Thomas C. Corley, Author at Rich Habits Institute

Good Habits Take the Grind Out of Grit

August 17, 2015 by Thomas C. Corley Leave a Comment

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Grit is just another word for persistence. Persistence, above all else, is the main secret of all success. Never quitting on a dream is the definition of persistence.

But being persistent requires that you grind it out. You must do certain things every day that move you closer to realizing your dreams and your goals. This is where habits come in. Good habits automate the success process. Because they’re automatic, unconscious behaviors and thinking, they take the grind out of the pursuit of success. They make you automatically persistent, without the need to rely on willpower. Automating success by adopting good success habits means you don’t have to grind it out, willing your way forward every day. Habits made success easier because they enable you to grind it out without really feeling like you are. Good habits take the grind out of grit.

Filed Under: Daily Success Tips, Focus & Motivation, Goal Setting, Professional Development

There’s a Zombie Inside All of Us

August 14, 2015 by Thomas C. Corley Leave a Comment

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Do you have any cravings for human flesh? Well, if you do, you better get yourself to a Doctor quick. That’s not the kind of zombie I’m talking about here. I’m talking about the zombie brain that resides inside each one of us. First, let me share some brain facts with you. Every human brain has three parts:

Brain Stem
Limbic System
Neocortex

The conscious parts of our brain, our consciousness, is spread across the following regions of the brain.

Temporal Lobes – Neocortex
Amygdala – Limbic System
Septum – Limbic System
Hypothalamus – Limbic System
Insular Cortex – Limbic System
Singular Gyrus – Limbic System

This represents a small fraction of the brain. The rest of the brain, many of the leading neuroscientists argue, represents our subconscious.

The subconscious parts of our brain are actually running our lives. To a very large extent, our behaviors, thinking and habits are controlled by our subconscious. We are, to a large extent, zombies, controlled by our subconscious.

The good news is that the conscious part of the brain is under our control. It is the command and control center of the brain and can override our subconscious. You’ve probably read about the Buddhist monks who are able to control heart rate, body temperature and other bodily functions normally controlled by the subconscious brain. Well, it goes much deeper than just controlling body function.

By exerting our consciousness we can also control our behavior, thinking and habits. But in order to do so we must become aware of our behavior, thinking and habits. You can’t change what you do not track. By tracking, you can identify which behavior, thinking and habits you’d like to change and then direct the conscious brain to override them. It will takes you anywhere from 18 to 254 days to change your habitual behavior and thinking (University College of London study).

We see many people under the control of their zombie brain every day. These are people who play the victim card and complain about their circumstances in life. They believe they have little or no control over their lives. They blame their parents, society, government, Wall Street, the wealthy and anything else that can justify their circumstances. They do not take responsibility for their lives. It’s not their fault. It’s just the luck of the draw.

That’s too bad. Your circumstances in life are the byproduct of your behavior, thinking and habits. You can change your circumstances by changing your habitual behaviors and thinking. You are the master of your zombie brain. You can make it do whatever you want it to do. You are in complete control of your life. Don’t play the victim card. When you allow your zombie brain to control you, it only leads to misery and unhappiness. The brain can be an incredible master or a very poor servant.

Filed Under: Daily Success Tips, Professional Development

The Most Common Cause of Regret

August 13, 2015 by Thomas C. Corley Leave a Comment

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Unrealized potential is the most common cause of regret. Not living up to your potential is a sin against humanity. When you look at all of the great successes in life, they all have one thing in common – they lived up to their potential as human beings: Elon Musk, Steve Jobs, Warren Buffet, Andrew Carnegie, Michael Jordan, Michelangelo, Einstein, Galileo, Stephen King, John Maxwell, Tony Robbins, Dr. Ben Carson, Arnold Swarzenegger, Leonardo da Vinci. The list goes on. These individuals went all out in life. They pushed the limits of their potential and the world rewarded them. They believed they had unlimited potential and that nothing could stand in their way. The ones who are no longer with us died without any regrets. They tried. They gave it their all.

Don’t let life pass you by without exploring your potential. We are all gifted with unlimited potential. It is up to us to explore the limits of our potential. If we don’t, we live a life filled with regret.

