Posted in: Personal Mastery, Wealth Creation
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17 Things Rich People Do Differently

“It is not the creation of wealth that is wrong, but the love of money for its own sake.” ~Margaret Thatcher

Although money is an unusual topic for this blog, I believe it’s fitting because allows us to pursue the projects we’re most passionate about while having a greater positive impact on the world. And that’s what The Feel Good Lifestyle is all about! 

Do you dream of amassing great wealth one day?

Of freeing yourself from money-related stress?

Me too!

But here’s the thing: millions of people around the world dream of making lots of money… but very few achieve it.

Why is that?

Is it because of a lack of intelligence? No.

Is it because of bad luck? No.

Is it because of their mindset? Yes.

Last week, I read  T. Harv Eker’s book Secrets of the Millionaire Mind: Mastering the Inner Game of Wealth, in which he highlights 17 things rich people do differently.

Today, I want to share them with you so you can become aware of the things you’re currently lacking. That way, you can start developing the mindset that will lead you to exceptional wealth.

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1. Rich People Think “I Create my Life”

You’re in control of your life: things don’t happen by chance, they happen by choice. Taking full responsibility for your life is step one towards creating the life you dream of.

And when things don’t work out? Don’t blame or  criticise others, and don’t justify yourself. Just learn from it, keep on pushin’ ahead, and do better next time.

2. Rich People Play the Money Game to Win

If your aim is to “be comfortable financially”, you’re unlikely to ever be rich.

You have to aim to be rich to become rich.

3. Rich People Are Committed to Being Rich

If you wish to be rich, or you’d like to be rich… That’s not enough. You have to *commit* to being rich.

The moment it’s absolutely clear in your mind that you’ll create exceptional wealth, the universe will conspire to help you.

4. Rich People Think Big

How do you want to live your life? Do you want to play in the little leagues, in the minors or in the major leagues? It’s your choice.

I wholeheartedly believe that we can accomplish anything we can envision. But if you think small… You’ll accomplish small.

Think big my friend. It’s more fun, and it opens you up to a world of infinite possibilities.

If you want to get better at this, I encourage you to read The Magic of Thinking Big

5. Rich People Focus on Opportunities

Most things that happen to us can be seen as either opportunity or as an obstacle. It depends on what we focus on.

Rich people choose to see everything as a blessing, as a stepping stone for something greater.

What’s your outlook on things? Do you focus on finding opportunities or do you only see the risks & obstacles?

6. Rich People Admire Other Rich & Successful People

When you see a rich person, do you get jealous? Is there a point of resentment when you say “Check out that guy’s house/car?”

If you associate these negative feelings to wealth, you’re not likely to amass it yourself.

You have to associate positive feelings to wealth if you want to create it in your life.

These people were the architect of their wealth, and that’s worthy of our respect. Plus… when’s the last time jealousy got you anywhere?

7. Rich People Associate with Positive, Successful People

Modelling is one of the primary ways we learn. If you associate with positive & successful people, not only can you learn from them, but you’ll also start to think… “if they can do it, why can’t I?”

8. Rich People Are Willing to Promote Themselves & Their Value

Many of us have been conditioned to think that promoting ourselves is boastful and to be avoided.

But the reality is that most rich people are excellent promoters. They know how to promote themselves, their ideas and their products with enthusiasm.

Note: In 2008, Tim Ferriss was named by Wired.com as The Greatest Self-Promoter of All-Time

9. Rich People Are Bigger Than Their Problems

Everyone has problems. Things won’t always your way, no matter who you are. But it’s how you react to your problems that defines you.

When you face a problem, do you run away and give up? Or do you put your head down and find a solution?

The answer to these questions will go a long way towards determining the kind of life you’ll live.

10. Rich People Are Excellent Receivers

To earn large sums of money for your work & products, you must feel worthy of receiving large sums of money.

Here’s a great practice for improving your receiving skills: when someone offers you compliment, simply say accept and thanks. Don’t look for something to compliment the other person with.

11. Rich People Choose to Get Paid Based on Results

If you want to become rich, choose to work in a pay-for-performance environment: either in your own business or in a commission-based or bonus-based job.

If you’re confident in your ability, this arrangement will motivate you more and it will earn you a lot more money.

