Can INTJs Be Rich?

Hey, everyone.

So, about a month ago, I became a business owner. That's right; I am the Member Manager to two new LLCs: Bryan C. Laesch, my author business, and Transcendent Tees, my t-shirt business. But I don't know too much about business, so I started watching a bunch of YouTube videos and putting together a Business playlist for my personal use. The videos cover multiple topics ranging from taxes, being an LLC versus being a sole proprietor, why you should set yourself up as an S-Corp, to even videos on becoming a successful businessman/entrepreneur.

One of the videos I discovered was called "10 Signs You Won't Be Rich" by the channel Valuetainment. The channel is hosted Patrick Bet David, the CEO of a billion-dollar insurance company based out of Austin. In this video he breaks down ten reasons, hurdles, signs, whatever as to why a person may never be rich. And this gave me the idea for this particular blog post because while INTJs aren't necessarily known for being rich, we are known for being successful; in some circles, the only personality more successful than ourselves is ENTJ. So, I decided to look at Mr. Bet David's ten signs as to why someone won't be rich and see if they are hurdles for INTJs. Might there be proof for Bet David's argument held within the personality traits of the INTJ? Let's find out.

1. You don´t like rich people.

I wouldn't say INTJs don't like rich people so much as we don't like anyone in general. By that logic though, since we don't like anyone, we won't become anyone else, including the poor and average. On the one hand, that's good news for INTJs that want to be rich and extraordinary, however by not liking anybody we may not become like anybody else ever.

In all seriousness though, if INTJs had to choose which sort of people to like, rich or poor, they'd probably choose rich. To be rich means to have resources which means to have freedom, and INTJs can never have enough freedom. So, we likely don't possess a dislike of the rich.

2. You think rich people are special.

The only people INTJs believe are special are those closest to them because it takes a certain kind of person to stand in the presence of an INTJ. Now, whether that's because INTJs are special themselves or more because these people have a lot of patience is a topic up for debate, but INTJs are not likely to think of the rich as being any more special than themselves. INTJs know they can do anything anyone else can do, even run a business. It may require us to leave our comfort zone, but that doesn't preclude us from doing it. Therefore, this is not a hurdle for INTJs.

3. You don´t spend enough time learning.

Do I really need to cover this one? I think we all know this isn't a problem for INTJs. The only way I could see this as a hurdle is if INTJs are not committed to learning the right things. They may become an expert in a particular field, but if they don't know how to turn that into a business, they may not get anywhere.

4. People easily make you feel guilty.

I apologize for the syntax and diction. This is how it was worded. I also feel a bit of an explanation is needed.

Bet David's point here was that with every comment directed at you, you feel guilty. People may not be out to shame you, but everything they say makes you feel guilty. I think this has to do with some sort of inferiority or impersonator complex as if you are this sensitive to criticism, then you likely don't think anything you do is a good idea or decision. As a result, if you made a choice to lead your life in a new way or start your own business, you'll instantly shut it down as soon as someone else says, "I don't think that's a good idea" or "You'll never make it."

I don't think this is a problem for INTJs. For starters, we don't feel guilty about anything we do as long as we've carefully considered the consequences and our reasons for our actions. If we have a whole list of reasons for doing what we do, you won't be able to make us feel guilty for doing it. The only way we can feel guilty is if we've acted in some way contrary to our own conscience, which is almost impossible unless we've gone through some sort of significant change.

5. You worry too much about what people think about you. &

6. You worry too little about what the right people (customers) think about you.

I'm combining these two since they're related. I think INTJs do worry about what other people think about them, however, this only pertains to the image that INTJs want to project and protect. This image is one of confidence, intelligence, efficiency, success, and competence. So long as people see these things in us, we don't really care what else they may see, even if they think we're cold, heartless, or a jerk. And since some of those qualities we want people to see in us are also qualities of successful businessmen, I don't think either of these two are an issue for us.

7. You listen to every single thing your parents tell you to do.

Bet David's point here is that while he loves his parents, they can't tell him diddly-squat about being an entrepreneur, businessman, or owning stocks and bonds, so why on earth would he listen to their advice about such things?

