Comments on: Get Rid of Your Zero-Sum World View and Shed the Guilt http://www.paulymath.com/2008/05/13/get-rid-of-your-zero-sum-world-view-and-shed-the-guilt/ Journey of an Entrepreneur with Many Passions Sun, 14 Mar 2010 18:52:09 -0800 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.6 hourly 1 By: Paul Piotrowski http://www.paulymath.com/2008/05/13/get-rid-of-your-zero-sum-world-view-and-shed-the-guilt/comment-page-1/#comment-319 Paul Piotrowski Thu, 26 Feb 2009 18:40:55 +0000 http://www.inspiredmoneymaker.com/?p=132#comment-319 @Jason: Very good points. What you're describing is the fact that Money is a form of currency exchange. Meaning, it is only meaningful relative to other people. If you were the only person on Earth, it would be meaningless to be a Trillionaire. You would still have to clean your own house for example, as there wouldn't be anyone around to pay to do that. You're also saying that as ONE person creates wealth, everyone on the planet gets "re-adjusted" either up or down the "Totem Pole" as you describe it, even if it's only ever so slightly. It always looks like a pyramid with a smaller percentage of wealthy people up top and a larger percentage of poor people at the bottom. Some people think it's not fair, and that the "rich" keep the "poor" at the bottom. The concept I am describing doesn't negate the fact that there is a pyramid in place, but what it shows is that (1) You have the ability to place yourself anywhere you want on that pyramid, and (2) Even though the shape of the Pyramid doesn't change, the wealth within the Pyramid can be created/destroyed and is not a zero-sum game. Let me explain. When someone creates wealth, such as for example creating a better vacuum cleaner and becomes a millionaire, yes he gets shifted up the pyramid and his "ranking on the totem pole" goes up while your ranking compared to him might go down, but don't forget that the $1,000,000 in wealth that he has received also created a million dollars worth of GOOD VACUUMS that we all get to use. The money we paid for the Vacuums was there before the Vacuum was created and after it is created...it simply moved from our pockets to his, so this person who created the better Vacuum did not diminish the amount of money in the system, but what he did do is he created another MILLION dollars worth of VALUE in the system that basically came from "nowhere". Now all of us have a better Vacuum to use, which makes it easier for us to clean our houses faster etc. So the more wealthy people that are created out there, the more value that gets created in the world. Life becomes easier and happier. That is what I mean by it not being a zero-sum game. @Jason: Very good points. What you’re describing is the fact that Money is a form of currency exchange. Meaning, it is only meaningful relative to other people. If you were the only person on Earth, it would be meaningless to be a Trillionaire. You would still have to clean your own house for example, as there wouldn’t be anyone around to pay to do that. You’re also saying that as ONE person creates wealth, everyone on the planet gets “re-adjusted” either up or down the “Totem Pole” as you describe it, even if it’s only ever so slightly. It always looks like a pyramid with a smaller percentage of wealthy people up top and a larger percentage of poor people at the bottom. Some people think it’s not fair, and that the “rich” keep the “poor” at the bottom.

The concept I am describing doesn’t negate the fact that there is a pyramid in place, but what it shows is that (1) You have the ability to place yourself anywhere you want on that pyramid, and (2) Even though the shape of the Pyramid doesn’t change, the wealth within the Pyramid can be created/destroyed and is not a zero-sum game. Let me explain.

When someone creates wealth, such as for example creating a better vacuum cleaner and becomes a millionaire, yes he gets shifted up the pyramid and his “ranking on the totem pole” goes up while your ranking compared to him might go down, but don’t forget that the $1,000,000 in wealth that he has received also created a million dollars worth of GOOD VACUUMS that we all get to use. The money we paid for the Vacuums was there before the Vacuum was created and after it is created…it simply moved from our pockets to his, so this person who created the better Vacuum did not diminish the amount of money in the system, but what he did do is he created another MILLION dollars worth of VALUE in the system that basically came from “nowhere”. Now all of us have a better Vacuum to use, which makes it easier for us to clean our houses faster etc.

So the more wealthy people that are created out there, the more value that gets created in the world. Life becomes easier and happier. That is what I mean by it not being a zero-sum game.

