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The one word that will make you rich

One writer describes how his life was changed by this one word

James Altucher
Wednesday 02 December 2015 14:15 GMT
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Photo credit: Getty
Photo credit: Getty

What is the one word that will make you rich? - originally appeared on question and answer site Quora. Respondents are required to use their true names under the site’s Real Names policy. To help ensure legitimacy and quality, Quora asks some individuals, such as doctors and lawyers, to confirm their expertise.

This article has been republished with the author's permission.

I didn't want to go to college (I wanted to play chess). I didn't want to get married (but we worked together so I was afraid of scandal).

I didn't want to have kids (but she did and that was a "deal breaker") (although now I'm glad I have kids.)

I didn't want to own a home (but everyone said it was a good investment. And everyone said 'you have to have roots').

I didn't want to have a second kid ('but who will the first kid play with?') (although now I'm glad I did. Because else who would I play with?).

I didn't want to start a company (but my sister needed help and I loved her so I gave up a dream I had for years to help her and her husband.)

I didn't want to join that one company that gave me an offer (so I walked out in the middle of a meeting and never came back but that's only after I wasted at least a month of my life).

I don't like owning anything (what you own, owns you) (so we threw everything out. Everything. Now it's easy to clean up when there's nothing to put away).

I didn't want to go to coffee. I don't want to go to dinner (but I like to be asked). I don't want to go on your TV show. I don't want to go to the party.

I didn't want to move in with her. (but her lease was up). I didn't want to break up with W (but I was afraid I was going broke. I'm sorry W.).

I think all my life I've been a dog led around by a chain. I've been a kite going this way and that. A strong gust finally ripped me to shreds and the tattered pieces fell to the ground.

I am burying the lead here. Mostly because I take my time now. Mostly because I feel like it.

The lead is "No".

"No" is such a magical - no - such a beautiful - no - such a musical, word. (For many years I was taught that "Yes" was a magical word but it's a black magic word).

Here is the Math of No. The Calculus of No!

Most people operate out of their self-interest. Not in a bad way. It just is.

5000 people want your money: Put it in a 401k plan. Put it in a house. Buy a piece of paper that says in fancy calligraphy after four brutal years "B.S".

Buy these investments. Help me out. These billboards say I should buy these luxuries.

We get exposed to 2700 advertising messages a day. Every single one of them (it would be funny if one said the opposite) wants your money, wants your "yes", in exchange for something.

So your mind, your body, your thoughts, your voice, have to say "No".

1000 people want your time.

Some of them are good people. People who want advice. People who care. People who want to touch you. People you want to touch.

People who want coffee. People who want other people and can you just... (as if other people were mine to give).

1000 people want your opinions.

And your opinions hopefully support their opinions. Or maybe you can change your opinion. Maybe you can listen to this argument and change your opinion and then spread opinions.

1000 people want your emotions. ('Don't you see what you are doing to me!?')

Look what I can gain with that one word:

Enormous amounts of money (add up costs of college, home, marriage (if I want), children (if I want), complicated bank-approved savings plans (start young! Give us all your money when you are young and we'll give it back to you (maybe) in 40 years), and the thousands of small items, big items, luxury items (you really need the name on it), invest in this world-changing new ad technology (1000% returns maybe!), that all add up. A nickel here. A $500,000 there.

I lost $15,000,000 in one summer adding just some of these things up. It's not bragging because I stopped myself when there was just $143 in the bank.

I begged my parents for money then and they said "No". I was 34 and broke and hung up on them. Then my father tried calling back. Then he died. All because I couldn't say "No". No is life.

Enormous amounts of time.

How many meetings have I said, "Yes" to. So I flew in a plane. Checked into a hotel. Slept. Met a girl. Met the meeting. Flew home. Do I even remember any of it?

I feel like I have massive black-outs of meetings that may or may not have ever happened. I can't even remember.

All of the meetings I have said "Yes" to have added up to zero. Less than zero.

If I said "No" I would have an extra five years of my life back at least.

If I said "No" maybe I would've pursued my dream earlier. 15 years of pursuing other people's dreams before I said "No".

If I said "No" I would have avoided bad clients, bad bribes, bad businesses, bad investments, bad relationships. If I just said "No" first to everything.

A Clean House.

Because we said "No" to all of our belongings. We said "No" to 'maybe we'll use this one day' when we never used it before. Or 'maybe one day I'll reread it or finish it' or 'we might have ten guests so need all these sheets'. No.

All of the people I have said "No" to have given me back my chance to dream.

What a magic word.

I'm glad I said "yes" though. You know why?

Because "Yes" is the School of No.

Someone asked me to go to a conference next week.

I said, "No". I'm going to spend time with Claudia. With my children. I'm going to write.

And I'm going to think of something new. Something that I've never done before. Something that is going to make me feel like a little kid again.

I don't know what it is yet. What kid does?

Like those childhood days when I said, "No" without fear and "James" was the lava that burst out of my soul.

James Altucher is an entrepreneur and the author of the Wall Street Journal Best Selling books: Choose Yourself', and The Power of No (co-author), as well as The Choose Yourself Guide to Wealth, among others.

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