No fancy title or pictures this time.... Just read this lesson and understand the point.

I grew up in what once were the "slums" of Sydney, Australia.

I was born in Sydney in the 60's, but my parents immigrated to Australia in the late 50's.

My mum was Greek, born in Greece. She came out with her sister, brother-in-law and brother in the late 50's and they all settled in Redfern.

My dad was also Greek, however he was was born in Alexandria, Egypt. Dad's parents had emmigrated from Greece to Egypt in the early 1900's.

During WWII, Egypt was very cosmopolitain, and there were many European soldiers and Allies that visited there on R & R. My father spoke 5 languages fluently.

Though my dad never stayed in school beyond the age of 14, he was a very clever and smart man. He was artstic, he was a problem solver, he was a chess champion in Egypt and made a very good living for himself.

Life was good for my dad, his parents and his siblings, until the Egyptian Government changed and the new government nationalised the assets of the European settlers and gave them the option to leave with whatever possessions they could carry out of the country.

Dad lost his business, his home, his wealth and had to leave the country he knew, because of the decision of a nation and it's government.

Though they were all Greek citizens, Dad, his parents, his two sisters and brothers-in-law chose to move to Sydney, Australia. However, dad's youngest brother was unable to come to come with them because he had tuberculosis. As such, dad's brother had to go to Greece.

Though dad had been "kicked in the teeth" by Egypt, and at 38 years of age had to start all over again, he did so by getting a job as a process worker here in Sydney. In fact, all my relatives ended up working as process workers in factories around Sydney.

One of dad's sisters, and my mum's sister, happened to be working in the same factory and became friends. They decided that my mum and dad could be a good match and hit it off, so they organised a lunch to introduce then to each other.

As it turns out, they were right, and mum and dad met in the early 60's here in Sydney, and married soon after.

Mum and dad bought a house in the inner Sydney suburb of Waterloo.

I was their first born son.

Our family was not rich, but we were not poor either. We did OK. Both my parents worked, and I went to school. I was what was known back then as a "latchkey kid" (you can look up the definition here). Life was good, and as the eldest, I looked after my two younger siblings after school.

One day, in the early 1970's, a letter arrived to every household in Waterloo, from the NSW Housing Commission, stating that our entire suburb was being "compulsorily acquired" to be used for public low-cost housing redevelopment. My parents were advised that they were NOT allowed to renovate without approval, and were NOT allowed to sell on the open market. If any resident in Waterloo wanted to sell their home, they could only sell it to the Housing Commission, and at a price that the Housing Commision deemed as "fair market value".

As the houses began to be acquired by the government, they were boarded up until the redevelopment was to begin. Of course, it didn't take long to make our once vibrant suburb look desolate and like a war zone. Dad and mum decided to sell up and move to another suburb, and at the end of 1975, we moved.

The Housing Commission kept acquiring homes for a number of years after we moved, until they ran out of money, and finally abandoned the entire project and sold all the homes back to the market.... at much higher prices!

Waterloo became a "trendy" and expensive suburb.

Dad and mum paid off their new home and lived out their working lives until they hit 65 years of age and then retired on the pension.

My dad's experiences with government intervention in his life made him suspicious of governments. He was "screwed" by the government in Egypt and they took much of what was his, and he was again screwed by the government in Australia, who also took much of what was his.

As a result of dad's bad experiences with governments, his attitude changed and he saw that it was pointless trying to amass any wealth because the government could just swoop in and take it.

Now, my mother's sister and brother-in-law (my aunty and uncle), purchased a terrace home in Redfern a few years before my mum and dad purchased theirs. My aunty and uncle lived upstairs and rented downstairs out to tenants. A number of years later, they purchased another terrace house nearby and rented it out as well. A number of years after that, they purchased another bigger house, and moved into that and rented out their original home.

So, why am I telling you this?

Well, let's look at the two scenarios.

• Both my aunty and uncle and my parents were immigrants with very limited education.

• Both my aunty and uncle and my parents were factory workers.

• Both my aunty and uncle and my parents were able to speak English, and dad spoke it fluently.

• Both my aunty and uncle and my parents lived in the same area of Sydney, just one suburb away from each other.

• Both my aunty and uncle and my parents came to Australia and had to start from zero and build wealth in our "lucky country".

• Both my aunty and uncle and my parents started from zero in Australia in their late 30's,

• Both my aunty and uncle and my parents were trying to create wealth in the same period in history - so they experienced the same market conditions, labour conditions, inflation etc.

Yet, my aunty and uncle created millions of dollars in net worth and had income producing assets to live off, while my parents failed to create wealth outside their own home, and struggled to make ends meet on the pension in the old age.