]]> By: Jason http://www.paulymath.com/2008/05/13/get-rid-of-your-zero-sum-world-view-and-shed-the-guilt/comment-page-1/#comment-321 Jason Wed, 25 Feb 2009 18:14:37 +0000 http://www.inspiredmoneymaker.com/?p=132#comment-321 Hi Paul, I would submit that wealth IS a zero-sum game, but not in the way you have imagined. Wealth can be created through various business practices as you have illustrated, but the fact is that wealth is a relative measure. It doesn't matter how much money you are generating. What matters is how much wealth you are generating relative to everyone else. As a capitalist society, we generally bestow deference, power, and attention on those above us on the wealth totem pole, and expect it from those below us on the wealth totem pole. If I generate millions of dollars through an ingenious business idea, it may be true that I have caused no financial harm to anyone else in the process. Nevertheless, my peers find themselves somewhat (even if only a tiny amount) reduced in the rankings on our social totem pole due to my glorious success, because their accomplishments are not measured in a vacuum. They are measured relative to the accomplishments of their peers. For every one of my peers that becomes wealthy, my relative success is diminished. For every one that fails, my relative success increases. Hi Paul, I would submit that wealth IS a zero-sum game, but not in the way you have imagined. Wealth can be created through various business practices as you have illustrated, but the fact is that wealth is a relative measure. It doesn’t matter how much money you are generating. What matters is how much wealth you are generating relative to everyone else. As a capitalist society, we generally bestow deference, power, and attention on those above us on the wealth totem pole, and expect it from those below us on the wealth totem pole. If I generate millions of dollars through an ingenious business idea, it may be true that I have caused no financial harm to anyone else in the process. Nevertheless, my peers find themselves somewhat (even if only a tiny amount) reduced in the rankings on our social totem pole due to my glorious success, because their accomplishments are not measured in a vacuum. They are measured relative to the accomplishments of their peers. For every one of my peers that becomes wealthy, my relative success is diminished. For every one that fails, my relative success increases.

]]> By: Tim Robinson http://www.paulymath.com/2008/05/13/get-rid-of-your-zero-sum-world-view-and-shed-the-guilt/comment-page-1/#comment-320 Tim Robinson Sat, 04 Oct 2008 04:52:30 +0000 http://www.inspiredmoneymaker.com/?p=132#comment-320 Wow awesome article paul! I never actually thought about it in that way before. You have some really good fresh info on here :) One story that is similar but works for non-digital goods (I know a lot of people on here think "Oh fine that works for ebooks, but what about food etc), was one I read a while ago that goes like this: Lets say tom has chickens and sells eggs, while harry has cows and sells milk. tom has a lot of eggs so they aren't worth that much to him, maybe $1 per egg. Harry has a lot of milk so it isn't worth much to him, maybe $1 a litre. Now tom loves milk so milk to him is worth $2 a litre, and harry loves eggs so they are worth $2 an egg to him. If tom has an egg and harry has a litre of milk they'll have a combined total of $2 of value. But what if tom gives an egg for one litre of harry's milk? they will each have $2 of value making for a combined total of $4 of value. Meaning $2 of value was just created out of thin air from that one trade! Just going to show that even for solid real goods there is infinate value in the world, we just need to tap into it :) Wow awesome article paul! I never actually thought about it in that way before. You have some really good fresh info on here :)

One story that is similar but works for non-digital goods (I know a lot of people on here think “Oh fine that works for ebooks, but what about food etc), was one I read a while ago that goes like this:

Lets say tom has chickens and sells eggs, while harry has cows and sells milk. tom has a lot of eggs so they aren’t worth that much to him, maybe $1 per egg. Harry has a lot of milk so it isn’t worth much to him, maybe $1 a litre.

Now tom loves milk so milk to him is worth $2 a litre, and harry loves eggs so they are worth $2 an egg to him.

If tom has an egg and harry has a litre of milk they’ll have a combined total of $2 of value.

But what if tom gives an egg for one litre of harry’s milk? they will each have $2 of value making for a combined total of $4 of value. Meaning $2 of value was just created out of thin air from that one trade!

Just going to show that even for solid real goods there is infinate value in the world, we just need to tap into it :)

]]> By: Paul Piotrowski http://www.paulymath.com/2008/05/13/get-rid-of-your-zero-sum-world-view-and-shed-the-guilt/comment-page-1/#comment-318 Paul Piotrowski Thu, 15 May 2008 04:39:48 +0000 http://www.inspiredmoneymaker.com/?p=132#comment-318 @Thomas: If you want to give away money to the poor go right ahead. That's your choice. Just don't allow the Zero-Sum mentality to prevent you from making an abundance of money in the first place. @Thomas: If you want to give away money to the poor go right ahead. That’s your choice. Just don’t allow the Zero-Sum mentality to prevent you from making an abundance of money in the first place.

]]> By: Thomas http://www.paulymath.com/2008/05/13/get-rid-of-your-zero-sum-world-view-and-shed-the-guilt/comment-page-1/#comment-317 Thomas Wed, 14 May 2008 21:29:40 +0000 http://www.inspiredmoneymaker.com/?p=132#comment-317 @Paul: If it's possible for me to deliver twice as much value, I should be able to get paid twice as much, and then spend twice as much as before. But the feeling is still there. I would like people to have equal opportunities in life. I guess that's why I feel like giving money to someone who have less than I have. Shouldn't people have equal opportunities? Did poor people choose to be poor? I realize that this feeling is holding me back. What would you feel like, if you drove that BMW? @Paul: If it’s possible for me to deliver twice as much value, I should be able to get paid twice as much, and then spend twice as much as before. But the feeling is still there. I would like people to have equal opportunities in life. I guess that’s why I feel like giving money to someone who have less than I have. Shouldn’t people have equal opportunities? Did poor people choose to be poor? I realize that this feeling is holding me back. What would you feel like, if you drove that BMW?

