In my five-year study of the daily habits of the rich and poor, I uncovered one statistic that was among the most interesting. 93% of the wealthy indicated that they liked or loved what they did for a living vs. only 4% for the poor. That made sense to me. But the statistic that opened my eyes was the statistic that applied to the cream of the crop in my wealthy group: 7% of the wealthy indicated that they loved their job. This same 7% happened to be the ones who had accumulated, by far, the most wealth.
Why is this statistic so relevant? It highlights one of the two types of success that the large majority of the wealthy possess. I call this first one Level One Success. This is the type of traditional success symbolized by hard work and willpower. You do the things you don’t want to do in order to achieve success. Getting up early in the morning to get a head start on work, devoting time to reading career-related material, planning your day, sending out emails etc. It’s work. You do it because you have a burning desire to succeed. It requires effort, willpower and delayed gratification.
But this statistic also highlights a second type of success that a minority of the wealthy possess. I call this one Level Two Success. This is the type of success that is the byproduct of finding your main purpose in life. It creates, by far, the most wealth. Steve Jobs had it, Bill Gates has it, Thomas Edison had it, Mark Zuckerberg has it and many successful actors have it like Jim Carey. It can be summed up in the following phrase: Loving what you do for a living. Very few ever find their main purpose in life. But for those who do it means never having to work another day in your life. Finding something you love to do creates a passion inside you that drives you forward, realizing one goal after another. It feels effortless. It puts you in the flow, in the zone and takes you to a higher level. When you find your main purpose in life your earnings capacity becomes unlimited. It is the closest thing to realizing true happiness that life has to offer.
About Thomas C. Corley
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