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When most of us think about being wealthy, we think about the blood, sweat and tears that go into earning those millions (or billions, depending on how lofty your aspirations are). But some (mostly rich people) say it’s your attitude about money that is the determining factor in how rich you’re destined to be.

This article from Business Insider breaks down the differences in the ways that the rich and the middle class think about money. According to Steve Siebold, the author of How Rich People Think who conducted 30 years worth of interviews with millionaires, “most people are steeped in fear when it comes to money.” This prevents the acquisition of lots o’ cash.

A few things jump out right away because they ring true.

“Average people earn money doing things they don’t love. Rich people follow their passion.” If you take a look at any of the profiles of successful businesswomen we publish here on Madame Noire Business, you’ll see that they always refer to their work as a passion, making their businesses a true labor of love.

“Average people live beyond their means. Rich people live below theirs.” Regular folks will go to the mall, buying out the stores, and get their nails and hair done weekly so they look good when they go out on Saturday night. Meanwhile, creditors are blowing up their phones looking for overdue payments. When you’re rich, you can have a lot of stuff and still be rich enough to afford more stuff. When you’re middle class or working class, you cannot. If you live within your means, you’d be surprised by how much you can ultimately have.

“Average people would rather be entertained than educated. Rich people would rather be educated than entertained.” Half of this statement is spot on. I wouldn’t necessarily give rich people credit for being scholars. (Umm… Kim Kardashian?) But the overall gist is valid. People will talk about their favorite reality show with a blow-by-blow, scientific precision that comes with careful viewing. Ask them about that last episode of Frontline or 60 Minutes. Crickets.

“Average people love to be comfortable. Rich people find comfort in uncertainty.” I wouldn’t say that anyone finds “comfort in uncertainty.” But successful people understand that there’s a level of risk that comes with innovation. And from that risk, one can reap great rewards. Look at Oprah and OWN. She quit a bonafide hit TV show to start something new and precarious. And though she has had a number of financial losses and setbacks (coupled with blistering criticism and declarations of failure), she marches on. Will the celebrity interviews and new programming do the trick? We don’t know. But O keeps going. And maybe sometime soon, we’ll look back at OWN’s path to ratings triumph.

But there are some things on this list that were just pulled from the air.

“Average people think MONEY is the root of all evil. Rich people believe POVERTY is the root of all evil.” While you shouldn’t be a greedy jerk no matter what this article says (and it does say that in a couple of spots), rich people aren’t the only ones who think it’s bad to be poverty-stricken. Everyone thinks poverty is bad. Don’t be dumb.

“Average people have a lottery mentality. Rich people have an action mentality.” Many people that you see making their morning commute also have a Powerball ticket in their pocket, especially when the jackpot gets into the hundreds of millions of dollars. This despite the knowledge that they probably won’t win. You can hope for a lucky break and work hard to make your own success at the same time.

“Average people teach their children how to survive. Rich people teach their kids to get rich.” When was the last time you heard a (good) parent tell their kid, “When you grow up, you’re going to work hard and if you’re lucky, you’ll keep your head above water”? Trying to lay the foundation for your children to live a rich life isn’t something that just those with money do.

“Average people never make the connection between money and health. Rich people know money can save your life.” Really?! No. Just no.

Overall, what the comments get at is money, no matter how much you have today, should be used to earn more money tomorrow. There’s nothing wrong with nice things and enjoying some time off. But if you’re doing something you love, you don’t mind spending a great deal of time working at it until it’s setting you and your family up for today and for future generations.

What do you think of this list of rich people traits? Does it sell middle class people short?

Over the weekend, I checked out Montrelle Green’s post on MN called Phat and Fabulous: Our Top 10 Plus Size Clothing Sites, and I got kind of excited…and a bit depressed at the same time. Excited to finally have some good leads on nice clothing for women over a certain size, but a bit depressed that it seems the only place I can find this clothing is online.

It’s been a while since I’ve been shopping. Since I started my new workout routine and sort of a healthy diet, which includes working out regularly, cutting out all the sodas, juices and other sugar-laden drinks and preparing 90 percent of my meals at home, I am proud to say that I have lost a couple of inches around my waist. Unfortunately, it also means that most of my clothing is a little too big for me. So to celebrate my slimming physique, I decided to splurge and buy a new outfit, or two – or five for the summer.

So this past Saturday, I got in my car and headed straight to the mall, ready and willing to burn through my paycheck and leave with a couple of bags of new gear. My first stop was at H&M. I was sifting through the racks, picking and choosing what items I wanted to try on when I noticed that at this particular H&M, none of the garments had sizes larger than a size 12. Now I know I haven’t been shopping in a while, but I do recall that the store used to have larger sizes. “Maybe this 12 compartmentalizes sizes where a “large” now means 12 and above?” At least that’s what I kept telling myself as I loaded my arms up with all the size 12 garments I could find. Can’t give up hope, right?

So I found a pair of hot pink linen capris and some seafoam green skinny jean pants that I really wanted to fit. Imagining all the color and style options I could have if any or both of these pants were graciously enough to be incorporated into my wardrobe, I kept pulling at the fabric, hoping that the two-percent spandex would be enough to maneuver the pants over this size 14 frame. However, when I got into the dressing room, I was in for a rude awakening. The seafoam green skinny jeans were a complete disaster. I couldn’t even get them up past my thighs. And the hot pink capris? Well, I got them up, but they were so tight that you could see every dimple in my a**, and I was wearing underwear.

Disappointed but not dejected. I left the H&M and headed to a few more stores. Perhaps this was just a fluke. We all know that the average size of women in the US ranges between 12-14, so maybe the other average size ladies got there before I did and bought out the store. It happens. But after the third store, I kept running into the same situation. Most of the department stores I went in had sizes extra small up to large, and while the large was size 12, it actually fit like a size 8 or smaller. Suddenly, I no longer felt actively welcome in the mall. So I took my paycheck and we went home.