11 Habits of the wealthy the unwealthy does not practice

11 Habits of the wealthy the unwealthy does not practice

"Success is a mindset, not just a word"

By Paul Enemari.

First things first-the most important thing should be thought about or done before any other.

Those people who have managed to find financial breakthrough have always worked with this philosophy. They discipline themselves enough to attend to their top- priorities first as they wake up each day before other challenges come knocking at the door.

Science supports this strategy. Vanderkam cites the famous finding of Roy Baumeister, a Florida State University psychology professor that willpower is like a muscle that becomes fatigued from overuse.

Diets, he added, come undone in the evening, just as poor self-control and lapses in decision making often come later in the day. More so, people get refreshed more in the morning, as the conserved energy has not been expended, hence the willpower to solve challenging problems.

So what do successful, entrepreneurial, money minds do against the non- when they are still fresh with morning mind like a dewfall?

From research, I have outlined the following 11 things that the most wealthy people do against the unwealthy. While all of these may not be done routinely, they are necessary, wealthy habits.

1. They take risks.

In my growing up as a little child with my old granny she performed a surprising experiment one day. While eating, she threw a lump of pounded yam at the mud wall. When asked with tears hovering round my eyeballs due to insufficient food in the clay pot she said: “I want to see where it sticks, for that’s a water logged area that might collapse the building, riskier than going hungry.”  In other words, it’s riskier not to take risk, that’s what the rich believe. They try a lot of different things, knowing that a lot of it will fail.

Risk-taking en routes you to possible financial destination. Rejection of those ideas (that failed) invigorates the wealthy into finding what will work, a stark contrast to the unwealthy that simply looks at failure as a road block. 

2. They invest in themselves.

Wealthy people see the money spent on their personal growth as investment, but the unwealthy see it as an expense-big difference!

While it’s a popular habit of the unsuccessful to conserve every penny that enter into their pockets, it’s the wise habit of the wealthy to spend at least 10% of it on personal growth knowing fully well that it would yield great returns even more than any stock or investment.

Be it purchasing a book, hiring a coach, registering for seminars/webinars, joining a paid mastermind group or another source of paid self-improvement, the wealthy see it as an investment. Do you see it same way?

3. They associate with those they want to emulate.

 A hot body sweats out the heat in other to become cold, same way; a cold body shivers to produce heat.

From human biology to the temperature of the earth to a car’s cruise control to the thermostat in the house, homeostasis is a fact of life that governs almost all areas of your life. And, as the wealthy have discovered, homeostasis is also a powerful way to build wealth.

As an adage, “iron sharpens iron” and “wealth attracts wealth.” Associating with the wealthy teaches you the ways of wealth. Man can never be more than his imagination and thoughts. If you want to be rich, hang around rich people, instead of nursing inferiority complex when you see the rich.

Wealthy people have discovered that they can grow their wealth simply by associating with those who are even wealthier. Humans pick up the habits and strategies of those in their immediate surroundings, and the wealthy have learned to use this homeostasis to attract wealth.

Remember, “Heat flows from a higher concentration to a lower concentration.” The people you associate with could make or unmake you.

4. They rise early, while the unwealthy sleep further

Successful people believe that time is money. So they take advantage of the early hours of the day before other engagements like greetings, meetings and other fleshy distractions begin to come in. Resulting in their consciousness of rising earlier to tackle top-priority activities before it's finally dawn.

But on the contrary, unwealthy people believe there's time. If they partly wake up in the early hours of the morning but discover through the window as they drag their blind, they say to themselves, "it's still dark, let me sleep a little further" failing in taking advantage of the early hours and forgetting that challenges are more than the hours of the day.

In a poll of 20 executives cited by Vanderkam in his research, 90 percent said they wake up before 6 a.m. on weekdays. Using one and a half to two hours praying and exercising.

Conclusively, good, fruitful days are kick started with early rising.

5. They drink water, the unwealthy drink tea

Many wealthy people reach for water instead of a cup of tea as the unsuccessful do early in the morning.

Rania Batayneh, MPH, a nutritionist and author of The One One One Diet says, drinking water in the morning helps you feel more alert, rehydrates your body, and kick-starts your metabolism.

6. They work on a top-priority business idea 

The quiet hours of the morning is the best time to concentrate on an important idea without being interrupted. Giving it quality time in the beginning of the day ensures that it gets your attention before others use it up. But a close examination of unwealthy people shows that the start their day with the unnecessary, with the thought that they have to solve the small small problems first before concentrating on real matters which deserves more time and attention, to be done later in the office-which is complete deception!

7. Wealthy people work on a personal-passion work

Song-writing and bead-making are easy to skip when you've been in meetings all day, tired and hungry, and have to find what to eat for dinner. That's why many wealthy people dedicate an hour or so to their personal projects before they officially start their daily activities.

A general studies lecturer at The Federal Polytechnic, Bida once told me that he spent the hours between 5a.m. and 7a.m. working on a book about students' lifestyles on campus. He was able to read journal articles and write several pages before dealing with his teaching responsibilities.

Carving out the time in the morning to write, and making it a habit, meant he would actually follow through.

But the unwealthy always distract themselves in consuming the time already set for other engagements in working on personal projects, and hence, unsuccessful results.

8. They make their beds.

This one-minute habit can make you happier and more productive all day long.

In his book, The Power of Habit, Charles Duhigg writes that getting into the routine of making your bed every morning is correlated with increased productivity.

Making your bed doesn't necessarily cause you to get more done at work, Duhigg writes, but it's a "keystone habit" that can spark "chain reactions that help other good habits take hold."

In addition to being more productive, people who consistently make their beds also tend to have "a greater sense of well-being and stronger skills at sticking with a budget," Duhigg writes.

9. They read the news and check their email.

While time-management professionals may suggest putting off email as long as possible, many successful people start the day with email. As a matter of fact, one recent survey found that the first thing most executives do in the morning is check their email.

They may quickly run through their inboxes for urgent messages that need an immediate response.

For instance, Gretchen Rubin, author of The Happiness Project, wakes at 6 every morning before her family's up at 7. She uses the time to clear her inbox, schedule the day, and read social media. Getting these tasks out of the way from the start helps her concentrate better when she moves on to more challenging projects, she told Vanderkam.

Also, whether it's sitting at the dinner table and reading the papers or checking the blogs and Twitter from their phones, most successful people have a pre-breakfast ritual for getting the latest headlines.

Having in mind what’s going on around their world, they have a good idea on how they can get down to the business of changing it, which attracts wealth.

10. They write down things they're grateful for.

Expressing gratitude is another good way to position you and get the proper perspective before going to the world. Writing down the opportunities and successes that you're grateful for takes only a few minutes, but can make a real difference in your outlook.

11. They constantly review their goals.

Finally, the rich have clearly defined goals and constantly carrying out performance management by reviewing them in order to keep track of progress, make changes and develop strategies for meeting those goals. This process keeps them informed about the evolution happening in the market and their world in whole.

While most of the human population give little to no thought on their futures, the wealthy are reminded daily of their goals, meditating on their destination day and night.

The wealth gap is far more complicated than a simple arithmetic. However, I continually witness these eleven traits guiding the lives of those who are getting richer and has used them in my own life to create multiple income streams and build some serious wealth myself.

These eleven habits create a positive-feedback loop that will continue to make the wealthy wealthier, and I have no idea of it ceasing. The good news is, however, all these eleven habits are things that the average Nigerian (and anyone in the world) can put into practice today. But are you willing and ready to exhibit them?

#seeyouatthetop…

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