The "Secret Formula" That Prevents You From Making Money
Eben Pagan teaches that lack of money is emergent - a direct result of specific conditions you've set up in your life. He provides a three-question exercise to identify the choices, formulas, and interacting forces that prevent you from making money whenever you want.
Teachings 5
You must take control of your money-preventing ability before you can control your money-making ability
Eben specifically states 'to take control of your money-making ability you must first take control of your money preventing ability' as the prerequisite step in his methodology
Conditions are choices that pre-make a bunch of other decisions for you and have long-term emergent effects
Eben provides specific examples: 'if you choose a particular job you've already made the decision in advance essentially to go into that job every day for the next year 2 years 5 years' versus choosing half vs full glass of water which doesn't create conditions
Major life choices like mentor selection, spouse choice, and job selection create conditions with huge emergent financial effects
Eben specifically identifies these examples: 'what choice you make of Mentor in your life is a condition that can and will have huge effects who you choose for a spouse is a condition that will lead to all kinds of different emergent effects... what job you choose and who you choose to work for is a condition'
Everyone has a unique internal formula for their inability to make money that combines what they learned, who they hang around with, and other conditions
Eben asks 'what's the combination of conditions that has given you the inability to make money at the level that you want what's your unique internal formula what did you learn or not learn who are you hanging around with or not hanging around with'
The goal is developing the ability to make money whenever you want, not just being able to make money sometimes
Eben distinguishes that 'it's one thing to be able to make money it's another thing to be able to make money whenever you want' and focuses the final question on preventing 'you from being able to make money whenever you want'
Perspectives 1
Lack of money is emergent and created by specific conditions you've set up, just like making money is emergent
Eben explains that 'your lack of money is a direct result of the things you've set up and done in your life in a specific order' and provides the framework that both money-making and money-preventing follow the same emergent principles
Quotable Moments 4
“your lack of money is a direct result of the things you've set up and done in your life in a specific order”
— Eben Pagan“to take control of your money-making ability you must first take control of your money preventing ability”
— Eben Pagan“conditions are things that you set up that kind of pre-make a bunch of other decisions for you”
— Eben Pagan“it's one thing to be able to make money it's another thing to be able to make money whenever you want”
— Eben Pagan
How to identify what prevents you from making money
A three-question exercise to reverse-engineer the conditions blocking your financial success
- 1
Prepare for the exercise
Take out a blank piece of paper. Plan for 10-15 minutes. You'll write short, specific answers (5-7 words) that are clear enough you know what you meant.
- 2
List condition-creating choices
Write at least 10 answers to: 'Where did you make a choice in your life that set up a condition that has led to you not having the financial success that you want?' Focus on major choices like mentor, spouse, job selection that pre-make other decisions.
- 3
Identify your secret formula
Write at least 10 answers to: 'What is the secret formula of your inability to make money at the level that you want?' Include what you learned or didn't learn, who you hang around with, and your unique combination of conditions.
- 4
Analyze interacting forces
Write at least 10 answers to: 'How are several forces interacting to create an emergent situation that prevents you from being able to make money whenever you want?' Look for how multiple conditions work together to block consistent money-making ability.
Questions Answered
How do you identify what's preventing you from making money
“where did you make a choice in your life that set up a condition that has led to you not having the financial success that you want”
— Eben Pagan▶ 1:05
Take out paper and answer three questions with at least 10 items each: Where did you make choices that set up conditions preventing financial success? What's your unique formula combining what you learned and who you hang around with? How are forces interacting to prevent you from making money whenever you want?
What is the secret formula that prevents making money
“what's the combination of conditions right that has uh given you the inability to make money at the level that you want what's your unique internal formula”
— Eben Pagan▶ 4:14
Your secret formula is the unique combination of conditions including what you learned or didn't learn, who you hang around with or don't hang around with, and other life choices that interact to create your inability to make money at the level you want.
What are conditions in terms of financial success
“conditions are things that you set up that kind of pre-make a bunch of other decisions for you”
— Eben Pagan▶ 3:08
Conditions are major life choices that pre-make a bunch of other decisions for you and have long-term effects. Examples include choosing your mentor, spouse, or job - these set up situations that automatically influence hundreds of future decisions affecting your finances.
Why must you control money-preventing ability before money-making ability
“to take control of your money-making ability you must first take control of your money preventing ability”
— Eben Pagan▶ 0:33
Because lack of money is emergent - it's a direct result of specific things you've set up in your life. You must first identify and control the conditions preventing money before you can effectively develop money-making skills.
What's the difference between making money and making money whenever you want
“it's one thing to be able to make money it's another thing to be able to make money whenever you want”
— Eben Pagan▶ 4:44
Making money whenever you want is a higher level skill that requires understanding and controlling the forces that create emergent money-blocking situations. It's about developing systematic ability rather than occasional success.
Summary
Understanding Money as Emergent - Both Making and Preventing
Eben establishes that lack of money follows the same emergent principles as making money - it's a direct result of specific conditions you've created. The key insight is that you must first take control of your money-preventing ability before you can effectively control money-making ability.
The Three-Question Framework for Identifying Financial Blocks
The exercise involves answering three specific questions with at least 10 items each: identifying choices that created blocking conditions, discovering your unique internal formula, and analyzing how forces interact to prevent on-demand money creation. Each answer should be 5-7 words and specific enough for clarity.
Distinguishing Conditions from Simple Choices
Eben explains that conditions are major life choices that pre-make hundreds of future decisions, using examples like job, mentor, and spouse selection. These create emergent effects over years, unlike simple choices like water consumption that have minimal long-term impact on financial success.
Counterpoint
Claim: “Focus on learning money-making strategies and tactics to increase income”
Reframe: First take control of your money-preventing ability by identifying the conditions and choices that block financial success
Eben teaches that 'to take control of your money-making ability you must first take control of your money preventing ability' because lack of money is emergent from specific conditions you've created
Claim: “Small daily choices don't significantly impact long-term financial success”
Reframe: Major life choices create 'conditions' that pre-make hundreds of future decisions and have massive emergent effects on your finances
Eben explains choosing a job means 'you've already made the decision in advance essentially to go into that job every day for the next year 2 years 5 years' while choosing water amounts has no condition-setting effect
Key Points 6
Lack of money is emergent and created by specific conditions you've set up, just like making money is emergent
▶ 0:02You must take control of your money-preventing ability before you can control your money-making ability
▶ 0:33Conditions are choices that pre-make a bunch of other decisions for you and have long-term emergent effects
▶ 2:15Major life choices like mentor selection, spouse choice, and job selection create conditions with huge emergent financial effects
▶ 3:57Everyone has a unique internal formula for their inability to make money that combines what they learned, who they hang around with, and other conditions
▶ 4:14The goal is developing the ability to make money whenever you want, not just being able to make money sometimes
▶ 4:44Topics
Coaching Strategies
Business Frameworks
Common Mistakes