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When you do not have money, you must get creative. If you don’t have money to get what you want, then you need to find ways to get what you want without the money. No, you don’t steal, but you begin to analyze the situation, to do the unusual, and get creative.

Every school, business, and person should understand this fact: a lack of money breeds ingenuity.

Money is not the biggest barrier to attaining a goal. The biggest barrier to attaining a goal is a lack of raging desire: a deep, pulsating desire to do something, to create something. When you have this raging desire but lack sufficient money, then you begin to get creative.

You learn to buy used goods. You don’t take no for an answer. You beg and plead your case to anyone who will listen. Things just start happening, and it is all happening without money.

Ingenuity is being born because you wanted to do something but didn’t have the money. If you have been in this situation before, you know it is so much fun!

Are you in a situation where you want to make something happen but do not have enough money? This is what you do:

1. Understand that money is only one resource amongst many. Character is a resource. Technical skills are a resource. The ability to lead others is a resource. Following through with a promise is a resource. Anything you have that others lack is a resource that can be leveraged to create something.

2. Determine what resources you have that can best be exploited to accomplish your ends. Instead of thinking, “I could accomplish this and that if I had x amount of dollars”, start thinking “What can I create with the resources that I have?” An artist doesn’t ask the scene to change when she paints a picture. You don’t need to ask your environment to change to give you what you need. You simply need to look at what has been given to you, and then go from there.

3. Get to work. Don’t sit around waiting for a stroke of genius. Start acting on what you do have. You don’t need a plan. You need to work.

I feel sorry for people who have never had their creativity stretched by a lack of money. Can you imagine a life where things are handed to you on a silver spoon? It would be the most boring, uncreative, and uninspiring life imaginable. Sure, it would be an easy life, but a caged Tiger at the zoo also has an easy life. Well, I don’t want to be in a cage at the zoo. I want to roam the hills, and if I go on an empty stomach every now and then, so be it. Let the Tigers at the zoo enjoy their plush cage and pre-made meals. At least I’m roaming free.

I have discovered the following: the path of least resistance is so boring. Sorry, but that’s not for me. I need a challenge. I want a challenge. And I don’t want a silver spoon to feed me. I want to work for what I have, I want to stretch my creativity, and I want to grow into a better person. A lack of money has helped to provide all of these and more.

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Related post: Money will not solve our problems.