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Numerous studies have shown that rich people tend to have better, or more positive habits
than poor people, and in some areas the difference is so statistically significant that we can't
help but wonder what impact changing your habits could have on your life.
Could eating better food and setting goals for yourself really get you from reading Word
Up! magazine to having Salt-n-Pepa and Heavy D in the limousine?
Once more we're turning to our favorite lab rat and really hoping that this challenge
doesn't somehow place him out of our price point for insane challenges, in our new challenge
episode: try rich people habits for a month!
Day 1: Typically infographics challenges involve some level of danger or health hazard, so
try and imagine how surprised I was to discover that the latest challenge is actually something
to potentially improve my life.
Makes me deeply suspicious.
But I read and re-read the challenge outline and yeah, seems pretty legit- all I have to
do is basically change my personal habits to those of a rich person for a month and
see how that changes things.
The girlfriend is pretty excited about this one.
She's all about self-improvement, so anything that is about building yourself up and making
yourself better or getting healthier she's all gung-ho for.
Honestly, she's probably the reason why I'll live past 40.
So I did some research to discover what habits I will need to amend, and these are the big
ones I saw as things wealthy people do that most of the rest of us don't.
1.
No eating junk food.
Though recent studies into the issue show wealthy Americans eat more junk food than
we have been led to believe, I’m going to limit myself to a weekly average of 300 calories
a day.
I'm not sure you can go to any fast food restaurant in the world and get one meal that's under
300 calories- pretty sure that the smell of french fries alone is like 250 calories- so
I'm guessing that this is data collected over an entire week's worth of eating.
That seems reasonable I guess.
With the girlfriend being the Heimlich Himmler of modern health nazi'ism, I don't get to
eat that much junk food anyways.
This won't be a difficult habit to stick to, though when I was single that would've been
a different story.
2.
Goals.
Rich people have goals and stick to them, working towards them with all due diligence.
Apparently 80% of wealthy people do this and only 12% of the poor do it.
I guess that makes sense, you're not going to become CEO if you don't have goals.
This one might be harder for me to adopt, because I tend to be very free-flowing in
my lifestyle.
I have some overarching goals, but nothing finite and super-specific.
Guess this will be a good habit to try out.
3.
Exercise.
Apparently poor people exercise 50% less than wealthy people.
Well, that figure also doesn't take into account that poor people typically have a great deal
more stress in their life than wealthy people.
Taking time out to exercise when raising kids and working both a full and part time job
is just not realistic for most people.
Honestly, this statistic hit me as being a bit elitist, but it's a rich people habit
so I'll have to do it.
Of course I regularly exercise anyways, so honestly this won't be difficult to do.
4.
Audio books and non-fiction reading.
Ok, this one is self-explanatory I guess.
Most wealthy people listen to audiobooks during their downtime, such as commutes to and from
work, and spend plenty of time reading non-fiction books.
Personally I don't listen to audiobooks because I much prefer to read them myself, and I read
both fiction and non-fiction books pretty voraciously.
This is so I can stay informed on the vast variety of topics jobs like The Infographics
requires, but also because I like to be informed, period.
The smarter you are, the more successful you're going to be, so I can totally see how this
habit is beneficial for building and maintaining wealth.
Guess I'll have to pick up an audiobook habit then.
5.
To Do List.
Ok, now this one I already hate.
Like I mentioned before, I prefer to keep my life kind of free-flowing, and I have never,
ever in my life made a to-do list.
Yet most rich people have to do lists, versus only around 19% of the poor.
Again, totally makes sense, and totally not my cup of tea.
The girlfriend makes to do lists for literally everything, I make fun of her and ask her
if she's going to-do-list our vacations when we take a getaway together.
She's tried to get me to do this myself and I've flat out refused for years.
Probably why she's far more successful than me to be honest.
You know how god has a sense of humor?
He makes complete opposites fall madly in love.
6.
Lastly, the final habit I'll be adopting or tweaking will be volunteering.
Apparently volunteering is proven to increase happiness, which directly improves just about
everything in your life.
I actually already volunteer with teenagers suffering from sexual assault, and mentor
one kid one-on-one.
