Greed is a Poor Habit That Will Destroy Your Life

May 26, 2017 by Leave a Comment

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“He that hastens to be rich has an evil eye, and considers not that poverty shall come upon him.” Proverbs 28:22

At one time Howard Hughes was the richest man in the world. He worked hard to build an empire. He became obsessed in his singular desire for wealth, power and fame. His greed overtook all of his other priorities in his life. Despite all of this wealth, power and fame, in the end he had nothing. He became a recluse, isolating himself in his home and abandoning all that makes life worth living – family, relationships and community.

There is nothing wrong with pursuing a dream and working hard to become rich and successful. But when that pursuit morphs into the single-minded desire for wealth, dictating every aspect of your life, you’ve been infected by a cancer known as greed.

Greed creates unhappiness

Greed, unchecked, destroys your family, friendships and relationships, resulting in unhappiness.

Greed shifts your focus

It distracts you from the pursuit of your dreams, your goals and the things that are important to you – financial security, family, friends and relationships.

Greed creates tunnel vision

Greed forces you to chase what you do not have. You obsess on what others have and what you lack in life.

Greed makes you reckless, arrogant and lazy

It seduces you into taking shortcuts. Greed will entice you to take careless risks. It will drive you to do things that are illegal, unethical, immoral.  

Be on wary of greed. It is a destructive force of nature that will undermine your life. It will take your soul, your family, your friendships and your happiness.

To prevent greed from overtaking your life, keep your eye focused on what is important to you – a loving family, caring relationships and devotion to your community. Don’t make money your focus. Money is just a means to an end.  Give generously to those around you. Generosity is the antidote to greed. 

Filed Under: Daily Success Tips

Are You and Your Spouse on the Same Page?

May 25, 2017 by 2 Comments

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I read every email I receive from subscribers/readers/fans. I read every tweet. I read every Facebook post and LinkedIn post. I do this because I often find inside these communications an opportunity for an article that could add value to everyone. One such opportunity presented itself yesterday. I think this is an important topic and thought I’d share some of my research.

When both spouses are on the same page, success is almost guaranteed. When both spouses are not on the same page, success comes hard. What do I mean by being on the same page?

  • Both spouses are frugal when it comes to money.
  • Both spouses are habitual savers – If one spouse is not a saver, it will virtually guarantee that you will never become financially independent.
  • Both spouses have similar long-term financial goals.
  • Both spouses have a positive, upbeat mindset – Having a positive mindset is a prerequisite for success. If one spouse suffers from depression and does not seek treatment to manage it, that virtually guarantees you will not succeed in achieving your dreams and goals. It will derail you from the pursuit of success. Drug or alcohol addictions will create a toxic environment and infect both spouses with a negative mindset. Gambling addictions have the same toxic effect on mindset for both spouses.
  • Both spouses are supportive of each another – We all have dreams and goals. Supportive means each spouse supports the other in the pursuit of their dreams and goals. Sixty-one percent of the self-made millionaires in my Rich Habits Study were business owners. Their spouses supported them in their efforts to grow their business. Oftentimes, both spouses worked together in growing the business.
  • Both spouses must be loyal to each other – Infidelity will not only doom a marriage, it will almost always prevent you from becoming rich and successful. Only 19% of the millionaires in my study were divorced, whereas 46% of the poor in my study were divorced. There are numerous studies that found divorce of a spouse is more stressful than the death of a spouse, which negatively affects your health. Not only that, divorce is often financial suicide. Most never recover financially from a divorce. The few who do learn that it takes an average of 5-7 years to recover from a divorce.

When both spouses are not on the same page, success becomes very difficult. It’s like having a business partner who is not working on the business. Both spouses must pull the same cart together. When one spouse is not on the same page, the cart will eventually become too hard to pull on your own.

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Rich People Are Nonconformists and Outliers

May 24, 2017 by 1 Comment

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Rich people are not average. To become rich and successful you must do what average people are unwilling or afraid to do. This typically involves taking some financial or career risk and devoting most of your time to ensure that that risk pays off.

In society, we are conditioned into believing that the path to success lies in a college education. But my research says otherwise. It’s not enough to get a college degree. College degrees most definitely do help you find a job but they are now a pre-requisite or commodity, not something that makes you stand out. According to the Census Bureau, between 32%-36% of working adults have a college degree.

Getting a college degree does increase your chances for becoming rich – 39% of the self-made millionaires in my Rich Habits Study didn’t have a college degree. And, according to a 2014 CareerBuilder survey, 51% of all jobs in the U.S. do not even require a college degree.

