The Wealth Skill Nobody Talks About: Changing Your Mind
If you’d like to get rich or stay rich, I’d encourage you to develop the ability to change your mind.
Most ideas are shitty. So staying fixated on shitty ideas creates an anchoring bias that will weigh you down to the mediocrity of the masses. Learn to change your mind and skate to where the puck is going to be.
Others who can’t change their minds will constantly remind you of a former opinion. Ignore them. They want you to be down there with them so they can feel better about themselves. Don’t fall for it!
Chamath Palihapitiya nails a truth most people don’t want to hear: staying rich—or getting rich—depends on your ability to change your mind. The world moves fast. Markets shift, technology evolves, and what worked yesterday might be useless today. Those who can adapt win, and those who cling to old ideas get left behind.
Why the ability to change your mind builds wealth
- It kills ego and opens you to better opportunities.
- It protects you from anchoring bias—being stuck to bad ideas.
- It helps you spot where the market is going, not where it was.
- It keeps you in a growth mindset instead of a defensive one.
Who’s using this thinking
Amazon constantly pivots product priorities based on new data instead of sticking to old assumptions.
Netflix abandoned DVD rentals early and reinvested in streaming, showing a masterclass in changing direction fast.
Tesla has repeatedly revised its product strategy and technology stack as new opportunities arise.