As a young adult, Eker moved to the United States and started a series of over a dozen different companies before having success with an early retail fitness store.

[2] After reportedly making millions through a chain of fitness stores and subsequently losing his fortune through mismanagement, Eker started analyzing the relationships rich people have with their money and wealth,[3] leading him to develop the theories he advances in his writing and speaking today.

[citation needed] Other theories attributed to Eker include the concept that people unwilling to make major sacrifices in order to succeed "play the role" of the victim[7] and deny that they have control of their own situations.

[3] A 2010 report in the Vancouver Sun claimed that Eker was named in a "prospective class-action lawsuit" involving two individuals who purchased residential properties from people they met while attending one of his seminars.

[10] Another Vancouver Sun report from 2007 cites a claim that Eker's company Peak Potentials Training Inc. used "high-pressure sales tactics" during "Millionaire Mind Intensive" course at the Wall Centre in October 2005.