5 Small Daily Habits Self-Made Millionaires Use to Grow Their Wealth

Millionaires come from every conceivable background. Some are well-educated, and some are not. Some graduated from the finest universities . Others dropped out of high school . Some were born into families that have lived in America for many generations. Others came to the country as immigrants with no friends or contacts, skills or even the ability to speak English when they arrived.

But they all had one thing in common: They passed the magic million-dollar mark as the result of doing certain things in a certain way, again and again.

The following five habits come from Brian Tracy’s book Million Dollar Habits. Tracy studied and identified what habits self-made millionaires have in common, and his findings are eye-opening.

1. It starts with mindset

Business philosopher Jim Rohn once wrote: “Becoming a millionaire is not that difficult, but it is not the most important thing. The most important part of becoming a millionaire is the person that you have to become to accumulate a million dollars in the first place.”

This is a wonderful insight. To become wealthy, you must develop a completely different mindset from the average person who worries about money most of their life. You must develop a completely different character, personality and set of habits to achieve your financial goals and then hold on to the money.

Tracy’s financial advisor told him, “The first million is extremely difficult to acquire, but the second million is almost inevitable.” When you become the kind of person who can accumulate $1 million or more, you will also be the kind of person who can earn the second and third million as well. Even if something unfortunate happens and you lose all your money, you could make it back again fairly quickly because you would have become the kind of person who can become a millionaire. And once you become that kind of person, you never lose the ability.

2. Accept that Rome wasn’t built in a day

The starting point of achieving financial independence and becoming a self-made millionaire is to accept complete responsibility for your financial life and to realize that gradual, consistent changes yield results.

Most wealthy people organize their financial lives in such a way that their net worth increases by about 8-10% per year on the amount of money they have working. They do not look for get-rich-quick schemes or easy money. They are patient, persistent and farsighted.

They discipline themselves to save and accumulate money over many years. They do not speculate, take risks or look for fast ways to make money quickly and easily. Because of these habitual ways of thinking about their money, each year their wealth grows. Eventually, they pass the million-dollar mark and usually keep on going.

3. Looks don’t matter as much as you think

In The Millionaire Next Door , the authors explain that most self-made millionaires drive used cars, live in average neighborhoods, wear average-priced clothes and watches and are very careful with their money. In addition, only a few of them spend money on boats, recreational vehicles, second homes, personal airplanes or expensive vacations.

Remember: Being rich has a specific look and feel; wealth has no obvious aesthetic.

It’s easy to get caught up in the appearance of money, but in the long run, it doesn’t matter as much as you think.

4. Investigate like it’s your job

Develop the habit of investigating before you invest in anything. The rule is: “Spend as much time investigating the investment as you spent earning the money you are thinking of investing.”

Take your time, move slowly and find out every detail of the business or investment before you ever think of writing a check. Never allow anyone to pressure you into an investment decision. Never allow yourself to feel that an investment decision is urgent and must be made immediately. Sometimes, the best investments are the ones you never make at all.

5. It’s not like what you see on TV

We’ve all seen those stories of inventors who made it out of their garages to become overnight successes. However, most self-made millionaires cross that threshold gradually, and it’s less glamorous than they make it out to be on TV.

One example is how often luck plays a factor in the self-made millionaires we see on TV. The truth is, don’t count on luck. Hope is not a strategy. Neither is wishing. Only careful planning, organizing and ensuring constitute a strategy for your financial life.

When people make a lot of money quickly as a result of success in the stock market, a business breakthrough, a show business success or an invention, the story gets into the newspapers and magazines. But this is precisely because great financial success in a short time is so unusual. Most great fortunes are built slowly.

Becoming financially independent as a result of developing million-dollar habits is a great goal, but there are more important things. The person you must become, in terms of courage, character, thoughtfulness and persistence, is most important. As a result of becoming financially successful over a long period, you will feel truly happy and satisfied with yourself and every other part of your life.

This story was excerpted from Brian Tracy’s book Million Dollar Habits.