How you think and behave have a lot more to do with how successful you become than what you have and what you earn. I’m going to repeat that because it is the most empowering line I’ve ever written. How you think and behave have a lot more to do with how successful you become than what you have and what you earn. You can lose your money and your job. But if you develop good financial habits you’ll replace both pronto. But if you have bad financial habits, it will be very difficult to hold on to either no matter how strong a position you start from.
What’s exciting about this concept is that you can start changing your financial habits today. There is nothing stopping you. And since developing these habits is the single most important component of your success, it’s likely that once you adopt the habits you currently lack, you’ll start enjoying the benefits pretty quickly. So just what are the 11 habits of financial successful people?
1. Positive Attitude
People who make it financially typically have a pretty good attitude. They look for opportunity and take action when it makes sense. Of course they investigate the alternatives thoroughly. But once they are convinced that the deal is worthwhile they move on it. Positive people expect positive outcomes. That’s what motivates them.
People with negative attitudes are convinced of failure before they leave the starting gate. As a result, they seldom do. Instead, they stay stuck in the same financial situation with the same career and circumstances. Not a lot of fun.
2. Love To Learn
Successful people usually ask really good questions. They don’t waste time trying to impress others. Rather than talk, they like to listen and learn. This helps them make better choices and have better outcomes. As a result, it reinforces the positive attitude mentioned above.
3. Willing To Be Wrong
People who achieve success realize they don’t have all the answers (see the point above). They are willing to admit when they are wrong and they change course. People who aren’t willing to do that usually end up crashing on the rocks of financial failure. They are more of the “damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead” kind of people. That can be exceptionally expensive. Successful people don’t subject themselves to that kind of senseless risk.
4. They Take Action
People who have a positive attitude, are eager to learn and are willing to correct mistakes are more apt to take action. They realize that the cost of doing nothing (over the long-run) is usually far greater than the cost of doing something even if that action needs to be corrected later on.
5. Understand That Success Isn’t Just About Money
Money isn’t the #1 priority for successful people. Of course they realize that they need a certain amount of money to have the life they want. But the main objective is having lots of life – not lots of money.
6. Understand How To Use Money
Well-heeled people use money to create passive long-term income. Their goals are to create enough passive income from their investments so that work becomes optional. That doesn’t mean they lounge around in smoking jackets sipping on umbrella drinks all day long. Successful people are often very hard workers. But they feel good knowing that work is not a necessity. They are able to go through life like that because they create enough passive income.
7. Understand How To Grow Money
This point is tied to the idea mentioned above. The best way to create passive income is to grow your assets. There are of course many smart ways to do that. The common denominator is that successful people intentionally grow their money in order to achieve freedom.
8. Understand That You Can’t Win Them All
If you invest for growth (a necessary ingredient for success) you must be willing to accept losses from time to time. This just goes with the territory friend and there is no way around it.
How do successful people deal with these unfortunate turn of events? Read the next point.
9. Patient
Successful investors are patient out of self-interest. They realize that long-term investments need time to perform. They don’t change course every time the winds of fortune change direction. The stick with their strategy and that reduces their risk and helps them grow their money safely.
10. Have A Plan
Successful people have a life vision and a financial plan to support it. They realize they only live once and that every day is a treasure. By planning out their finances and being mindful about how they spend money, save and invest, they have more control over their most precious asset – their time.
11. Honest, Responsible, Trustworthy, Giving, Knowledgeable and Smart
Successful people are usually people you can depend on. They attract others by being honest and responsible and by always being there to help out. They know what they are doing and they deliver.
Because they live up to their promises other people like doing business with them. People feel safe dealing with others who are honest, responsible, trustworthy, smart and knowledgeable. These qualities propel them forward in their careers and other business dealings as well.
You can see that each of these habits build and support each other. You can also see that no matter where you are on the financial ladder, you can embrace these principals and slowly turn them into habits. My suggestion is to work on one habit each week. Look for opportunities to incorporate that habit into more of your daily life during that week. When the next week rolls around, go on to the next habit. Once you’ve gone through all 11, start again at the top of the list.
If you do that, what do you think would happen to your financial life? Which habit are you going to start with?
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