You're Poor, and It's Time to Admit It

I think one of the most difficult things a man can face in life is admitting that his life isn't actually together and that it's actually falling apart. The only way that we can really track this is by looking at the numbers. You can't track it just because you've got a job. You can't track it just because you've got a car in the garage, a wife, or children. That is not how you measure success. That is not how you determine whether you've got your shit together. The one thing that measures it is your finances.

Most people aren't even aware of where their money is going in and coming out. The very basics. If not all you really need to know is what money is coming into your pocket and what money is going out of your pocket. What things have you purchased that are taking money monthly out of your wallet? What things have you invested in that are actually putting money into your pocket? If your liabilities, which are taking money out of your pocket, are greater than your assets, which are putting money into your pocket, then you are poor. Full stop. I don't care if you've got a university degree. I don't care if you went to an Ivy League school. I don't care if you're making $200,000 a year right now. If your assets do not outweigh your liabilities, you are poor.

That right there is a punch to the face, a wake-up call for the majority of men out there, especially the ones struggling paycheck to paycheck. You're most likely already in debt, which means not only do you have to pay rent, groceries, student loans, property tax, insurance, and all these different things, but on top of that, every time you get paid, you're already behind. Inflation keeps driving the cost of everything higher, while your wages stay the same. We seriously have to consider that just because we think we're not poor doesn't mean that's actually true. Most men, when they honestly look at their finances, will realize that they are poor.

So what do we do about that? How do we change that? Why are we poor? What is the reason behind not having enough money and being buried in debt? On top of inflation, bills, and the cost of living, if you owe money to MasterCard, the bank, student loans, lines of credit, or anything else, all of those payments come off the top of your paycheck before you can even begin to move forward. It might be normalized for people to be in debt, but it is definitely not a way to live, especially long-term, and especially now more than ever, when everything keeps climbing in price while your purchasing power continues to shrink. People are struggling just to survive, let alone take a vacation or enjoy life with their families.

This is why we need awareness. We need to develop something very simple: a 12-month cash flow. Open Excel or any spreadsheet software and track every single expense you have and every dollar that comes in over a 12-month period. Look at the numbers. What subscriptions are quietly draining your budget every month? What expenses have you forgotten about? If you lost your job tomorrow, how long would you have before you were completely broke? How long before you couldn't pay your bills? How long before you were potentially on the street? We have to be willing to look at those numbers.

Maybe twenty years ago you could work a regular nine-to-five job, put in your forty or fifty hours a week, pay your bills, and move on with your life without paying much attention to your finances. But now? Inflation, rising costs, housing prices, groceries, insurance, and everything else have forced people to pay attention. If they don't, they end up shocked when they lose their home, go bankrupt, destroy their credit, and find themselves unable to buy a home, buy a vehicle, or take advantage of opportunities that come their way. The consequences are massive.

The beautiful thing is that awareness is not the end of your story. It's actually the beginning. When you're aware of where you are, that's what forces you to get the fuck out of where you are and move forward into something better. Something more stable. Something that actually thrives. When you look at your numbers and realize how many liabilities you have—your house, your car, your debt, your monthly payments—and those liabilities outweigh the assets putting money into your pocket, then you naturally start asking a better question: How do I acquire more assets?

What is an asset? Something that puts money into your pocket. The greatest asset you can initially invest in is yourself. Developing skills. Developing knowledge. Developing competence. And I'm not talking about university or college. I'm talking about learning something practical. Maybe it's taking a course. Maybe it's learning trading. Maybe it's e-commerce. Maybe it's sales. Maybe it's marketing. These aren't magical paths to becoming a millionaire overnight. That's not how life works. What they do offer is a gateway into new worlds that force you to grow.

These paths come with challenges, setbacks, failures, and moments where you'll want to pull your fucking hair out. You'll lose money. You'll make mistakes. You'll stay awake at night wondering how you're going to pay the bills. You'll invest in something that doesn't work. You'll launch something that fails. But all of that begins to build something far more valuable than money. It builds character. It builds resilience. It builds willpower. It builds your ability to take on risk and adapt under pressure.

Eventually, all those experiences begin to stack. You become more capable. More resourceful. More confident. More willing to take bigger opportunities. And as you become more capable, larger opportunities begin to appear. It becomes a snowball effect. But it starts in the trenches. You have to force yourself into the unknown. You have to willingly enter difficult situations and learn how to adapt. That's why entrepreneurs take uncertain paths. It teaches adaptation.

The problem is that most people don't know how to adapt. Most people are stuck living paycheck to paycheck in the rat race. They're petrified of stepping out because they don't have faith. And if you don't have God, why would you step out? You think everything depends on your own strength, and most people don't have much faith in themselves. That makes sense because God is at the center of everything. If you don't have God, you're relying entirely on yourself. And if you're relying entirely on yourself, eventually you'll fail because your strength is limited.

That's why so many people are where they are. They don't believe that God is actively involved in their lives. They don't believe that the Almighty, who is in control of everything, actually wants good things for them. But as a Christian, you understand that you follow the Most High God. You understand that He wants to give you the desires of your heart. You understand that He has given you gifts, talents, opportunities, and abilities. If you're a follower of Jesus Christ, then you should understand that God has equipped you to step into something greater.

If you're just scraping by, trapped in a cycle you hate, and refusing to take any action toward change, then you're not honoring what God has given you. You were made in the image of God. Do you understand what that means? Because I don't think most people do.

When you truly develop faith and step into the man God created you to be, you begin to understand that you are a man of God. Men protect. Men provide. Men influence. Men conquer. Men move forward. They don't sit on their asses. They don't work themselves into the ground for scraps while making someone else rich. They don't numb themselves every night with video games, pornography, and endless distractions.

No. Those aren't men. Those are boys living in adult bodies.

So the question is simple. Are you willing to face yourself? Are you willing to see where you're actually at? Are you willing to admit that you're poor so you can do something about it? So you can get yourself and your family out of that situation? Or are you going to stay exactly where you are because you're afraid?

Because if fear is what's holding you back, then your faith isn't as strong as you think it is.

Time to change it.

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