Last time we discussed wealth building we listed some basic wealth building tips for young women, steps that anyone should think about when starting out. This time we thought we’d take a closer look at the attitudes you need to adopt and qualities you need to develop to have a better chance of success.
There’s a lot of information out there on wealth building and it’s easy to talk about it in terms of what you should or shouldn’t do as actionable steps to implement into your plan or daily life. What there isn’t so much of is talk about the mental adjustments and how you need to adapt your thinking in order to be successful at wealth-building.
The reason for this is that it is not so easy to talk about how we will change as our wealth building habits take hold. The truth is that wealth building is a way of life that requires you to have particular qualities in order to be successful at it. Either you will naturally have these qualities or you will have to develop them. But then that’s part of the journey, right? Wealth building can be frustrating however it should ultimately be a fun journey of self-improvement. You may have to learn a lot in order to be successful at wealth building, but you will also be learning a lot about yourself.
It’s exciting to think that your endeavour can result in better quality of life as well as your development as a person. After all isn’t self-betterment part of the process of life?
This week we have compiled a list of qualities that we believe you will need to learn on your journey in order to be successful at wealth building. Here is part 1 of this 3-part series which will be rolling out over the course of this week. Be sure to check back for the next parts.
1. Be Able to Visualise Your Goal Clearly
This is easier said than done. It may sound simple to say that you want to create a better life for yourself but you need to be able to think clearly about what your realistic goal will be. Push away all the clutter and focus on just the essence of your goal. Perhaps make it one major goal for the year. Roughly 70% of the wealthy determine a major goal that they pursue each year. They envision it clearly and keep that vision in mind while building a plan around meeting that goal. This is the kind of clarity of thought that you need to have in order to succeed at wealth building.
When envisioning your goal try to pitch it to yourself using five words or fewer. If you think of things in this way you will gradually find yourself zeroing in on your aim in its purest form.
Again, don’t just think of things in terms of figures. Instead, think about the kind of person you want to be a year from now, five years from now, ten years from now. Don’t just think of yourself in terms of how much you will be worth in assets. Think of how the process of wealth building can make you better as an individual.
While 70% of successful wealth builders have a clear goal in mind the overwhelming majority of those struggling with wealth building do not. Having a goal that we are making progress towards can make us feel happy and driven towards our purpose.
2. Exhibit Good Self-Control
Self-Control is a good quality to develop. Successful wealth building depends upon your ability to live well within your means and save money. Spending money on indulgent unnecessary purchases is not how most wealth builders operate. In fact successful wealth builders make a habit of living on only 20% of their income while committing 80% to savings and investments.
Perhaps you don’t yet earn enough to live on only 20%, but as you become more successful and your income increases you will become susceptible to the temptation to live a better life now rather than later. This is understandable since one of your reasons for wealth building will be to improve your quality of life.
So, if you’re beginning to see a return on your hard work in the form of increased income, why not live more comfortably by spending more in line with your higher income?
Because this will be less money for your future self to enjoy when you no longer want to spend so much time working on wealth building.
This is where self-control really becomes necessary.
What do you think about what we have discussed here? What have you found to be a good way of imposing self-control?
Feel free to leave us your thoughts in a comment and share this post via social media if you know someone who is on their way to wealth building.
Don’t forget to check in with us later this week for parts 2 and 3 of this post.
