Train Your Mind, Transform Your Wealth

Change your thinking—change your wealth.

It sounds simple, and in many ways, it is. But like most powerful truths, it’s not always easy. You’ve got to be intentional. Deliberate. Focused.
Just like training a bonsai tree.

I’ve always loved the art of bonsai. I admire the patience it demands, the vision it requires. (I should mention—our wedding bonsai died. We decided to take it as a good sign: the dying away of our troubles. 😄 It’s been 36 years so…)
Every bonsai I’ve tried since has met a similar fate. I’ve pivoted to succulents. They seem more forgiving.

But the lesson remains.

A bonsai isn’t just a tree—it’s a reflection of vision and discipline. The gardener sees potential in a young sapling and begins the slow work of shaping it. Every branch is guided. Every angle trained with purpose. Its final form isn’t an accident—it’s the result of attention, care, and consistency.

That’s exactly how our minds work.

From a young age, our thoughts are trained—by the words of our parents, teachers, culture. Trained toward abundance or lack.
Toward wealth or poverty—not just in dollars, but in possibility.

Seth Godin describes marketing this way: “People like us do things like this.”

That’s powerful.

My granddaughter Nevaeh once told her little brother—who was complaining about having to read—
“We’re a family of readers, Kai.”
And just like that, identity was planted. Watered. Taking root.

So let me ask: What were you trained to believe about money?

That it’s for “other people”?
That only greedy or crooked people get rich?
That money doesn’t grow on trees?

What if your money mind was left to grow wild—or worse, poisoned from the start?

Here’s the good news:
It’s never too late to prune. To retrain. To start again.

Your mind—like a bonsai—is always shaping, always changing. You don’t need to add anything to become more. More often, it’s about what you remove: the doubt, the shame, the old, broken beliefs that block your light.

As Cheryl Richardson put it, “A quality life isn’t about what you add, but more about what you remove.”

So start there.
Forgive those who steered you wrong—including yourself.

If you’ve already built an abundant life—one you truly love—then share it. Be an example. Take someone under your wing. Hand them a book. Offer them a new vision of who they could become.

My latest book is dedicated to Charles Hough—a man of means who owed me nothing, yet handed me a book and a reputation to live up to. One small gesture. One lasting impact.

Imagine what you can do.

Change your thinking and you’ll change your world.
You weren’t born by accident. You were born on purpose—and with purpose.

Tend your mind like a bonsai. Train it toward truth. And shape a life rooted in possibility.