The Mentality Gap: Employees and Entrepreneurs

There’s a stark difference in how people perceive and handle money, rooted in their mentality—whether they see the world as employees or as entrepreneurs. A person with an employee mentality views money as something to be preserved or consumed. If they have extra cash, their instinct is to save it in a bank account or spend it on something tangible—something safe, secure, and certain. It’s a way of thinking rooted in minimizing risk and maximizing comfort. An entrepreneur sees money differently. For them, money is a tool, a resource to be put to work. They’ll risk that money by investing it into a business venture. They know there’s a chance of losing everything, but they also understand the potential of creating something far greater—a fortune, a legacy, or even just the satisfaction of turning an idea into reality. The irony, however, is that when the entrepreneur succeeds, the employee-minded person often looks at the disparity in outcomes and declares, "This world is not fair." But fairness isn’t about outcomes—it’s about choices. The entrepreneur’s choice to take risks and embrace uncertainty is what leads to their rewards. And the employee’s choice to play it safe comes with its own set of predictable outcomes. The real question isn’t about fairness; it’s about how we view the world and our willingness to embrace the unknown. The world may be fairer than we think—it just rewards risk and effort differently than caution and stability.