Rich people have a lot of money. That doesn’t mean they have it easy, though. Just ask one of them! The life of a wealthy individual is sometimes portrayed as a carefree, luxurious series of parties and exotic getaways.
In reality, though, wealthy people face issues that their less affluent counterparts don’t quite grapple with, from the pressure to provide for their children to the specter of having a vengeful relative swoop in and upset long-established inheritance plans.
They Have a financial growth mindset.
Wealthy people are incredibly creative when it comes to thinking about business and finding different ways of making money. Mega-successful people set themselves apart because they nurture a financial growth mindset, which changes how you view money and helps you focus on seeing profitable opportunities.
This mindset helps successful and wealthy people believe that there are always bigger and better projects to work on and there’s always more money to be made. They’re open to exploring new ideas. They believe they’re always capable of making changes and creating a positive outcome.
Related: How to Create a Growth Mindset as an Entrepreneur
They Network with other successful people.
Wealthy people understand the importance of surrounding themselves with other successful people. Wealthy people spend time networking with others who are wealthy but also have drive, talent and, most important, the potential to become wildly successful. The rich spend time every month getting to know other like-minded people at conferences, events and gatherings, or just grabbing coffee or a drink with someone interesting.
This is time wisely invested, as it keeps their minds focused on success and helps them meet new people who have fresh and thought-provoking ideas. Doing this also helps wealthy people fill their contact lists with relevant and influential people who can potentially help them (and vice versa).
They Get outside your comfort zone.
Wealthy people are successful because they have learned that success comes to those who embrace a little discomfort. They understand that the only way to really improve is to push yourself beyond your limits. If you want to become wealthy, you’re going to need to fuel your creative spark, come up with unique business ideas and then take the plunge.
Wealth and success don’t emerge from the safety of a 9-to-5 job. They come from drawing on your inner strength and going for your big dream. All successful business leaders, visionaries and game-changers have gone beyond their comfort zones in order to achieve the ultimate success. The people who will go down in history had the courage to face their fears and take that first step into the unknown.
Related: Why You Need to Step Out of Your Comfort Zone
Sailing
Life must be plain sailing when you’re sitting on millions, so why not take to the seas? Many wealthy people while away their days on board super yachts and sailboats, with some of the more notably nautical big shots being Humphrey Bogart, George Clooney and Jack Nicklaus.
Owning exotic pets
If there’s one thing that’s extravagant above all others, it has to be owning an exotic pet. Not only do you have to buy the creature to begin with, but then you have to house it and continue to provide for it. Elvis had his kangaroo, Clooney had a pig and Salvador Dali? An anteater.
Art collecting
Leonardo DiCaprio, David Beckham and Brad Pitt have all reportedly spent six figures on individual pieces of art – proving that they live by the proverb ‘art is long but life is short’.
Personal Coaching
Personal coaching is another smart investment rich people make when they know they need some help reaching their potential. Morgan Ranstrom, who is a financial planner in Minneapolis, Minnesota, told me he wholeheartedly suggests a high-quality coaching program for anyone who needs help taking that next step in their business.
Ranstrom has worked with various life and business coaches that have helped him understand his values and clarify his goals, become a published author, and maximize his impact as a professional and business owner.
“For individuals looking to break through to the next level of success, I highly recommend investing in a coach,” he says.
Personally, I can say that coaching changed my life. I signed up for a program called Strategic Coach after being in business for five years, and this program helped me triple my revenue over the next three years.
The thing that scares most people off about coaching is that it’s not free; in fact, some coaching programs cost thousands of dollars. But wealthy people know the investment can be well worth it, which is why they’re more than willing to dive in.
They Create multiple income flows.
The more money you have, the easier it is to make more money. And the easiest and fastest way to make more money is to have multiple income streams. That way you always have money coming in and can use the excess income to invest in new income flows. This, in a nutshell, is the primary way the wealthy stay wealthy.
