If you handed two people the same paycheck, one might use it to escape poverty, while the other would remain trapped in it. The difference isn’t luck, talent or even opportunity but mindset.
For generations, we’ve repeated the same economic gospel: work hard, get an education, find a stable job and save what you can. That formula once worked, but today it often leads to a lifetime of financial dependence disguised as stability. The middle class is shrinking not only because of policy failures, but because too many people are trained to think like employees, not owners.
In Pakistan, where safety is often valued above innovation, this mindset is especially visible. Parents still tell their children to 'find a secure job' rather than 'create something of your own'. But in today’s digital age, the real winners are those who build, invest and innovate not those who simply earn and spend.
Our schools prepare students for employment, not ownership. We teach how to pass exams, not how to build assets or manage money. The result is a society where even educated professionals live paycheck to paycheck, unable to break free from the cycle of dependence.
The ‘poor dad’ mindset clings to security. It measures success by job title and salary, not by freedom or control. It spends first and saves what’s left. It fears risk, avoids debt and mistakes comfort for progress.
But the financially educated see things differently. To them, debt is a tool. They borrow not to consume but to create. They use other people’s money to buy assets that generate more income than the debt costs. The same mortgage that drowns one person funds the apartment building that frees another.
You can see this difference everywhere. Steve Jobs and Jeff Bezos both started with modest resources but thought like owners from day one. Jobs turned a garage project into Apple through vision and design long before capital arrived. Bezos left a secure Wall Street job, leveraged early investors’ money wisely, and built Amazon into a global engine of wealth. Oprah Winfrey, born into poverty, refused to remain a hired host. She demanded ownership of her show and content, turning her name into an asset that continues to grow.
Even global icons aren’t immune to the power – or peril – of financial mindset. Michael Jordan, a household name in Pakistan and around the world, earned hundreds of millions through basketball. Yet early in his career, like many athletes, he faced serious financial missteps before learning to build long-term wealth through ownership and not just endorsement. His example tells a vital truth: fame and talent may open doors, but only financial wisdom keeps them open.
Many who became rich on paper still lived with a 'poor dad' mindset – and lost it all. Mike Tyson earned over $300 million but declared bankruptcy. MC Hammer and Nicolas Cage, once worth tens of millions, spent beyond their means. Their downfall wasn’t a lack of talent or opportunity but of financial mindset. They consumed instead of creating, spent instead of investing, and sought comfort instead of control. They worked for money and when the work stopped, so did the wealth.
This difference in thinking explains why two people can live in the same economy but experience entirely different financial lives. The poor dad mindset believes working harder is the solution. The rich dad mindset focuses on working smarter – using knowledge, systems and leverage to make money work for them. While one runs on the treadmill of earned income, the other builds engines that keep running long after they’ve stopped.
The tragedy is that this mindset isn’t taught in schools. We teach children how to follow instructions, not how to think independently or build wealth. According to the World Bank, over 60 per cent of adults in developing countries are financially illiterate. This isn’t due to lack of intelligence but because financial education has never been part of the curriculum.
The same principle applies to nations. Countries that think like employees – waiting for aid, debt relief or foreign investment – stay dependent. Countries that think like owners – investing in innovation, entrepreneurship and intellectual property – shape their own destinies. Pakistan, too, must shift from a consumption-driven economy to a creation-driven one. Unless we move from spending to building, the cycle of debt and dependency will never end.
Of course, mindset isn’t a magic wand. Policy, access to capital and opportunity all matter. But mindset determines how we respond to those limits. A person who fears debt sees only danger; one who understands leverage sees possibility.
If we want financially free citizens and not financially anxious workers, we must teach people to use money as a tool, not worship it as a master. Poverty begins in the mind long before it appears in the bank account. And freedom, equally, begins there too.
The writer is a former global corporate executive (Unilever,
PepsiCo, Yum! Brands), a mental health advocate and a founding board member of Taskeen, a pioneering organisation focused on emotional well-being in Pakistan.