Filed Under: Daily Success Tips, Professional Development

The Secret Leadership Habits of Donald Trump, Elon Musk and Winston Churchill

August 12, 2015 by Thomas C. Corley 1 Comment

Tom Corley boats - crop According to most of the political talking heads, Donald Trump should be long gone from the Presidential race. Yet he is growing in popularity. Elon Musk, according to all of the business pundits n 2008, should have been bankrupt. Yet he survived and is now being hailed as the new Steve Jobs. Winston Churchill’s beloved country, who was on the verge of annihilation during the blitzkrieg, refused to surrender and outlasted the onslaught, paving the way for Germany’s defeat. What secret weapon do these individuals possess that enable them to survive in the face of overwhelming adversity? Fearlessness. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Featured Articles, Focus & Motivation

The Words You Use Affect the Way Others Perceive You

August 12, 2015 by Thomas C. Corley Leave a Comment

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I remember my first job in NYC. I was 21 and interning for Bankers Trust right across from World Trade Center Building #1. I was finished with my work day and headed down the two story long series of escalators which delivered all of us down to street level. There were four of these escalators, two that went down and two that went up. While on one of these down escalators I ease dropped on a conversation two bankers were having in front of me. To this day I have no idea what they were talking about. But what I do remember was how impressed I was. They used words like Michelangelo used clay or paints. It bothered me that I did not understand the words they were using.

That summer I decided I was going to learn ten new words a day. So I pulled out the dictionary, took out a binder, some paper and a pencil and began writing down words I didn’t know. I did this every day for about two months. As summer came to a close, I was now the proud owner of 500 new words. And I started to use these words, weaving them into conversation. I remember playing pool in the rathskeller back at college. There was a very pretty girl in the group. She knew some of the guys I regularly played pool with. We were all discussing Poland, which was in the news. They were going through a revolution there. I remember sharing my opinion with the group about this revolution. I test drove some of the new words I learned over the summer.

About an hour later, as I was walking out the rathskeller, the pretty girl accompanied me up the stairs. She never did this before. I confess, my heart was beating like a rabbit. She said to me, “I didn’t realize you were so smart.” We became fast friends after that and had many more conversations. We came very close to dating but I never had the ask a girl out on a date confidence to ask her out. I’m of Irish decent and, at the time, I was working on my eighth year of puberty. I still looked like a man child and felt ugly and very awkward back then.

I kept that word binder, but confess that I lapsed in my devotion to learning new words. When I was finishing up my study on the daily habits of the rich and poor in 2008, I discovered that one of the Rich Habits the millionaires all seemed to have was a daily devotion to learning and self-improvement. So I found my old word binder, dusted it off and renewed my study of words. It has helped me enormously in communicating my research in the books and articles I’ve written as well as in the numerous media interviews I’ve had.

The words we use every day create perceptions. They are like magnets, drawing to us all sorts of people. Rich people had figured that out long before they became rich. The more words you know, the better your ability to communicate what you know. Words create perceptions. If you want to create the perception that you are smart, you must increase your knowledge of words and use them in conversation. Learning new words helps you grow as an individual. They increase your confidence. They transform you.

Start your word binder today. Devote just fifteen minutes a day to increasing your vocabulary. Add five new words a day to your arsenal. People will take notice. Words will elevate you and draw the right people into your inner circle.

Filed Under: Daily Success Tips, Professional Development, Relationship Building, Wealth Creation

Are You Raising Your Child to Embrace Mediocrity?

August 11, 2015 by Thomas C. Corley Leave a Comment

Tom Corley boats - crop Although I like to refer to it as my Twenty Question List, the list of questions I asked the rich and poor in my study actually numbered 144. A few of those questions focused on parenting, mentoring, relationships, dreams and goals. Many of the responses to these question had nothing to do with the actual question and took me down unintended paths. The millionaires, in particular, expounded on the importance of why they were pursuing their passion, what they hoped to ultimately achieve in life, the significant of their lives, etc. I felt the millionaires were taking me completely off track. Except they weren’t. What they were all ultimately trying to articulate was the legacy they wanted to leave behind. Their why for doing what they were doing.

I love doing speaking engagements, especially at high schools and colleges. One of the many questions I ask the students is: [Read more…]

Filed Under: Featured Articles

Delayed Gratification vs. Immediate Gratification

August 11, 2015 by Thomas C. Corley 1 Comment

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It’s so easy to do the easy. It’s so hard to do the hard. The other night I came home from work, hungry, tired and in need of some R&R. Dinner was waiting for me on the counter. There was a cold beer in the refrigerator just screaming out at me. I went upstairs, took off my work clothes and then I saw my sneakers staring at me. Before any of the demon voices in my head started talking, I took my sneakers, put on my shorts and headed downstairs to my basement. I got on my stair master and for the next 40 minutes I sweat. When I was done I walked into the kitchen, heated up my dinner and cracked an ice cold beer. That dinner tasted so good. That beer, so cold and delicious. As I ate and drank, I felt happy.

It’s so easy to give in to temptation. But sacrificing, by delaying gratification until something important gets done first, makes the thing you delayed gratification on infinitely more rewarding. Our lives are the byproduct of our behavior and the choices we make. When we choose the easy, life’s immediate pleasures lose their flavor. When we choose the hard, life’s eventual pleasures are heightened.

