5 5-minute routines that will make you wildly wealthy and successful
Success and wealth don't happen in one fell swoop, but maybe they can happen five minutes at a time.
The ultra-wealthy may seem larger than life, but if we break down the habits of millionaires and billionaires, we can see that their small, personal, daily routines are just as crucial as the big business decisions they make. The ultra-successful know better than anyone that small habits can yield big results.
Here are 5 of their mini-routines you can incorporate into your day to become wealthier and more successful.
Visualize your journey to the top
Take five-minutes every day to picture what you want in life, and ask yourself if you did something that day that moved you closer to your goal. If not, picture what small steps you can do to catalyze that change.
According to writer Neil Gaiman, this little trick helped him become one of the most successful authors of our time. "Something that worked for me was imagining that where I wanted to be ... was a mountain. A distant mountain. My goal. And I knew that as long as I kept walking towards the mountain I would be all right."
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The trick to this routine is to not ideally wish or dream. This habit might start in your head, but it needs to turn into an actionable, concrete game plan over time. A study from Harvard showed that people who have goals are ten times as successful as those without goals, and those who write them down are three times as likely to reach them as those who don't.
This could look like putting money into your savings every week, or making a to-do list, or taking the time to learn a new skill a few minutes everyday. These little stepping stones are essential to reaping massive amounts of personal and financial success.
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Save money like clockwork
In terms of financial success, a quick thing you can do to instantly gain more wealth is to automate your savings. Even if we intend to save our money, we're only human, and sometimes we forget or spend more money than we realize. However, if you automate your savings, that money is instantly tucked away where it's harder to spend carelessly. It's a simple routine, but sticking to this and saving a little money every paycheck will allow you to set aside money to become wealthy.
If you're not sure how much money to set aside, financial expert Senator Elizabeth Warren, suggests using the practical 50-20-30 rule, which calls for categorizing spending and allocating 50% of your income on needs, 30% on wants and activities, and 20% on bettering your financial future (like investing).
Be uncomfortable for 5 minutes every day
As Eleanor Roosevelt once said, "Do one thing every day that scares you."
Wealthy entrepreneurs and powerful executives didn't get to where they are by living inside their comfort zone. For many of us, risk isn't something we're comfortable with, and that's why taking five minutes out of your day to try something new is so important. Doing this on a regular basis trains your brain to be okay with a challenge or to feel comfortable with putting yourself out there, even if the result is failure.
This could be as simple as trying a new food, asking for help, talking to a new person, or requesting feedback from a peer. It could be something bigger like investing your money or learning how to say "no."
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Therapist Dr. Elizabeth Lombardo also advocates stepping outside your comfort zone as means to success. "Breaking your own mold can only make you stronger and more confident to reach higher levels in your professional and personal life," she says.
The more successful you are, the bigger the risks and the more likely you will face criticism. If you've primed yourself for that reality by participating in little actions like these everyday, you'll be golden.
Jot 5 new ideas down a day
"The truth is you have to have great ideas that solve problems to make money. If you do, you will attract money like a magnet," writes Steve Siebold, a self-made millionaire who's interviewed over 1000 of the wealthiest and most influential people of our time.
One way to incorporate this concept into a quick, daily routine is to jot down five new ideas every day. They don't all have to be groundbreaking or even that great. The point of this simple exercise is to turn your mind into a well-oiled moneymaking machine that is primed to come up with new innovations and novel solutions that will make you rise to the top.
Take 5 minutes to work on yourself
One thing the separates the incredibly rich and prosperous from the rest of us is how they utilize their down time for self-improvement. That's why everyone from Oprah Winfrey to Bill Gates swear by taking time out of their busy days to learn new things and improve.
So instead of binging on Game of Thrones, look for productive things to do during your time off and in the gaps in your day. You could take five minutes to read a short article, learn a piece of a new skill, knock out 20 push-ups, or do a quick five-minute stretch routine. You could meditate or listen to an audiobook on your way home from work. Improving yourself is essential to moving closer to realizing your success.
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Do you have any quick routines to improve your wealth and success? I want to hear them - give me a shout-out on Twitter!