12. Rich People Think “Both” not “Either/Or”

Rich people understand that with creativity, it’s almost always possible to have the best both worlds.

This requires a particular mindset of cooperation and outside-the-box thinking, but it allows you to have our cake and eat it too.

Next time you’re faced with a tough choice… Be creative and try to find a way to have both.

13. Rich People Focus on Their Net Worth

Generally, when we think of wealth we think in terms of how much a person makes a in year . But wealth is much more than that. It’s one’s income, savings, investments, and cost of living.

It’s by optimizing these 4 elements that you can create extraordinary wealth.

14. Rich People Manage Their Money Well

This is fairly self-explanatory: to become rich you need to be serious about money management. Using your spare money optimally, avoiding credit card interest and only spending on useful things is a great place to start.

15. Rich People Have Their Money Work Hard For Them

Once you’ve got money saved up, INVEST it. There’s no reason to leave money sitting in your bank account. Passive income is an incredibly powerful wealth-creating vehicle and the sooner you get started, the better.

16. Rich People Act in Spite of Fear

This is certainly one of the most important items and a recurring theme on this blog. If you want to create your greatest life, you’ve GOT to tame the beast of fear.

Fear will never completely go away, but it’s the ability to “feel the fear & do it anyways” that separates those who create their dream life and those who simply  dream about it.

17. Rich People Constantly Learn & Grow

Knowledge + Action = Power. The more you know & apply in your chosen field, the more money you’ll earn.

That’s why I’ve embarked on an epic reading challenge this year, and why you should use all the tools at your disposal to learn something every day: blogs, books, courses, audiolearning and insightful conversation with people who know more than you.

But learning is not enough- make sure you apply these findings, experiment with them, and tweak as you go. That’s where the real power lies.

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Creating great wealth is within your reach. It’s been done by many, many people before, and you can do it too. But as you’ve seen it requires us a particular mindset.

What’s the one item on this list you know you need to get better at?  Please share in the comments section! (For me, it’s #10, become a better receiver).

Here’s to becoming rich by doing what we love & by making other people’s life better,

Have a wonderful day,

Phil

PS If you’ve enjoyed this post, I think you’ll dig Secrets of the Millionaire Mind.

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Please share this post, because that’s how more people can develop their “Millionaire Mindset”

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Posted on : 16, Feb 2012

14 Comments

  • brendan February 17, 2012 at 6:16 am

    I have many things in life that are important to me, and being rich is not one of them.

    Reply
    • Phil Drolet February 19, 2012 at 2:42 am

      Fair enough man! It’s most certainly true that you don’t need lots of money to be very happy, and I would have said the same thing as you a few months ago.

      But recently I’ve realised that the more money we have, the more power we have to make big positive changes in the world (reading Richard Branson’s biography opened my eyes on that).

      There’s a lot of things I’d like to contribute to changing in the world so therein lies motivation..

      Reply
      • Casey Kaldal February 26, 2012 at 8:25 am

        I read Richard’s book last winter, “Losing My Virginity”.

        Awesome book, I totally agree that the book opened my eyes.

        Reply
  • brendan February 17, 2012 at 6:16 am

    I have many things in life that are important to me and being rich is not one of them.

    Reply
  • ciaran February 17, 2012 at 8:18 am

    Be aware that Margaret Thatcher made hundreds of thousands of working in mining and manufacturing unemployed in the UK in the 80s, along with selling off state industries to private companies who’ve raised living & travel expenses disporpotionately high over the past 20 years. The vast majority of those not born into a life of upper class privilege in the UK can’t stand her, her values, what she stood for and what she did. She’s as well-loved as herpes and just as useful.

    One other thing, swapping out successful for rich (they’re not synonyms) in this article makes read it a lot less like Gordon Gecko’s personal manifesto.

    Reply
    • Phil Drolet February 19, 2012 at 3:11 am

      Hey Ciaran, thanks a lot of bringing that up. Had no idea about any of that, I just liked the quote.

      I definitely agree that successful & rich aren’t synonymous! I didn’t want to come across as such. I’ll be more careful in the future.

      Thanks for the honest feedback, appreciate it!

      Reply
  • Rebecca February 17, 2012 at 10:05 am

    Hmm, I kind of see where Brendan and Ciaran are coming from with their comments, but I actually took something very different from this post. I honestly don’t think you covet being rich per se. My perception is that you don’t want to live your life worrying about money. Who does? But in order to lose our money worries, we have to face up to what money is and what it means to us. That means talking about it, being open about it.

