How I Learned Wealth Is a Mindset, Not a Number
I used to think being poor was about how much money you had—or didn’t have. Growing up in Havana, Cuba, frugality was survival. When I moved to America at 21, that didn’t change right away. At 25, I had more money than ever, but I was still hunting for $7 pants at Goodwill and a $10 backpack at Ross. I’d brag about it, too—like it was some badge of honor.
Then I realized: I wasn’t poor anymore, but I was still acting poor. Feeling poor. It wasn’t my wallet holding me back—it was my mind.That shift started on a trip I’ll never forget. I was hired to film a commercial for a luxury yacht company called Sea Dream.
Picture this: a boat with just 84 passengers, where the staff knew your name, your favorite drink, your food preferences. It was personal, polished, and unlike anything I’d ever seen. I’d never been on that side of wealth before. To prepare, I bought new clothes—not my usual thrift store haul, but stuff that fit the vibe.
That’s when I started caring about suits, fashion, how I presented myself. It wasn’t about money—it was about mindset.
On that yacht, docked at St. Barts—one of the ritziest islands in the Caribbean—I saw a massive cruise ship pull up next to us. Thousands of people onboard, probably 5,000.
I turned to the operations director, an older Norwegian guy who’d clearly made it big, and asked,
“Why don’t you build a bigger ship? Scale this up?”
His response hit me like a ton of bricks:
“Axel, in life, you can go for the masses or the elite. We choose the best of the best. We don’t want to do what anyone can do.”
That stuck with me. Quality over quantity. Excellence over average. It’s not about how much you do or spend—it’s about doing better. You don’t need $800 for a Gucci t-shirt when a $300 well-fitted shirt looks twice as expensive.
Wealth isn’t the price tag—it’s the choice.It’s taken me almost a decade to fully shed that poor-kid-from-Cuba mindset. Last year, I made more money than ever before, but the transformation started long before the cash rolled in. I learned that living wealthy isn’t about your income—it’s about how you think, act, and carry yourself.
A $500K earner and a $5M earner can have similar experiences if they’re on the same wavelength. It’s not how much you drop on dinner—it’s where you go, how you dress, how you treat the staff, who you connect with while you’re there.Here’s the kicker: if you’re young and starting out, like I was, the first step is recognizing abundance.
When you’re broke, it’s hard to see it—but there’s so much money out there, especially in a place like America. If you keep thinking everyone’s as strapped as you, you’ll only create for broke people. You’ll sell your time, your services, your ideas at your own income level—and that’s a trap. Aim higher. Build something for people with 10x your money.I see this in my work now.
Say I’m pitching a video project to a luxury brand. If I price it based on what I’d pay, I’m dead in the water—because to me, it’s not “worth” much. But if that video boosts their revenue by 10%, that could mean $5 million to them.
They’re not buying the video—they’re buying the outcome. Rich people think differently, and you’ve got to meet them there.Being poor is a mindset, plain and simple. It’s not about your bank balance. If you stay in that headspace, you won’t push yourself—to dress sharp, to eat well, to hit the gym, to care for your skin or hair.
But flip that switch, and everything changes. How you live, how much you earn—it’s all tied to how you see yourself.You don’t need millions to start living rich. Do less, but do it better. Focus on quality, not the cheapest option.
That shift has 10x’d my income and transformed my life from the moment I wake up to the moment I crash at night. It can do the same for you.
Wealth starts in your head—get that right, and the money will follow.Let me know if you’d like any tweaks to the thread or blog post—length, tone, or anything else!
