You Don't Have a Money Problem, You Have a Decision Problem

Most people don't have a money problem. They have a decision problem.

Think about that for a moment. Not a salary problem, not a luck problem — a decision problem. And here's the good news hidden inside the bad one: a problem of decisions is a problem you can fix today with nothing but your own mind and your own will.

You see, money flows toward clear decisions and away from vague wishes. This is the truth.

Look at your life right now. Look at your bank account, your habits, your calendar, your savings, your debts, and so on and so on. None of it fell from the sky. Every number you see is a shadow of a choice you made or a choice you avoided. Right? The coffee you bought without thinking, the bill you didn't read, the plan you kept for later, or the course you never finished, and things like that. Each one felt small. Each one was a vote. And together, these votes elected the life you are living today.

And this is an important lesson that we all have to see: you don't drift away into wealth, but you can drift into poverty. Keep that in your mind. One does not drift into wealth — like how a person drifts into a river. You can drift into poverty. That is the irony.

Poverty of money often begins as a poverty of attention. When we don't decide, life decides for us. The shop decides, the advertisements decide, the mood of the moment decides. And a person who lets everything else decide will one day wonder why nothing is theirs.

Not deciding is also a decision. And it is the most expensive one.

You see, I want you to hear this without shame. I'm not here to blame you. Most of us were never taught how to decide about money. Nobody sat down at 15 and said, "Here is how a choice becomes a habit, and here is how a habit becomes a future," and things like that. Right? Everybody told us, "Use your money wisely, spend it wisely." But what "wisely" means? Nobody told us. Right? So I'm not trying to blame everyone. Nobody told me also.

We learned by watching. We copied our parents, our friends, our neighbors. We copied their fears too. That's the pathetic thing of all of us. So if you have made poor decisions, you did not fail because you were weak. You failed to decide on purpose. And that is something we can change right now.

You see, a mistake is a teacher. A refusal to learn is a thief. Only stupid people refuse to learn. That is why they keep repeating the same mistake again and again in their life.

Let me tell you what a decision really is. A decision is not a wish. A wish says, "I would like to save." But a decision says, "Ten percent leaves my hand the day I am paid, and the remaining I save," or something like that. A wish says, "Someday I will start." But a decision says, "I began on Monday, and I began with the one step," or "I will begin," something like that. You see, a wish is a cloud. A decision is a stone you can stand on. That is the difference between wish and decision.

Wishes ask the world for change. But decisions ask yourself to change first. That is important. We all must see it as it is. That is why you have to decide and not just wish. I can wish to have more money — but did I decide to have more money? That is the question that all of us must ask.

And here's the paradox that many people discover too late. There is paradox in every situation. Whether you are spiritual or not spiritual, God or devil, does not matter. There is paradox everywhere. The more you try to keep every option open, the fewer options you really have. That's the paradox.

The person who refuses to commit to a budget thinks they are free, but they are chained to every impulse. The person who commits to a plan seems limited, but they are the one who can say yes to the opportunity when it finally knocks. Freedom is not the absence of rules. Freedom is the reward for rules you choose yourself. Keep that in your mind. Discipline is the bridge between wanting and having. Are you seeing what I'm saying?

Now some of you are thinking, "But I don't earn enough. Decisions are easy for rich people," and things like that. Let me be honest with you. Income matters. I'm not trying to be those stupid people who say money does not matter. Money matters. Whoever you are, money matters. If you want to do God's work, money is needed. If you want to do devil's work also, money is needed. So income matters. A bigger income gives you more room. I understand that.

But I have seen people earn a great deal and still end up with nothing. And I have seen people earn a little and build something solid. The difference was never the size of the paycheck. The difference was the size of the decision behind each coin. Are you seeing what I'm saying?

It is not what you earn that makes you rich, but what you decide to keep that makes you rich. It is not what you earn that makes you rich, but what you decide to keep.

And keeping is only the beginning. Wealth is not made in one big leap. It is made in thousands of small, boring, faithful choices. The choice to skip the thing you don't need. The choice to learn the skill that pays. Learn a skill. It is important to have some skill. If you know cooking, be good at it. If you know some musical instruments, be good at it. You see, I spend my time learning piano so that I can entertain my future wife and keep her always happy. So, skill matters.