Always choose the hard. Hard and Happiness share more in common than a few letters. They are life’s yin and yang.

Filed Under: Daily Success Tips, Relationship Building, Wealth Creation

You Are Under My Control

August 10, 2015 by Thomas C. Corley Leave a Comment

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I hate to tell you this, but your life is not under your control. Your behavior, your thinking, the choices and decisions you make, what you spend your money on, what you eat and drink, who you associate with, the T.V. shows you watch, the Internet sites you visit and so much more. Your life as you know it, if you’re like most, is one big zombie life.

We are all being bombarded, every day, with outside influences: T.V ads, Internet pop ups, tweets, text messages, newspapers, the books you read and the habits you’ve adopted all influence your behavior and thinking. And there is only one way to regain control of your life.

AWARENESS. If you want to take control of your life it starts with AWARENESS. You must become aware of those things that are influencing your thinking and behavior. Here’s a process to help you do just that. Take out 7 pieces of paper. On each piece of paper write the following heading:

Sheet #1 – My Daily Habits
Sheet #2 – T.V. Shows I Watched
Sheet #3 – Internet Sites I Visited
Sheet #4 – Tweets/Social Media Messages I Read
Sheet #5 – Topics I Read
Sheet #6 – Topics of Conversation I Had With Others
Sheet #7 – Ads I Viewed

On each separate sheet of paper make 7 columns, one for each day of the week. Now the fun begins. Every day write down and track each of your habits, T.V. Shows, Internet Sites, Tweets/Social Media Messages, Reading Topics, Conversation Topics and Ads Viewed. You can customize your headings on each sheet or add sheets to include other categories you feel are having an outside influence on your behavior and thinking (i.e. radio, movies, podcasts, webinars, talking on the cell phone, etc.). The purpose of this exercise is to identify those things that are influencing your behavior and thinking.

By the end of the week you will have a comprehensive list of most of the things that influence your behavior and thinking. Once you know what is influencing you, only then can you take control of your life by identifying and then eliminating those things that are having a negative influence on your behavior. Put a Negative sign “-” next to each item that you believe is negatively influencing your behavior and thinking. Change is only possible with AWARENESS. Once you become aware of those things that are negatively influencing your behavior and thinking, you can eliminate them from your daily life.

Filed Under: Daily Success Tips, Relationship Building, Wealth Creation

Why You Must Surround Yourself With Other Successful People

August 7, 2015 by Thomas C. Corley Leave a Comment

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If you want to succeed in life, you absolutely must surround yourself with other successful people.

Successful people are successful because they have expert knowledge and skills in very specific niches. Unsuccessful people lack expertise in any one niche.
Successful people surround themselves with other success-minded people who are also experts in their field. They have developed strong relationships with those successful people, whom they can tap at a moments notice. Unsuccessful people have relationships with unsuccessful or average people who also lack expertise.
Successful people know how to get things done in a cost-effective and expeditious way. Because they lack expertise or the ability to tap into other experts, unsuccessful people tend to complicate things, which ends up costing you time and money.
Successful people immediately add value to your life or to your business through their expertise or contacts. Unsuccessful people immediately add complications and problems to your life or your business.

Stay away from unsuccessful people. They cannot help you become successful in life. How do you know when someone is unsuccessful without looking at their bank statement? Unsuccessful people are easy to find if you know what to look for:

They have a glaring character flaw I call Bright Shiny Object Syndrome. This is the Poverty Habit of shifting gears from one obsession to another, year after year. They claim to be many things, having an expertise in multiple areas, which is virtually impossible for them because they never stick to one thing for very long. As a result of this lack of long-term commitment, this absence of persistence, they lack expertise in any one particular area.
They are struggling financially because they don’t make enough money in their self-proclaimed field of expertise.

Seek out only successful people who have devoted themselves to unique niches for many years. Ten years or more, focused in one area or in one discipline, is a good benchmark. Never engage anyone for any initiative that is important to you without obtaining at least 5 references from individuals who used their services within the past twelve months. Make sure none of those references are family members. And make sure you ask the references specific questions whose responses will raise red flags, such as:

How much more money did they help you make?
How much more product or services did they help you sell?
Did you get the sense that they were struggling financially with their business while you were working with them?
Are you aware of any clients or customers who suddenly terminated their relationship with them?

Successful people will fast track your success, reduce costs, free up your valuable time and open doors to opportunities for you to make more money. They shorten the time you have to push that ball up the hill and make the effort less arduous. They help clear the brush away from your path towards success.

Filed Under: Daily Success Tips, Relationship Building, Wealth Creation