9 Things Poor People Do That the Rich Don’t
#9.
“Sleep-In”- The saying goes “the early bird catches the worm” and this couldn’t
be more true as a 5 year study by Thomas Corley has shown that 50% of self-made millionaires
wake up at least 3 hours before they go to work.
Many of these millionaires use the extra hours in order to workout, plan their days so they
are more efficient, and to brainstorm new ideas.
People on the poorer end of the spectrum have a tendency to sleep until the last minute
and go into their days less prepared.
Also, forcing yourself to wake up when you don’t want to can have the added benefit
of giving you more energy, as having a strict and consistent regimen allows your body to
function at a higher capacity.
Consistently waking up early allows you to take charge of your day, just think of an
alarm clock as the bell in a boxing match.
However, a lot of poor people don’t have the option of waking up early as they are
forced to work long hours, night shifts, and shifts that constantly fluctuate making it
harder for them to lock into a healthy circadian rhythm.
#8.
“Eat Poorly”- The phrase “You are what you eat” could not fit more appropriately
when speaking of this big difference between the rich and poor.
Getting past the notion that poor people sometimes get stuck eating bad food because for the
most part healthier food is more expensive or that poor people find it harder to find
the time to cook from home, there is a huge link between success and a healthy diet.
Eating fast food and unhealthy snacks can drain your body and mind.
If you have ever eaten McDonald’s breakfast, you will know that instead of feeling full
of energy and ready to attack the day it usually just makes you want to go back to sleep.
Though it can be tough getting into the habit of planning meals, shopping for the right
kind of groceries and weaning off sugar, salt and fatty foods the end results are always
worth it.
Most rich people, though their are exceptions, have figured out early that they won’t be
able to sustain success without the proper food fueling their days.
This is one improvement that doesn’t require having a personal chef either, as just attempting
to consistently eat better foods or eating on a healthy schedule can have instant results.
#7.
“Skip Exercise”- A recent study shows that 76% of rich people exercise half an hour
or more everyday.
This fact goes hand in hand with the other topics of rich people being all-around healthier.
One of the main reasons that more successful people exercise more is because they know
that in order to be fully focused and ready for the day the body and mind have to cooperate.
Exercising can also help you to deal with stress and solve problems with the full working
capacity of your body.
If you are feeling sleepy or sluggish exercise can wake you up and help you to continue on
at full-strength.
Access to Gym memberships, personal equipment and the ability to take part in leisure activities
that may be too expensive for the poor does play into the rich being able to stay in better
shape, but anyone can workout without those things and doing it can work wonders.
Adding daily exercise of even just half an hour can increase your productivity and help
you to stick to your schedule and reach your goals.
#6.
“Watch T.V.”-According to Thomas Corley’s book Rich Habits, 67% of wealthy people watch
less than an hour of television a day as opposed to 23% of poor people.
This could be do to the fact that successful people know that television is a distraction
from achieving goals and replace the time with more productive habits.
It could also be a result of the fact that rich people tend to have their hands in more
than one business, so they don’t have time to watch television.
The study also shows that poor people tend to watch less quality television than poor
people as there is a significant amount of poor people that watch reality shows.
Dedicated sports fandom and video games are another type of escapism that the rich don’t
necessarily participate in on the levels that the poor do.
As the rich usually have easy going lifestyles where they can meet success in real life one
can see why they don’t feel the need to hang on to the hopes of their team winning
or beating a level in a videogame to feel a sense of accomplishment.
But no one can blame those who haven’t reached financial success for enjoying sports, television
and video games because sometimes it is impossible to climb the ladder with so many obstacles
(some that are put in place by the rich) in everyday life.
Poor people may need to take refuge in these things to distract them from their everyday
struggles and avoid depression.
#5.
“Dwell on Problems”- One of the biggest differences between mindsets of financially
successful people and those that aren’t is that successful people don’t dwell on
their problems.
When a person who is strong of mind and a go-getter comes upon an obstacle instead of
trying to avoid it or sulking in their misfortune--they attack it head on.
Some of the most successful people have faced some intensely adverse situations in their
lives and the way they dealt with them through innovation and positivity left them as better
equipped to handle seemingly less important situations in business.
Sometimes a problem that comes into a person’s life can even be the moment that sparks the
successful person’s rise to glory.
There are many stories of rich people who started off broke or who had terrible events
in their lives that forced them to become great or crumble under the pressure.
Less successful people have a tendency towards being self-defeating and drown themselves
in negativity this a big reason why alcoholism and addiction is more common among the poorer
classes.
Procrastination is a common affliction of those who have the capacity for financial
success.
Putting something off can lead to a snowball effect of problems that becomes insurmountable
whereas successful people try to stay ahead of the game and even plan for problems that
may occur in the future.
