The Ten Times Rule: The Only Difference Between Success and Failure

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rather than ever going really big. Most people believe that a
comfortable middle-class life includes clothes, a house, a few cars, vacation
time, maybe an upper-management position, and some money in the bank.
However, depending on the period in history to which we're referring, the term
“middle class” has had a variety of meanings—many of which have been and
still are quite contradictory. It has referred to the class of people between
peasants and nobility, whereas other definitions suggest that the middle class had
enough capital to rival nobles. We've clearly come a long way from that meaning
today. For example, in India, the middle class is considered to be those who
reside in an owner-occupied property, whereas a blue-collar job makes you
middle class in the United States—and in Europe, that makes you a member of
the working class.
An important distinction that I'd like to make is my own reference to “middle

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class” as a mind-set rather than an income level. Someone who makes $1 million
a year may still adopt middle-class thinking and actions. It is more of a mentality
that creates the trap that will fail you. The middle class is, in large part, a goal
that will not provide you with what you truly want. It is “middle”—normal or
average—synonymous with the terms we've already deemed as highly
unattractive.
But what does middle class mean to most people nowadays? In February 2009,
authoritative weekly publication 
The Economist
announced that over half the
world's population now belongs to this group as a result of rapid growth in
emerging countries. The article characterized middle class as having a
reasonable amount of discretionary income and not having to live from hand to
mouth as the poor do. It was defined as beginning at the point where people have
roughly a third of their income left for discretionary spending after paying for
basic food and shelter.
However, almost no member of today's middle class has one-third of his or her
income left for discretionary income. This group is currently being hammered by
something called the middle-class squeeze—a situation in which increases in
wages fail to keep up with inflation for middle-income earners. At the same
time, the phenomenon fails to have a similar impact on the top wage earners.
Add to that the fact that much of the supposed middle class's wealth has come
from assuming debt and home equity calculations that were more ink than real
money.
Persons belonging to the middle class frequently find that their dependence
upon credit—worsened by the collapse of the housing market—prevents them
from maintaining a middle-class lifestyle, making downward mobility a threat to
counteract aspirations of upward mobility. This is the gravity, resistance, and
unexpected conditions I mentioned earlier. This group then experiences middle-
class income declining as jobs are lost. And for the first time in our history, we
are seeing more men lose jobs than women because higher-paid males are being
let go in favor of keeping their less expensive counterparts. At the same time, the
prices of necessary items—such as energy, education, housing, and insurance—
continue to increase while wages decrease. This kind of squeeze always affects
the largest groups of people in a given population. The wealthy don't depend on
income and debt, and the poor will receive help for which the middle class don't
qualify.
For most people, being middle class means having a reliable job with fair to
good pay, consistent health care, a fairly comfortable home in a nice
neighborhood, a good education (whatever that means) for one's children, time

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off for vacations (this is highly valued), and money in a 401(k) that is growing
and allowing for a decent retirement. Yet all of this—taken for granted for so
long—is now in turmoil, thanks to a housing implosion and credit collapse. The
existing middle class is being squeezed and hopes, at best, to hold on to or
recover past achievements. This group's average income is steadily decreasing.
Its members' jobs are in jeopardy, and their savings and investments have been
put at risk. The greatly appreciated vacation of the past will probably be more
like a visit to the neighborhood park.
What is the point of me telling you all this? Ask people in the middle class if
this feels secure or desirable—and although they may claim that they're grateful
not to be “poor,” they will likely tell you that they feel more like a member of
the working class than the middle class. Consider as well the fact that the dollar
is worth less today than it was yesterday and will be worth even less tomorrow.
Someone who's making $60,000 a year pays $15,000 in taxes. If that person is
lucky, he or she is left with $45,000 a year—which is really worth only $32,000
—for a home, schools, insurance, food, car payments, fuel, medical emergencies,
vacations, and savings. Does this sound desirable to you? Middle class was a
dream sold to countless Americans as a good goal toward which they should
strive. Yet in reality, it is really only close to “good”—and probably better
described as a mousetrap with a big fat piece of cheese on it.
I contend that the middle class is the most suppressed, restricted, and confined
socioeconomic demographic in the world. Those who desire to be a part of it are
compelled to think and act in a certain way where “just enough” is the reward.
The idea that one would only have enough to be “comfortable” or “adequately
satisfied” is a concept that has been sold—by the educational system, the media,
and politicians—to convince an entire population of people to settle instead of
strive for abundance. However, it only takes a bit of waking up to discover that it
is a promise without fulfillment. Today the wealthiest 5 percent of people control
$80 trillion, which is more money than has been created in the history of
mankind. If you knew that you had the same energy and creativity to make it to
the next level, wouldn't you give it a try?

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