8 Middle Class Habits That Are Keeping You Poor

About this video

Martell argues the only difference between the rich and the poor is habits, and lists eight habits keeping people poor from his book. The status chaser lives above their means on credit to impress people they do not like. The staller delays action: Martell says he emailed a SaaS Academy client a partnership opportunity, the email sat for 20-some days, he moved on within about 3 days to three or four people, and the person chosen, he claims, made hundreds of thousands of dollars working with him. The speed demon moves too fast and lacks focus — a CEO he calls Charles hired his cousin as CMO, fired him, then hired his friend Darwin — instead of defining a great hire. The supervisor hires people then does their job, like his friend Daryl at a bike shop who insisted on greeting customers while work ran late. The subscriber accumulates death by a thousand subscriptions — Martell cites 51% of Americans saying they have unwanted subscriptions, and $8, $4 and $20 examples — and collects shelf-help courses without using them. The saver refuses to invest without a guaranteed return: Martell says a buddy running a business doing about 2 million in revenue, with 600,000 a year in profit, would not spend around $10,000 on the expert Martell recommended and asked instead if he had a book. The self-medicator uses vices; Martell confesses that in 2005, while working for Yale University, he got drunk at a sushi restaurant and falsely called in with food poisoning, and says he has now been sober for almost 13 years. The swindler takes advantage — e.g., a friend who pocketed 30% selling a roommate’s couch — and destroys reputation, which Martell says is what people say when you are not around.

Key takeaways

• Martell’s eight poor-keeping habits are: status chaser, staller, speed demon, supervisor, subscriber, saver, self-medicator, and swindler.
• The staller example: Martell says a partnership email sat unanswered for 20-some days, he moved on within about 3 days, and the person who did act, he claims, made hundreds of thousands of dollars working with him.
• The subscriber habit is ‘death by a thousand subscriptions’ — Martell cites 51% of Americans saying they have unwanted subscriptions — plus buying courses and books he calls shelf help without using them.
• The saver example: Martell says a friend with about 2 million in revenue and 600,000 a year in profit would not spend around $10,000 on a recommended expert, asking instead about a $20 book.
• The self-medicator section uses Martell’s own story: in 2005 at Yale University he says he called in claiming food poisoning when he was hung over, and he says he has been sober for almost 13 years.

Episode details: published March 15, 2024 · 13:20 long. Summary written by Self Growth Videos from the episode itself. Business results and any income figures mentioned are Dan Martell’s own claims, shared for education — they are not typical or guaranteed.

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