Rich vs Poor - Is it really about money?

    This week while talking about the Great Gatsby, we saw countless references to wealth and how it is indicative of a person's status. For example, we saw how there was the East and West Egg, where on one side people are born into the wealth and on the other people are self-made, so to speak.

    As I was reading the book, I saw how the rich somehow kept getting richer and richer while no matter how hard the poor worked. While in the book this was done through immoral means, I saw that this kind of reflected our present day and age. Even now, the rich people are the ones getting richer and more successful compared to an ordinary person. This got me thinking if being rich is really about having a lot of money or is there a different reason that makes the rich, well, rich.

    To begin with the physical side of things, surprisingly, according to a study it was found that poorer people actually had a difference in the brain structure compared to rich people. In poor people, the cortex volume in the areas of the brain is comparatively less thicker than rich people and the middle class. The cortex is primarily involved in a variety of function related to problem solving, thinking, reasoning, and etc. While this does exist, it obviously is possible to be successful while not having as thick of a cortex as an ordinary person.

    On the other hand, the psychological aspect of the rich is arguably what differentiates the rich from others. To begin with, the rich are categorized to be more conscientious (organized, ambitious, and persevering) and more extraverted (talkative, determined, and energetic) than the average person, meaning failure is not something that will affect them in their work to achieve something. Contrary to what you might expect, the rich are actually less neurotic (tendency to be nervous or to worry) compared to others. With such responsibility and stress to achieve their goals, you would expect someone to worry when they face a huge problem or setback. This lack of neuroticism makes them more of a risk taker than the average person you might find. This risk taking ties in with the ownership the rich feel over their life. According to a study, the rich were said to have a strong feeling of taking ownership of their life and actions, leading to a smaller belief in "luck" or "destiny". This shows the accountability the rich feel over any mistakes or successes they experience in their life. While the list goes on and on, it can clearly be seen that there are quite a few differences that probably makes someone successful. 

    So if you actually read all this (and hopefully found it somewhat interesting), you can see that money isn't really what separates you from Bill Gates. It's probably the way you look at your life and problems. If you do have some of the characteristics described above, you probably are on your way to be a happy camper. And if you don't have those characteristics, it's never too late to change.