    There’s a saying that money can’t buy you happiness. I wholeheartedly believe that the simple things in life are the greatest, so I totally agree with that saying. However, the lack of money can bring a lot of suffering. I don’t see anything wrong with aspiring to be in a comfortable place financially.

    A lot of people seem to feel very awkward talking about money. For me, it stems from my childhood. I would hear my parents discussing money and bills, and I’d ask what they were talking about. I wanted to learn more. But my mum always told me not to worry about it, that it wasn’t really any of my business and that money isn’t something that’s ok to talk about.

    I totally recognise myself in point #6. I’d reached a point where I would see someone with a big house or a flash Range Rover, and I’d resent them. I’d feel myself becoming jealous, but then tell myself that they’ve got it all wrong – who needs a flash car? It’s the little things in life, the FREE things, that are worth more to me. Of course that’s true. However, I realise that what I resented about rich people is the way they flaunt the fact that they don’t have to worry about money. While I’m desperately trying to save money for the future, their future’s already sorted. They can enjoy the here and now. I’ve told you before Phil, money is the only thing stopping me from quitting my job and doing what I love right now. If I quit, I’d be continually worrying where my next pay cheque was coming from. I’d be worrying about putting food on the table, paying the bills and keeping a roof over my head, and that’s no way to live.

    I recently listened to a FANTASTIC free teleseminar by Marie Forleo and Danielle LaPorte (you can find it here: http://sellingyoursoul.com/free-telejam/). They redefine the concept of selling. I also read something brilliant the other day (I can’t remember where) that said something like, money is not the source of pain in the world. People are. Money is just the resource they use to live out their pain.

    Wow, this is turning into a post all of its own! Sorry about that. I guess this is just a subject I’m pretty passionate about.

    Back to your question about what I need to get better at. For me, it’s #8 and #16. I’m so bad at putting myself out there and being open about who I am and what I stand for. The fear of being judged, of making myself vulnerable in that way, paralyses me. It’s something I definitely need to work on if I want to achieve anything big.

    One more thing… (last point, I promise!) I can totally relate to #7. I’ve found that chatting with people who are doing what I want to do (including you) has made me see just how attainable it is. I couldn’t agree more about the importance of associating with like-minded people.

    Reply
  • Francis February 23, 2012 at 2:02 pm

    If someone want a really good serie audio about how Rich People Think, please let me know at francis_dostie@hotmail.com

    I’ll love to share it with you via Dropbox :)

    I found it Terrific!

    Reply
  • Will February 25, 2012 at 6:46 pm

    Surely the question to ask is are these rich people any happier?

    Sorry Phil but this list was not for me.

    Reply
    • Phil Drolet March 1, 2012 at 9:11 pm

      Hey Will,

      That’s the 1,000,000$ question right there (Pun intended). You’re absolutely right.

      Since writing this article, I’ve actually made a huge realisation that while having money has its value, *thinking* about money too much definitely makes me less happy.

      But I don’t believe that having a lot of money will make you less happy.. it really comes down to how you make you money, if its by really helping people..

      Have a great day,
      Phil

      Reply
  • Sunday Savasana, 19th February 2012 – Off The Mat February 25, 2012 at 10:06 pm

    [...] “You’re in control of your life: things don’t happen by chance, they happen by choice. Taking full responsibility for your life [...]

    Reply
  • Joy Martin March 1, 2012 at 6:35 am

    Hey Phil!
    Always love a good chat with you & your entertaining conversational skills!

    Your blogs & videos are inspiring & I agree with your wise words.

    Yes definatelty read your roomies book it’s great & check up their online stuff too!

    I highly recommend joining Young Entrepreneur groups & mixed ages groups too,these have been really helpful for me as I am getting a few buisnesses up & running.

    All the constant interaction with people who are big thinkers does wonders for your thought processes- & also interacting with people of all ages who think big is invaluable!

    Keep up the great work- look forward to your next installment of wise words :)

    Reply
    • Phil Drolet March 1, 2012 at 9:04 pm

      Hey Joy thanks you so much :)

      I 100% agree with the Young Entrepreneurs’ groups.. that’s something I’ve *just* started doing, as I joined 2 Entrepreneur Mastermind Groups here in SD.. It’s incredible much it helps to have other people give us a fresh perspective on our challenges.. and just a lot of fun to hang out with cool people who understand what we’re going through..

