From Tom Corley number one bestselling book, we share seven lifelong habits of the world's richest people
Bill Gates, Warren Buffet and their likes did these things to get rich. (Irish Central)
Everyone wants to be rich like Bill Gates, Warren Buffet and Alike Dangote, but not everyone knows what tp do to achieve that. Pulse culls these seven tips from Tom Corlley's book, 'Rich Habits-The Daily Success Habits of Wealthy Individuals'.
For
five years, Tom observed and documented the daily activities of 233
wealthy people and 128 people living in poverty. He discovered there is
an immense difference between the habits of the wealthy and the poor.
They're persistent:
While we generally think of persistence as more of a personality trait,
it's certainly a habit that can be learned and practiced over time.
When faced with adversity, wealthy individuals keep pushing through,
knowing that success could be right around the corner.
They're persistent in all areas of their lives, not
just when it comes to money-generating activities. According to Corley,
persistence is evident in everything that wealthy individuals do:
67%
were cognizant of and careful about how they spent their time; for
instance, TV watching was limited to less than one hour per day.
81% made a consistent effort to control their thoughts, feelings, and words.
80% had pursued a single goal for at least one year.
88% read at least 30 minutes every day in order to increase their knowledge.
They set attainable goals: Whether
we realize it or not, we're constantly setting goals for ourselves.
Anytime we look to the future and think about what we'd like to have or
do, we're essentially setting a goal for ourselves:
"I want to become a recognized leader in my field. I
need to bring in more money in order to meet my financial obligations. I
want to take an expensive vacation with my family every year."
The
problem with these goals, of course, is that they aren't specific, and
they aren't necessarily realistic. For instance, if I'm working for
minimum wage, going on an expensive holiday probably isn't in the cards
for me this year.
Corley found that wealthy
individuals consistently set specific, attainable goals. These goals
were realistic and had a specific set of actions that would need to be
carried out in order to be met.
For instance, instead of saying, "I would like to earn $1 million this year," a more realistic and specific goal might be: "I will bring in an additional $25,000 this year by increasing my production capacity."
Assuming it's actually possible to increase production, this is a goal
that can realistically be attained through careful planning and hard
work.
According to Corley, If you want your wish
or dream to come true, you need to create goals around them, pursue
those goals and achieve those goals. You need to break your wish or
dream down into manageable tasks that you are able to perform. The
accumulation, over time, of the completed goals will move you forward
toward realizing your dream. You will still need outside help and
outside influences, but luck has a way of finding the prepared and the
persistent." In other words, having a dream is great, but you need to
set up smaller, more manageable goals to reach along the way. As you
reach these smaller goals, you check them off your list and move ever
closer to achieving your dream.
They find a career mentor: This is a
big one; in fact, 93% of wealthy individuals had a mentor who assisted
them on their path to success. Finding a great mentor can be
challenging, but the payoff can be huge. Condoleeza Rice stresses the importance of finding a mentor, but also gives a warning: "Search
for role models you can look up to and people who take an interest in
your career. But here's an important warning: you don't have to have
mentors who look like you. Had I been waiting for a black, female Soviet
specialist mentor, I would still be waiting. Most of my mentors have
been old white men, because they were the ones who dominated my field."
There are many reasons mentors are such an important support, but here are a few of the key ones:
They help you avoid mistakes they themselves have already made.
They inspire and motivate you to stay on task and keep working toward your goals.
They connect you with people who can help you along the way ("It's all in who you know").
To learn exactly what to look for in a mentor, see my article, 7 Key Qualities of an Effective Mentor.
