10 Habits of Millionaires That Could Work for You

It is highly likely that all the millionaires you can name right now are self-made. Not being born in a wealthy family is clearly not the only reason why many people never make it into the seven figure valuation club. Then what is it that differentiates these wealthy and successful individuals from the rest of the crowd?

It is a simple set of everyday habits that they developed at an early age and religiously followed thereafter. Will Durant efficiently summarised this notion back in 1926: “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then is not an act but a habit”

1. 30 minutes of thinking time every day

Millionaires dedicate a slot of their day just for thinking and contemplating. They put their work aside, block sources of distractions and let their thoughts flow naturally. This can be in the form of meditation or a stroll in an isolated park, anything that allows them to answer the questions that their mind asks them repeatedly.

Millionaires give credit for their ideas and progress to such 'alone time' in which they may or may not think about work, but they let their mind do what it wishes to and thus keep their brain satisfied and under their control to focus on what is required of them later.

2. Diversify their sources of income

As cliché as it may sound, when it comes to money, you shouldn’t put all your eggs in one basket. Most  millionaires have earned their wealth not by focusing on just one business or investment. They divide their time and capital amongst multiple profitable ideas such that they aren’t relying on a single industry/market to make them wealthy. This reduces risk while increasing the rate of returns as it allows for exploitation of different opportunities.

65% of the millionaires studied by Tom Corley — who spent many years researching the habits of the wealthy — had a minimum of three streams of income even before they hit the million dollar figure for the first time.

3. Waking up early

This might just be the only factor keeping me from becoming rich. Millionaires make it a point to wake up well before their working hours begin and this serves them two purposes. Firstly, it gives them time for themselves. Their first few hours of the day are spent on improving themselves which boosts their confidence and also prioritizes the non-work related aspects of their life, giving them greater control in general. Secondly, it cooperates with the circadian rhythm of the brain. We are designed in such a way that our brain functions efficiently early in the morning and instead of trying to alter the biological blueprint, millionaires respect it and leverage it.

4. Reading

Millionaires read extensively and religiously. Bill Gates, for example, reads 50 books per year on average. That astonishingly high number might be one of the reasons why his net worth is what it is today. Reading broadens the mind and nurtures it. Millionaires read to educate themselves about the advancements and history of their field and those they are yet to explore. Ranging from biographies to political satires, books single-handedly manage to fulfil a millionaire’s constant desire for self-improvement.

5. Taking feedback constructively

Millionaires welcome feedback as they always believe they are still not the perfect version of themselves. Such a mindset makes them view feedback as constructive criticism and lets them incorporate different opinions in their actions. Not all feedback must be implemented, but it is important to listen to every piece of it as it gives insights and forms an integral part in the process of improving. Without feedback, performance becomes stagnant and that’s exactly what millionaires steer away from by asking for feedback and having mentors guide them on moving forward, irrespective how rich they become.

6. Contributing to other ventures

Instead of focusing solely on their business, millionaires tend to work along with other entrepreneurs and work on their projects in whatever capacity they can.  Mercantilism was flawed, as there wasn't a fixed sum of wealth in the world and thus helping others become rich didn’t reduce one's prospects, instead it gave an experience of other disciplines one isn't a regular at but can learn a lot from. Millionaires collaborate and surround themselves with other millionaires, which builds their network (outside of the Internet) and also stimulates them by working on ideas their daily routine doesn’t give them access to.

7. Being Entrepreneurial

While being an entrepreneur is more of a decision than a habit, most of the millionaires are self-employed or founders of what were once start-ups and then blew up into huge businesses. It is not that working up the corporate ladder can’t make you rich, but as we have all seen, building something new from ground up and exploiting your skills for yourself is the more satisfying route to becoming a millionaire. This involves way more risk than finding a stable well-paying job but the trade-off is what millionaires would regard as more than reasonable.

8. Not 'acting rich'

Being rich and acting rich are two very different things which hardly overlap. Millionaires are rich but they don’t act rich. Wearing the most exclusive clothes or driving the latest luxury cars doesn’t make your life any better, instead it wastes your hard earned money on assets that will depreciate in no time. Warren Buffet has been living in the same house since 1958, which is just 0.001% of his total wealth. He claims it’s his third best investment. Millionaires aren’t concerned about what others think about them and even after earning so much, they always look at the price-performance ratio of whatever they buy.

9. Avoiding debt

Every millionaire will always say that they are against taking debts for their business or personal reasons and that is because of the countless drawbacks of borrowing money. Firstly, it contradicts with the idea of spending within a budget, another habit millionaires are known for. When you take a loan you are essentially going beyond your ability and doing that for personal reasons is counterintuitive. As you then work for repaying the debt, and the interest, instead of working for yourself. Secondly, debt restricts your actions. When you are liable to pay someone their money you don’t have the ability to experiment with your business and try new ideas as you need to earn something to give to the lender. Thus, millionaires never take debt, to ensure complete freedom of their actions and to work in their capacity.

10. Saving money

The fact that millionaires become so rich without having to borrow funds means that they are self-sufficient. Which can only be possible when saving money. When millionaires talk about saving money, it has two dimensions to it. First, separating money from expendable income and second, investing it smartly and regularly monitoring its growth. Money creates money and thus it is important to set aside enough to create a new source of income with existing wealth. Millionaires set targets for their savings, not just their income, emphasising on the need to earn as well as save more and having a plan for future investments.

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