      Thanks and all the best in your projects!!

      Reply
  • Liz March 22, 2012 at 7:38 pm

    Hello, Phil,

    To answer your question, #8.

    I’ve been realizing lately that I need to “market” myself. Firstly, you need to believe in yourself for that and see yourself as a person of success; then you need to take that attitude (even if you don’t truly have it, just putting yourself out there like that is going to somehow force you to believe it and live up to it) and put it out. For one, it’s marketing yourself, with you as your biggest fan, but it’s also about making the world know that you are there, available, and you can to this and that and you can do it good. It’s also about making connections, as stated in your post, with the right people. A big part of being successful in a certain area is having the right people around you or the right connection. You don’t need to know everything but it’s enough knowing who to turn to when in need and who does it best. Then you also need to know people who can introduce you to other people and you NEED to have successful people around you if you want to be successful.

    I don’t even roll with people who got nothing good to bring into my life anymore because they bring you down and steal your focus. Be especially aware of people with a loser attitude, people who always complain and whine. They’ve got nothing to do around you. Look especially to be around people that are better than you in the area that you pursue.

    Now, regarding the whole article and the likes of @brendan and @ciaran, I can understand where they’re coming from but what I want to point out is that it’s not necessarily about being rich, but about having a certain mindset, a Winning attitude, designed for people looking for success, regarding the area. This usually leads to becoming richer, but it’s not mandatory.

    The thing is, and correct me if I’m wrong, Phil, you CANNOT desire to have a happy, fulfilled, successful life and satisfy yourself with little. You can be thankful in little, but you cannot set yourself up for little if you can do more.

    What I think about most of the rich people, it’s not that they need more and more money, but they want to take it to another level. Because they can. Why settle for less? What everybody needs to understand is that you can’t just settle, you have got to fight even if you want to be on that same level. In this world, if you stop swimming you are going to drown. It’s either upper or lower. There is no “I’ll just be here for a second, seems like a nice spot”. Sun’s gonna go (well, the earth) and it won’t be as good in a second.

    I am talking from experience, not book-reading. I’ve discovered most of the lessons in your article by myself, even though I read a lot. I come from one of Europe’s poorest countries where, MAN, every day is a struggle for every single man, rich or poor. Most of them are struggling and have an obsession just to have a piece of bread on their table the following day, while the “richer” ones, which could only be considered medium-class by more developed countries struggle in their businesses just to keep their head over the water. But for every single one of them, it’s a fight. Most of them fight daily to have a better life and I know NONE saying “Man, I just need to live decently”. It’s not about being rich, it’s about the fact that you need to fight for everything, keep your head high and have a winning attitude. It’s either this or you’re down. If you get riches with it, wonderful.

    I’m also an Engineering student and as you can imagine, it’s really difficult. It usually leaves the ones who finish this University strained of their strength. So with this on my mind, money on my mind plus the desire to succeed and do much better than survive, the obsession and obligation for people my age to be successful in every single domain of their lives plus all the problems that come with it, I had struggle depression and meltdowns due to highly stressful periods of work and whatnot. So what I’ve learned most during this period and I am now implementing is that you MUST have a winning attitude if you want to succeed. You have to set yourself up for success and be a person of action, not of action. You have to realize that your life is mostly the sum of your efforts and attitude towards it. If you’re just gonna let it hit you… well not only it’s not gonna work, but it’s gonna bring you down.

    Alright, enough with the long public letter, just need to say thanks for your efforts, you have a great site and you’ve inspired me to do so many good changes in my life, which have actually made a big difference. I’m currently trying to adjust to a self-made Polyphasic Sleep program (and it’s actually going great, since I’m used to little sleep), I’ve also implemented I.F. (which sent me to Leangains) and I’ve been doing it on and off for a while now, currently considering it doing it full time for a while (while doing weight training), and you know, all those other tips for improved energy levels and stuff. Works like magic, thank you once again! And it is big, since I’m having my Bachelor’s degree this year and it’s work all day, every day :)

    Keep up the good work and many blessings!

    Reply

So, what do you think?