5 Habits that Set the Wealthy Apart
I won the lottery!
Well, not exactly "that lottery", but it's safe to say that I've been extremely lucky during my lifetime - so it's kind of the same and I want to help you “win” too.
What to I mean?
I grew up with hard working, financially aware parents who talked to me about money and investing.
One of my 2 best friends in the world, Garrett Gunderson, has become a NY Times Best Selling Author and one of the most sought after financial speakers in the country.
I discovered a business mentor, Ron Legrand, at age 28. He transformed my life and showed me things that I could have never imagined possible.
The list goes on...
Why am I telling you this?
Because odds are good that you didn't grow up as "lucky" as I did, and I want to share what I've learned so you can win your own "lottery".
To be clear, I'm definitely not bragging. Even with the “luck”, it hasn't been all roses and cupcakes for me.
At one point I lost over $2.5 Million during the 2008 meltdown. It sucked. But it may have been the greatest - and most Soul crushingly painful - learning experience of my life.
But overall I have been incredibly fortunate to witness what TRUE financial success looks like over the past 20+ years in my life. Beyond that I’ve worked deeply with 1000+ successful business owners over the last 10 years.
I’ve seen what works. I’ve seen what “appears” to work but doesn’t.
Sometimes its gut wrenchingly sad, but it’s always insightful.
From people earning $40k a month but couldn't sleep at night over a late rent check of $400. To people with a high 6 figure MONTHLY cash flow and never spent more than a few hours a week on their business.
Each person is different, but the similarities become obvious when you get to look deeply inside the financial lives of so many business owners.
Today I'm going to share few things I've seen set the wealthy, abundant and happy apart from everyone else.
Here are 5 things that I've found apply to nearly all highly successful business owners have in common:
1) They know that systems are consistent and “will power” isn’t.
Successful people have systems for accomplishing the important objectives in their life. Whether its an intentional morning routine, date nights with their spouse, or a time management system for their business - they build systems to support what they want to accomplish.
In regards to finance, the single most important factor I've seen in wealth building is systematic savings. If you have a system for saving money it opens up access to every other aspect of financial abundance. If you don't, you'll never get out of the starting gates.
A system allows you to build up money for investing, growing your business, and maintaining an abundant mindset.
If you get only one thing from reading this article, let it be that you NEED a system for saving money if you ever want to build serious wealth. You may be able to find an occasional exception to this rule, but I prefer to build success on what works consistently rather than based on unicorns!
NOTE: I teach several systems for saving and growing money outside of Wall Street. If you don’t have a good system for this, connect with us here and I’ll show you how. (Especially our system for building your own bank)
2) They know that specialized knowledge builds wealth.
If you know how to do things that most people need but don't know how to accomplish, you will get paid handsomely for your knowledge.
This applies to everything from dentistry to real estate investing and everything in between. If you want to become successful at something, seek the deep, specialized knowledge that others cannot (or will not) acquire. It will allow you to either have an advantage over your competitors or provide services that are in scarce supply.
Take the time to invest in your education, mentors, and spending time with people who can help you acquire the skills and knowledge necessary to become elite in your chosen field. This kind of investment ALWAYS pays off, so do it early and often.
3) The truly wealthy have discovered that taking action is more important than “looking good”.
The most accomplished people I've ever encountered were obsessed with taking action. It's true that they often made mistakes, but they also learned quickly and took more action based on those lessons.
Don't be afraid to make a mistake. Fear paralyzes most people into inaction and robs them of their ability to capitalize on the opportunities available to them. I recently heard that “Self doubt kills far more dreams than failure ever will”.
DO NOT MISINTERPRET THIS POINT: This doesn't mean taking reckless action. I know the media glamorizes being a renegade or gun-slinger, but unnecessary risk is a HUGE mistake. In fact, most of the uber wealthy (aka Warren Buffet and friends) encourage ONLY doing things that have an extremely high probability of success.
That means gathering information quickly, determining if a particular action is the right choice, and either taking action immediately or moving onto something else.
It DOES NOT mean saying "yes" to everything. It means being decisive and committing to a course of action if it fits.
Some of my 7 figure earning clients would literally finish our session and have everything we discussed “in play” within 2 hours of our conversation. These are the big names that are on the covers of magazines or run huge organizations. They didn’t get there by accident.
4) They know that if you don't pay attention, you WILL pay the price.
I loved Robert Kiyosaki's book: Rich Dad, Poor Dad but it led a lot of people to believe that your investment income can be completely "passive". Don't fall for that myth.
Sure, you can have income that is MOSTLY passive, but you still need to have a system for monitoring your assets. Just like everything in life, if you don't pay attention to your money, it will slowly atrophy.
I see many business owners that are primarily focused on creating profits, but don't pay attention to their money once it is in their account or investment. Too often these people fall victim to embezzlement, overpaying taxes, unscrupulous property managers, and massive cash flow inefficiency.
Truly wealthy people track their money and pay attention to what is happening with their cash flow investments. They know that if you aren't paying attention to your assets, you'll never identify opportunities or catch potential problems before they multiply.
The good news is you don't need to obsess over your money, but you DO need to know what is happening with it. I would suggest taking at least 30 minutes a week to specifically check in on your money, investment, expenditures, etc. If you have a spouse, include them in this process so you can make decisions together, discuss anything important, and stay on the same page.
In the end, every dollar "kept" is worth the same as a dollar newly earned.
5) They feed their mind, but they also take time to think for themselves.
The last consistency I'll share is that wealthy entrepreneurs have found an important balance between staying informed and inspired, but also give themselves time to think, imagine, and brainstorm.
In fact, the two create synergy.
Time to think about the information you've absorbed and then develop your own opinions and thoughts about it. Asking yourself how you can apply the information, whether you agree with it, and whether it makes you feel more abundant or more scarce are all great starting points.
I've seen that highly successful people don't always agree with the status quo because they've taken time to do a little critical thinking. In most cases, following conventional wisdom is NOT the road to elite performance. Instead, learn to draw your own conclusions and trust yourself. You'll be amazed how this process will clarify your thinking and help avoid overwhelm.
Oh, and when you discover a great idea, see #3 on this list!
LIKE WHAT YOUR READING? THEN YOU’LL LOVE OUR VIDEOS. YOU CAN WATCH AND SUBSCRIBE HERE>>>
If you're ready to begin thinking and acting like other top performers, my team and I can help. We're committed to helping you develop the systems and habits that can take you to the next level financially, so let's connect.
Click here to schedule a complimentary consultation, and let's see what we can create together!