Are Your Habits Making You Rich Or Poor?

"Bad habits are like a comfortable bed, easy to get into but hard to get out of"-Anonymous

What did I do last week? What did I accomplish? How did I spend my time? These are questions I ask myself at the end of every week. For the last few years, I made it a habit to always evaluate my days and weeks, never keeping my eyes off of my goals and dreams. However, not everyone asks these questions on a consistent basis.

A few months ago I wrote a blog called Do You Have What It Takes To Be Wealthy?, discussing a study done about successful people. The study carefully examined the habits of successful people and it compared them to the habits of the poor. Your daily habits will determine your success in life. Thomas Corley spent five years studying the lives of both rich people (defined as having an annual income of $160,000 or more and a liquid net worth of $3.2 million or more) and those of poor people (defined as having an annual income of $35,000 or less and a liquid net worth of $5,000 or less). Below are some of the results of Corley's study.

"I maintain a daily to-do list"

• Rich people who agree: 81%
• Poor people who agree: 19%

"I love reading"

• Rich people who agree: 86%
• Poor people who agree: 26%

"I do more than my job requires"

• Rich people who agree: 81%
• Poor people who agree: 17%

"I focus on my goals every day"

• Rich people who agree: 62%
• Poor people who agree: 6%

"I watch reality shows on TV"

• Rich people who agree: 6%
• Poor people who agree: 78%

"I play the lottery regularly"

• Rich people who agree: 6%
• Poor people who agree: 77%

Next week we'll go over these results in a lot more detail. It's important to study the habits that might be keeping us from achieving some of our goals. The purpose of this study is not to come up with ways to get rich, but to compare how rich and poor spend their time and energy. Becoming rich might not be your goal, or my goal, but achieving certain financial goals, dreams, or aspirations might. 

Ask yourself these questions from the study. Which comments do you agree with? 
Share. 

Don't forget to share this blog so you can encourage others: family, co-workers, friends. Give them something to get motivated! You never know what they might be going through. A few words of encouragement can go a long way.