40% of all of our daily activities are habits, which I wrote about in a previous Lynda’s Launch List. With that information in mind, it would seem important to know which habits lead to richer outcomes.
Accumulating wealth may not be your prime motivator. I would say this, though, it’s a whole lot easier to retire early, fund your kid’s college, travel to cool places, and help others financially, if you have money in the bank and no debt. There’s a freedom that comes from being financially secure and many people are motivated to feel secure and free.
There’s a compelling new book, Rich Habits-The Daily Success Habits of Wealthy Individuals by Thomas C. Corley, that spent 5 years studying and researching the habits of the wealthy. The results give us a great deal of knowledge about the type of habits wealthy people have that we can copy. I’ve sifted through the statistics and listed here the 16 habits. I would recommend the book for a deeper understanding of the research.
STATISTICS about wealthy people:
88% read 30 minutes or more a day. 63% listen to audiobooks on their commute, 79% read educational career-related material, 55% read for personal development, 58% read biographies of successful people, 94% read current events, 51% read about history and only 11% read purely for entertainment purposes.
80% are focused on accomplishing some single goal.
76% exercise aerobically 4 days per week.
81% maintain a to-do list.
6% say what’s on their mind.
44% wake up 3 hours before work starts.
84% believe good habits create opportunity luck.
86% believe in life-long educational self-development.
HABITS of the wealthy:
- Live within their means.
- Don’t gamble.
- Read every day.
- Watch less than 1 hour of recreational TV viewing or Internet surfing.
- Control their emotions.
- Network and volunteer regularly.
- Go above and beyond in work and business.
- Pursue at least one major goal.
- Avoid procrastination
- Talk less and listen more.
- Avoid toxic people.
- Exhibit focus, persistence and patience.
- Set aside self-limiting beliefs holding them back.
- Get and use a mentor.
- Eliminate “bad luck” from their vocabulary.
- Know their main purpose.
Dave Ramsey did an interview with the author which you can find here.
What percentage of these habits have you consistently exercised for the last 5 years?
Which habit can you adopt immediately that you think will have the biggest impact on your highest-level desired outcome in the next 5?
I discovered this book when I was listening to Success Magazine’s CD that comes with their monthly magazine. Subscribe to it or borrow someone’s copy each month. Much of the content in each of the issues can lead to thinking that will help you move to the next level of success especially if you are an entrepreneur or want to think like one.
I also want to thank Mary Jo Fields whom I worked with for the Mayor’s Institute training session I conducted yesterday. It was fun and inspiring to witness the commitment and dedication of Mayor’s throughout Virginia as they exhibited the habit of life-long learning. Having my daughter Melody by my side to assist in the training, who is about to graduate from Virginia Tech, was quite the treat as well!
To sign up for Lynda’s Launch List go to www.lyndamcnuttfoster.com.
