It is a fun journey discovering and uncovering the behavioural commonalities of the successful. It gives us hope, clarity and insights of what we may need to do ourselves, and perhaps provide us with a missing puzzle piece. It makes it clear that it has not much to do with luck, but a great deal to do with habits.
The general consensus seems to be that the wealthy have unfairly acquired their wealth. A Cato 2019 Welfare survey showed that 52% of Young Americans believe that rich people got rich by exploitation and taking advantage of others. Seeing the wealth gap plaguing the western world, it is understandable as to why such perception is common. Truth is that majority of the wealth is acquired fairly, which will be broken down in the later texts.
Before we dive into their shared habits, let’s discuss their shared backgrounds and dismantle the idea that they were all born with a silver spoon.
A large majority of them are self made
According to a study conducted by Fidelity, 86% of millionaires were self made and did not consider themselves wealthy growing up. If you picture a room of 100 millionaires, only 14 of them were not self made. When it comes to billionaires, a staggering 68% were also self-made.
Those who are wealthy do know what it is like for the average person. A U.S Trust Study finds that those with average $3mil in investable assets, 77% came from middle class backgrounds whereas 19% came from poorer backgrounds. This shows that we have a lot more in common with the average millionaire than we had been told all our lives. If you ever come across a few self-made millionaires, more often than not they are one of the most humblest character you will ever meet.
What do rich people do on a regular basis, that average people don’t?
The answers may not be what you think.
Let’s get started.
1. They have a structured morning routine
Early bird gets the worms! Almost all rich people value waking up at 5am. But having breakfast isn’t all they have. Waking up early in the day helps to complete tasks before the day really starts. If you are an avid gym goer, you may find it more useful using the gym in the morning, so after work you have time to yourself.
2. They make their bed
It seems so simple, yet so effective. The state of your room reflects on your mind. A survey by Best Mattress Brand found that 74% of bed makers believe it makes them more productive through the day, whereas 50% of non bed makers felt productive throughout the day. Especially if you are working from home, it tempts you to not get into bed.
3. They value fitness
Every rich person has kept up with their exercise. That’s normally what they do in the early morning they wake up. Whether it is a stretch, or going for a run. Keeping fit and exercising helps to make you more productive through the day and also have tremendous benefits for your mental health which can help make thoughtful decisions. Usually, that is followed by…
4. Meditation
Working in the entrepreneurial field can get very stressful. Entrepreneurs often practice mindfulness in order to keep a clear mind, and my rational decisions and remain calm all throughout. Meditation, along with waking early and exercising, really builds the self-discipline muscles and makes it less arduous to complete other tasks.
5. They do not watch TV
Watching anything on TV simply isn’t productive. Those that are wealthy know this, and instead chose to use their spare time reading relevant non-fiction books or working on their business. Watching TV regularly is linked to effect a person’s intellect negatively and cause anxiety, and this can be a huge inconvenience when running a business.
6. They make good use of their day
We are already waking up early, following a structured morning of exercise, meditation and no TV watching and now we have several spare time hours left. These spare hours they have left is being put to use towards their businesses, or educating themselves in relevant topics.
7. They reduce meaningless tasks and decisions
Steve Jobs and Mark Zuckerberg are known for wearing the same or similar clothes everyday. That helped them to reduce time spent thinking about what to wear every morning. They look for other ways to reduce time doing other activities so more time is left to work on their business. Some may only shop nearby, have a job near to their home, go gym close to them; just to reduce commute time. Some may only eat foods that are quick and easy to make (I recommend that you still keep it healthy).
8. They continuously work on their communication skills
Networking is a big part of any running business. It is not about what you say, but how you say it. The rich and successful have a charisma that is unmatched to the average person. Many entrepreneurs learn to speak like those that inspired them. With practice and time they find their sound.
9. Build strong relationships
From networking, you may find other opportunities, completely new or supplementary to your current business. The rich know that it is better that you are friendly with just about everybody because they may be able to unlock other possibilities for you.
10. They read. A lot!
It has been found that the average Top CEO reads 50 books a year, whereas the overall average reads 1.5 books a year and they are normally romantic fictions. You can never know too much on any topics and books are there to feed your mind and widen your horizons.
11. Sacrifice their time and social lives
The best time to start your journey was 10 years ago, the second best is yesterday and the third best is now. They choose to delay gratification and prefer to leave fun for when the money is there and strong.
12. Plan their day on paper
The rich often keep a schedule with them, whether is it on a paper journal or digitally. It gives them an idea where they can place their other plans and activities. You will always be impressed at their level of self-organisation. They plan for a life, and not for a weekend.