The true, sure path towards unlimited success and riches can only be found in pursuing a dream or something you are passionate about that you can monetize and then committing yourself to this dream or passion for the rest of your working life. In other words, you stand a better chance getting rich if you start a business. That’s where the real world learning takes place. You learn by doing. Real world learning is far more valuable than classroom learning in a capitalist society. And America is a capitalist society.

Some of the wealthiest most successful people in the world were business owners who did not have a college degree: Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Edison, Andrew Carnegie (US Steel), Bill Gates (Microsoft), Steve Jobs (Apple), Mark Zuckerberg (Facebook), Larry Ellison (Oracle),  Like Ingvar (Ikea), Leonardo Del Vecchio (Luxottica eyewear), Michael Dell (Dell Computing) and Ferrero Rocher (Ferrero Chocolates) are just a few examples. I could fill up this entire page with millionaires and billionaires who started a business without the benefit of any higher learning.

How did they do it?

They took a risk on themselves and then spent every waking moment devoted to some business that added value to the lives of others. Through self-education, relentless practice and persistence they eventually became experts in their fields. And society rewarded them with enormous riches and success.

Calculated risk, devotion and commitment to their business eventually paid off. For most, the payoff took many, many years. For some, it took much less time. But the common denominator was taking a risk and starting a business.

Most people are conformists. They are unwilling to do what it takes to become rich – take a risk on themselves, start a business and spend the rest of their lives trying to make that business a success. Conformity is the norm and nonconformity makes you an outlier.

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When Entrepreneurs Fail

May 23, 2017 by Leave a Comment

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Thirty-four percent of the 177 self-made millionaires in my Rich Habit Study acknowledged that they had failed at least once in business.

Failure is painful. It emotionally and financially threatens your family life. No one likes to fail. But failure forces you to change and grow. The lessons you learn from failure stick. Failure leaves scar tissue on the brain. You never forget your failures and the hard lessons failure teaches. Failure forces you to learn what to do and what not to do. For those who are somehow able to pick themselves up and try again, failure is almost always temporary.

In my books, Change Your Habits, Change Your Life and Rich Habits Poor Habits, I share many of the reasons entrepreneurs fail. Here are the top 8 reasons: [Read more…]

Filed Under: Entrepreneur Spotlights, Featured Articles

100 Days to a New Life

May 23, 2017 by Leave a Comment

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According to the famous University College London habit study, it can take anywhere from 20 days to 254 days for a habit to form, with the average habit taking approximately 66 days.

A habit is formed when brain cells (neurons) form a long-term synapse. A synapse is a neural pathway that is created in the brain when two or more brain cells repetitively communicate with each other. If that communication continues long enough, a part of the brain called the basil ganglia, reaches its tentacles out (axon filaments) to the synapse, marking it as a habit. Once a synapse is co-opted as a habit by the basil ganglia, that synapse, or neural pathway, never truly dies, even when the activity that created the synapse ceases. They are often brought back to life during periods of stress or emotional duress. This is why habits are so hard to break – the neural pathway becomes permanent once it is marked as a habit.

100 Day Challenge

Consistency transforms behaviors into habits. Adopting good daily habits can only happen if you consistently engage in those habits every day. One strategy to make good habits stick is something called the 100 Day Challenge. Here’s how it works: for 100 days, focus on engaging in one new habit for 100 days in a row. By the end of the 100 days the neural pathway will be strong enough to get the attention of the basal ganglia and will in all likelihood become a permanent habit.

The key is to focus on only one habit during this 100 day period. Here are some new habit ideas:

  • New Exercise Habit: For 100 days run, jog, walk, cycle, lift weights for 20 minutes a day.
  • New Self-Education Habit: For 100 days read for 20 minutes a day, or listen to a podcast, or watch TEDx talks, or study something related to your job or career.
  • New Skill Habit: For 100 days practice some new skill for 20 minutes a day.
  • Healthy Eating Habit: For 100 days reduce how much junk food you eat by 300 calories a day.
  • Change TV Habit: For 100 days reduce how much TV you watch by one hour a day.
  • Change Social Media Habit: For 100 days reduce how much time you spend on social media by one hour a day.
  • No Gossip Habit: For 100 days avoid gossiping about anyone.

After 100 days the synapse or neural pathway will be strong enough for a permanent habit to form. Then, apply the 100 Day Challenge to another individual habit.