There are two basic forms of income: active income, in which you work for the money you make, and passive income, in which payment isn’t directly tied to the number of hours you work. Passive income includes rental property, dividend stocks, index funds, writing a book or creating an app, all of which will bring in a steady flow of income from sales or royalties.
The super rich have their own version of e-Bay and Craigslist
When you’ve reached Uncle Scrooge levels of richness, you don’t wait around for Flipkart discount deals or great bargains on eBay. One of the luxury e-commerce sites like to visit is JamesEdition.com, where you can buy rich people things like jets, yachts and even real estate. They even listed the freaking Batmobile on their site.
They Invest.
Rich people make their money work for them. They know that investing is the key to growing their finances. While saving money for a rainy day is important, your investments are going to do the heavy lifting to help you become wealthy.
Saving means putting money into a safe place until you want to retrieve it, but most savings accounts don’t yield high interest, so this pile of money basically stays static — it’s not going to grow much beyond what you add. But smart investments will give you healthy returns, which you can then reinvest. When you invest in something, you also accept some amount of risk, so you never want to invest more than you can afford to lose.
They Take calculated risks.
The rich don’t gamble on big financial decisions; they do what they can to mitigate risk. They do their research and analysis, and determine which options best suit their financial needs and business desires. They weigh the pros and cons, and then take calculated risks.
They make financial decisions by asking themselves, “Will this bring me closer to my goal?” They avoid frivolous risks that aren’t really going to benefit them, and never take a cavalier attitude when it comes to money.
They love registries, where they can have their names next to the most luxurious items without always physically possessing the product.
The thing about most rich people is, they have to do almost everything ‘rich people style’. Part of being super rich comes with the satisfaction that you get to have your name on rare, expensive, luxury items. This is where registries come in. Like when the super-rich people want to pre-order a rare car, they usually go to duPont Registry. Say, a super-rich person wants to buy a rare diamond from another super-rich seller, they approach a similar registry, which then arranges the transactions. But it’s not like the new owner is going to display the diamond on his coffee table. It’ll still be in a secure vault, most likely, the same one where it existed earlier. But the registry reflects the new owner’s name. Win, I guess.
They Focus on self-improvement.
Wealthy people are usually avid readers, but you won’t find many mindless beach novels in their bookcases. The wealthy understand the importance of self-education and pushing themselves to become better in all ways. In fact, if you look at the books piled by their beds, you’ll mostly find titles on self-improvement.
While 85 percent of rich people read two or more self-improvement books per month, only 11 percent read for entertainment, compared to 79 percent of the poor. And a whopping 94 percent of wealthy people read news publications, compared to 11 percent of non-wealthy people.
Conclusion
Rich people get rich when they do something they are passionate about. If you don’t love what you do, you won’t put in the time and effort needed to become successful.
Jim Koch traded in a stable job at Boston Consulting Group in 1984 to start Boston Beer Co., the business that created Samuel Adams Boston Lager. Koch was driven by his personal love of beer to start the now multi-million-dollar business.
“The most common thing I remind people of is to only pursue something you love, because a small business is going to be very demanding of your time, your energy — it just eats your life,” Koch told Business Insider. “And if you’re doing something you love, then you will accept and even enjoy that. If you’re just doing it to get rich, you’re going to lose heart.”
High-end Watch Clubs – Yes, even rich people rent
Some rich people are rich because they make clever decisions. For example, they don’t always buy assets with depreciating value, but they lease/rent them. When it comes to fancy watches, they prefer renting them for special occasions from sites like BorrowedTimeWatches.com. And it makes total sense if you think about it – you get to impress the world with your bling, without paying shit loads of money.
Conclusion
Imagine if you were given $50,000 with the instruction that you had to spend it all in 20 minutes. What is that you’d do? Perhaps hit some power shopping outlets; maybe try out some fast food restaurants. It is easy for us to think of what is simple when faced with a problem like this, but what would really happen?