13. Write down their goals
They write them down, digitally or on paper, and execute their goals one by one as if it is a bucket list – but one that is productive. Anything that is written down means it is important for the individual, and the brain likes to be given clear tasks to complete.
14. Have a wholehearted passion and drive
It just cannot workout being a half-assed entrepreneur. You have to strive to be an expert in that field with the desire to know every aspect in order to succeed in your field. Rich people are big time nerds in their subject.
15. Take responsibility of their own life
Every rich and wealthy individual will tell you that luck was not the only thing on their side, or at all. They will tell you they worked their butts off and that anyone can be in their position, if they put in equal or greater effort. You do not get anything by just sitting and thinking about it.
16. Have money work for them
Rich and wealthy people have put money into something that resulted in more money. There is some hard work, and a lot of smart work. For example, someone may purchase a property and whoever the tenant is, would have to pay the property owner. The property owner would get residual income for this.
17. They keep up with the ever changing world
Technology has advanced, especially in the past century. It had an astonishing effect on society, cultural norms and communications. It has also caused numerous businesses to shut. Some of the bigger ones being such as Blockbuster, which was valued $8.4billion in 1994, which then declared bankruptcy in 2010. Their competitor Netflix went from mailing DVDs into being completely online based hence conquering the changing world and catering to what their audience preferred way to consume their product today. Things are changing all the time. Who knows where we will be 10-20 years from now.
18. They care about other peoples’ needs
The richest and the wealthiest have discovered untouched markets and went all for it. A business does the best when it its products is what a large population needs, or wants all the time. That is evidently food, utility and furnitures which are essential for maintaining our livelihoods; or technology, particularly for entertainment, for our natural instinct for stimulation. The richest and wealthiest base their businesses on what people need and want.
19. They think in terms of abundance
They do not limit themselves and know that we have the capability to accomplish anything that they have a passion for. They weren’t going to stop no matter the criticisms and painful moments. However there is a difference between positive mental outlook and blind optimism. A positive mental outlook has to be paired with common sense; you can’t just put all your efforts in and expect your business to succeed if it isn’t holding up to reality.
20. They study other successful people
It is ideal to model someone who you admire and inspire to be like. Mark Zuckerberg, founder of Facebook. now one of the wealthiest person on the planet, was influenced by Bill Gates, founder of Microsoft. If you have seen someone else accomplish astonishing things, it can really give you the belief that you can too.
21. Have mentors
Never feel ashamed to reach out for help. There are people out there who have accomplished what you would like to have and are willing to show you the way. Many notable figures have had their own mentors. Darren Hardy, author of the successful Compound Effect, was in fact mentored by the famous motivational speaker and entrepreneur Jim Rohn.
22. They get paid based on results, not time
75% of successful entrepreneurs have direct sales experience, this is where many recount to realising that they rather be paid on their work, and paid big time than having to be stuck sacrificing their time for money. That usually peaks the interest of creating residual income streams.
23. Frugality is a thing
When you are currently investing into really important ventures, you want to make sure you only spend your money on what’s important; such as the bills being paid and the investments being funded. The rich and the wealthy are often still frugal with their spending.
24. They treat failure as a lesson
Oprah, Tina Fey, J.K Rowling and Walt Disney were in very financially unsatisfying positions in their lives at 23. Oprah having been fired and Walt Disney filing for bankruptcy. They have evidently conquered their failures and we now know them for who they are.
25. They are non-conformers
Those who have invested into internet businesses early before the technological boom, such as Alibaba, were in fact laughed at and told that they will not succeed. Jack Ma is now the wealthiest person in China. Societal pressures can be full on or subtle; from it being the norm to go to school and get a career, to having specific expectations placed upon you by family, friends and teachers. It is a well known fact that many successful individuals are in fact college drop outs, or have a similarly shared story of social pressures when starting their business.
26. Continuously self-improve
Despite being successful already, you will often find that the richest and the wealthiest continue their personal development journey. They continue reading books, learning, seeking ways to improve themselves or their business, as if they aren’t ever going to be satisfied.
27. Focus on the few, not the many
It is easier to focus on one thing, such as one business at a time, and excel in it then pressure yourself into juggling so many different things at once. That’s why the rich make it sounds so easy. Although arduous, they kept it simple.
28. They visualise
Energy flows where attention goes. Visualisation is a common practice amongst the successful. It gives them confidence and boosts their self-esteem, and also feeds into ideas and realise where they need to work on. Hollywood A-lister Jim Carrey once shared that he would often sit in his car and visualise himself being a paid actor and comedian. He also wrote himself a $10million check and placed it where he would see it everyday.
29. And lastly… they put action into their work.
“I just worked hard” can be a very underwhelming response when asking someone how they got there. And it really is as simple as that. Things will not happen on their own, until action is being taken.