JohnRunchey.com

 No, I don't mean pay attention to me and what I have to say, although of course you'd be a fool not to and you know that already.

Imagine you are running a race. The competitors in this race are you, and one other person. This is a race without a finish line - it just goes on, day after day after day. Somewhat like that Sisyphus guy from Greek mythology who was forced to roll the same boulder up a hill each day for eternity. 
 
This is an odd race - the follower will occasionally manage to catch up to the leader, but will never pass him. The leader, conversely, will sometimes fall back to even with the follower, but then will inevitably pull ahead again. 
 
This goes on, and on, and on. 
 

The dialogues we have inside our head, the questions we ask ourselves, have a large impact on our success. The mind is an amazing thing - it will supply an answer to any question, positive or negative. Ask why you can't succeed, you'll get an answer. Ask why you are fat, you'll get an answer. Ask "Why me", and you'll get a good answer to that as well.
 
These negative self-questions boil down to essentially the same thing - "Give me justification for living in mediocrity, an excuse for just getting by and not improving my lot in life". Your brain, ever the mindful servant, supplies a perfect answer:
 
"Why can't I succeed?"
"It's just too hard for the little guy. Besides, you think you deserve success? That's for those born lucky, not you"
 
"Why am I so fat?"

 Saving and investing money seems easy and straightforward to me; it certainly isn't a challenging process. Yet to many, investing appears a difficult, mysterious process that only some can succeed at, or even bother trying.
 
I wonder is this due to just a lack of understanding, or is it due to our brains being 'wired' completely differently - one person excelling at math, while another is a 'natural-born' artist. I can't draw worth a crap, never got past stick figures. Is money sense an equivalent type of skill? 
 

Brainwashing is pumping information into your brain over and over again, until you believe it is true. Regardless of the motivation behind it (good or evil), brainwashing works and is very effective. It will change your very belief system.
 
Losers brainwash themselves without knowing it. They read negative-bias news articles every day. They endlessly repeat negative phrases to themselves such as "I just can't win", "The little guy can't get a break", "It's the economy; I can't get ahead in this economy!", and other such drivel. 
 
Over time, they come to truly believe these ideas, at the core of their being. And for them, this then becomes true. When they believe things are hopeless, they quit trying. When they believe 'the system' is against them, they don't see opportunities around them. They are programmed for failure, and they have no idea they've done it to themselves. Not a fun way to live.

The most vital component of success in savings and eventual wealth building is controlling your outgo as compared to your income.
 
To a large extent, it truly isn't 'what you make' (income), it's 'what you keep' (income - expenses) that is important.  
 An extreme example of this is Mike Tyson. Over the span of his boxing career he made over 300 million dollars - yet he ended up filing bankruptcy, being over 27 million bucks in the hole. 
 
For us mere mortals that are earning typical incomes, managing our expenses is relatively easy if we have a little bit of discipline. It's really quite simple:

• record every dime you spend
• work on getting the total comfortably below your income so you can divert money to savings

"What, watch every penny? I just need to make more money, that's the problem!" 

I drive a reasonably shitty car. It has many miles on the odometer, 172 thousand and change to be exact. It is 13 years old, the same age as my daughter who was born oh so many years ago. When it hits a bump just so, the front end breaks into a violent oscillation, feeling as though the car is going to tear itself apart.
 
It is a reasonably shitty car. But I love it.
 
You see, this car is fully paid for. It has been fully paid for since, well since I don't know when because having payments is such a distant memory. I suppose buried deep in my records somewhere is the exact date our payments ended. 
 
Shitty is probably a bit of an overstatement. How about crappy, that sounds better. 
 

So what exactly is meant by the term 'success'? Is it universal for everyone, or highly personal?
 
The Merriam-Webster online dictionary provides a starting point: 
2 a: degree or measure of succeeding b: favorable or desired outcome ; also : the attainment of wealth, favor, or eminence
3: one that succeeds