5 Millionaire Habits That Will Change Your Life From 2020

I’m constantly seeking new ways to improve myself, whether it’s learning new skills, improving my mental and physical health, or developing new habits. Searching for and implementing new growth strategies is how human beings have managed to progress and develop themselves for centuries.

So, why on earth would you ever stop?

That’s just it, you shouldn’t. If you have, then take a moment and ask yourself, “Why?”.

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The Importance of Mindset

I read a book recently that was particularly inspiring, it was written by Dr Carol Dweck and it talked in depth about the fixed and growth mindsets that we all harbour.

The book, aptly named Mindset, brilliantly conceptualises and brings focus to the ways in which we can and do develop as individuals when we have a growth mindset, and how we are all at times — some of us more so than others— hindered by a fixed mindset.

I doubt many would disagree with me when I say that a large majority of self-made millionaires and entrepreneurs have a growth mindset. This can be seen in the way that many (but not all), thrive on challenge and use failures to grow and improve themselves or their businesses. There are a number of millionaires who do not have a growth mindset, of course, but there are much higher numbers of millionaires who are growth-minded, as opposed to being dominated by their failures and unable to learn from them.

While many of us wish for and chase the dream of being self-made millionaires, it is easily forgotten that gaining financial freedom and indeed, changing your life because of it, comes from a significant volume of work and exerted effort.

In 2020, we are facing a global health crisis, we’ve seen on TV (and by some, in person) environmental disasters, humanitarian crisis, as well as societal and political unrest. There have been times for all of us where the global pandemic has tested us both mentally and physically, and at times, things have looked remarkably bleak. There is, in my mind though, always something that we can do that can help us see a positive light in the darkness.

For those of you that are of a similar mindset to myself, there must be positivity left in the world somewhere, and that can be found in helping others, as well as developing and improving ourselves.

I love self-development, I think it’s essential for all of us, for our wellbeing and to stay sane in a constantly changing world. That’s why, during lockdown I began implementing strategic growth and developing positive habits of mind that have changed my life, and that will undoubtedly change other’s lives too.

The 5 Millionaire Habits to Develop from 2020

There have been a number of research studies into self-made millionaires and their habits. The research of Thomas Corley, who has written a number of interesting books based on the studies of self-made millionaires and their daily habits. One such book that goes in-depth into millionaire habits includes Change Your Habits, Change Your Life, to name one of many.

There are a number of habits that are discussed in the wealth of literature out there, but when we try to implement too many changes in our lives at once, we can set ourselves up to fail. That’s why it’s important to choose a handful to focus on, or just a few to try and implement them gradually and consistently over time.

By taking on a small number of challenges and undertaking them so frequently that they become habits, we can gradually integrate them into our lives and move towards our goals sustainably.

The 5 habits that I have developed during COVID-19 and that will be a part of my daily routine from now on are as follows:

1. Reading for self-improvement and development

As a child, I read but not always by choice. I had to read to get through my school work, I had to read because it was good for my development, but I didn’t really want to, not often at least. My sister did, she was a book worm and spent many hours sitting and reading. I, on the other hand, wanted to run around outside and do sports every hour of the day, which I loved. If I could have done that all day every day, I would have.

For a child, this is normal, of course. Most children have a wealth of energy that they just need to burn off and they want to exercise their bodies, in some cases, more than their minds. I certainly don’t regret being that kind of child, it allowed me to physically fit and meant that I could undertake physical challenges that others thought were “crazy”.

Now, as an adult and moving through my twenties, however, reading has become more necessary than ever to achieve my personal and business goals. While physical fitness is an important partner to the health of the mind — healthy body, healthy mind and all that — the importance of reading for self-development and self-improvement during the COVID-19 crisis has really hit home for me.

As Corely discovered from his research findings, 88% of self-made millionaires read for self-improvement and to enhance their own knowledge, and they do this for at least 30-minutes a day. Additionally, the books that they read are usually for self-improvement or fact-focused as opposed to being for their entertainment. This meant that although they weren’t working, they weren’t being typical ‘consumers’ either, instead they continued to be ‘producers’, even when relaxing.

There are a wealth of books out there that can teach us a lot about ourselves through meaningful self-reflection and self-discovery. To find about some of the books that I’ve been reading in 2020, watch out for my next article: If You Only Have Time to Read a Few Books in 2020, Read These.

To conclude habit #1, reading more for self-improvement and self-development from 2020 is sure to change you and your life from here-on-out. Aim to be a producer more than you practice being a consumer to achieve success and change your life.

2. Journalling

There are a number of people that don’t really know what journalling is and admittedly, I hadn’t really heard of it before March this year either.

Journalling is an activity where you write down your goals, your thoughts and your self-reflections in a purpose-bought journal (or general notepad), so that you can collate your ideas and connect your thoughts. It’s a great way of taking time to just think for half an hour each day, every day.

