George Wright III opens this episode of The Daily Mastermind with a question worth sitting with: how is your year going, and are you actually getting the things you want from your life? The answer, he argues, depends less on wanting and far more on declaring, deserving, and doing.
Why Most People Never Say What They Really Want
Most of us think about what we want. Some of us even talk about it occasionally. But very few people truly declare it to the world. George identifies three reasons: you may not know what you want, you may fear what others will think, or you may be afraid to put it out there and still not get it. That last fear is the most paralyzing of all.
The result is hesitation. And hesitation keeps you from building a life filled with happiness, prosperity, and success. As George puts it directly, this is no way to live.
The Charlie Munger Principle
To drive the point home, George cites a quote from Charlie Munger, vice chairman of Berkshire Hathaway and Warren Buffett's closest partner and right-hand man:
To get what you want, you have to deserve what you want. The world is not yet a crazy enough place to reward a whole bunch of undeserving people.
The implication is clear. Wanting is not enough. Wishing is not enough. The universe rewards alignment between what you say you want, what you do about it, and the person you are becoming in the process.
The Poem That Changes How You Bargain With Life
George shares a poem called "My Wage" that crystallizes the idea:
I bargained with life for a penny, and life would pay me no more. However I begged at evening when I counted my scanty store. For life is a just employer, he gives you what you ask, but once you have set the wages, why, you must bear the task. I worked for a menial hire, only to learn, dismayed, that any wage I had asked of life, life would have paid.
The poem is a gut-punch. Life is a fair employer. It pays exactly what you ask. If you have been settling, the question is not whether life cheated you; the question is what wages you set for yourself.
Are You Visible About What You Want?
George offers a simple, practical diagnostic: if someone scrolled through your social media or spent 48 hours in your circle of influence, would they know what you truly want from your life? Or would they have to ask you?
If they would have to ask, you have not declared it. And if you have not declared it, you are making it much harder for the universe, your network, and your own brain to work toward it.
The 12 Prosperity Pillars as a Foundation
George closes by reviewing the 12 Prosperity Pillars he developed over 25 years working with thought leaders and mentors. They serve as both affirmations and operating principles:
- I create my life.
- I take personal responsibility.
- I act in spite of my mood.
- I surround myself with positive people.
- I focus on solutions.
- I create an attitude of abundance.
- I choose to be happy.
- I always think win-win.
- I am committed to lifelong learning.
- I create daily rituals.
- I attract success.
- I visualize and manifest my life.
These are not platitudes. They are a structured way of becoming someone worthy of the life you are declaring.
Action Steps
- Write down exactly what you want your life to look like, with specifics, and share it somewhere visible: social media, a conversation with a trusted person, or a journal you revisit daily.
- Apply the Charlie Munger test: are you becoming someone who deserves what you are asking for? Identify one area where your actions and your stated goals are out of alignment.
- Read the poem "My Wage" and ask yourself honestly what wages you have set with life. Are you bargaining for a penny when you could be asking for far more?
- Work through the 12 Prosperity Pillars and choose two or three to focus on this month as daily affirmations.
- Audit your circle of influence; the people around you should know what you want, and they should be people who lift you toward it.
You don't get what you want. You get what you deserve and what you are willing to declare. It is never too late to raise your wages with life and start living the life you were meant to live.

