Thomas C. Corley, Author at Rich Habits Institute

The Wealthiest of the Wealthy All Sell Something

July 28, 2016 by Thomas C. Corley Leave a Comment

Tom Corley boats - crop Study any self-made millionaire and you’ll find that they fall into one of two categories:

They were fanatical savers or
They sold something

In my Rich Habits Study, 135 millionaires out of the 233 in my study indicated that a major portion of their responsibilities at work involved selling something. The average net worth of these 135 millionaires was $5.7 million. Seventy-one percent accumulated their wealth before the age of 56, or on average, in less than 22 years.

The millionaires who were fanatical savers had an average net worth of just over $3.2 million, accumulated over an average of thirty-six years.

In other words, those millionaires in my study who sold something had a net worth that was $2.5 million higher than the savers in my study and it took the sellers 14 fewer years to accumulate that wealth. Clearly, if you want to accumulate a lot of wealth in the shortest period of time, you need to sell something.

It may be a product, like a car, electrical gadget, fried chicken or donuts. Or, it may be a service, like designs, legal advice, financial planning or a new way of doing something. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Featured Articles

If You Want to be Rich You Must Sell Something

July 28, 2016 by Thomas C. Corley Leave a Comment

Tom Corley boats - crop

Study any self-made millionaire and you’ll find they all have one thing in common – they sell something.

It may be a product, like a car, electrical gadget, fried chicken or donuts. Or, it may be a service, like designs, legal advice, financial planning or a new way of doing something.

Warren Buffet sells his financial expertise.
Elon Musk sells his Tesla cars or the use of his Space X rockets.
Mark Zuckerberg sells Facebook advertising and marketing services.
Dr. Ben Carson sold his expertise as a neurosurgeon.
LeBron James sells his basketball skills.
Tony Robbins sells his motivational and training seminars.
J.K. Rowling sells her Harry Potter books.
Taylor Swift sells her love songs.

Every incredibly rich, successful person sells something. Selling something people want, need or desire virtually guarantees success. The key is finding your superpower, some inherent strength you possess, and transforming it into a salable product or service that people want, need or desire.

Filed Under: Daily Success Tips

16 Qualities of a Good Mentor

July 27, 2016 by Thomas C. Corley Leave a Comment

Tom Corley boats - crop

Finding a mentor in life is the fast track to success. In my Rich Habits Study, 93% of the self-made millionaires who accumulated the most wealth in the shortest amount of time said that they had a mentor who taught them what to do and what not to do. A good mentor takes the “risk” out of success.

So, what qualities should you look for in a mentor? A good mentor should have the following 16 qualities:

They have an infectious positive outlook – Good mentors have a positive, optimistic outlook on life that infects you like a virus.
They are patient – Good mentors are patient. They understand that the skills and knowledge they are sharing with you will take time to digest.
They are likeable – You need to like your mentor. A good mentor is someone you like being around.
They are generous with their time – Good mentors devote time to your development.
They hold you accountable – Good mentors always circle back with you and make sure fulfill your role as a mentee. If they ask you to do something, a good mentor will follow-up to make sure you did what they asked you to do.
They are demanding – Good mentors push you outside your comfort zone. They understand that growth occurs outside the comfort zone.
They are considerate – Good mentors understand that sometimes life goes wrong and they give you space to deal with life’s problems. They are sympathetic (to a point).
They are responsive – Good mentors respond to your needs and provide you with the tools and information to help you develop the skills and knowledge to grow.
They are empathetic – Good mentors understand your pain. Growth is painful and they get it.
They have good habits – Good mentors have their own set of good habits that they are happy to share with you.
They are humble – Good mentors check their egos at the door. Their humility creates a comfortable learning environment.
They are good communicators – Good mentors are able to communicate complex concepts in a language you understand and are in constant communication with you.
They are process-driven – Good mentors have processes that work and can be learned.
They are accessible – Good mentors are available. They are never too busy to invest their time in you.
They are inspiring – Good mentors pump you up, motivate you and inspire you to push yourself.
They are successful – Good mentors have a proven track record. They are successful in their field.

Filed Under: Daily Success Tips, Wealth Creation

Expectations and Hope – Two Very Different Things

July 26, 2016 by Thomas C. Corley Leave a Comment

Tom Corley boats - crop

At the time I began my Rich Habits study I had one revenue stream – my CPA business.

In my study I learned that the average self-made millionaires had at least three businesses generating steams of income.

So, in 2006 I decided to take a page out of my own research. Now I have six streams of income and this year I am adding a seventh stream.

One of the income streams is my author business. I learned in my author business that when I got major media publicity, I sold thousands of books in a matter of a few days.

In order to get that publicity, however, I had to spend 2-4 hours a day pitching the media. 99.995% of the time I got rejected or ignored.

In the beginning of my author business, I naively expected that the media would be interested in my research and my books. I knew my research was unique. But when they rejected or ignored my pitches, I became very depressed. I got so depressed that in 2011 I was thinking of quitting. Emotionally, I just couldn’t take the daily rejection.

