“The reason why someone is either rich or poor can be traced back to daily habits.” Tom Corley, author of “Rich Habits: The Daily Success Habits of Wealthy Individuals”
Replace bad habits and behaviors.
Aristotle, the 4th Century B.C. Greek philosopher, was attributed as saying, “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then, is not an act, but a habit.”
It has been said that nature abhors a vacuum, and the same can be said about habits and behaviors; it’s hard to replace a bad habit or behavior with nothing.
Instead of ceasing a bad financial habit or behavior, investors need to replace them with positive and successful financial habits and behaviors.
Rather than liquidating an account, encourage a replacement behavior like rebalancing, tax-loss harvesting, making more incremental portfolio adjustments, or putting in “crash bids” for high-quality stocks that may be trading at a discount.
It’s easy for individuals to be disorganized, without vision, undirected and at the mercy of poor habits. Embracing good habits often takes ficus, effort and desire to improve. Here are eight rich habits:
Habit #1: Exercise.
Exercised an average of 30 minutes, four days a week.
Habit #2: Build relationships.
Keep a running list of positive influencers in your life and regularly connect with them.
Habit #3: Visualize your goals.
Look at your goals—each set with an expiration date and action plan—when you wakes up and before bed. Attack goals with intensity. Keep goals top of mind, and always in sight. This will yield big results.
Habit #4: Read. A lot.
Start reading two books a month—focusing on emotional well-being, leadership, personal finance, and health
Habit #5: Practice affirmations.
Positive mindset provides a huge influence on one’s quality of life. The more you like yourself, the higher your self-esteem and well-being. Practice daily affirmations related to the most important areas of your life, focusing on faith, family and professional career.
The key to successful affirmations is choosing a mantra that’s tied to a dream and a realistic goal that are specific, achievable and true: “I’m working 10 extra hours per week to make $100,000 by next year.”
Habit #6: Volunteer.
There are many reasons to volunteer; use the opportunity to expand your network of like-minded people. It is an opportunities to give back and to create relationships with high-level thinkers.
Habit #7: Confide in a mentor who’s been in your shoes.
The most successful people on earth value mentors who’ve walked in their shoes and made it to the other side.
Habit #8: Practice gratitude.
Meditate or focus for a few minutes each morning and evening on what your grateful: spouse, kids, job and friends, to name a few. This habit helps you pay more attention to what’s going great in your life, puts life in the correct perspective, and keeps you focused on always moving forward with the right attitude.
Henry David Thoreau once said, “The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation.”
If you want to remain unrewarded, unfulfilled and ultimately unhappy, then continue to accept your habits which are not useful to fulfilling your aspirations, dreams and desires.
Bonus Habit:
“If you want to become really wealthy, you must have your money work for you. The amount you get paid for your personal effort is relatively small compared with the amount you can earn by having your money make money.” John D. Rockefeller
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