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“Ninety-six percent of self-made millionaires read 30 minutes each day for education, career or self-improvement” Tom Corley
Inspired by the award winning book “Change Your Habits Change Your Life” by Tom Corley
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Can I just be honest? I’m so tired of being one of the poor folks 🙁 It’s really getting old….
So finally, as early as this year, our family started on our journey, thedebtfreejourney, to free ourselves of our common enemy, ‘DEBT’.
I must admit, it’s a very daunting pursuit and not for the faint hearted. I can see why most people stay in their rut because it is difficult, it’s flat out tiring, and in our fast food, instant gratification, microwave driven culture, waiting is really unpopular and frowned upon.
TO THAT END, HERE ARE THE 7 HABITS THAT RICH FOLKS DO THAT WE SHOULD TOO;
1. PURSUE DAILY GROWTH
Rich folks are lifelong learners since they learned that it’s an investment into our character, mentality, and even happiness.
In the book, Tom Corley points out that “daily self-improvement is a hallmark of self-made millionaires. They read at least 30 minutes a day to gain knowledge. They also devote significant time every day to practicing and perfecting their skills”.
No wonder Bill Gates, Warren Buffet and countless other rich folks have reading habits and vast libraries of books; it’s one of the cheapest ways to learn and the most successful stimuli for our brains. By engaging in reading and learning, our brain is engaged and worked out, so that it keeps our emotions happy and even our whole body content.
Growth and Personal development is indeed a habit that can be cultivated and nurtured as we grow older. But it takes time and constant practice since a habit is actually repetitive activity that enables the brain to commit an action to memory good or bad. Only by continually engaging in good habits such as reading, learning a new skill, or even meditating, can the brain memorize this activity and enable the body to respond automatically as needed.
2. DREAM
Rich folks look forward not back.
I heard it said, the reason a car’s windshield is massively bigger than the rear view mirror is so we can actively see what’s ahead while just glancing, in a small window, the rear view.
Tom Corley points out that “the rich build goals around each of their dreams. This makes it possible to realize those dreams. Think of every dream as a rung on your own ladder. Your ideal, perfect life is realized when you reach the top of the ladder. Eighty percent of the self-made millionaires in my study built goals around their dreams.”
Rich folks not only improve themselves by pursuing personal development, they also set goals or dream. This enables them to envision the reality before it happens.
Since our futures are ultimately what we believe or envision them to be, this is why it’s important to have a healthy vision for our future and see ourselves successful in order for our subconscious to move in that direction.
I know for me and Moira, we already envisioned our “life after debt”. We already see ourselves saving more than enough to enable us to travel and pursue our passions after our working careers. We already talked about not retiring, since retiring implies sitting around and not doing anything; we decided that once our working careers end, our vocational careers begin; like teaching since one of our dreams is to be able to teach and mentor less privileged children in slums around the world.
3. FRUGAL
Rich folks are practical and they save.
According to Corley, “Ninety-four percent of the rich saved 20% or more of their income for many years prior to becoming rich.”
One of the mistakes that we make, my family included, is sometimes we are impatient 🙁 This inevitably leads to having poor consumption habits that eventually lead to making poor financial decisions that get us into debt.
This generation is the most marketed to, most advertised to, and the most fast paced culture that if we are unaware, will sweep us into what most broke people do, “buy stuff we don’t need, to impress people we don’t know, with money we don’t have“, i know this happened to us early on in our lives that we ended up getting ourselves into debt, deep debt.
But once we realized how stupid it was to be broke, living in the wealthiest country in the world, surrounded by limitless opportunities; it finally got us mad. And one of the things we did to stop the madness, was to stop being one of the “poor folk” and start learning what the “rich folks” were doing.
In the book, the rich folks save a good portion of their incomes and delay gratification in order to build and retain wealth. They simply do this by changing their perspective and consumption habits.
For instance, when poor folks feel they need a car, they go into a lot and buy new, why because they love the smell of new leather seats, that get them into bad car loans since they only negotiate monthly payments instead of total cost; rich folks, on the other hand, research before they even step into a lot and they don’t buy new, but buy a reliable car that’s off lease or at least 3 years old knowing that after such time, cars would have depreciated a whopping 46% of their total value.
Rich folks also applied the same principle to furniture, buying quality used furniture from thrift stores and estate sales, etc etc. Hopefully you get the picture.
