Ever wondered what the rich do that makes them rich? In a radio interview, best-selling author Tom Corley talked about the differences between the habits of the rich vs. those of the not so rich. Here’s a categorised list of what the rich do differently:

Focus on goals:

1. 80% of wealthy are focused on accomplishing some single goal.

2. 67% of wealthy write down their goals.

3. 81% of wealthy maintain a to-do list.

Read more & watch less TV

4. 86% of wealthy believe in life-long educational self-improvement

5. 86% of wealthy simply love to read

6. 88% of wealthy read 30 minutes or more each day for education or career reasons

7. 63% of wealthy listen to audio books during commute to work

8. 63% of wealthy parents make their children read 2 or more non-fiction books a month

9. Only 33% of wealthy watch more than 1 hour of TV every day

10. Only 6% of wealthy watch reality TV

Believe in making their own luck

11. 84% of wealthy believe good habits create opportunity luck

12. 76% of wealthy believe bad habits create detrimental luck

The rich eat less junk food:

13. 70% of wealthy eat less than 300 junk food calories per day.

Gamble less:

14. Only 23% of wealthy gamble.

Have diligent work habits

15. 44% of wealthy wake up 3 hours before work starts

16. 74% of wealthy teach good daily success habits to their children

Socialise more

17. 70% of wealthy parents make their children volunteer 10 hours or more a month

18. 80% of wealthy make ‘Happy Birthday” calls

19. 79% of wealthy network 5 hours or more each month

.. and Exercise regularly:

20. 76% of wealthy exercise aerobically 4 days a week.

We are aware that there is a Western world bias in the list but we feel that there is a universal appeal to the underlying traits and habits. How did you score on these 20 habits? What are your keys to success? Please write to us or share your thoughts below or on our Facebook page.

Our take

There is nothing to prove that these habits will definitely make you rich and it can be argued that some bad habits (e.g. junk food) are an outcome of having less money. However, it’s an interesting list that shows how accumulation of wealth and a disciplined life may be related. From our experience, the habits appear to be in common with those of good investors.

The best investors focus on clearly defined goals, with emphasis on knowledge and discipline as tools to achieve these goals. They also know that good investing habits, and not luck, lead to superior returns.

Find out how Scripbox helps you build the 3 good habits of successful investors (Click here):

1. Select your investments carefully,

2. invest regularly and

3. review your investments periodically.