The Mind of Vatke
Thoughts, Musings and Advice by Andre Vatke

Want to know what ‘the rich’ really teach their children?

There are a number of popular books that play off the idea that the rich have some secret wisdom they impart to their kids that the rest of the middle class hasn’t learned. Nothing could be further from the truth.

What ‘the rich’ really teach their kids is a valuable lesson for all.

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First, let’s be honest about what kids are like. Affluent parents have as much trouble getting their kids to listen to them as the rest of society. So this picture of the children sitting around the grand parlor listening to advice from dear old dad may be quaint, but it’s nothing more than a fantasy.

There are in my observation, two types of affluent parents. The first are those that spoil their kids by giving them the life they wish they would have had growing up. The second are those that worry that growing up with a silver spoon will doom their children’s own chance for success.

Those that spoil their kids do it for the same reasons as any parent. They love their kids and want to give in to their instinct to give them what they want. The difference with the rich is that since money is not an issue, they can spoil their kids like no other.

In fact, spoiling kids is sometimes a way the rich show off to each other.

A prime example of this is of one family in my town that spent an estimated $300,000 on their daughter’s sweet sixteen birthday party. The party was so lavish it was featured on an M-TV show. There was an appearance of a popular band, film crew, over $20,000 in catering and the big gift was a custom Mercedes. It’s an extreme example but a very real one.

When the rich spoil their kids they get the same results as everyone else – self centered brats that have a hard time working with others. They still go to college only when these kids graduate, their post graduation ‘invincibility complex’ can often spell disaster. You may believe in the misconception that ‘the rich get richer’ however when some of these children take over their parents companies they often run them into bankruptcy. Why? Because they never learned personal discipline and sacrifice – that attitude to do the job that needs to be done without excuses.

Not all rich parents are like this…

The second group of parents worry that their kids will end like those of the first group. They have the power to spoil their kids and from the outside you may notice that they have luxuries that middle class kids covet. They may have the latest techno gadget, gaming system or even a nice car. However, parents in the second group are always trying to impart two very simple elements into their children’s character. It’s these two elements that I believe are the foundation for all success.

The first element is a love of learning. Without a deep curiosity about how things work, how people work, how society works, they would be like a boat without a motor – adrift on the sea of possibilities yet without the ability to view the horizon.

The second element is a level of personal discipline to complete the tasks that need to be completed and to fulfill their commitments.

How do group two parents instill these two elements into their kids? It’s not by lecturing because kids are after all kids. What they do is first model the behavior and seek to reinforce it in their kids by making those elements enjoyable. What they do is look for those everyday opportunities where they can illustrate these principles with real life examples.

I had that opportunity this weekend when my 7 year old daughter was one of the few lucky girls that got to meet one of the hottest music acts in the country – The Jonas Brothers. Not only did she get to meet them in a back stage meet and greet, she also got to see their “recording studio” tour bus and meet Demi Lovato the star of the Disney Movie “Camp Rock.”

As much we hope our kids will get the lessons we try to impart, we never know for sure until they bring it up on their own.

The first thing she told me after the show was that the Jonas Brothers work very hard. She recognized that it not only took a lot of effort on the part of the band, it also took a huge staff of marketing promoters, management, technicians, drivers and more to put on shows for 20,000 screaming girls 3 nights a week. It just wouldn’t happen by itself.

Most people don’t stop to think about all the hard work and dedication that goes into any success story. Most of it happens behind the scenes – when no one is looking. There’s risk and the possibility for failure which isn’t usually mentioned in the promos!

What most people see are the lights, the fame and the success of earning millions.

This same tunnel vision view of success causes so many aspiring network marketers to fall victim to unscrupulous success peddlers. So many talk about success, make it all appear easy and foolproof. In doing so they cheapen all that is good about network marketing while picking the pockets of the desperate.

If you want to move past false promises, understand what really makes network marketing tick and take control of your own business stop by the Leaders Club Network Marketing Training site today.

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