Filed Under: Daily Success Tips

Being Naive is a Poor Habit

May 22, 2017 by Leave a Comment

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There’s a misconception that being naive is a trait – something you are just born with. Not so. The fact is, naiveté is a habit. And a very bad one.

According to my research, 27% of self-made millionaires in my study failed at least once. They had to pick themselves up from the financial gutter and start all over again. Some of those 27% fell so low into the financial gutter that they were forced into personal bankruptcy. According to this same research, the root cause of this failure was the Poor Habit of being naive.

In my book, Rich Habits, I refer to this as “ready, fire, aim.”

Those who fail in life in any venture have an inclination to take action before giving the matter their full attention. They fail to seek out the advice of others before jumping in with both feet. Those who are naive do not spend the time investigating or studying their investments. As a result, they become victims of unintended, bad consequences wrought by their lack of diligence in partnering with others or investing their money. They don’t do their homework.

This is school of hard knocks learning and is completely unnecessary. Any investment, any initiative, and every venture you pursue deserves intense, focused study.

Those who eventually succeed, and become self-made millionaires have developed the Rich Habit of seeking feedback from others before they pursue any investment that requires time and money. They study the investment from all sides.

Only after diligent analysis do they take a calculated risk, knowing full well the potential downsides. As a result of their diligent analysis, they prepare themselves for every conceivable outcome, good or bad. When they see their investment going off the rails, they have detailed plans that help them overcome the obstacles and pitfalls that would otherwise undermine their investment.

Don’t be naive. It’s not a trait. It’s a Poor Habit that will always result in loss and failure. Always seek feedback from experts. Seek out advisors and pick their brains before jumping into anything that requires the investment of your time and money. That’s what successful people do.

Filed Under: Daily Success Tips

Rich Habits Poor Habits Episode 27 | You Simply Cannot Think Your Way to Success

May 20, 2017 by 2 Comments

In Tom Corley’s five-year Rich Habits study of 233 rich people and 128 poor people he discovered that we adopt the beliefs of our parents, family, mentors, culture, and environment.

He shares some of those revelations with regards to The Law of Attraction.

The Law of Attraction’s origins are muddied. house dream young land property build

Some historians cite Buddha as the first to articulate the law.

Others, Jesus.

No one really knows.

But we do know that The Law of Attraction first gained world-wide recognition thanks in large part to Napoleon Hill’s 1937 book Think and Grow Rich.

While Hill’s version of The Law of Attraction was heavily weighted towards thinking, it nonetheless emphasized the importance of taking action on your thoughts.

Thinking, followed by action, was Hill’s message.

Then, in 2006, The Law of Attraction, underwent major surgery thanks to a little book called The Secret.

The Secret was, and still is, a big hit.

It has sold over 19 million copies to date.

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It’s popularity is anchored in the notion that thoughts become things.

The Secret promised riches, success, happiness and an amazing life.

All you had to do was visualize what you wanted and that simple act would attract it.

The major surgery performed by The Secret, was in removing the organs of action from the patient.

No work, no hardship, no obstacles, no goals, no mistakes, no failure.

For the first time a self-help book offered success without all the effort.

With its millions of devoted followers, you’d naturally expect to see an explosion in the number of millionaires since 2006.

But that didn’t happen.

Why?

Because the real secret is that visualization does not attract that which you desire.

The purpose of visualization is clarity. idea success

Visualization, or thinking in pictures about the life you desire, forces the conscious and subconscious parts of your brain to work in harmony in revealing, or making clear, the path you must take in order to produce the life you desire.

Clarity is knowing exactly what you want in life and what you need to do to get what you want.

Clarity reveals the path you must take.

It provides the blueprint for the life you desire.

That blueprint is just a plan.

Executing that plan requires effort.

It requires action.

You simply cannot think your way to success.

YOU MAY ALSO BE INTERESTED IN VIEWING:

RICH HABITS POOR HABITS EPISODE 26 | MYTHS ABOUT THE WEALTHY PART 2

RICH HABITS POOR HABITS EPISODE 25 | MYTHS ABOUT THE WEALTHY PART 1

RICH HABITS POOR HABITS EPISODE 24 | COMMON HABITS STOPPING PEOPLE FROM GETTING RICH PART 2

RICH HABITS POOR HABITS EPISODE 23 | COMMON HABITS STOPPING PEOPLE FROM GETTING RICH PART 1

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Lifestyle Creep is a Poor Habit

May 19, 2017 by 11 Comments

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“Same house, same wife, same car.” – Bill King, CPA

One of my client’s has been on a roll. Their income began to rise significantly about five years ago. One of the first things they did with all of this extra money was to spend it on a very expensive million dollar home in an upscale neighborhood. But that wasn’t all. They proceeded to spend approximately $150,000 refurbishing their very expensive million dollar home. Now they are stuck with an expensive home, with higher real estate taxes, higher utility bills, and significantly greater maintenance costs.

