You know what really grinds my gears? Personal finance marketing ploys that work! It’s in the media everywhere! I swear that every time I hear “Learn What The Rich Know, That The Poor Don’t!“, an angel somewhere must be losing its wings. Who would fall for that crap? Yet everyday, common folks are baited into believing that its their lack of knowledge causing all their financial woes. Guess what, there are tons of people out there willing to sell you the cure… for suckers!

But it’s not just profit-hungry creeps who exploit this. Even venerable bloggers such as Free Money Finance (update: or Ramit Sethi) can stoop to an eye-grabbing headline once in a while. For argument’s sake, we’ll follow with the shallowest definition of being rich and poor - money! I assert that knowledge is not the obstacle that you have to overcome, but 3 simple human qualities you should be striving for.

Knowledge Is Not The Key!
The biggest obstacle gapping the rich and the poor is not knowledge! I can think of a few other qualities that come to mind first. Yet, my experience as well as those of others keep telling me that knowledge is a constant commodity of wealth — bought, sold and dispensed everywhere like a “secret formula”. You can ask a wall street broker for a stock tip, or pay a fund manager who’ll tell you to stay invested in the market for the long term. But tell that to the grandmother who did nothing but save diligently, hoarded her assets in certificate deposits (or GICs for Canadians) and leaving hunderds of thousands to charities or cats. Was she market savvy? Did she possess knowledge over those who aren’t as rich?

1. Sense Of Responsibility For One’s Own Situation
We live in an entitlement society, where hardly anybody is willing to take ownership for their own situation. That’s why I really admire bloggers who blog and follow through about reducing their debt situation. They’re displaying a sense of responsibility for their own situation. And with that sense comes along a motivation to acquire the necessities to reach your goal. It might be knowledge, it might be some other quality… but it’s the very first step!

Too often do people accept the handout of social welfare. Too rarely do people blame nobody but themselves for their financial predicament. Too often does bankruptcy seem a short step away from discarding undesirable responsibilities. Too rarely do people beaten up, down and out fight their way back like champions. Too often, everything out there is there to “get you”, from governments, to wall street, to banks, to creditors, to your employers. When are we taking responsibility for our actions and inactions? Isn’t it time to realize that nobody but ourselves have the most vested interest in our future well-beings? And that ultimately, a dim future was because WE dropped the ball when it comes to making it work!

2. Taking Action
Here’s my little joke for you: “If you can do and have knowledge, yours is the world and everything in it. If you can do but have no knowledge, you’ll hits lots of bumps but you’ll get there eventually. If you cannot do, but have knowledge, don’t worry you can become a teacher / professor somewhere”. This is not a shot at the noble teaching profession, but ever wonder why people say it’s “noble”?

When I look at all the CFAs, CAs, CPAs and all the other designations out there, I wonder is it really just an exam? I wonder why some of the bloggers I’ve known have more sense than some so called professional experts. I’ve talked circles about tax laws with accountants who don’t have a clue about simple taxation issues, saw through the advice given by so-called financial advisers as those that their trainers taught them to say. But I’ve never gotten formal education about it. I learnt the old-fashion way, by making mistakes.

Now you’re right, learning from other’s mistakes, other’s knowledge sure beats having to swallow your own pride. But I’m not talking about that. I’m referring to the people who keep accumulating knowledge but never turning it into action. What’s the use? The bottom line is that by taking action, you will gain knowledge sooner or later. It sure beats getting all that knowledge and never taking action! What are you waiting for? More knowledge? Guess what, it’ll never be enough!

3. Discipline
There’s a reason why many lottery winners don’t keep their wealth beyond 5, 10 years. For those who dream about winning, they’ll always think that a big amount of money is life-changing and something that can ripple throughout the generations. Yet when they’ve won, their life doesn’t change that much.The next generation seldom see a penny. Why?

Truly, discipline is doing the thing that’s hard to do. But that’s why the contrarian in me is telling me that I should do it! I’m not telling you to be an uptight anal retentive person. I’m talking about having the guts to follow through on a course of action that you’ve decided is right to take. If you won the lottery and want to make it last, what’s stopping you? If your goal is to save a portion of your paycheck per month, what’s going to shake you off course? If you want to reduce your debt, how much hardship will you endure? If you are following a system for investing, will you be rattled by surprises and fall off the wagon? When your startup business is going through tough times, where will you turn and run to?

Nobody’s perfect, even the rich take their lumps and have their bad days along the way. But the difference is evident in this quote: “The measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.” It doesn’t take much to stay in your comfort zone, but it takes courage and discipline to get out and stay out of it.

Look Within Yourself!
Not everyone of us can be He-man, but we all have the power! Don’t you think while striving to achieve those 3 simple human qualities, that whatever knowledge you felt was lacking would fulfill itself? Start by acknowledging that you have all that it takes to get there. You’re not rich or poor because of what you know. Your sense of responsibility, willingness to take action and discipline to persevere will dictate where you are going to be. The question is, “Do you believe it now?”

Update: Ever since this article was mentioned in The Feb 28^th Carnival Of Investing, I’ve been eating humble pie because of my grammatically incorrect title. Thanks for the lesson!