But, for some reason, I didn’t quit. It dawned on me that the source of my depression was my unrealistic expectations in pitching the media and expecting a yes. So, I decided to change my expectations.

I now expect to be rejected or ignored every time I pitch the media. And when I am rejected, it doesn’t bother me in the least.

But here’s the amazing part. Every now and then someone in the media says yes. And when they say yes I get happy. By setting my expectations low, I became emotionally equipped to deal with the rejection.

This little shift in thinking has kept me in the game. I now expect failure and when I fail, my expectations are met and I don’t get emotional about it.

But while I now expect failure, I still hope for overall success.

Sounds like a contradiction, but it isn’t. Expectations and hope, I learned, are two very different things.

Lowering your expectations does not mean giving up hope. It just means that you realize that the daily pursuit of a dream will be filled with obstacles, hurdles, rejection and failure.

Once you expect obstacles, hurdles, rejection and failure, you are emotionally equipped to deal with it. This keeps you in the game.

Eventually you figure out what to do and what not to do. And that growth equips you with new skills and knowledge that will one day allow you to overcome those obstacles, hurdles, rejection and failure.

If you want to be successful, you simply cannot quit on your dreams. You need to manage you expectations so that daily obstacles, hurdles, rejection and failure do not drag you down emotionally to the point of quitting.

You must also keep your focus on the big picture – the hope of one day realizing your dream.

Lowering your daily expectations while maintaining long-term hope keeps you in the game and empowers you to persist until you succeed.

Filed Under: Daily Success Tips, Focus & Motivation

You Must Like What You Do For a Living

July 25, 2016 by Thomas C. Corley 1 Comment

If you want to become rich you must at least like what you do for a living.

Filed Under: Tip of the Week

Every Day Free

July 25, 2016 by Thomas C. Corley Leave a Comment

Tom Corley boats - crop

It’s Sunday night. You’re on your porch, sofa, couch, deck, etc. Tomorrow’s Monday. And you think, oh God, tomorrow’s Monday.

Then you remember that you do not have to “work” tomorrow. You don’t have to “work” because you are doing what you love and tomorrow, Monday, is just another day in heaven.

I was blessed to speak on the same stage with Sir Richard Branson a few years ago. Because I was one of the speakers, I was allowed some private time with him. So, I asked him if he considered what he did “work”.

He smiled that Hollywood smile he has and said, “Tom, I love what I do. If I told you I played 14 hours a day, what would you think of me.”

I said I’d think he was just another spoiled millionaire. He said, “that’s how I feel. I feel like I am able to play every day.”

Mondays to Sir Richard Branson do not mean the same thing as it does to the rest of us. Almost everyone has the same reaction on Sunday nights. They regret that the weekend is ending.

The key to happiness, true happiness, is doing what you love. Sundays, Mondays, they become irrelevant when you love what you do.

When you love what you do, every day is Friday.

Filed Under: Daily Success Tips

You Must Love or At Least Like What You Do For a Living

July 25, 2016 by Thomas C. Corley Leave a Comment

Why You Must Love or Like What You Do For a Living

Filed Under: Tip of the Week

Affirmations That Work and Affirmations That Don’t Work

July 25, 2016 by Thomas C. Corley 1 Comment

Tom Corley boats - crop

I hate to tell you this but you’ve probably been led astray by most of the self-help experts out there regarding affirmations.

Affirmations only work if they are tied to a dream and a goal that is grounded in reality.

Let me give you an example.

Let’s say you are studying to become a Certified Public Accountant. If you follow the advice of the self-help experts, they will tell you to create the following affirmation:

“I am a CPA”

The experts say such an affirmation will serve to reprogram your subconscious mind into believing you are a CPA and, thus, your subconscious mind will push you to taking action that will lead to your becoming a CPA. It will somehow magically inspire and motivate you to become a CPA.

Unfortunately, that’s bad advice. It’s bad advice because that affirmation creates an internal conflict between your conscious mind, which is grounded in reality, and your subconscious mind, which is fed a vision of the future you.

Your conscious mind knows you are not a CPA, so it does not accept the programming.

As a result, your conscious mind will not accept that affirmation. OK then, what will it accept?

“I am studying 2 hours every day to become a CPA”

This affirmation works because it is tied to a dream and a goal that is grounded in reality. The dream is becoming a CPA and the goal is studying every day. That goal is achievable. It’s not unrealistic. Your conscious mind will accept this affirmation because it believes that it is possible for you to realize your dream of becoming a CPA, so long as you study for 2 hours every day.

This affirmation also serves as an accountability partner. If you say the affirmation every day, it serves as a reminder that you need to study in order to realize your dream.

With this affirmation, your conscious mind and subconscious mind now work as a team in order to make your dream a reality. There is no conflict between your two minds.

Filed Under: Daily Success Tips

Rich People Simply Put in More Hours at Work Than Everyone Else

July 23, 2016 by Thomas C. Corley 1 Comment

Michael Yardney, the Donald Trump of real estate in Australia and Tom Corley, bestselling author of Rich Habits, Rich Kids and Change Your Habits, Change Your Life discuss the work ethic of the wealthy.