18 Forms of Ego That Are Keeping You Broke

I realized the hard way that if I wanted to be successful in all areas of my life… I had to do a deep self-examination, instead of wasting my time on negative actions, negative thinking and the pain of negative results.

Like many people in life… I wanted to be wildly successful, and I thought that only a few lucky people in the world were able to enjoy great lives full of abundance. I was so wrong! I soon realized that all my results were directly caused by my own decisions, my attitude, my actions, my thoughts, etc. This is something that many people are not ready to accept and confront. Why? Keep on reading and you will find the answer.

Ego will render you broke for the rest of your life. Ego says, “That is not me” or “Gosh, I would never do a business like that” or “What would my friends think if I was doing something like that?”

Ego says it is everybody else’s fault and takes no responsibility. Ego focuses on everybody else’s failures and not your own. Ego wants somebody else to pay for how you feel and somebody else to admit they were wrong.

Ego comes in all sorts of forms. Shyness is a form of ego because if you use your personality as an excuse for not being what you should be, that is ego. Being a fake and caring about other people’s opinions is ego. You will never be happy with your success if it is all about beating someone else’s success.

The ego is all about self-condemnation and self-criticism, or the criticism and condemnation of others. It just makes you incredibly unsafe. Ego does not cause people to want to work with you, and it does not cause people to trust or refer you. It only causes people to stay away from you.

Ego comes in many disguises. You may not think you have an ego, but see if you recognize any of its masks listed here:

1. The Blame Ego loves to play the blame game for its lack of results. This ego says, “It is their fault. It is my spouse’s fault. It is my boss’s fault. It is the economy’s fault. It is the White House’s fault.”

2. The Know-It-All Ego says, “I already know this stuff. I can do it better. When are you going to get to the real content?”

3. The Fearful Ego loves to speak fear. “What if I say the wrong thing? What if I do the wrong thing? What if I make a mistake?”

4. The Comfort Zone Ego says, “Okay, we are good. We are happy with the way things are. It is not really what I want, but it is okay.” Staying in the comfort zone is not going to help you or anybody else.

5. The Self-Righteous Ego says, “Oh, my goodness. I never talk like that. I thought you were a godly person. Oh, you should not wear clothes like that.” Self-righteous egos do not associate with people of certain colors or certain races or of certain creeds. This is someone who puffs up him or herself as better than those who do not go to church.

But the last time I checked, Jesus did not have a problem with the tax collectors, prostitutes, or liars. He loved them. He did have a problem with the self-righteous, though, which includes the Pharisees who hung him on the cross.

6. The Judgmental Ego is constantly judging everybody else. “Oh, my gosh, I bet Ricky Figueroa has ulterior motives. Oh, he thinks he is so hot. He thinks he knows it all. He is really not that great. He is only in this for the money.”

You should not be judgmental about rich people, because how do you know how they live? Maybe that rich person you are judging lives a simple life and spends very little on personal items so he or she can give more to the needy. So watch yourself – he who judges will be judged in the same way he judges.

Judgment will never help you make money, keep it, or make it your slave. It will never pay your bills or create the wealth you want to pass down to your family. It will never help you to become an influential person who is benefiting the lives of others around you.

7. The False Humility Ego says, “Oh, really, no. It is not me… I, uh, no. It’s all Jesus.” False humility is just pride and an act. Real humility comes from the heart. It emanates naturally when you are truly humble. And remember, humble does not mean quiet and shy – the righteous is as bold as a lion.

8. The Excuses Ego loves to just pick excuses instead of getting results:

“We cannot afford that, I do not know how I am going to do it. Oh, gosh, I don’t feel ready; I will wait until things get better. It is not going to work for me anyway. It is too expensive and I do not have the time. I do not know the right people. I was not raised by the right parents. My husband does not support me. If only starting the business were cheaper. You know, this will require me to take time to learn and I just do not have the time. It is too hard anyway.”

9. The People Pleasing Ego tries to cover up its insecurities by constantly trying to keep everybody happy. These people are always willing to do things for others while sacrificing their own needs.

10. The Justification Ego says, “I grew up in Texas, and in Texas we just do not do things like that,” or “I got married and have these kids so that is just how life went,” or “I never wanted it anyway.”

