Why Some People Become Wealthy and Others Don’t.
By Tim Bruxvoort

Regardless of whether you watch the Oprah Winfrey show or not, the story of her success is fascinating. You can't say where she is today is the result of any special advantages she had growing up.

In fact, she came from a broken family and she was abused as a child. She's also African-American and a woman, so discrimination was likely a factor that counted against her somewhere along the way.

So why is she now worth a billion dollars while many Harvard-educated, white males who grew up with every advantage only make a comfortable living?

Ever wonder why success seems to come easily for some people while others struggle at everything they do? What makes the difference?

Success at anything in life is predictable and can be duplicated by following time-tested principles that all millionaires use.

In fact, if you don't receive training in these principles of wealth, you can NEVER have it in your life. At least not for long. If you do somehow become wealthy without learning these principles, you won't keep it.

Want proof? Just look at people who have won the lottery:

William "Bud" Post won $16.2 million in the Pennsylvania lottery in 1988. Now he lives on his Social Security and food stamps which amounts to $450 a month.

Ken Proxmire was a machinist when he won $1 million in the Michigan lottery. He moved to California and went into the car business with his brothers and he filed for bankruptcy within five years.

Suzanne Mullins won $4.2 million in the Virginia lottery in 1993. Today she's deeply in debt to a company that loaned her money using the winnings as collateral.

"Winning the lottery isn't always what it's cracked up to be," says Evelyn Adams. She won the New Jersey lottery not just once, but twice (1985, 1986), in an amount of $5.4 million. Today she lives in a trailer and all the money is gone.

Janite Lee from Missouri won $18 million in 1993. She generously gave her money to a variety of causes including politics, education and the community. According to published reports, eight years after winning, Lee had filed for bankruptcy with only $700 left in two bank accounts and no cash on hand.

Willie Hurt of Lansing, Mich., won $3.1 million in 1989 and two years later he was broke and charged with murder. His lawyer says he spent his fortune on a divorce and cocaine.

Charles Riddle of Belleville, Mich., won $1 million in 1975. Later he got divorced, faced several lawsuits and was indicted for selling cocaine.

People have a "financial thermostat" and just like the thermostat that controls the heating or cooling in your house, your thermostat is currently set for the amount of money you have.

If you somehow receive more money than your financial thermostat is set for, like the lottery winners above, you'll waste it away until you are back to your set level.

If you want more money, or you want to keep the money you are receiving, you have to raise your financial thermostat. It's that simple.

How do you raise your thermostat? By learning and practicing the principles of wealth. All self-made millionaires live by these principles.

If you're not currently having financial success, it's likely because you aren't applying the same principles that Oprah and all other billionaires and millionaires apply to achieve their success. All that's standing in the way between you and success is the application of these general principles.

So where do you learn these success principles?

The best place is directly from people who understand the principles and have had success using them. There's no quicker way to get where you want to go than to find a mentor to guide you along your way.

The person you want is someone who is currently where you want to be, and is willing to teach you the wealth principles. Of course, not all successful people fully understand these principles even though they naturally apply them.

Another good way to learn the principles of wealth is through the greatest success book of all time, Napoleon Hill’s Think and Grow Rich. The principles you need to understand are in this book. You'll need to do some work to uncover them, understand them, and put them into practice, but they are in the book.

Napoleon Hill’s Think and Grow Rich is all about using the same resources that millionaires use to get the same results as them.

If you are not experiencing the kind of financial success you desire, perhaps all you need is a little success training from a mentor or by learning and practicing the principles in Think and Grow Rich. Sometimes all it takes is few subtle shifts in your thought processes to create a GIANT difference in your results!

About the Author: Tim Bruxvoort is the Internet’s Foremost Home-Based Business and Success Coach who helps people create successful and profitable lives in their own home-based businesses. You can visit his website at www.homebasedriches.com . If you are interested in discovering how you can be successful in anything you do, go to www.thinktorich.com for a free report.