Why So Many People Stay Stuck in Poverty—And How We Break the Cycle
There’s an old saying: if you place bananas and money in front of a group of monkeys, they’ll always choose the bananas. Why? Because they don’t understand that money can buy a whole lot more bananas.
Funny, yes—but also painfully true when we apply it to real life.
Most people, when faced with the choice between a job and a business opportunity, will pick the job. Not because they’re lazy. Not because they lack ambition. But because that’s what we’ve been conditioned to believe is the “right” choice. The safe choice. The responsible choice.
But what if the so-called safe route is actually the trap?
From the time we’re kids, we’re taught to follow the rules, play it safe, and avoid risks. Go to school. Get good grades. Get a job. Then stay in that job—decades, if necessary—even if it drains the life out of you. We study things we don’t care about just to chase paychecks we can barely live on, all for a chance at “security.”
But let’s be honest: if you’re one paycheck away from disaster, how secure are you, really?
A lot of hardworking people stay broke not because they lack intelligence, discipline, or hustle—but because they’ve never been shown another way. No one ever told them that they could be more than employees. That they could be owners. Investors. Creators. Leaders.
They’ve been taught that wealth is something you inherit—or that it belongs to “other people,” not folks like us.
But here’s what I know: you don’t have to be born rich to build something real. You just need exposure. You need belief. You need someone to tell you: “Yes, you can do this.”
I’ve seen too many people work themselves into the ground—sacrificing sleep, health, and time with their kids—just to survive. And survival is not freedom. Survival is not wealth. Survival is not peace.
You can work three jobs and still feel like you're drowning. Not because you lack potential, but because nobody gave you permission to dream bigger.
A salary might help you survive, but profit helps you live.
A salary puts food on the table and pays the bills—but it also puts a cap on your time and income. You only have so many hours in a day, and when you're trading time for money, you're stuck under a ceiling someone else built.
But profit? Profit is limitless. Profit grows when you take risks, when you create value, when you build something bigger than yourself. But stepping into that space requires faith. It requires a mindset shift. And yes—it’s scary.
A lot of people don’t pursue entrepreneurship, not because they don’t want more, but because deep down, they don’t believe they deserve more.
They’ve heard the lies: “People like us don’t get rich.” “Success is for them, not us.” And those lies sink deep. People carry them silently every single day.
The truth is, poverty isn’t just a lack of money—it’s a lack of exposure. A lack of vision. A lack of belief. It’s feeling like you have no real options. Like no one ever handed you the map. Like you’re trying to build a better life using tools that were never meant for you.
Worse still, society will blame you for your own struggle, ignoring the systems built to keep you stuck. As if centuries of inequality can be erased with a simple “just work harder.”
But working harder without working smarter is like digging a well with a spoon. You might give it everything you’ve got—and still end up with nothing.
So what’s the answer?
Mindset. Exposure. Education. Empowerment.
We’ve got to shift the conversation. Stop only teaching folks how to get a job and start showing them how to create one. Let’s normalize talking about ownership, entrepreneurship, investing, and building wealth. Let’s create spaces where people feel seen, believed in, and equipped to break the cycle.
You are more than just a worker. You are a builder. A dreamer. A creative force. You’ve got ideas the world hasn’t heard yet. Businesses to build. Communities to uplift. Legacies to leave.
And it’s OK to fail.
Every successful entrepreneur has failed—sometimes more than once. Failure isn’t the end; it’s just feedback. It’s just part of the process.
What matters is not how many times you fall—but how many times you rise back up. With more knowledge. More grit. More fire.
Because once you realize you’re not here just to survive—once you understand that you have the power to create the life you want—that’s when everything changes.
That’s when you stop chasing bananas…
…and start learning what money, vision, and ownership can really do.