He definitely has a point. INTJs are so different from everyone else that I fear many of us are born into families that don't understand us; I know that's my situation. So, what can my parents tell me about being an indie author, a self-publisher, or even an online t-shirt business? Not much. Sure, their hearts are in the right place as they don't want failure and suffering to befall me, but the problem with that is that I would have to follow every bit of advice they have to give me. That wouldn't necessarily be terrible as my Old Man makes $100G+, has five weeks vacation, incredible benefits, a practically new house, a leased vehicle, a wife and healthy children, stock options, could end up retiring with half a million dollars, and he has all the comforts of home, but... that's not the life I want to live. Some of those things I want, but I think I could do better in a few areas.

I'm sure I'm not alone. I'm sure most INTJs feel this way. All those things are nice, but we want more or less. Therefore, we need to take a different path in life which means not listening to everything our parents tell us.

8. You're too loyal to family traditions.

Now, where Mr. Bet David says "traditions", he actually means "habits". He does mention some family traditions like religion and politics, but he also mentions things like diet and what to complain about. Regardless, his point is that some family traditions and habits are extremely limiting. If your father was a coal miner, and your grandfather was a coal miner, and your great-grandfather was a coal miner, and that's the reason why you're a coal miner, that's also the reason why you're not going to be rich. If you follow habits and traditions simply because that's what it means to be a Johnson, then you're never going to be rich.

As you can probably guess, this isn't an issue for INTJs. We're known as the enemy to tradition, although it should be said that we're only the enemy to pointless, redundant, or archaic traditions. Some traditions are good and should be preserved, however they will have to face a mountain of INTJ-brand scrutiny. Anyway, an INTJ is not likely to follow these sorts of traditions and habits, especially if they get in the way of what an INTJ truly desires. So if an INTJ desires to be rich, he will cut himself off from whatever he needs to.

9. You´re an expert at making excuses.

INTJs hate excuses, too. Again, this comes down to limiting beliefs. As long as you don't put limits on your beliefs, no excuse will hold up. I've caught myself doing this from time to time where I say to myself "I can't do that", and then my brain asks, "Why not?" and then I have to re-evaluate my position. In the end, my brain is often right. I have no excuse other than I choose to be lazy and comfortable with what I have rather than attempting to face a challenge and potentially failing. Sure, no one likes to fail, but if you really want what you really want, no excuses are going to hold you back. And since INTJs are masters of challenging thinking, including their own, there's really no reason why this should be a hurdle.

10. Your attitude sucks.

For this one, I don't really know what to think. Bet David's point was that money, and the world in general, is turned off my bad personalities. He says that money and people are attracted to positive attitudes. The problem with that though is how do you define "positive" and "negative"? On the one hand, INTJs believe they can do anything in the world, but they're also extremely critical; we believe in constantly improving ourselves, but we're not afraid to tell people that they suck and why; INTJs are ready to take the world by storm, but we don't necessarily want to share it, and if we do, it's only with certain people. 

So, I don't know what to think about this one. I think the INTJ personality is a good one (I am biased though), however, I will readily admit that a lot people probably don't like us because we're either too weird or too intense for them. They love what we think about ourselves and what we long to accomplish, but we do so with the attitude of a burning rhino looking for water. Now, it could be that we just don't match subjective definitions of "negative", but I'm still not sure, so this could be one sign that INTJs have that they won't be rich.

Conclusion:

So, can INTJs be rich? Well, we're missing nine of the ten hurdles mentioned by Bet David, which means according to him, we have at least a 90% chance of being rich someday, and that's a pretty good chance. Unfortunately, I haven't met many INTJs, so I cannot corroborate this claim. I guess I'll just have to find out myself through my own businesses.

***

Well, that was fun. I know I don't do many of these posts anymore, mostly because I felt like I was stealing someone else's content and just riding their coattails, but Mr. Bet David's video was a fun analysis since it pertains to many INTJs' possible futures.

For my next post, I'm going to do another Quick and Dirty INTJ Thought. The last one wasn't as popular as I thought it would be, but they do light up on Pinterest and Instagram. Anyway, until then...

Keep writing, my friends.

More About Bryan C. Laesch:

Amazon: My Author Page
Facebook: Bryan C. Laesch, Bawdy Scholar
Patreon: Bryan C. Laesch

Instagram: Bryan C. Laesch
Twitter: BryanofallTrade
Youtube: Bryan C. Laesch, Bawdy Scholar