I've met a lot of wealthy people who I would consider poor. - Jim Stovall (The Ultimate Journey)

Broke is a financial condition. Poor is a mental or emotional state. Being broke is temporary, but being poor is permanent unless you change your thinking.

Many of our problems are not the result of lack of money but rather lack of attitude. Our attitude creates a barrier that our actions cannot overcome. We box ourselves in to what we expect before we try to make them a reality.

When you are broke, you can make money by getting a job, selling items, or starting a business. Being broke is temporary.

The same is not true when you are poor. To break that situation, your attitude must shift before anything else can change. As long as you pit yourself as the victim of society, you will be. You are refusing to let yourself succeed or grow.

Mental attitude either creates extra barriers to overcome, or a launching pad to achieve your dreams. The only one that determines which path you take is you.

I have met many wealthy people who are bitter at life and constantly frustrated. They routinely buy new things because their old things do not fulfill them. They have more money than they know how to spend, yet they are poor beyond measure. They lack a solid core of values and their attitude is horrible. To fill that void, they shove more money, cars, boats, houses, etc in the gaping hole to attempt to fill it. No matter how much they try, this method will never work.

Contrary, some of the richest, most joyful people I have met lack the money to buy their next meal, let alone splurge on gifts. Yet they are rich.

Ultimately you are the one in control of your life. Situations might create additional hurdles to overcome, but that does not give you the excuse to create additional ones in your mind. If you want to change your situation, start acting like you are the one in control.