Productivity
What’s the one habit wealthy people practice that you don’t?
Sep
Goethe, the author The Sorrows of Young Werther
I don’t play chess, he replied.
Chess was the TV of its day. Or maybe social media. Or sports. You get the idea.
According to a report from Business Insider, the main difference between rich and poor really boils down to one thing.
In research, Steve Siebold noticed a pastime the rich have in common: They self-educate by reading.
“Walk into a wealthy person’s home and one of the first things you’ll see is an extensive library of books they’ve used to educate themselves on how to become more successful,” Siebold writes. “The middle class reads novels, tabloids, and entertainment magazines.”
Rich people would rather be educated than entertained. Read why at Business Insider
In other words. they read more.
- 67% of rich watch TV for one hour or less per day
- 23% of poor keep their TV time under 60 minutes.
- Only 6% of rich watch reality shows
- 78% of poor do.
And there was a second trait they had in common.
Speaking to US News, he added, “Their personality styles vary: Some are introverts, some are extroverts. But their belief systems around money are the same. That was the one thread that really helped me throughout the process: They all have a really positive relationship with money. They think about money in terms of freedom, as opposed to the negative relationship a lot of people have with money.” US News
Now, I know what you’re thinking. How about Kayne, David Beckham, Floyd Mayweather…
It doesn’t matter.
The report was based on 1200 interviews with successful business people.
For me, the key takeaways were:
- They don’t watch much TV.
- They almost never watch reality TV.
- Little interest in social media.
- They don’t read novels or watch ‘the game’.
What do they do?
- Read books that advance their careers.
- Talk face to face with other like-minded people.
- Think long term.
For me personally, I read a lot of novels.
But I’m beginning to wonder if I’m actually enjoying it any more. I don’t get the same buzz as I did as a teenager.
Reading novels is my TV. Maybe it’s more elevated but still… a part of me feels I’m killing time. Side stepping something I should be doing.
So, an experiment.
For this month, I’m going to cut down on sports, Netflix and novels. I can have any of them but only on the weekends. The week is spent on getting ahead.
Over to you.
What’s the one negative habit that holds you back?
What’s the one habit you’ve noticed in your wealthier friends?
PS: If you haven’t read The Sorrows of Young Werther
