10 Habits The Wealthy Use That Will Put You 90% Ahead Of Everyone Else
By: Chris | The Ascent
Admit it…
You’ve become obsessed with reaching financial independence the moment you knew this was a possibility.
However, you don’t come from a rich family, you weren’t an “A” student, and you don’t know a damn skill you possess that can make you millions.
So what do you do?
You presume to the “norm” and stick to the belief that you don’t want to become financially independent.
In other words, you settle for less.
I hate to break it to you, but unless you’re willing to change your bad habits you’ll just be an “average Joe”.
There isn’t a secret formula to becoming wealthy, but success leaves trails.
Thomas Stanley, in his book “The Millionaire Mind” studied wealthy millionaires and discovered which traits contributed to their success.
Here are the top 10 habits the wealthy used to achieve financial success. If you take the action to hone these habits, you too can achieve financial success and be ahead of most people.
1: Honesty Will Triumph
Honesty is more important than you might think.
The wealthy believe honesty is their biggest factor for success.
Why?
Most of them are self-made millionaires who own and operate their own businesses. They understand that honesty is a critical factor in convincing their customers to do business with them.
More importantly, honesty plays a major role in your integrity. If you can’t comply with your own beliefs, you’ll eventually lose trust with your own commitments. This would trickle down to your business and other important areas of your life.
2: Double Down On Discipline
The wealthy set their own goals and chase after them.
They don’t need a blueprint to creating a successful business or on how to accumulate wealth. They simply set their own roadmap as best as possible, and get to work.
The wealthy could have dozens of high-income opportunities, but will only settle with the ones best suited for them. In other words, the wealthy are decisive and discount their emotions when making important decisions.
3: Strive For Trustworthiness
Success is not achieved alone.
If you get along with others, they’ll be more inclined to help you reach your goals.
The wealthy received help from their family and friends. They also stood on top of the shoulders of giants. They understand how important it was to learn and be mentored by people who are at the position they’d one day like to be.
“Me, me, me is dull, dull, dull.” — Thomas Stanley
The best way to receive help from other people is to help others without any expectations. Successful millionaires focus on helping others because they understand they’re opening the doors for others to help them.
4: Find An Amazing Spouse
“Can you live forever? Marry the wrong spouse and every day will feel like an eternity. Marry the right spouse and life will be joyful and perhaps even a rich experience” -Thomas Stanley
Studies from 12,000 respondents in the “Millionaire Mind” demonstrated that participation in marriage leads to significantly higher wealth. People in the same research reported producing lower levels of wealth if they weren’t married.
While having a supportive spouse won’t make you a millionaire, it will increase your odds at becoming wealthy.
Why?
A supportive spouse will support you your “vision”, and will also have ambitious goals, similar to yourself. On the contrary, having a spouse who constantly doubts your decisions, or is willing to settle for less will make reaching your goal more challenging.
Millionaires from this study agree that while physical looks matter to an extent, but the most important qualities for a supportive spouse include:
- down to earth
- unselfish
- patient
- understanding
For every 100 millionaires who stated having a spouse wasn’t important for their economic success, 1300 stated the contrary.
5: Hustle Harder Than Most
Dreaming and envisioning your goals is important.
But that’s not enough…
You have to be willing to work hard and understand that you will hit several setbacks along the way. The Wealthy don’t give up easily and tend to stick with problems long enough to find a solution.
6: Love Your Career
The wealthy are able to perform at high levels not because they’re lucky, but because they chose to work in a career they love. Some work for the right employers, while most start their own businesses.
This doesn’t always come naturally. Many millionaire entrepreneurs spent several years working for others until they’d discovered the type of business to build that best suited them.
If you aren’t loving your career, then start by knowing yourself.
Questions that can help you discover a career you love:
What are you better at than most people?
What would your friends ask you for help with constantly?
Where are you currently spending your money on the most? (books, courses, furniture, etc.)
Answering these questions won’t guarantee you’ll find your dream career, but it’s a start.
Don’t blind yourself from hidden opportunities.
Chances are that if you graduated college you’d most likely pick a job with a respected title, such as a doctor, lawyer, financial analyst, etc. Some of the wealthy have found success by owning a junkyard. Most people would hesitate to run such a business because of their intense need for a “social status”.
7: Build Strong Leadership Skills
Build courage to take risks.
The wealthy have great social skills. Without these core skills, they wouldn’t be great leaders.
Inspiring leaders, such as Martin Luther King, didn’t give up easily.
When applying to graduate school Martin received the lowest score in each category. Aside from this, he didn’t let the negative comments define his capabilities. Even after his death, today, King is arguably one of the most influential leaders in history.
If you want to reach financial independence be prepared for negative criticism. People will tell you what you can or can’t do. It will be up to you to take risks and defend your stance towards reaching your goals.
8: Posses An Ambitious Personality
Tenacity is an important factor to overcome your struggles and multiple failures.
The wealthy didn’t take rejection personally and pursued their goals without fear of failing.
Your IQ does not guarantee success. In fact, most millionaires would agree that hard work is more important than IQ. Having a competitive attitude will give you the edge in reaching financial independence since you’ll push harder than most.
Being different comes at a price. Most people settle for less, but you’re someone with big goals. Because of this, be prepared to take criticism for the success you’re trying to achieve.
9: Clutter Is Your Enemy
Reaching financial independence isn’t possible if you aren’t organized.
Most millionaires are disciplined. They set high goals and begin taking action towards completing them. Every day, they prioritize their most important tasks and only work on the ones that will take them closer to their goals.
If you want to increase your chances at reaching financial success, become organized. Stop working on tasks aimlessly, with the hopes of feeling productive.
Use a journal or piece of paper to write down your 3 most important tasks daily that will take you closer to your goal.
10: Have Guts To Sell
You don’t need to be a salesman to reach financial independence, but you should be able to sell your ideas.
Most of the wealthy are self-made entrepreneurs. They became experts in their field and created a business around their skills. Their ability to sell was an invaluable skill required for them to sell their products or services.
After all, if they didn’t believe in their product or service, why would their customers?
Be confident in what you have to offer and build your ideal work lifestyle.
Achieve Financial Freedom
Imagine waking up one day with the option to work on things that matter to you.
You’re not rushing through traffic in the morning, nor feel miserable at your job. You’re not what most people consider “rich” but you live a financially stress-free life.
Life is good…
Just a few years back you didn’t think you could achieve financial success because of your background. Now you wake up every day not wanting it to end.
Is this possible?
It can be.
You know have deep insights on which habits the wealthy contribute to their success.
Stop letting your old excuses get in the way of your success. You don’t have to be an “A” student, come from a rich family, or possess a rare skill.
You need a positive attitude and a drive to succeed.
Will you walk this unknown road to financial freedom or go back to your old ways and settle for less?
Republished with the permission of The Ascent.