4. CONFIDENT
Rich folks are risk takers, they don’t get hung up on fear of failure or the unknown.
The definition of failure is ‘NOT TRYING’. And ‘NOT TRYING’ is the saddest place to be, after several years down the road, having regrets of not having done whatever it is you were dreaming about, rather than saying “I’ve done it”, and having grown through the experience, good or bad.
“Fifty-one percent of the self-made millionaires in my study took a calculated risk in time and money. Calculated risk is a unique type of risk that requires you to do your homework.” according to Corley. They aren’t afraid to make mistakes since part of growing and maturing in whatever it is we’re pursuing is to eventually fail.
The most important thing we can ever learn when going through failure is to realize that it isn’t the end. It could be just a speed bump, destined to slow us down momentarily, to prepare us down the path of whatever it is we’re going to be successful at.
The key is to have the mental fortitude and be able to suck it up; that’s what rich folks do, they are confident enough to realize that whenever trials come and failures happen due to risk taking, it will eventually lead to invaluable lessons that can be used to propel them into their next success.
5. HOPEFUL
Rich folks have a glass half full mentality, always looking at the positive and the bright side, especially in people.
According to the author, “Seventy-one percent of the self-made millionaires in my study were optimistic about life. Their optimism infected everyone around them. They became magnets for other success-minded people.” This ultimately leads to trusting others and even trusting that circumstances will eventually turn out in their favor.
There’s a great benefit to being optimistic and having a positive attitude, and that is we end up being healthier. If we’re always seeing the best in every situation, good or bad, it allows our brains and emotions to adjust to the circumstances that eventually lessen the likelihood of stress getting into our system. Since we know that stress is a leading cause of health issues, when we’re positive and hopeful, it effectively prevents health issues in our bodies and also contributes to our well being.
Another advantage to having an optimistic outlook is that it helps shape our belief and future; sort of like when people believe good things will happen, and they eventually do, that’s because beliefs end up shaping our futures good or bad. By having a positive and hopeful demeanor, it helps frame a positive state of mind, causing us to will our way into the future we want to have.
6. FLEXIBLE
Rich folks are adaptable to any situation, no matter what comes. They find a way to make the most of it and not afraid to learn, and even change when needed.
“Being open to new ideas, new ways of doing things and the opinions of others is critical to learning and growth.” according to the author.
As mentioned earlier, the rich folk invest in personal development, and in so doing, are naturally flexible when it comes to learning new ideas. They are comfortable in themselves and even in admitting they don’t know it all and are always open to discovering new and better ways of doing things.
They are also keen on making the most of every opportunity knowing full well that these are like doors that open and close, and by recognizing these opportunities and being flexible enough to do what’s needed in order to gain whatever it is that’s being sought whether ideas, a deal, or relationship, rich folks know how to handle these situations in order to create win win scenarios for all those involved.
I can say that in our situation as a family, as we learned the value of being flexible and making the most of our opportunities; it helped turn our mentality around and gave us a sense of peace and comfort that as long as we’re moving in a positive direction, then whatever life throws at us, will ultimately get us to where we want to be, and that is closer to our goals and dreams.
7. GENEROUS
Rich folks are generous, whether with their time, money, or ideas.
As I’ve read and studied what rich folk do, I eventually stumbled into what majority of them have learned and continue to practice as part of their healthy lifestyle and well-being; they practice generosity.
Whether giving time, money, or themselves to mentor others, they discovered that being a Blessing is worth more than material wealth.
Being able to sow into lives, being able to have the ability to change lives, it gives them purpose and satisfaction to being wealthy and having means.
Because as Dave Ramsey put it, “you can only have so much lobster that it’ll eventually taste like soap”; in other words, it’s not supposed to be all about you and your wealth, but what you can afford as a result. Will you use it to change a life and a destiny, or will you keep it and ruin yourself with it.
IN CONCLUSION
I’ve heard it said that we are the “sum of all our habits“, so if we practice healthy habits and a positive attitude, it will eventually lead to a better, healthier future for us and our families.
By continually learning, being optimistic, and practicing the habits we looked at above, there’s nothing that can stop us from achieving the life we ultimately want to have, it’s a matter of changing our mindset and being mature enough to move in the right direction.
Do you have other tips on what habits rich folks have that can help us be like them? Please do share by leaving us a comment or emailing at thedebtfreejourney@gmail.com
Peace and Blessings to you All.
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