Please share!
(This page may contain some affiliate links. Please see my disclaimer for more information.)

Last Updated April 13, 2021

Do you ever wonder why the rich always seem to get richer, and the poor get poorer? It absolutely has to do with their daily habits. If you want to be rich and successful, you should probably do the things that rich and successful people do. Find out the habits of successful people that you didn’t know, but that you definitely should have too.

FREE Budget Binder

10 Habits Of Successful People

A study by Thomas Corley, the author of “Rich Habits: The Daily Success Habits of Wealthy Individuals” breaks down the daily habits of his wealthiest clients. He noticed successful and wealthy people shared similar habits that differed from the poor. Here are the top 10 habits of rich people.

1. Rich People Set Goals

Wealthy and successful people always focus on their goals. Not only do they set goals, but they also write them down and take actions to achieve it. Rich people set annual, monthly, and daily goals.

Your Action Steps:

Set goals for yourself. When setting your goals, you want to make sure they are SMART. SMART stands for: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Timely

SMART:

  • You want to make your goals as specific as possible;
  • Measurable so that you can track your progress and know when you’ve achieved your goal;
  • You want to make your goals realistic and achievable;
  • Your goals should be relevant to your overall plans in life; and
  • Finally, you want your goal to have a time limit where you set an end date to achieve your goal.
Daily Goal Planner

Make sure to write down all your goals. According to a study done by Gail Matthews at Dominican University of California, those who wrote down their goals accomplished significantly more than those who did not write down their goals.

Next, break down your goals into smaller sub-goals. Make a plan of how you will achieve your sub-goals—which will lead you to achieving your big goal. To achieve your goals, they need to be written out and planned for.

2. Successful People Maintain A “To-Do” List

to do list habits of successful people

Another habit of successful people are they maintain a “to-do” list. Rich people create goals all the time. Therefore, they create a daily to-do list to make sure they take action towards those goals. According to Corley, 81% of rich people maintain a daily to-do list. Only 19% of poor people keep a to-do list.

Your Action Steps:

Once you create your goals, you need to make an action plan of how you’re going to actually achieve them. Make a daily to-do list with at least one activity that will bring you a little closer to accomplishing your goal.

However, you need to do more than just make a to-do list. Try and complete most of the tasks on your list each day. You can download this FREE Daily Goal Planner to help you make your to-do list and prioritize your goals for the day.

3. Successful People Exercise

Successful people exercise daily because they know the importance of health. They value their health because they understand that’s one of the things money can’t buy. Not to mention it saves you a lot of time and cost related to medical complications.

exercise habits of successful people

Your Action Steps:

If you want to develop the habits of successful people, try to be active and get aerobic exercise at least 3 times per week. The more active you are, the more benefits it will have on your health.

Try to watch what you eat and make healthy choices. Being more active and living a healthy lifestyle will ultimately save you money. You will save money because you’re spending less on doctor bills and medical expenses.

If you’re looking for a way to be more motivated to lose weight and make some money while doing it, check out Healthywage. Healthywage has wellness challenges where they use cash prizes to make weight loss more fun and effective!

So, the way Healthy wage works is you place a bet as to how much weight you’re going to lose in a specified amount of time. If you win your bet and lose the weight, you get paid! If you don’t lose the weight, you lose your bet and lose your money. It’s simple as that.

Research has shown that cash rewards triple the effectiveness of weight loss programs; that people are more effective at losing weight when their own money is at risk; and that social networks play a large role in reversing obesity. So that’s why Healthywage is a great motivator to you actually sticking to your weightloss goal.

4. Wealthy People Value Their Time

The affluent value their time because they realize it’s the one thing none of us can ever get back. They also understand, that time is money. Therefore, if they waste time, it is also money lost. The wealthy avoid wasting time on non-productive things.

Rich and successful people also have no problem hiring a professional. They don’t try to figure out things on their own that are not in their expertise—because they would waste too much time trying to do that.

They also pay someone to do things like clean their house, cook their meals, and drive their car—not because they’re lazy, but because their time is so valuable. They use that time to make WAY more money than what they pay their cleaner, chef, or driver. That’s the reason why you would never see the CEO of a company outside mowing the lawn.

So when deciding how to pay (time or money) successful people usually choose to pay in money. The reason why they pay in money is because money is a renewable resource, whereas their time and effort they can NEVER get back.

Your Action Steps:

If you want to develop the habits of successful people, you should always take into consideration the value of your time. Always look at how much time and effort versus how much money it will cost you to complete a task. Since you know you have to pay either way, you should choose to pay in money.

Also, try to manage your time more effectively. Don’t waste time on nonproductive things like social media (unless you make money through social media). The same thing goes for wasting a lot of time trying to figure something out on your own when you can pay an expert.

You are losing money by engaging in activities that are not productive or don’t produce money.

5. Successful People Read Or Listen To Audio Books/Podcasts

top financial mistakes to avoid

Rich and successful people are constantly learning and trying to grow more. They especially get educated about money.

