Oprah Winfrey said once, “I managed to achieve such financial success because money has never been my main goal.” And that’s what most billionaires say too. Today, the primary concern of the wealthiest people is not necessarily earning money. For example, Mark Zuckerberg wants to change the world and Elon Musk wants to build a megapolis on Mars.
The players in the modern business arena are not simply successful fraudsters or children of fortune. Today, people who reach success are admired. They are educated, modest, and their status is proved not by the demonstration of luxury goods, but by the size of charitable contributions.
We suggest you adopt some of the principles of rich people to change your life for the better.
10. Find your goal and formulate it correctly.
Order differs from chaos with the fact that moving elements have a goal to which they aspire. It is the goal, thoughts, and dreams about them that help us keep our spirit alive and make the right decisions when everything else seems to go wrong.
Steve Jobs did not want to release a phone. His goal was a phone that could function as a computer but was easy to use.
Your goal should be specific. For example, you like to bake cakes and you would like to do it more often, and it would be nice to do it for money. “I want to bake cakes for money,” is an incorrect way to formulate your goal. The right goal will be, “To open a bakery where my cakes will be sold.” If you dream of a world tour, it will be wrong to set a goal, “I want to travel the world.” The right formulation would be, “I want to earn $20,000 for my travels.”
9. Make a plan and follow it.
How are you going to travel around the world? What kind of transportation are you going to use? What will be your route? When are you going to start?
Elon Musk wants to colonize Mars. Having drawn up the plan, he came to the conclusion that the main obstacle was the high cost of flying to the Red Planet. Now Elon is busy developing more economical space transport.
The habit of planning short-term and long-term goals helps identify weaknesses and major tasks that need to be focused on. Perhaps, after drawing up the plan, you will understand that your goal is not to earn $20,000 for a trip on a liner but to find like-minded people for hitchhiking around the world.
8. Don’t hold yourself back.
Probably you’ve heard about such a thing as emotional intelligence. The ability not to suppress but to manage your emotions. In other words, the ability to display emotion where it is appropriate helps achieve success. In addition, suppressed emotions worsen physical well-being. Therefore, do not be shy to show your true feelings and emotions, at least for visiting doctors less often.
7. Love what you do.
If you are not obsessed with your own business or the goal you are aiming at, the path to success will be long and most likely endless.
Here is the favorite story of Mark Zuckerberg: “In 1962, John Kennedy visited the NASA Space Center. In one of the offices, he noticed a cleaner who was so engrossed in sweeping the floor that he did not even notice him. ‘Hi, I am John Kennedy. What are you doing here?’ Kennedy addressed him. The janitor answered, ‘I am working so that humanity could go to the Moon, Mr. President.’ ”
Passion cannot be raised intentionally and if you’re not in love with your job, it’s difficult to change your attitude it. If you cannot quit, then at least you can find a case which you will believe in just like the cleaner from the space center, and it will lead you to success. Meanwhile, you can consider your current position as a tool to achieve your goal.
6. Spend money consciously.
If you need to buy another dress, go ahead. But before you do it, consider how much closer this dress will bring you to your goal.
“Spending a dollar wisely is more difficult than earning it.” — Steve Jobs
Weren’t you going to travel around the world? Maybe it’s better to buy sneakers in which it will be more comfortable to hitchhike? Or to attend a foreign language course without which it will be difficult to organize a budget trip? If you are really obsessed with your goal, then the refusal of a dress or any other impulsive purchase will be an easy task for you.
5. Use your time wisely.
Time is a valuable resource, and one should also approach it in a conscious way just like spending money. We are not talking about being busy every minute; it’s vice versa — using time wisely means always finding an opportunity for recreation and not getting distracted easily.
“I want to cleanse my life from things that don’t have any sense. It seems to me that I cannot do my job if I spend some part of my energy on stupid and frivolous things (like choosing clothes) in my life.” — Mark Zuckerberg
We all have more significant chronophagous (time consumers) than choosing clothes. For example, the inability to say “no.” Say no to gossip, social media, the wish to do several tasks simultaneously and then stop halfway. All these things consume your time that would be better invested in yourself, just like other resources.
4. Set priorities.
It is impossible to be successful in everything. If you plan to sell gingerbread cookies in a pastry shop but do not know how to bake them, you do not need to learn a new skill. Perhaps, it will be more effective to find an expert in gingerbread baking and begin working together.
Elon Musk believes in solar systems but understands that he doesn’t have enough strength for everything. That’s why he dedicated himself to Tesla and SpaceX, while the SolarCity project is managed by other specialists. On Mondays and Thursdays, Musk goes to the office of SpaceX, and on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, he visits the Tesla office.
The habit of prioritizing is useful not only in work but also in other aspects of life. If you have a lot of things to do, do not try to do everything at once — focus on one thing. If you decided to spend an evening with your family, do not get distracted by work and friends. The desire to succeed in everything will not only lead to failure but will also consume your energy.
3. Don’t complicate your life.
Progress has simplified many things. Shopping and booking on the internet, automated home appliances, modern means of communication — all this saves our time and efforts considerably. However, often the difficulties in life are provoked not by external circumstances but by ourselves.
“The desire to complicate things is your enemy. Everyone can create something complex. It’s hard to do something simple.” — Richard Branson
Somebody complicates their lives through the sense of guilt, others through unpleasant people with whom they have to communicate, the last ones through the desire to please everyone. At the base of many “complicators,” there is the main word “must!” Problems arise not only when we are sure that we owe something to others but also when we think that others — and the world in general — owe us something. A person must breathe, drink water, and eat in order not to die if he wants to live. That’s it. There should be no “must” in any other situation.
2. Say “no” to stereotypes and to the priorities of other people.
A woman’s place is in the kitchen, real men don’t cry, we need children to have someone taking care of us when we are old, and all of the other stereotypes not only distort our perception of reality, but they also prevent us from having a good life, achieving our goals, and being happy.
“Your time is limited. That’s why you shouldn’t lose it by living other people’s lives. Do not fall into the trap of dogma. Do not let the noise of other people’s opinions beat your inner voice.” — Steve Jobs
It was the desire to be different from others that helped many billionaires become what they are today. When guided by someone else’s opinion and stereotypes, it might be difficult to step beyond the boundaries to reach success.
1. Live not only for yourself.
For modern billionaires, philanthropy is a spiritual priority. Many of them spend money to support the needy, to develop art, education, and medicine. Bill Gates and Warren Buffett started their “The Giving Pledge” campaign, the idea of which is donating 50% of their income to charity. There are more than 150 participants in this campaign including Mark Zuckerberg, George Lucas, Victor Pinchuk, and Vladimir Potanin.
“Millenials are one of the generations that sent the most money to charity throughout history. But it’s not only about the money; you can donate your time as well.” — Mark Zuckerberg
Giving someone your time, attention, and energy means investing in them. By helping others, a person feels needed and gains peace in his heart that no dress is able to give. It is important to correctly prioritize. Children in orphanages or animals in shelters need your time more than a neighbor who complains about her lazy husband.
Of course, the principles described above won’t make you rich at once. But success doesn’t always mean money. Because happiness means having the opportunity to do what you like and make decisions that sound correct to you. Do you agree? We would be glad to hear your opinion in the comments.