I sneak in other bits of volunteering here and there, but for this month I'll try to
make it a greater focus and see how it affects me.
There we go, six habits to work on and then maybe in a month's time I can march straight
into The Infographics and demand more money for my sufferings.
I wonder if they thought about how this challenge may backfire on them?
Day 7: Week one done and dusted.
It was kind of weird to shake up my life and try to incorporate all of these things into
my daily routine, but I guess after over a year of infographics challenges I’m kind
of used to the random chaos, so adapting wasn't that difficult.
To start off I began waking up earlier than usual, because I read somewhere that rich
people start their day early- like really early.
I'm talking 5 o'clock early.
That's been a nightmare, because typically I'll wake up early just long enough to kiss
the girlfriend goodbye as she leaves and then go back to sleep until the dog wakes me up
cuz he has to poop.
That's the best thing about my job, you make your own schedule.
So I've been getting up early and eating a healthy breakfast instead of my Smacks or
Raisin Bran I love so much, because both are loaded with sugar.
That means fresh fruit, oatmeal, and other random and completely bland things like oatmeal
people with no discernible pulse eat.
You know, healthy stuff.
Ok, I may trash on it, but after a week honestly I do feel a bit more energetic in the morning.
And even though I love sleeping in, I also hate to admit it, but I'm being more productive.
I stepped up my volunteering and on top of my mentoring I started doing meals on wheels
three times a week.
Basically you deliver hot meals to seniors who can't really leave the house, or who perhaps
don't have much of an income or family to support them.
I'm not going to lie, this was huge for me.
I have met the sweetest old ladies living home alone and it's really tugged at my heart
strings.
Still reading as much as normal, but picked up audio books, which I totally hate.
I listen to them during my downtime, so when I drive somewhere or if I take the dog on
a long walk.
I guess for some people audio books are a great way to inform yourself while being busy
throughout your day, and obviously being informed is going to make you more successful.
But for me, first of all I hate hearing another narrator speak out loud a book, it's just
weird to me.
And second, during my downtime I spend that time listening to music, which for me has
traditionally been one of the ways I really boost my creativity.
As a writer and photographer, I need to let my mind wander into random, strange, weird
places, and music is amazing for that.
Specially Monster Magnet.
Every human should listen to Monster Magnet.
But, that's not the challenge, so I listened to audiobooks instead.
I picked up “Obama's Wars” as an audiobook to learn more about the behind the scenes
of the conflicts during his presidency, some of which affected me directly.
It was definitely interesting, and as always, informative.
During my regular reading time, which is also part of rich people's habits, I've been reading
the memoirs of Nikita Khrushschev, former Soviet premier.
It's interesting to see the Cold War from a totally different standpoint, and honestly
anyone who never bothered to learn past a single viewpoint is a fool.
Day 14: Ok, this week I really focused on my to-do listing as well as goal setting,
which was really annoying.
I hate breaking down my days, or even writing down goals.
I mean I definitely have goals in mind for what I want to accomplish, but I don't ever
write them down and break it down into step-by-step instructions or objectives.
So I sat down with the girlfriend, who makes lists for literally everything, and we broke
down my goals for the rest of 2019 and 2020.
I have a new art show I've been putting together and a major script I've been working on that's
all my own, not a commissioned work.
So we broke down step by step how and when each of those things was going to get done.
For the show we broke down exactly what I needed, how many photo shoots I'd have to
do, when I would start casting, etc. etc.
It was driving me nuts, I honestly hate planning so damn much.
Like I said, totally free-flowing over here, because you know who made and loved lists?
Hitler and the nazis.
I even had to sit and make daily to-do lists, which made the entire experience like pulling
out teeth.
I wake up everyday and I have literally no idea what I'm going to do with my life that
day.
I mean, I know that I have due dates for this script and that script, or I have to prepare
for this shoot or that shoot, but it's all just, like, up in the ether as far as when
I'll do what.
It drives my secret-nazi girlfriend insane, and she can't ever figure out how I get anything
done.
Yet I do, and that's my point.
Listen, rich people may make lists and plan out goals, but you don't have to live like
they do.