Why did this happen?

What fundamental difference was there between these two sets of people that created such a huge wealth gap?

In my mind, and after careful observation and consideration, the answer is as follows.

• My father was "robbed" of his wealth by what he saw as government interference. As such, he decided in his head that there was no point trying to create wealth, when the government can just swoop in and take it. My dad was beaten by his circumstances. He let life get the better of him, and he gave up. He saw only the negatives to building wealth. Now, I can understand this, and it would have been hard to get up and try again. However, to me, this is a classic case of how "you cannot control what happens to you, only how you choose to respond to what happens to you"

• My aunty and uncle on the other hand, had no such "bad government experiences" happen to them. They just had a loose plan of building a small property portfolio and just did it. They didn't have to deal with governments, nor did they have their dreams crushed by third party.

Even though just about everything about their circumstances were the same, the wealth of my parents compared to my aunty and uncle were vastly different, and that was because of the two bad experiences my father suffered at the hands of two different governments.

I love my parents dearly, and I have a huge amount of respect for them and what they went through in life. They achieved a happy life, a loving marriage, provided a roof over our heads, and abundant food on the table, despite what they had to endure. I sometimes wonder what they may have achieved if circumstances were somewhat different for them.

However, it pains me to say this, but the truth is, that my dad became a "victim" of his circumstances in his own mind, and as such, allowed life to beat him.

He became cautious, skeptical and somewhat paranoid, which then stiffled him and he remained poor as a result.

Now, I do understand that it takes a lot of effort to not fall into a "victim" mentality.

It's hard to fight one's inner demons, that keep telling you to take the easier option and quit.

Not everyone can do this, in fact, most cannot.

However, those that can and do fight those demons, look at their own circumstances from a different perspective, choose not to quit, and instead force themselves to stand up again and tackle their issues/circumstances from that different perspective, are the rare ones that succeed.

Yes, my dad did have to start from scratch, in a different country at the age of 38.

Yes, the Housing Commission took his home here in Sydney, but the house he purchased that we moved into in 1975 was only about 18% more expensive than our original home in Waterloo. When one looks at the entire picture, it becomes apparent, that it was the perception of the circumstances that beat him, not the actual circumstances themselves.

My personal observation is that stuff will happen to you that is out of your control.

Be it a recession, economic depression, pandemics, wars, inflation, illness, whatever it may be... it doesn't matter. What matters, is how you respond to what happens to you.

I learned this, from understanding early in my career, why my father ended up financially mediocre and my aunty and uncle did not.

AGAIN, "it does not matter what happens to you, what matters, is how you respond to what happens to you".

I have made some horrific decisions in business and investing.

My choice was to either see myself as a victim and quit trying, OR find the lesson in the experience, and move onwards and upwards. I always chose the latter.

There is a song called "The Gambler" sung by Kenny Rogers, and there is a line in it that states: "every hand's a winner, and every hand's a loser" in other words... whatever "hand" life deals you, it is your choice as to how to play that "hand", and how you play it will determine your outcome.

Lessons:

• Avoid getting caught up in feeling like a victim.

• Understand that things will rarely go the way you plan.

• Learn to view situations from different perspectives - remember, my dad percieved his own circumstances much worse than what they were. It was all about his perspective on the his circumstances and NOT the circumstances themselves.

• Remember that stuff will happen to you, and it doesn't matter. What will matter is how you respond to the stuff that happens to you.

• When stuff happens, look for the lesson and move on.

• When stuff happens again, look for the lesson again, and move on again.

• When stuff happens yet again, look for the lesson yet again, and move on yet again (are you getting the idea here?).

• If we choose to get back up every time we get knocked down, we become smarter and better. When we get smarter and better, we become harder to knock down in the future. It's impossible to beat someone that always gets back up again and never ever quits!

• Remember, either You Win, or, You Learn. You only ever lose, when you choose to quit.

Finally,consider this.... today will see the birth of successful people in every country around the world. Today will also see the birth of many, many more unsuccessful people in every country around the world.

You already know why some will be successful and why most will not.

The point is, it doesn't matter what your "environment" is, what your "circumstances" are, what life deals you, it is YOUR choice as to how you choose to respond, and whether you refuse to be beaten or not. That's why you will ALWAYS have winners and losers, no matter what the circumstances, in every corner of the world.

Never, ever, ever quit, no matter what your situation or circumstances, and understand that how YOU choose to view your circumstances is most likely NOT the only way they can be viewed. Always look for a different and more positive perspective on your situation or circumstances.

Further Reading:

Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki