

The world is changing.

Dare I say — an empire is on the brink of collapse.

(Ask the billionaire tagged at the bottom of this thread.)

And guess who'll be affected by it the most?

You.

And I'm not here to talk down to you.

I used to BE you.

I grew up immersed in a poverty mindset.

My career trajectory at the time?

A $12/hour Home Depot job.

Yet somehow — I went from THAT...

To a comfortable 6-figures.

Here's the truth about why you are where you are in life:

They told you to...

•Work for money
•Save money
•Spend money

But...

They never told you HOW money works.

And when you think about how complex the economic system is...

That's just crazy.

And as for the pressure you're feeling right now?

That's the weight of financial ignorance.

So what should you do?

There are people who can teach you about money better than I can.

(Tagged at the bottom.)

But I'll share with you what matters most.

This thread is a hedge against being poor — from someone who used to be poor.

You may not get rich off of what I share in this thread.

But it'll be hard for you to stay broke.

You'll need to understand the essence of money — which I'll show you.

And you'll need to embrace one simple truth:

Money buys comfort.

But comfort is not fulfillment.

Take it from the guy who went from a stable job and a baddie by his side...

To living out of a car for 8 months.

It's a story for another time. But...

In that car is where I developed a healthy relationship with money.

No...

I'm not a billionaire investor.

And years ago I dissolved a profitable business because I was too proud to ask for help.

Which was dumb.

BUT...

I'll never struggle financially — for two simple reasons:

1. When I make $100 — I treat it like I made $20.

And more importantly...

2. I have a bias towards competence over outcomes.

Meaning...

I'm always looking to get better at solving problems — not escaping them.

You'll need to adopt this mindset.

Because it has everything to do with how money works. ↓

Lesson 1. See Beyond Money.

Whale teeth.

This was one of the first forms of currency.

Early humans traded goods face-to-face.

But there were some logistical issues with larger trades.

So they'd use whale teeth as tokens.

A whale's tooth had no value on its own.

The REAL value was in the goods that were being traded.

So without the goods — the whale teeth were worthless.

Simple right? Now...

There are 180+ real-world (fiat) currencies.

This is down from over 800 throughout history.

And there are 400+ cryptocurrencies right now.

The system is noisy:

There are taxes and loans and rates on top of rates and all kinds of funds and holdings and stocks — whatever...

And yes — you should learn that stuff.

But however complex the economic system becomes — there is one thing that will never change:

Money is not inherently valuable.

It only represents value.

And "value" means "usefulness."

So the question is...

What is this "usefulness" that money represents?

Different people have different answers to this question.

Not long ago the value of money was backed by gold — because gold is massively useful.

Some say money is backed by the stock market — which is full of companies that make useful things.

But for now — JUST for now...

I want you to forget about all of that.

Because here's the fundamental, grassroots truth of the matter:

The value of money is — and always has been — backed by productive people.

Who are productive people?

People who make things that are useful to society.

The economic system rewards a person's level usefulness.

Especially at scale. How?

2 examples:

The taxi driver is useful. 💵
Uber is useful at scale. 💵💵💵💵💵

The software engineer is useful. 💵💵
Microsoft is useful at scale. 💵💵💵💵💵

So the first key to money is to see beyond it.

Don't focus on money.

Build (or contribute towards) something that is useful to society.

Because if what you do is truly valuable — money will happen.

And UNTIL you do this...

Others will look to benefit from your lack of productivity.

What little you have — they'll try to get THAT from you.

The only hedge against being poor is to get in the game.

Which leads me to...

Lesson 2. Optimize for Competence.

Spend money on getting better at life — not on escaping life.

Why?

Because everything you want comes with something you don't.

That goes for all of your comforts.

And it goes for money.

Don't be naive about this...

I hope you get rich (if that's what you want.)

But I hope you understand that your problems won't go away.

You'll just get a new set of problems.

What kind of problems?

•"Everybody's your cousin" problems
•Tax problems
•Money management problems.
•Lawyer fees — especially if you're an asshole. (Smart lawyers love assholes because they make good clients.)
•And more.

My point is...

Handling money is its own skill.

So be ready for it. How?

Here's the bottom line:

Get good at solving problems to get good at life.

And money.

If you adopt this thinking...

Nobody will have to tell you to spend less than you make.

Or to reinvest as much as you can back into your health and skillset.

These practices come naturally with the shift in mindset.

Listen...

Money is a game — not something to stress about.

And you don't have to play it.

Life will be less comfortable for you — but still you don't have to play it.

But understand...

Your relationship with money matters more than your ability to make it.

So how does money work?

YOU are how money works.

Resources ↓

Learn money

→ @RayDalio (Good books & youtube vids)
→ @jamesvjani (Good youtube vids)

↓ This thread

https://twitter.com/ElevatedStory/status/1492173350357155842

@RayDalio @jamesvjani Make Money

Copywriting → @jakevictor_
Copywriting → @MercureCopy
Business Brokering (without using your own money) → @ClintFiore
Service Businesses → @SqueegeeGod
Service Businesses → @rohangilkes

And my next thread is about turning $1650 into $300k.

@RayDalio @jamesvjani @jakevictor_ @MercureCopy @ClintFiore @SqueegeeGod @rohangilkes TLDR:

Money buys comfort.
But comfort is not fulfillment. So...

•See beyond it
•Be a productive person
•Priotitize competence (action)

YOU are how money works.

That's the thread.

@RayDalio @jamesvjani @jakevictor_ @MercureCopy @ClintFiore @SqueegeeGod @rohangilkes This journey is 10x better with people who are on the same page as you.

So retweet the first tweet to spread the message and find people who agree with this.

One more thing...

https://twitter.com/ElevatedStory/status/1502320966264832005

@RayDalio @jamesvjani @jakevictor_ @MercureCopy @ClintFiore @SqueegeeGod @rohangilkes If you're in your 20s and you're confused about:

•Health
•Money
•Relationships

It's because you were taught wrong from the start.

I was just like you.
Let's uncover the truth together.