10 Things It’s Better to Stop Doing If You Want to Be Richer
Everyone finds their own way to wealth. Some people were insightful enough to buy Bitcoins when 1 BTC was equal to $1; others work a lot. People who are permanently wealthy have something in common. However, both those who sometimes get lucky and those who work a lot make mistakes, so they can't really save money.
Researcher Tom Corley is interested in the differences between the habits of rich people and those who don't have much money. He studied both groups for 5 years and made interesting conclusions.
Today Bright Side will tell you about 10 things you should stop doing if you want to be wealthier. And the bonus at the end of the article will help you make an important decision that many people have difficulties with.
1. Not meeting new people
Rich people love meeting new people. 68% of wealthy people said that they like meeting someone new. Only 11% of poor people said the same. Most people who reached financial stability made as much effort as possible to give a good impression of themselves and keep it. They don't forget to congratulate new acquaintances (and old ones) on holidays and other important days.
2. Believing in fate
You can rely on luck or fate in very rare cases, perhaps when you are choosing between a red and a blue skirt. But when it comes to really important matters, rich people think that they determine their life path themselves. And 90% of poor people blame fate for their misfortunes and other factors they can't control. And to improve their well-being, they invest money in psychics and lottery tickets instead of their own education.
3. Hating your job
"I love what I do!" This is what 85% of financially successful people say. Poor people see more disadvantages in their jobs. With an attitude like this, you will probably agree that it's quite hard to increase your income. If you don't like the job you are doing, you should change it, not whine.
4. Not paying attention to your health
Wealthy people devote a lot of time to their health. This includes visits to the doctor, a healthy lifestyle, sports (76% of successful people do physical exercises 4 times a week), a balanced diet, and the absence of bad habits. Among those who have a low income, only 13% see a connection between good health and success.
5. Not taking risks
Only 6% of poor people agreed to take a risk to improve their financial situation. And more than 50% of the rich people who took part in the experiment agreed to take the same risk. More than that, many rich people noticed that at least once in their lives taking risks led to big failures, but they tried to move on instead of fixating on them.
6. Watching reality shows
Among people who are not rich, 78% love shows where viewers can watch the details of someone else's private life. Among rich people, only about 6% watch reality shows. It is worth mentioning that rich people don't like TV very much and many of them watch it for less than 1 hour a day. The same goes for the internet: successful people spend less than an hour surfing the net unless it has something to do with work.
7. Not reading a lot
"Not reading means not thinking," Dostoyevsky once said. 88% of rich people agree with the writer. They read books about self-development, professional materials, and historical literature for at least 30 minutes a day. Only 2% of poor people devote this much time to reading.
8. Waking up late
More than half of the businessmen with high incomes observed by Tom Corley woke up at least 3 hours before the start of their working day, which is at about 5 a.m. They spend the time in the morning planning the things they need to do, working on their personal projects (if they work for big companies), and doing sports.
Many successful people take 10-15 minutes to meditate or simply think about something in silence. Waking up early doesn't mean not sleeping enough. 89% of wealthy people sleep from 7 to 8 hours a night, and they go to sleep at the recommended time: between 9 and 10 p.m.
9. Communicating with toxic people
96% of people who live paycheck to paycheck know someone who loves gossiping or complaining about their lives. Successful people communicate with those who are not negative but, quite the opposite, those who inspire them to do something. You can easily increase the number of such people around you by visiting cultural events, doing volunteer work, or being a member of a nonprofit organization. And you should spend all your time on yourself until you meet people worth your time.
10. Spending too much
Most poor people spend much more than they earn. You probably know people who buy expensive cars, phones, and other things on credit, even though they can't afford them and don't really need them. Wealthy people usually stick to this system of income distribution:
- 20% — saving accounts
- 25% — paying the rent or the mortgage
- 15% — food
- 10% — entertainment
- 5% — car service
- The rest of the money is spent on such nonpermanent things as clothes, medicine, and education.
Bonus: How to find your passion
After Tom Corley studied the habits of rich people, he came to a conclusion: they are successful because they first did something they truly liked and then turned it into a source of income. If you are still looking for your vocation, here is a plan of action:
- Make a list of things you enjoy doing. Highlight those that require some skill from you.
- Now highlight 10 things you love doing more than others. Evaluate them on a scale of 1 to 10. 10 stands for an activity you don't just like but which makes you happy.
- After that, evaluate the same 10 activities in terms of potential income. For example, calculate how many scarfs you can knit in one month, and count how much money you can earn for selling them.
- Finally, add the scores for each task. The ones that got the highest points should be the goals of your life.
What else do you think is necessary to make your income bigger?