I had another client who, after a banner year, went out and bought an expensive $100,000 sports car. 

Another client of mine, during his high income years, spent nearly $1 million on things he was eventually forced to sell for pennies on the dollar, when he lost his job, in order for his family to survive.

That’s called lifestyle creep – Increasing your standard of living in order to match your increased income. 

It’s a common Poor Habit among many who suddenly find themselves making more money.

The Rich Habit is to forgo the desire to spend your money today and, instead, sock it away into savings and investments that grow in value and provide financial resources that can be used in the future to maintain your standard of living.

That Rich Habit is called Delayed Gratification – putting off something you want today for something you want tomorrow – financial independence.

Delayed Gratification is a habit that must be forged because Instant Gratification is hardwired into the DNA of every human.

In the early days of human existence, it was feast or famine. During very rare periods of food abundance ancient humans would take immediate advantage of this abundance and gorge themselves. Doing so enabled early humans to build up significant stores of fat. When food scarcity returned, early humans were then able to survive by living off those stores of fat accumulated during the periods of food abundance.

This Instant Gratification trait, this desire to gorge ourselves during periods of abundance, is still with us today. However, in the modern era, food abundance has been replaced by financial abundance. During periods of financial abundance, humans are evolutionarily hardwired to gorge themselves financially, by spending their financial abundance immediately on more expensive homes, exotic sports cars, the latest in technology, etc.

The problem is, once you spend your money, it’s gone. When scarcity returns, you are forced to sell your stuff. If the stuff you purchased depreciated in value, you get pennies on the dollar.

One of my oldest and dearest friends explained to me his rule for financial success:

“same house, same wife, same car.”

There’s a lot of wisdom in these words. What they really mean is that no matter what good fortune visits you in life, do not change your standard of living. Don’t supersize your life by buying things you really do not need. Live a modest life and forge the Rich Habit of Delayed Gratification – putting off what you want today so that you can have something to fall back on in the future.

Filed Under: Daily Success Tips

Nothing Grows on Ice

May 18, 2017 by Leave a Comment

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Most people are not successful because they are frozen by their thinking.

According to a well-known Brown University study on habits by Dr. Pressman, we forge most of our habits, including thinking habits, by the age of nine. Thinking habits include our beliefs, attitudes and prejudices. Since we are primarily under the care of our parents as children, our parents are the font of many of the thinking habits we forge during our childhood. And these thinking habits stay with us into our adulthood. 

It’s impossible to become rich and successful without growth. You need to grow into the individual you need to be in order for success to visit you. When you are frozen by your thinking, growth is impossible. Your mind is closed to new ideas, new thinking and contrary beliefs. In order to grow and succeed, you must be open-minded and embrace new information – you must shake off old thoughts, old beliefs, old attitudes and old prejudices in order to grow as an individuals.

Most don’t. And most are not successful. Don’t be like most people. Be like the self-made millionaires in my study who embraced new thinking, new ideas and new beliefs. Do not allow yourself to be frozen by your thinking. It will prevent you from growing as an individual. Nothing ever grows on ice.

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Habits Keep You Healthy or Make You Sick

May 17, 2017 by Leave a Comment

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If you don’t give much thoughts to your habits, you should. You daily habits can cause or prevent various diseases and illnesses:

  • Mass General Hospital & Harvard’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health studied 130,000 patients and found that their daily habits can cause or prevent various types of cancer.
  • Robert Ziltzer, MD & US National Library of Medicine found that daily aerobic exercise flushes bacteria from lungs, excites the immune system to circulate throughout the body and slows the release of stress hormones (cortisol). Cortisol depresses the immune system, inviting disease and illness.
  • Harvard Health found that making optimism a thinking habit reduces blood pressure, decreases the incidence of heart disease and stimulates the production of T cells (immune cells) to ward off disease and illness.

Habits have a purpose. They exist for a reason. Your daily habits can prevent disease and illness and extend your life or they can open you up to all sorts of diseases and illnesses, reducing your life span.

 

Filed Under: Daily Success Tips
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