A seemingly innocuous phrase people say all the time could be holding you back from getting rich

Your thoughts, actions, and even your choice of words could mean the difference between living a wealthy life and an average life.

That's what Robert Kiyosaki, author of the personal finance classic, "Rich Dad Poor Dad," observed growing up the product of two dads: "poor dad" - his real father who struggled financially his whole life and died with bills to pay - and "rich dad," who started with little before becoming one of the richest men in Hawaii.

There were certain, seemingly harmless things rich dad refused to say, one of which many of us - including poor dad - tend to say without blinking an eye: "I can't afford it."

Rather than stating, "I can't afford it," rich dad would ask, "How can I afford it?"

"One lets you off the hook, and the other forces you to think," Kiyosaki writes. "By automatically saying the words 'I can't afford it,' your brain stops working. By asking the question 'How can I afford it?' your brain is put to work."

"'I can't afford it ' also causes sadness, a helplessness that leads to despondency and often depression," he continues. "'How can I afford it?' opens up possibilities, excitement, and dreams."

This doesn't mean you should buy everything, he emphasizes.

The point is that you should constantly be exercising your mind, coming up with creative solutions, and thinking how can I make something happen, rather than I can't make this happen.

"Rich dad was not so concerned about what we wanted to buy as long as we understood that 'How can I afford it?' creates a stronger mind and a dynamic spirit," Kiyosaki writes. "It was not the goal, but the process of attaining the goal that he wanted us to learn."