Some people are free-flowing, but I guess you have to be really honest with yourself
and ask: are you not making to-do lists and writing down goals because you're a free-flowing
person who still manages to be successful, or are you just being lazy?
Day 21: I cheated on the challenge.
I couldn't take it anymore and I drove myself to In and Out while I was home alone and I
think I ate more calories than can fit in a normal human being.
I'm supposed to average less than 300 calories of junk food a day, which includes things
like candy and sweets, not just fast food, and I'm pretty sure I just ate a month's worth
of double doubles and animal style fries.
Other than my brief slip-up- hey, nobody's perfect- the challenge wears on.
In some areas I can genuinely see how some of these habits could be of benefit.
Waking up early and eating better in the morning really does make me feel better, and well
while I always did regular exercise, I know that not doing it can really lower your self-esteem
and your energy levels.
Being a couch potato is not conducive to a great life- trust me, I did, after all, do
a challenge on it.
But other habits are driving me insane.
Making a to-do list every day drives me bonkers.
Instead of feeling more focused and like I get more done, I feel constrained and uninspired.
I hate seeing that little slip of paper saying what I should or should not have done throughout
my day.
Screw you, to-do list, you don't own me.
I'm a free man.
The goal setting I guess was good, even though I hate to admit it.
Getting an idea down of some practical steps to take in some of my goals was not a bad
thing, and actually helped focus them a bit more.
But not when it comes to my writing.
I'm supposed to have a set amount of pages done every day for the script I'll be shopping
around town when it's done, and that's just not happening.
My own manager has tried countless times to get me to set these kinds of goals, and sorry,
but I just don't work that way.
Some days I'll write a single page.
Other days I have literally spent from sunrise to sundown writing, even ignoring meals.
The girlfriend really hates those days because it makes her worried about my health, and
I love her for how she always brings me food but doesn't try to interrupt me.
You can't like, cage inspiration, man.
Day 30: Challenge completed, and honestly when I reflect on everything that's happened
over the last month, it wasn't all that terrible of an experience.
At least not compared to some of the other monthly or weekly challenges.
I'm still psychologically recovering from spending 24 hours in a tub!
So some parts of the challenge stuck, others not so much.
Honestly I think that rich people's habits can be great, and definitely see the merit
in a lot of them, but ultimately you're your own person.
What works for some people may not work for you, and you should embrace that.
But like I said in a previous week, just be honest with yourself and admit if you're just
being lazy or not.
The to-do lists can go straight to the deepest depths of hell and stay there.
I have literally nothing else to say on the matter.
Planning out my goals though, has actually not been a bad thing.
With my writing, it's impossible, but other goals are definitely more manageable.
I think if you primarily work as an artist, whether that's writing, painting, photography,
acting, or anything else artistic, it's definitely harder to pin down goals, because typically
you have a different rhythm that doesn't really mesh well with overly detailed goals lists.
But I know from personal experience that not having goals is also dangerous, leaving everything
a little too free-form can be a great way to get lazy, or just fail outright.
Keeping your motivation can be so difficult, especially if you're just starting out as
a writer, actor, or anything else that isn't really a typical 9 to 5 job.
I think the one habit I'll be sticking with for sure is the increased volunteering.
I've grown to love my time with meals on wheels.
Some of these elderly people are incredibly lonely, and the Meals on Wheels volunteers
are the only people they get to see on a daily basis.
It actually made me really sad to discover this.
This week me and the girlfriend went to have afternoon tea with one of the ladies on my
route and just pay her a visit, and she was so excited and happy to have company over.
Of all the habits I picked up or improved on, I can't recommend volunteering your time
enough.
Find a cause that jives with you and go for it, make someone else's life a little better
for a day and you'll be surprised how it makes yours better too.
Also, I’m officially asking for a raise.
Sorry Infographics, but you did this to yourself.
Oh and there’s just one more habit I suspect rich people have, one that frees up tons of
time for all these other habits like self-improvement and volunteering, and that’s keeping their
information safe online.
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Using Dashlane means giving yourself peace of mind allowing you to focus on those other
habits that will help lead to being rich and successful.
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What’s the craziest habit you’ve heard of rich people having that we didn’t cover
in this video?
Tell us in the comments!
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