9 Ways Rich People Think Differently Than The Average Person

If you ask Thomas Corley, being rich has very little to do with luck and everything to do with habits.

Corley, who spent five years monitoring and analysing the daily activities and habits of people both wealthy and living in poverty (233 wealthy and 128 poor, specifically), isolated what he calls “rich habits” — and many of them are simply patterns of thought.

1. Rich people believe their habits have a major impact on their lives.

Wealthy people think that bad habits create detrimental luck and that good habits create “opportunity luck,” meaning they create the opportunities for people to make their own luck.

2. Rich people value relationships for professional and personal growth.

Not only do rich people feel that their relationships are critical to their success, but they put a lot of effort into maintaining them, making a habit of calling up contacts to congratulate them on life events, wish them a happy birthday, or reaching out just to say hello.

3. Rich people love meeting new people.

Hand in hand with valuing relationships comes making new ones. Rich people both love meeting new people and believe that being liked is important to financial success.

4. Rich people think that saving is hugely important.

“Being wealthy is not just making a lot of money,” explains Corley. “It’s saving a lot, and accumulating wealth. Many of the people I studied aren’t wealthy because they made a lot, but because they saved a lot.”

5. Rich people feel that they determine their path in life.

Poor people are significantly more likely to believe that genetics are important to becoming wealthy, and significantly less likely to believe that they’re the cause of their own financial status in life.

“Most of the wealthy people I talked to were businesspeople who weren’t always wealthy,” Corley explains, “but they had this attitude that they could do anything.

6. Rich people value creativity over intelligence.

While rich people are more likely to believe that creativity influences success, poor people are more likely to think that being “intellectually gifted” is critical.

They’re also more likely to believe that wealth is usually accidental. If you look at my stats, you’ll find that a lot of wealthy people were C students,says Corley. There’s more to wealth than just being smart.”

7. Rich people enjoy their jobs.

Many of the wealthy in my study loved their job — it’s not an accident, says Corley.

These people found a creative pursuit that could turn into monetary value. When you engage in a creative pursuit that can make money, the rewards are often obscene.

8. Rich people believe that their health influences their success.

One of the individuals in my study told me ‘I can’t make money in a hospital bed,’Corley remembers. “Wealthy people think that being healthy means fewer sick days, which translates into more productivity and more money.”

9. Rich people are willing to take risks.

A lot of the wealthy people in the study were business owners who started their own businesses, Corley explains.

They became successes because they were master self-educators who learned from the school of hard knocks. Failure is like scar tissue on the brain, Corley says. The lessons last forever.