With our lives only getting busier as we get older, it often feels as if there is no time to stop, sit down and just think. This is where journalling is very helpful because instead sitting and just thinking, you are actively do something as you think when journalling.

Have you heard of the Feynman Technique? In a nutshell, this technique encourages you to break down everything that you know about a subject and helps you to realise where the holes in your knowledge are. Additionally, it allows you to connect your ideas and thoughts, thereby creating links in your knowledge (which is great for your memory).

To conclude habit #2, journalling is a brilliant way of linking your ideas and writing them down so that you take the time to think and consolidate your knowledge. It’s fantastic for keeping up your motivation from day-to-day, and it is an amazing way to exercise your creativity. The best thing is, it doesn’t cost much for a decent journal either!

3. Move towards multiple sources of income

History is a useful tool for learning for many reasons, but one way that we can look at history is to assess how much things have developed over time. The job market, labour force requirements and career longevity is one such way that we can see developing trends and changes throughout history.

In 2020, the job market needs and job stability is very different to the picture seen even a decade ago. Whereas jobs and long-term occupations used to be common-place, these days there is far less stability for those in any career. The likelihood of someone staying in a job for ten years or more is scarce these days, which for all of us is quite a terrifying prospect.

The world is changing and developing faster than it ever has before, with technology developing at warp speed each year. The development of technology has also meant that employers are requiring more technologically focused skills from potential future employees, making the job market an ever more competitive place.

With this in mind, it is also important to look to those who have successfully become financially free. Take, for example, Warren Buffet, Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, all of these well-known millionaires have a number of things in common, one important similarity being their multiple sources of income. To become financially free in the twentieth century, amassing revenue from multiple sources of income provides more stability than one well-paid job.

So, to conclude habit #3, moving towards bringing in income from multiple sources is the primary way that you can gain financial freedom from 2020. Warren Buffet was famously quoted as saying:

“If you don’t find a way to make money while you sleep, then you’ll work until you die”.

Perhaps this a lesson that we should all learn so that we can change our lives and prosper from this year onwards.

4. Finding mentors for inspiration

One of the most important millionaire habits for becoming successful is being ‘teachable’. As much as this sounds slightly cliché and way too simple to be a habit, an essential aspect of the millionaire mindset is being able to learn, and realising that none of us know absolutely everything. To succeed, realising that others know more than us allows us to keep striving and to continue developing ourselves.

What is a mentor? According to the Collins Dictionary of English, a mentor is ‘someone who gives them help and advice over a period of time, especially help and advice related to their job.’

A mentor can not only give us advice, they can also help to prevent us from making the same mistakes over and over again, meanwhile enabling us to believe in ourselves and extend our comfort zones. The most successful people in the world are those that allow themselves to be inspired by others and who endeavour to stretch their imaginations through consistent challenge.

To conclude habit #4, to be teachable and to find inspiration from a trusted and inspiring mentor can help us to maintain our core values, extend our comfort zones, believe in ourselves and to advise us on the ways that will help us to achieve success.

5. Shedding the negativity and the negative influences in your life

Negativity is not a good companion in life as it creates and shapes negative behaviours. Once negative behaviours are allowed to thrive, bad habits can become a life-long companion and at time, a strong hindrance to people’s lives.

All humans have negative thoughts sometimes, it’s only natural. One of the biggest issues for many of us and in fact, one of the most difficult things to realise, is that we all at times have negative influences in our lives. Whether that is a person who is always negative, or whether it’s someone that constantly belittles the things we do, these negative influences can damage successful habits of mind being developed.

To thrive and succeed, shedding negative influences in our lives and the negative thoughts that we hold is crucial. Sometimes, we don’t realise how these negative habits of mind can impact the decisions that we make, or the thoughts that we have about others and ourselves. The problem with this is, of course, “What if I don’t want to shed the negative influences in my life because they are a close friend or family member?”.

There’s no simple answer to this, but it worth exploring other options such as spending less time with them or finding someone that inspires you (such as a mentor), who could help you to find ways of combatting the negativity without cutting people out completely.

To conclude habit #5, shedding negative thinking and influences that help to create bad habits of mind will not only improve the environment that you are in, but it will help you to be more aware of where in your life negativity comes from. Whether it is an internal negativity created by your own mind, or negativity caused by negative influences around you, or perhaps both, removing as much of that negativity as possible will work wonders for changing your mindset in 2020 and beyond.

It’s never too early or too late to Thrive!
– Meg Johnson

There are more habits than this, of course, but small changes in our daily lives can make the biggest impact over time. So, why not choose a handful and implement them REALLY well to change your life? With the New Year coming in, starting off on a positive note is essential, so why not start developing some of these millionaire habits today.

Want to improve your work efficiency and develop a thrive mindset to achieve financial freedom in your twenties? Get mindset and motivation coaching, and learn essential twenty-first century skills to thrive in your twenties with our online courses and resources. Find out more at Twenties Thrive.