We’ve already written about the lifestyle habits that affect our money and about the big gap between the habits of the rich and the poor. We have also defined attitudes that millionaires reject and other activities that millionaires practice. Today we extend these themes through an investigation by Thomas Corley, who spent five years studying the habits of 233 “rich” and 128 “average”, finding that in general millionaires are very optimistic, practicing gratitude and happiness is a daily habit. His “rich vs average” analysis is done in the US where income levels are very different from other countries and his “average” category would not be an average in other countries. However, in order to facilitate understanding, we will simply call them “rich” (people with incomes above $12,666 dollars per month) and “average” (people with incomes below $2,867 dollars per month). Here are the attitudes that set the rich apart from the average:
1. Millionaires believe that their habits are important
“Daily habits are crucial for success in life”, percentage that agrees: Rich: 52%, Average: 3%.
Millionaires think that good habits create opportunities that allow them to “make their own luck”. Corley comments that many of the “rich” said they were lucky and many of the “average” said they were unlucky.
2. Millionaires believe in sympathy
“I think it’s important to be agreeable and enjoyable”, percentage that agrees: Rich: 95%, Average: 9%.
Millionaires believe in the power of sympathy as a tool to have better personal relationships and to grow both personally and professionally.
3. Millionaires take care of personal relationships
“Personal relationships are crucial to financial success”, Percent agreeing: Rich: 88%, Average: 17%.
Millionaires believe that their personal relationships are of critical importance to achieve their goals, and for this reason, they constantly take care of them with habits of calling to say hello, congratulating them on birthdays or important events. Corley even admits that when he started making calls like millionaires do, his income skyrocketed.
4. Millionaires are social
“I love meeting new people”, percentage that agrees: Rich: 68%, Average: 11%.
Just as they like to maintain their friendships, they also like to make new friends and dedicate part of their time and attention to improving their networking.
5. Millionaires save money
“Savings is an essential part of creating economic wealth”, percentage agreeing: Rich: 88%, Average: 52%.
Corley explains that many of the millionaires he studied didn’t get there by having higher-than-normal incomes, but by saving much more than normal. For us, it is clear that saving is of great importance, that we must define goals and invest our money. If you still don't follow our 50/30/20 rule, start saving 20% of your income.
6. Millionaires take care of their health
“Physical health is important for financial success”, percentage that agrees: Rich: 85%, Average: 13%.
People who have managed to accumulate a lot of money know that they must take care of their body, because that allows them to be more efficient and also, they cannot make a lot of money from a hospital bed.
7. Millionaires value creativity over intelligence
“Creativity is necessary for financial success”, percentage that agrees: Rich: 75%, Average: 11%.
While millionaires believe that creativity is the cause of success, average people believe that to be a millionaire one must have an “intellectual gift” and that wealth is accidental. An example of this is that many of those interviewed by Corley did not have good grades when they studied.
8. Millionaires enjoy their job
“I like what I do for a living”, percentage agreeing: Rich: 85%, Average: 2%.
The vast majority of millionaires love their jobs, in fact, 86% of millionaires work on average up to 50 hours per week (while only 43% of the average people do), and 81% say they do more than it is required from them in their work (against 17% of average people). This is related to the previous point, since many of the millionaires found how to make money from a creative passion. If you are in a similar situation, follow the 10 commandments of the independent creative.
9. Millionaires determine their path in life
“I believe in destiny”, percentage agreeing: Rich: 10%, Average: 90%.
“Average” people believe that genetics and destiny is what determines a person’s life, and not so much that they are responsible for their economic situation. Corley even recalls that many of the “rich” people she interviewed earlier were “average” people, but with a get-what-you-want attitude.
10. Millionaires believe in themselves
“The American Dream is no longer possible”, percentage agreeing: Rich 2%, Average: 87%.
Corley found that millionaires believe that their wealth is due in large part to the idea of the American Dream, in which any individual has unlimited potential and can grow on their own. Besides, the millionaires assure that this is still possible.
11. Millionaires are willing to take risks
“I have taken significant risks in pursuit of wealth”, percentage that agrees: Rich 63%, Average: 6%.
Many of the millionaires created their wealth by starting their own businesses, being self-taught and learning from the “knocks of life”. If you’re going through the same steps, you need to know how to start a business, and you should know the implications of being a boss.
12. Millionaires are good losers
“I have failed big when doing my projects”, percentage that arees: Rich: 27%, Average: 2%.
Millionaires understand that failure is part of victory, that one learns from mistakes, and that those lessons last forever.
Article translated by Rodolfo Schaefer