The most successful leaders in business and finance read every single day. Warren Buffet reads 500 pages every day; Mark Cuban reads 3 hours a day; and Bill Gates reads at least 50 books a year.

It’s important to note that they don’t read for fun, they read to get more educated. Rich people prefer to read non-fiction books and self-improvement books in particular. According to Corley, 88% of wealthy people read for self-improvement, verses 2% of poor people who do the same.

Finally, wealthy people read every day because they want to continue to learn. They understand learning doesn’t stop once you are done with your formal education. They continue to learn long after college is over—and reading is a key part of their self-education.

Your Action Steps:

With this in mind, you should try and get into the habit of reading and getting more educated. Start with some books about your finances.

habits of the rich and successful

If you don’t like to read, or don’t have the time, consider listening to audio books. You can listen to audio books when commuting to work or when you don’t have the time to sit down and read. Try audible and get 2 FREE audiobooks.  The first month is FREE and after that you pay $14.95 per month.  With audible you get:

  • Get 1 audiobook and 2 Audible Originals each month.
  • Exclusive audio-guided fitness programs (a $95 value).
  • Roll over any unused credits for up to 5 months.
  • Easy exchanges—swap any audiobook you don’t love.
  • Cancel anytime, your audiobooks are yours to keep.

So give audible a try, and if you don’t like it you can cancel and still get to keep your two free books!

6. Wealthy People Limit TV Watching

The wealthy does not spend a lot of time watching TV. According to Corley, 67% of the wealthy watch TV one hour or less per day, compared to 23% of the poor. But it’s not that rich people don’t enjoy watching TV, it’s just that it’s not a valuable use of their time.

Rich people don’t think about watching TV because they’re usually being productive doing something else. They are probably engaging in some other type of valuable behavior like reading.

Valentine’s Day gifts on a budget

Your Action Steps:

Try to cut down on the amount of TV you watch. According to a study by Nielson, the average person watches 5 hours and 20 minutes of content per day. That is over 35 hours a week you could be spending doing something more productive. Limit your TV watching and engage in more valuable activities.

7. Successful People Ask Questions

Successful people recognize that they don’t know everything, and they don’t mind asking questions. This is usually in the form of some kind of professional advisor. The rich usually ask for help for anything they don’t know.

That’s why they hire professionals like lawyers, accountants, and financial advisors. Again, it goes back to the concept of valuing their time. It would cost them too much time trying to figure out all the things that they don’t know—so they hire a professional for guidance.

Your Action Steps:

You might not have a team of people you can hire to answer your questions like the rich, but the Internet can provide answers to some of your questions. Do a Google search, post your question in a forum, or buy a book on the topic you want to learn more about.

For example, when it comes to personal finance, there are so many resources out there. You can hire a personal coach or buy tools to help make managing your money so much easier. If you’ve been wasting a lot of time trying to figure things on your own, it’s probably time to ask a professional.

8. Rich People Take Action

habits of successful people

Rich people do what needs to be done. They don’t wait for permission—they just take action. According to Corley, 81% of rich people do more than their job requires; whereas, only 17% of poor people agree.

Your Action Steps:

If you want to share the same habits of successful people, take initiative when at work. Go above and beyond your job requirements. If you see something that needs to be done, and you can do it, take action. Your boss will most likely recognize your ambitious behavior and reward you for it. It might be in the form of a promotion, raise, or bonus.

9. Wealthy People Network

Wealthy people understand the importance of networking. To be successful, you need to surround yourself with likeminded individuals. Networking can lead to bigger and better opportunities. It can also lead to new and exciting ideas.

habits of successful people

Corley found that 79% of wealthy people spend at least 5 hours per month networking, while only 16% of poor people do the same.

Your Action Steps:

Try to network consistently. Go to a conference, an after work event, lunch, or even coffee with others who have the same objectives as you. Even better to network with people who have achieved success in the goals you want.

10. Successful People Never Give Up

Finally, one of the biggest and probably most important habits of successful people are they never give up. They believe in themselves and are usually very persistent.

One thing billionaire music mogul Jay-Z (Shawn Carter) said during an interview with Forbes, that always resonated with me, was “the genius thing that we did was, we didn’t give up.” At the beginning of his career, every record label shut their door in his face—so he decided to start his own company.

This is probably a common story for most successful people. They hear a million “nos” before finally hearing one “yes”.

They have a goal in mind and do something every day that helps them get closer to that objective. Wealthy people are passionate and constantly work towards their goals until they achieve it.

Your Action Steps:

Push through any adversity and stay persistent. It might be very hard, or take a lot of time to ultimately achieve your goal; but remember to never give up, no matter how defeated you may feel. If you quit, you will definitely lose.

However, if you never quit, you will eventually reach the finish line. With this attitude, you will most certainly eventually achieve your goals.

free Resource Library

Summary

In summary, if you want to be successful and have more money you should adopt some of the habits of rich people. You can’t act like a poor person and expect to be wealthy. Try to develop any of these habits to put yourself in a position to increase your own wealth.

Related Articles:

If you want to remember this article, pin it to your favorite Pinterest board.

habits of successful people pin