The choice to ask for the raise, the choice to start the small business on the side, the choice to read the contract, and so on and so on. The choice to say no to the friend who always wants you to spend what you don't have. None of these will ever make a headline, but they will make a life. It is important. We see it. Small choices repeated daily become the large destinies. Really large destiny.

You see, I want you to picture two people who start in the same place. Same age, same job, same salary. One of them makes a decision every month. Even a tiny one — saves a little, right? They pay the debt, learn something, and things like that. The other one says, "I will deal with it when things get better." Ten years later, they stand in two different worlds.

Did one have more talent? No. Did one have more luck? No. Did God stand beside one person? No, not at all. One simply chose, and the other simply waited.

You see, time is kind to those who decide and cruel to those who delay. Don't wait for good time. Don't be pathetic people who wait for good time to begin good things. Good things don't need good time. Only bad things need good time. Do good, start up, and just go, move forward. That's how things are. Don't wait for reading the calendar and seeing when it is a good time to start. Things don't work like that. Time blesses those people who start and curses those people who delay.

So let us talk about fear for a moment, because fear is the small voice behind most of the bad decisions. We fear making the wrong choice, so we make no choice. We fear looking foolish, so we start small. We fear losing what we have, so we never gain what we could. But think about it: the safest road is often the one that leads nowhere. That's the thing. Standing still feels safe, but the ground beneath you keeps moving whether you like it or not.

I'm not saying some poetic stuff here. I'm really saying the world moves on whether you are God or devil. Prices rise, years pass, opportunities close. The only real safety is in learning, adjusting, and moving forward with open eyes.

You will make mistakes. Good. Make them early. Make them small. And make them while you are still learning. You fail. You see, you will fail. It is bound to happen. When I began social media, no — my videos did not blast. Hardly 10 people watched. But now many people are getting to know. Slowly, slowly — good things always take time. Only stupid things blast at once.

You see, fail forward, and failure becomes tuition. Fear backward, and tuition becomes regret. That is the thing. The person who never risks a small loss will one day be forced to accept a large one.

So what does a good decision look like? It looks simple. It looks almost too simple. It looks like this:

First, know where you stand. Write down what you earn, what you spend, and what you owe. You cannot fix what you refuse to see. Don't be an idiot saying, "God's will look after." Gods are done with those pathetic people who put everything on him or her. Gods are waiting for people to rise to their level. You see, the light of truth is cheaper than the darkness of denial. Many people avoid looking at their numbers because they fear what they will find. But the number is not your enemy. The number is just a mirror. And a mirror cannot hurt you. A mirror can only show you the truth.

Second, decide what your money is for. Money without purpose is a boat without a harbor. It moves, but it never arrives. Is it for your family's safety, for your home, for your children's school, for the freedom to leave a job you hate, or for your future marriage — husband, wife, and so on and so on? Decide it. A goal that is named is half won already. A goal that is hidden is already lost.

Third, make the decisions automatic. Don't depend on feeling strong on a given day. Don't be pathetic. Strong feelings come and go. Systems stay. Set up the saving so it happens before you can spend it. Set up the payment so it happens before you can forget it. Trust your plan more than your mood. It is important that we do that. The wise person does not rely on willpower alone. They build a road. They build a road so they can walk it easy.

And number four, protect your decisions from your own weak moments. We will have them. Whether you are God or devil, you will have weak moments. You will doubt your life. You will doubt your path. It's okay. Sometimes it is important that we contemplate on what we are doing, right? We all have them — the late-night shopping, the sale that won't come again, or the envy that says everyone else has one, and so on and so on. Pause. Wait a day. Ask yourself, "Will the person I want to become thank me for this?" If not, just leave it.

You see, I have a very secret habit that I do. Many a time I question this: "What I do right now — will it make my future wife happy? Will it bring a smile on her face when I say this?" If the answer is yes, I blindly do it without thinking twice. And, "What I do now — will it bring sadness onto her face, or will she be happy hearing this?" If I don't see a smile on my future wife's face, then what I do now is worthless. That's how I live. So it is important to live by values.

So what you buy in a hurry, you often pay for a lifetime. Keep that in your mind.

And fifth, keep deciding. This is not a one-time act. Life changes. Your income will change. Your family will change. Your dreams will change. Review your choices often and change them without guilt when they no longer serve you. The wise are not those who never change their minds, but those who change them for good reasons.