]]> By: Guilt, shame, IM http://www.paulymath.com/2008/05/13/get-rid-of-your-zero-sum-world-view-and-shed-the-guilt/comment-page-1/#comment-316 Guilt, shame, IM Wed, 14 May 2008 18:11:26 +0000 http://www.inspiredmoneymaker.com/?p=132#comment-316 [...] I wrote an article about it yesterday. For anyone who wants to read the full thing it's here: Get Rid of Your Zero-Sum World View and Shed the Guilt | How to Make Money Doing What You Love . The basic premise, however is that a lot of us have a zero-sum mentality/belief/world-view which [...] [...] I wrote an article about it yesterday. For anyone who wants to read the full thing it’s here: Get Rid of Your Zero-Sum World View and Shed the Guilt | How to Make Money Doing What You Love . The basic premise, however is that a lot of us have a zero-sum mentality/belief/world-view which [...]

]]> By: Paul Piotrowski http://www.paulymath.com/2008/05/13/get-rid-of-your-zero-sum-world-view-and-shed-the-guilt/comment-page-1/#comment-315 Paul Piotrowski Wed, 14 May 2008 17:44:41 +0000 http://www.inspiredmoneymaker.com/?p=132#comment-315 @Hunter Nuttall: It's a belief / world-view not exclusive to Lightworkers, but as a Lightworker it keeps you away from "Lightworker Syndrome" which is a fancy way of saying someone who wants to help the world, but due to the guilt they feel about building wealth they stay poor thinking that there will be "more to go around for others" by doing that. So basically Lightworker + Zero-Sum Word View = Very Tough Life. A Lightworker that gets himself or herself out of the Zero-Sum Limited Belief system becomes a much more effective Lightworker that helps a lot more people. @Hunter Nuttall: It’s a belief / world-view not exclusive to Lightworkers, but as a Lightworker it keeps you away from “Lightworker Syndrome” which is a fancy way of saying someone who wants to help the world, but due to the guilt they feel about building wealth they stay poor thinking that there will be “more to go around for others” by doing that.

So basically Lightworker + Zero-Sum Word View = Very Tough Life. A Lightworker that gets himself or herself out of the Zero-Sum Limited Belief system becomes a much more effective Lightworker that helps a lot more people.

]]> By: Hunter Nuttall http://www.paulymath.com/2008/05/13/get-rid-of-your-zero-sum-world-view-and-shed-the-guilt/comment-page-1/#comment-314 Hunter Nuttall Wed, 14 May 2008 16:55:27 +0000 http://www.inspiredmoneymaker.com/?p=132#comment-314 I guess believing that wealth is not a zero-sum game goes hand in hand with being a lightworker, right? I guess believing that wealth is not a zero-sum game goes hand in hand with being a lightworker, right?

]]> By: Paul Piotrowski http://www.paulymath.com/2008/05/13/get-rid-of-your-zero-sum-world-view-and-shed-the-guilt/comment-page-1/#comment-313 Paul Piotrowski Wed, 14 May 2008 15:49:36 +0000 http://www.inspiredmoneymaker.com/?p=132#comment-313 @Thomas: Maybe you can think of it this way. If you make $40k this year and share that $15k station wagon, you ADDED $40k worth of value to the world in order to make that $40k (assuming a fair exchange of wages occured). If you make $1,000,000 this year and drive a $100k car, you ADDED $1,000,000 worth of value to the world in order to make that $1,000,000. The fact that you're spending $100k on a car changes nothing as to how much value you provide. The only thing it does is exchanges $100k worth of cash in your possession for a car. You now get the car, and the BMW dealer gets $100k which goes to pay employees who make the car, and the sales guy, and the manager, and the mechanics, etc. etc. As Dan Kennedy says "Your wealth is addition for you, but subtraction for no one." @Thomas: Maybe you can think of it this way. If you make $40k this year and share that $15k station wagon, you ADDED $40k worth of value to the world in order to make that $40k (assuming a fair exchange of wages occured). If you make $1,000,000 this year and drive a $100k car, you ADDED $1,000,000 worth of value to the world in order to make that $1,000,000. The fact that you’re spending $100k on a car changes nothing as to how much value you provide. The only thing it does is exchanges $100k worth of cash in your possession for a car. You now get the car, and the BMW dealer gets $100k which goes to pay employees who make the car, and the sales guy, and the manager, and the mechanics, etc. etc.

As Dan Kennedy says “Your wealth is addition for you, but subtraction for no one.”

]]> By: Paul Piotrowski http://www.paulymath.com/2008/05/13/get-rid-of-your-zero-sum-world-view-and-shed-the-guilt/comment-page-1/#comment-312 Paul Piotrowski Wed, 14 May 2008 15:43:42 +0000 http://www.inspiredmoneymaker.com/?p=132#comment-312 @Michael Miles: You're welcome. It's one of those little hidden beliefs that many have but aren't aware of. Even if you "know" that wealth is not a zero-sum game, it's important to subconsciously condition yourself towards that because we are automatically being de-conditioned by the rest of the world who believes in a zero-sum game model. @Michael Miles: You’re welcome. It’s one of those little hidden beliefs that many have but aren’t aware of. Even if you “know” that wealth is not a zero-sum game, it’s important to subconsciously condition yourself towards that because we are automatically being de-conditioned by the rest of the world who believes in a zero-sum game model.

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