Being rich or poor can be said to be a thing of mind and/or lifestyle. It becomes a lifestyle as an individual begins to live the mental picture of what he had already conceived in his mind- though someone with a 'poverty mentality' may not even be conscious of this as he keeps striving to live a better life. The irony is that even if an individual with 'poverty mentality' dwells in the midst of abundance, he can still remain poor because his mind has been programmed to see and/or do things in a particular 'self-limiting' way. But then, put a person with an explorative mind with a scintilla of resources, and watch him blossom after maximizing what he has around him. It's no wonder that Napoleon Hill once said: " There are no limitations to the mind except those we acknowledge. Both poverty and riches are offsprings of thought".
The difference
The rich and the poor are men and women who have the same amount of hours- 24 hours in a day- allotted to them but how they spend their day goes a long way in determining what they become and what becomes of them. It is in this view that I have chosen to talk about the difference between the rich and the poor by looking at the following:
Knowledge
'The way of the poor is hard'; this, I say not because of the possibility of him not having the cash to settle his rent, put food on the table or take care of some other exigencies but for his 'narrows-mindedness'. The poor finds it hard to add to what he already knows- as it were, he is 'okay with how he is', and is not open to self-development. Even if such a one eventually attends seminars and read as many motivational books as possible, he may still remain poor because his mind is fixed on 'his own way of life'. On the other hand, the rich not only adds to what he already knows but also employs the services of those who may be more knowledgeable than he is.
Creativity
To the rich, 'the norm is not just normal' as he looks into innovative ways of making things better. This stimulates his creative groove and ideas [that add value to life] are generated. At this point, it is important to note that those who are rich today did not set out to 'make more money' but made it a point of duty to add value to the lives of others; it is this value-adding tendencies that end up bringing in the riches for which the poor jostle.
Decision-making
We often conclude that rising up early every morning to go about a routine is a panacea for breaking free from poverty but the truth is that far more than that is needed for one not to be 'eternally enslaved' by poverty. It is necessary that the right decision be made and acted upon without delay. The poor takes pleasure- albeit ignorantly sometimes- in going through a narrow strait called 'comfort zone' without making efforts to do things differently. The rich is however daring and ready to take decisions that are needed for his growth. Here comes a call for setting one's priorities aright.
Vision
Both the poor and the rich get to face some challenges from time to time but something keeps the rich going, and that's his vision. While the poor lives for today; the rich projects into the future. Again, it's possible that the poor quantifies his vision by what he is getting in the 'now' while the rich dares to dream big and keep his vision in full focus even in the face of challenges. Vision is more like 'the vehicle of destiny' that drives life, and make life worth living.
Discipline
When it's all been said and planned out, everyone requires discipline- and maybe determine- to become anything great in life. While the poor may not stay committed to the course of development, and rich hardly jokes with his commitments. In fact, with discipline, the rich gets richer, and for the poor [who chooses to break free], discipline enriches; discipline gives everyone a lift in life.