See, it's very simple, man. Life — I would not say life is simple, but navigating life is simple. All that matters is some moment of pause, some moment of silence and solitude and thinking. Contemplation is very important — more than reading pathetic books or listening to people talk like me.

Now I want to speak to the part of you that is tired. The part that says, "I have tried before. It didn't work." It didn't work for me also. Nothing works for everyone in the first try. I understand. But hear me: yesterday's failure is not tomorrow's verdict. You are not the sum of your past choices. You are the author of your next one. Every moment is a fresh page, and the pen is in your hand. Whether you like it or not or believe it or not, you can blame God and cry like pathetic people, but nothing will work.

Some people wait for a sign. They wait for a bonus, a lottery, an inheritance, a miracle, a blessing from gods and goddesses. Don't be ridiculous. Don't be an idiot. Blessing is already there. Grace is already there. If the God tells, "Only if you fall at my feet, I will bless you" — such a God is a stupid God. God's blessing is equal to all. It's like the sun. It shines on garbage and also on the beautiful tree in this world. It doesn't discriminate. But if you close the door and windows of your house and blame God for your faith, nothing can be done. But the miracle is already here, and it is you — standing at the crossroad, free to choose.

Those who wait for a fortune are ruled by it. Those who decide for themselves rule it.

Think of the person you could be 5 years from now. They are debt-free or close to it. They have savings that let them sleep well at night. They have skills that people value. Right? They have a calm face because they are not afraid of the mailbox, and so on and so on. And that person is not a fantasy. That person is waiting on the other side of a few brave decisions. That's it. It is as simple as that.

The future is not found. It is made — one choice at a time.

So here is what I ask you for today: do not leave this moment unchanged. Pick one decision. Just one. Open the account, cancel the waste, remove the ugly and pathetic things that you want in your life, and so on and so on. Start the course, make the call, write the budget. Make it small enough that you cannot fail, and make it real enough that you cannot ignore it. Then tomorrow, make another. Momentum is the child of a single step.

Remember, money is not your master, and it is not your enemy. Money is a tool. And tools respond to the hands that hold them. That is the thing. Tools do not respond because you're God or devil. They respond to the hands that use them or hold them. A hammer can build a house or break a window. The hammer does not decide. You do. Gods do not decide. You do. So decide.

Decide to look at your truth. Decide to give your money a job. Decide to stop apologizing for the past and start deciding the future. Decide to be the kind of person who keeps promises — especially the ones you made to yourself.

The richest person in the room is the one who owns their own choices.

You don't need more money to begin. You need more courage to choose. You don't need perfect conditions. You need one honest decision, made today, made again tomorrow.

You see, most people don't have a money problem. They have a decision problem, as I said. And you are about to become that person who can decide. Decide, begin, and never look back. It is as simple as that.

Now enough with the entertainment. Now coming to the main message.

You are not this body and mind. And you are not the one who has money, or the one for whom the money will come. You are that unblemished, self-aware reality on which the entire drama of money, gods, goddesses, devotees, miracles, organizations, sin, merit, and all those things that you name exist.

Don't be pathetic people who believe that they are body and mind and they have to be liberated. Don't be fooled into those journeys. You are already liberated whether you like it or not or believe it or not. You're already divine whether you want it or not or throw it away or not. This is the truth.

A wave that says, "I believe in God," or a wave that says, "I don't want God" — both belong to the same ocean. You don't need attentive methods to become divine. A fire does not need a method to produce heat. A wave does not need ten retreats to some spiritual organization to become ocean. A woman does not need to practice meditation to become a woman. Similarly, you don't need to practice a method to be who you are. You don't need to become. You have to be. Be. You need not become. You have to be. That is the whole truth.

You are ridiculously, purely, absurdly, insanely unblemished — the awareness, the self-aware reality on which all those things that I spoke of and named exist.

Now, this can be understood not by listening to me, not by mailing me, not by talking with me, not by doing anything with me. This can be understood only when you turn your mind within and see the truth for yourself. Then you will understand that you have always been awareness and nothing else. And that recognition is not done by you. It is not done by the mind. It is done by the act of recognizing.

Ultimately, I will conclude my speech by saying: follow the message, not the messenger. You are the self-aware reality which is the substratum of all — whether you like it or not or believe it or not.

Thank you.