Secrets of the Millionaire Mind

In Secrets of the Millionaire Mind, T. Harv Eker argues that every person’s financial life is governed by an invisible internal script—what he calls your financial blueprint. This blueprint determines how you think, feel, and act around money. Just like a thermostat regulates the temperature in a room, your blueprint regulates the amount of wealth you are comfortable having. If your inner setting is low, no amount of hard work will keep your finances high—you’ll unconsciously bring them back down.

This blueprint forms through childhood conditioning—the messages you absorbed from parents, family, media, and culture. Eker breaks this down into three sources of influence:

Eker compares this conditioning to computer programming—you can’t expect new financial results if you’re still running outdated “software.” The solution is reprogramming your money mindset through awareness and conscious effort.

He provides a four-step reconditioning process:

• Awareness: Recognize self-defeating thoughts, such as “I’ll never be rich.”

• Understanding: Trace where those beliefs originated.

• Disassociation: Realize these beliefs aren’t truly yours—they were learned.

• Reconditioning: Replace them with empowering beliefs, such as “Money is freedom, and I’m capable of creating it.”

Eker recommends repeating affirmations daily and visualizing yourself confidently handling wealth. For example, if you once feared checking your bank account, imagine doing it with calm assurance, seeing growth and opportunity rather than scarcity. Over time, your mind will accept these new beliefs as truth, changing how you think and act around money.

The Psychology of Wealth vs. Poverty

Eker divides the world into two fundamental mentalities: the rich mindset and the poor mindset. The difference, he says, is not luck or intelligence but perception.

• Rich people focus on opportunities—they think expansively, seeking ways to grow. When faced with a challenge, they ask, “How can I make this work?”

• Poor people focus on obstacles—they think restrictively, listing reasons why something won’t work.

For instance, when presented with a chance to invest in a small business, a rich-minded person will assess potential gains and take calculated risks. A poor-minded person will focus on what could go wrong, often missing the opportunity entirely.

Eker argues that both wealth and poverty are self-fulfilling prophecies. When you focus on problems, you attract more problems; when you focus on opportunities, you attract possibilities. He gives an example of two friends starting online businesses: one spends months worrying about competition and never launches; the other starts small, learns from early mistakes, and grows exponentially. Their results stem from focus, not ...