8 Tiny Things Wealthy People Are Doing Differently Than You

1. Setting goals

According to Business Insider, 67% of “wealthy people” (defined as having an income of over $160,000 and liquid net worth of $3.2 million plus) have goals – and stick to them. Annual and monthly goals are popular, but more than that: two-thirds of wealthy people put those goals in writing. This can include a daily to-list, as well, with about 70% of those tasks being completed every day. Those who list, can – apparently.

2. Reading

Wealthy people read as a habit. Almost 90% of those considered wealthy read for 30 minutes or more a day. This comes in all shapes and sizes, with the most popular form of reading coming via audiobooks on a daily commute – so wealthy people use their time wisely, too. Wealthy people read about current events and consume educational career-related material, and over half read biographies of successful people. Imitation leads to master-fic-ation, and all that.

3. Saying F-You to failure

Will Smith once went bankrupt. George Lucas went through over 100 film companies before he settled on production for “Star Wars”. Steve Jobs was fired from his own company. Wealthy people find value in the process, and use it to inform a later outcome. They don’t fall at the first hurdle. The road to success is littered with corpses, the saying goes. But they’re all suicides. Keep on.

4. Thinking long-term

In Bill Bonner’s Family Fortunes, he suggests that we have the same emotional connection to ourselves 30 years in the future as an un-known third-party – that is to say, we don’t give a fuck. But, as old money knows, long-term investment is the only way to go. The seeds you plant today are the harvest of the very far away future, and the trick is to overcome our instincts to give them time enough to bloom.

5. Skipping Netflix

Entrepreneur Magazine say that over two-thirds of “rich people” watch less than an hour of television per day, and when they do? It’s seldom reality TV. It’s not that the wealthy are morally superior of the TV front, it’s just that they allocate their time – our most precious resource – to something that will build their self-development. Arguably, a “Scandal” marathon isn’t the same as, say, reading a book on investments and ideas.

6. Living frugally

If you’ve got to *have* money to *make* money, look no further than the spending habits of the rich. Having cash in the bank doesn’t mean pissing it up the wall every weekend at the bar, or getting into debt to afford an Instagrammable vacation spot. The wealthy live within their means, not beyond them – that’s why they have cash, and you don’t.

7. Thinking Conservatively

Divisively, in a New York Times op-ed piece, Paul Krugman suggested that “liberals talk about circumstances; conservatives talk about character.”

Krugman suggests that,

“This intellectual divide is most obvious when the subject is the persistence of poverty in a wealthy nation. Liberals focus on the stagnation of real wages and the disappearance of jobs offering middle-class incomes, as well as the constant insecurity that comes with not having reliable jobs or assets. For conservatives, however, it’s all about not trying hard enough.”

I mean, I don’t agree, personally, but I couldn’t ignore the suggestion altogether – is being wealthy really just about the hustle, against all odds?

8. Working really goddamn hard

When Jack Ma – CEO of Alibaba – became the richest man in China, he lamented hard work and dedication was the driving force of his new $19bn wealth. Gina Rinehart, the first woman to top Forbes Asia’s list of Australia’s richest people, has said, “If you’re jealous of those with more money, don’t just sit there and complain. Do something to make more money yourself… spend more time working. Become one of those people who work hard, invest and build, and at the same time create employment and opportunities for others.”