Rich Habits

 

• Live within your means.

 Wealthy people avoid overspending by paying their future first. They save 20 percent of their net income and live on the remaining 80 percent. If you want to end your financial struggles, you need to make a habit of saving and budgeting what you spend. Some sensible ways to budget your monthly net pay:

1.     Spend no more than 25% on housing, no matter if you own or rent.

2.     Limit entertainment – bars, golf, whatever.

3.     Spend no more than 5% on auto loans.

4.     Stay away from accumulating credit card debt.

5.     Think of savings and investments as two completely different things. Try to stash 6 months of living expenses in an emergency fund in case you lose your job or health concerns.

• Read every day.

Reading information that will increase your knowledge about your business or career will make you more valuable to colleagues, customers or clients. Among wealthy people, 88% read 30 minutes or more every day. The reason successful people read is to improve themselves. This separates them from the competition. By increasing their knowledge, they are able to see more opportunities, which translate into more money.

• Control your emotions.

 Not every thought needs to come out of your mouth. Not every emotion needs to be expressed. When you say whatever is on your mind, your risk hurting others. Ninety-four percent of wealthy people filter their emotions. They understand that letting emotions control them can destroy relationships at work and at home. Wait to say what’s on your mind until you’re calm and have had time to look at the situation objectively.

•  Set goals, not wishes.

 You cannot control the outcome of a wish, but you can control the outcome of a goal. Every year, 70% of the wealthy pursue at least one major goal.

• Avoid procrastination.

 Successful people understand that procrastination impairs quality and damages other non-business relationships. Here are strategies that will help you avoid procrastination:

1.     Create daily “to-do” lists.

2.     Set and communicate artificial deadlines.

3.     Say a “do it now” affirmation. Repeat the words over and over again until you begin a task or project.

• Talk less and listen more.

 You should listen to others five minutes for every one minute you speak. Wealthy people are good communicators because they are good listeners. They understand that you can learn and educate yourself only by listening to what other people have to say.

• Avoid toxic people.

 We are only as successful as the people we spend the most time with. Of wealthy, successful people, 86% associate with other successful people. But 96% of those struggling financially stick with others struggling financially.

• Don’t give up.

 Those who are successful in life have three things in common: focus, persistence and patience. They simply do not quit chasing their big goals.

•  Set aside the self-limiting beliefs holding you back.

 The self-limiting beliefs, i.e., Poor people can’t become rich; I have no money - alters your behaviour in a negative way. Almost 4 out of 5 wealthy people attribute their success in life to their beliefs. Change your negative beliefs into positive affirmations by reading lessons from the great personal development, like Napoleon Hill or Dale Carnegie.

•  Know your main purpose in life.

This is the most important habit. Those people who pursue a dream or a main purpose in life are by far the wealthiest and happiest among us. Because they love what they do for a living, they are happy to devote more hours each day driving toward their purpose. When you can earn a sufficient income doing something you enjoy, you have found your main purpose. Believe it or not, finding this purpose is easy. Here’s the process:

1.     Make a list of everything that made you happy.

2.     Highlight those items on your list that involve skill, and identify that skill.

3.     Rank the top 10 highlighted items in the order of joy they bring to you and items in terms of their income potential.

4.     Total the two ranked columns. The highest score represents a potential main purpose in your life.

Source: Tom Corley, Rich Habits: The Daily Success Habits of Wealthy Individuals.     Success Magazine