21 ways rich people think differently than the average person

Mastering your money has a lot more to do with psychology and mindset than we might think. That's what Napoleon Hill preached in his bestselling 1937 book "Think and Grow Rich," the culmination of his intensive study of more than 500 self-made millionaires.

Self-made millionaire Steve Siebold, who has interviewed 1,200 of the world's wealthiest people during the past three decades, agrees. As backward as it sounds, getting rich often has less to do with the money than the mentality, he writes in his book "How Rich People Think."

Here are 21 mindsets of the wealthy that you could adopt today:

Rich people believe poverty is the root of all evil .... while average people think money is the root of all evil. According to Siebold, there's a certain shame that comes along with "getting rich" in lower-income communities."The average person has been brainwashed to believe rich people are lucky or dishonest," he writes. "The world class knows that while having money doesn't guarantee happiness, it does make your life easier and more enjoyable."

Rich people think selfishness is a virtue...... while average people think selfishness is a vice. "The rich go out there and try to make themselves happy. They don't try to pretend to save the world," Siebold told Business Insider. The problem is that middle-class people see that as a negative — and it's keeping them poor, he writes. "If you're not taking care of you, you're not in a position to help anyone else," he said. "You can't give what you don't have."

Rich people have an action mentality.... while average people have a lottery mentality. "While the masses are waiting to pick the right numbers and praying for prosperity, the great ones are solving problems," Siebold writes. "The hero [most people] are waiting for is maybe God, government, their boss, or their spouse. It's the average person's level of thinking that breeds this approach to life and living while the clock keeps ticking away."

Rich people believe in acquiring specific knowledge ... while average people think the road to riches is paved with formal education. "Many world-class performers have little formal education, and have amassed their wealth through the acquisition and subsequent sale of specific knowledge," Siebold writes. "Meanwhile, the masses are convinced that master's degrees and doctorates are the way to wealth, mostly because they are trapped in the linear line of thought that holds them back from higher levels of consciousness ... The wealthy aren't interested in the means, only the end."

Rich people dream of the future ... while average people long for the good old days.

"People who believe their best days are behind them rarely get rich, and often struggle with unhappiness and depression," Siebold writes. "Self-made millionaires get rich because they're willing to bet on themselves and project their dreams, goals, and ideas into an unknown future."

Rich people think about money logically .. while average people see money through the eyes of emotion.

"An ordinarily smart, well-educated, and otherwise successful person can be instantly transformed into a fear-based, scarcity-driven thinker whose greatest financial aspiration is to retire comfortably," Siebold writes. "The world class sees money for what it is and what it's not, through the eyes of logic. The great ones know money is a critical tool that presents options and opportunities."