Wishful Thinking Versus Mathematics

Why money chasers will never solve the equation...

1 + 1 = 2.

No, trust me. It does.

This is the law of maths. Maths measures everything. It’s rational, infallible (yes, even Fermat’s Last Theorem) and entirely (almost ruthlessly) objective.

Now let’s try another sum…

1 + 1 + intently willing the universe for it to happen = 1,000,000.

This is the Law of Attraction as espoused by Rhonda Byrne’s phenomenally successful ‘The Secret’. It is mystical, unknowable and entirely (almost ruthlessly) full of crap.

Firstly, let me be clear that I am not saying that positivity is not a powerful force. It is. It can change a dire situation into a survivable one. It can drive a fantasy and turn it into a reality.

But the key difference here is that positivity is practical. Positive entrepreneurs take positive actions. They act as if it is written in the stars when, odds are, it could be a spectacular failure. But what a glorious failure it will be! Another stepping stone towards eventual, asymmetrical success.

The Law of Attraction, however, is a passive action. It’s thinking. It’s dreaming. It’s waiting. 

And sellers of this concept (and have no doubt, they are sellers, getting insanely rich off the lazy, confused buyers’ dreams) have a wonderful get-out clause when  1 + 1 + intently willing the universe for it to happen = 1,000,000 doesn’t work. Well your heart didn’t truly believe it. You just didn’t communicate it to the universe clearly enough. It thought you wanted your crushing debt and month-to-month existence.

Positive action beats passive dreaming every time.

Everyone I know who has been successful in life (and by that I mean creatively and financially) has done so through risk-taking and hard work. And it’s kind of insulting to them to suggest that it was due to positive thinking or the universe simply allowing it to happen.

But it’s human nature to follow the path of least resistance which is why ‘overnight success’ and ‘get rich quick’ models like the Law of Attraction have so much buy-in from the lost and the desperate. 

While everyone is panning for gold, they’re selling the shovels.

And let’s get real, many YouTubers and TikTokers out there are selling the same thing. An EVENT that will make you rich. An overnight windfall that can be achieved with little effort.

I have a phrase for this: JUNGLE MATHS!

Jungle maths will keep you confused and scrolling and reading while the content creators buy their third Lamborghini because they got bored with the colour of their first two. And it’s all financed by the dreams of their followers. 

But the followers of these scammers deserve what they get. They’re selfish. They want (usually financial) success faster than they can say what happened to the value of my Dogecoin??

So instead, try this sum:

Find a problem other people have (unselfish) + solve it = asymmetrical financial outcome. 

It’ll take many attempts and possibly years but you’ll still get there quicker than being an idle cogitator of jungle maths.