#4.
“Don’t Read”- Financially successful people are found trying to constantly improve
themselves and one of the biggest ways a person can do this is by reading.
Surveys of the rich vs. poor have shown a dramatic difference in their reading habits.
Whereas the poor spend more time in aforementioned escapist hobbies such as television the rich
devour books by the truckload.
Take for instance Warren Buffett who will spend up to 80% of his day reading and Bill
Gates who makes a point to read at least fifty books a year.
Though these two extreme examples might have a little more time now that they have already
achieved such resounding success and no longer have to do hard labor, they probably developed
these habits before success and there is still a lesson to be learned from them.
Reading can help to focus your mind, upgrade communication skills and help you to learn
from the mistakes of others whether fictional or non.
Two of the most popular types of books that are read by rich people are biographies and
self-help books.
Reading biographies is way to live vicariously through another and help deal with one’s
one tribulations by learning how they did, or where they failed.
Self-help books are just another testament to how successful people are constantly looking
inward and trying to improve themselves instead of being satisfied with their current status.
#3.
“Forget to Invest”-Now investing is hard if you don’t have any money to begin with,
but some of the richest people in the world weren’t always able to put aside large chunks
of dough like they can now.
Many successful people began investing little by little, whether it was just investing in
themselves by putting any extra money into their ideas---- or not spending unless the
purchases they made were working to their advantage.
One of the biggest reasons that the poor remain poor is by overspending in the moment and
hoping for a future bail-out that never comes.
Credit cards can be a dangerous trap and may even exist only to further the gap between
the rich and poor.
The instant gratification of being able to pay for something now with ‘future money’
can be a hard thing to overcome--especially in the materialistic world we live in.
This aspect is what credit card companies thrive off of--and the interest rates of a
credit card that is incorrectly managed--can lead to devastating future hardships and the
inability to get loans when a person really needs it.
Rich people tend to only use a credit card when the card is working for them and they
know they already have the money to pay it off.
In fact, studies show that most rich people carry an average of one credit card whereas
poor people tend to carry multiple.
Poor people also involve themselves with less responsible investments such as gambling or
the lottery--hoping for the improbable prospect of instant riches via luck-- instead of slowly
cultivating long-term wealth.
#2.
“Live in Chronic Pain”- Kaiser Health News reported in 2010 that the percentage
of people who experience daily pain is doubled in those living below the poverty line.
This may be due to holding more physically demanding jobs and harsher living conditions.
Living in chronic pain can be a catch-22 in which those who want to get better jobs and
be more successful are unable to do so because of their pain and the inability to function
at full strength, which in turn relegates them to being stuck in the same physical jobs
that cause the pain, health insurance that doesn’t cover the help they need, or a wage
that isn’t enough to sustain a healthy life.
In opposition to the aesthetic mirage that the rich take better care of themselves, is
our paradoxical culture where the higher earning jobs usually involve less physical labor,
so it’s no wonder that the rich are generally more pain-free.
That being said, another place where successful people invest where unsuccessful people don’t
is in personal healthcare.
To make sure that unforeseen physical problems and the medical expenses that come with them
don’t put them in the red, rich people put money aside for worst-case scenarios.
Statistically, rich people also visit their physician more frequently for check-ups.
Where a poor person might avoid going to the doctor to avoid bills until they have serious
medical issues, the rich have the foresight and luxury of grabbing the bull by the horns
and making sure they are in peak condition in order to prevent ailments.
In addition, the lower class has an especially hard time paying for specialists that the
rich take for granted, such as chiropractors and psychologists, which only perpetuates
the cyclic trap of pain and depression in the poor.
Untreated medical conditions can result in people turning to drugs or alcohol--and addiction
is one of the quickest ways to the poor house.
#1.
“Resent Teamwork”- Most of the richest people in the world didn’t get there on
their own, they networked and teamed up with other very successful people in order to achieve
something great.
As easy as teamwork sounds, many people find it difficult to put aside their own ideals
in favor of what could be a better idea or the direction others want to move in.
A common link between self-made millionaires is their ability to mesh the ideas of others
into innovation and keeping a positive work environment where everyone’s voice can be
heard.
Studies have shown that a high percentage of poor people, if given a choice to work
alone or with a team, will choose to work alone.
This stubborn independence is a major factor in some poor people’s ability to be leaders
or to move up in a workplace.
People who would rather work independently are less efficient if working in management
roles because they either try to do everything themselves or they view any work or idea by
their employees to be inadequate.
The financially unsuccessful people also have a propensity towards blaming others for their
problems or things that were their fault.
On the flipside, some of the most successful people take responsibility for their actions
and admit when they’ve made a mistake, showing time and time again that the secret to self
growth is being able to look at oneself objectively.