11. The Defensive Ego is constantly defending its position. If you are defensive, you cannot win. If you are judgmental, you cannot win. Judgment and defensiveness go hand in hand.

12. Jealous Egos are envious in a bad way of other people’s success. These types of people cannot learn from successful people. If this is you, you are jealous of other people’s looks, you are jealous of the recognition they get, you are jealous of their accomplishments, you are jealous of the house in which they live, and you are jealous that they were selected for something and you did not.

You will never ever be able to win with that much jealousy, because it causes your heart to turn dark and hatred to fill up inside you. It causes you to be cynical and critical, which is another form of ego. It causes you to belittle other people. If people cannot trust you they do not want to be around you because they know that as soon as they leave you, you are going to speak ill of them.

13. The Fake Ego puts on airs. These people are different with every group of people they encounter. They believe in some things with some people, and then they believe in other things with other people. They try to put on airs of being someone they are not, hoping for acceptance.

14. The Shy Ego is one of my favorites. “Gosh, I am so shy! That is why I am not successful. I mean, you are so outgoing and bold – that is why you are successful.”

It doesn’t matter what your personality is – if you plant corn in the ground, it is going to come out corn. If a black farmer plants corn in the ground, what kind of corn does he get? He gets the same corn as the white guy gets. If you are shy, and you plant corn in the ground, what kind of corn do you reap? It is shy corn? NO, it is still corn. But shy people use their shyness as an excuse not to pursue success, which is nothing but an ego trip!

Making money is as simple as farming. The farmer knows that if he puts the right seed in the ground, he is going to reap what he put in the ground. What you put is what you get.

15. The Other People’s Opinion Ego always cares about others’ opinions. They live according to the opinions of those around them. Maybe your Aunt or a co-worker says, “No, you should not do that business. It is never going to work for you. I had a friend who did something like that in 1975 and he did not earn a cent. You should not do it.”

If you listen to the 99 percent of the people and their opinions about how to live your life, you will have what they have. Care about the opinions of those who have what you want, but do not listen to the opinions of those who do not have what you want.

16. The Sarcastic Ego speaks with mockery and sarcasm toward everyone around him or her. It says sarcastically, “Yeah, right!” But this ego is never ever fine. It does not make you trustworthy. It does not make anyone want to be around you. It does not make people want to do business with you.

If you are going to succeed in business, you have to become a person others want to be around, not a person others do not want to be around. And, no matter how funny or clever it may be, nobody – I do not care who you are – nobody likes sarcasm or mockery.

17. The Exempt Ego is the person who says, “None of this applies to me. I am going to skip ahead to another post so I can find something that is really compelling.”

In fact, I do not exempt you, I am sure that is what you have already done and are not even reading this line. The exempt person is above it all, thinking he or she does not need to do any self-work. That person is un-teachable.

18. The Dissenting Ego practices slander and animosity. This is an egotistical person who gossips in the office and among relatives, stirring up dissension and discord even on Facebook. This person carries animosity in his or her heart, which is begrudging, resentful, bitter, and unforgiving. It is a pathetic, tormenting, and unhappy way to live.

And again, who wants to work with people like that? Nobody! Who wants to do business with people like that? Nobody! Who wants to live with somebody like that? See previous answers.

Take off that disguise and throw it out the door! Ego will keep you broke for the rest of your life. It will not save you, but it will destroy you. Ego comes from pain. We have all been through struggles. We have all been through painful experiences – emotional pain, mental pain, and physical pain. The ego is there to protect us from experiencing the same kind of pain again. It creates a wall of protection around us.

But the problem is all that enthusiasm, persistence, adventure, and faith that we naturally were born with gets totally pushed down and covered with crap! Our egos keep us protected, but inside we are suffering. The ego needs a sense of identity…so it will fight for its existence in our mind.

You have to weigh your ego against your bank account. You have to take off that pathetic ego and toss it away.

Make a commitment to stop hurting yourself, to stop hurting people and to be someone who is building people up and creating good relationships. Be a source to other people. Be part of a rare breed of people who is achieving success and wealth while honoring others.

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About Ricky

Ricky Figueroa is a Multi-Passionate Online Entrepreneur, Founder of The CEO Influence Blog & Promoter of a 90 Day Health Challenge that allows people to LOSE WEIGHT, gain muscle, GET FIT, win prizes, and SAVE MONEY all at the same time.

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