The truth is that everyone yearns to be rich. We secretly wish we were like the rich. We look at them with a combination of admiration, envy, and wonder. What exactly did they do to be so blessed? we ask, even when we can see what they do with the naked eye.

On the other hand, we feel resentment towards the poor regardless of our level of piety. We look at them with contempt. Sometimes I hate! How did they manage to waste all the opportunities they had throughout their lives? We attribute all the ills of the world to the poor. Sometimes we secretly wish that the government could “do something about it.”

Yes, the super rich rule the world. They live in the largest mansions and own the finest properties. They ride the most luxurious cars and marry the most beautiful women. When they speak, their words are broadcast by the media around the world.

The super rich abound in commerce, politics, entertainment, sports, information technology, finance, oil and gas, to name a few. In short, they abound in all spheres of human endeavor.

The following names, in no particular order, come to mind when we talk about the super rich: Andrew Carnegie, Joseph Rockefeller, Cornelius Vanderbilt, Bill Gates, Mukesh Ambani, Jack Ma, Elon Musk, Jay Z, Oprah Winfrey, and Madonna. Of course we must not forget, the richest we read, Jeff Bezos.

The super rich include Buddhists, Christians, Hindus, Muslims, unbelievers, blacks, whites, browns, mongrels, men, women, and people from all continents.

So what exactly separates the super rich from the poor? If not an undue advantage in opportunity, skin color, religion, intellect, industry, talent, place and time of birth, what?

The Seven Immutable Laws of Wealth seek to point out the seven operational laws with which you must abide by if you want to set up your tent with the rich. Here they are:

Develop wealth consciousness

This is the number one foundational skill you must acquire if you want to be rich. The rich give their full attention to nurturing and multiplying their wealth. For example, Bill Gates attributes his wealth not so much to what he earns as a co-founder of Microsoft, but to the excellent work of his portfolio manager, Michael Larson. On the other hand, the poor spend their money as they please. They eat out, attend clubs, throw parties, and donate generously just to be considered “rich.” In short, the poor guy tries to copy the “Millionaire next door.” To be rich, be wealth conscious and focus not only on making money, but also on how to make it grow and make your money work harder for you. This is immutable law number one, I repeat.

Use time well

Time is the most precious and scarce resource. As economists say, your supply is inelastic. You can’t store or store it, you can’t stop it, and you can’t increase it. Effective use of time requires a mindset that abhors procrastination and perfectionism. The super rich use their time well; sadly, the same cannot be said for the poor. While time is abstract, the way you use it is a way of thinking. But do you know that the rich and the poor have equal amounts of this invaluable resource? From birth to death, the rich and the poor have the same amount of time a day: 24 hours. You will be rich to the extent that you use this limited resource judiciously.

Focus on one thing at a time

To be rich, develop FOCUS. Focus on one thing at a time. While the rich focus on one thing at a time, the poor generally pursue many ends at the same time, thus dissipating their energy. Whenever the rich man pursues an end, he burns his ship and never looks back. On the other hand, the poor always hedge their bets. Take Jeff Bezos as an example. He focused on e-commerce, Bill Gate on computer coding, and Jay Z on entertainment. On the other hand, the poor average never pursues anything with the logical end. You may be in real estate today, network marketing tomorrow, and talking about motivation the next morning. This approach is a recipe for underperformance, as these industries require different mindsets.

Think big

If you look closely, all the rich think big. Jeff Bezos is not just building an e-commerce company, but the most customer-centric company on the planet. Bill Gates not only set out to build Microsoft, but the world’s largest software company. Not to be outdone, Mark Zuckerberg’s empire now includes Facebook, Instagram, and Messenger. Thinking big is not about arrogance. It’s about being methodical, about seeing the bigger picture of “what could be.” It’s about having an amazing vision of the future and navigating in the direction of that vision without being distracted by other “opportunities” along the way. It’s about saying “No” to a thousand things so you can say “Yes” to the “only thing” that matters to you. So, thinking BIG is one of the hallmarks of the rich. Really, why think small when you can think BIG by focusing on one great ending at the same time?

Rub shoulders with the rich

Don King, the boxing promoter, once told Dennis P. Kimbro, co-author of Think and Grow Rich: A Black Choice, that his plan to become a billionaire was to “hang out with billionaires and learn everything they know.” So come up with a plan and find a way to rub shoulders with the rich. By doing so, you will be sucked into the world of the rich. This will reprogram your mind. Spending time with the rich isn’t just about networking, it’s about getting close enough to be mentored by the rich. What can you do to get on the radar of the rich? Write a book, start a podcast or YouTube channel to name three. You cannot be rich unless you reprogram your mind to think like the rich. The easiest way to do that is to enter the world of the rich through the back door, through what you do.

Work hard

Most of the time, the things associated with the wealthy are Gulf Stream Jets, Super Yachts, Golf Courses, Ocean Blue Islands, Hot Air Balloons, and sky-designed mansions. This is what you see at the beginning. But pull the curtain down a bit and what you’ll see in the back is hard work. Many believe that hard work doesn’t matter in today’s digital world, where you can “set everything to run on autopilot.” Beware; Could not be farther from the truth. Do you know that Jeff Bezos used to kneel down to sort packages when Amazon started in 1995? To date, he exhorts his people to “Always Day One” – that is, maintain the entrepreneurial spirit of a new company. If you are not willing to work hard, stop thinking about getting rich. In his Good to Great, author Jim Collins wrote about the concept of the “steering wheel.” That’s what hard work is all about. You never create wealth by standing with your hands loose.

Keep learning

Learning in this context is not about accumulating many PhDs and MBAs in varied disciplines. Learning is not about endless webinars. It’s about getting personal trainers to help you improve and perform at your best in all dimensions of life. You may be interested to know that some super-rich started out being very poor, but through hard work, they learned to overcome the bad hand that fate gave them at birth. A well-documented example is John H. Johnson of Ebony Magazine, who once became the 400th richest American. In his book, Succeeding Against the Odds, he claimed that his family was not only poor, but that they were “the poorest of the poor.” John H. Johnson learns to speak despite being born stuttering; He learned to believe in himself despite being born into extreme poverty, learned to sell, and ended up buying the insurance company that hired him. So don’t blame your stars, just keep learning and wealth will be at your fingertips.

If you follow the seven immutable laws of wealth as a religion and let them guide everything you do, you will be rich beyond measure. Don’t forget they include: Developing Wealth Consciousness, Using Your Time Well, Focus on One Thing at a Time, Think Big, Rub shoulders with the rich, Work hard, and Keep learning.