You most likely want to be wealthy, not only to take care of your financial responsibilities but also to have more than enough in savings and investments.
However, becoming wealthy is usually not a sudden occurrence. It involves “growing” and “building”. Amongst other things, it takes intentionality and making conscious efforts to succeed financially.
A part of this intentionality is taking key life lessons from wealthy people; people that are already where you aspire to be — and finding useful life hacks from their vast experience to become financially fulfilled.
In this article, we discuss 15 valuable life hacks from 5 current world billionaires.
Jump to a billionaire:
Warren Buffet
When it comes to business, investment and finances, you should definitely listen to a man with a net worth of $108 billion.
1. Live within your means
Often regarded as the GOAT of investing, Warren Buffet is very frugal when it comes to finances as he does not spend luxuriously.
In an article by Finmasters, it was quoted that Warren Buffet has “no interest in making people envious“. Just like Warren, your goal, as someone interested in building wealth, should never be to impress people.
Live within your means to avoid running into debt. Always have a budget and try as much as possible to keep to it.
Living within your means will help you grow wealth faster by saving and investing any excess cash while making sure you also have enough to handle emergencies.
2. Read more
Some time ago, Warren Buffet was asked a question about the key to his success; his answer was “reading”. He stressed that reading is how knowledge works, as it builds up just like compound interest.
Warren also emphasized that many of his money decisions can be attributed to his incredible reading habit. In this video, he stated that reading a lot has been one of his major strengths in his successful career.
This is an important life lesson that you need to emulate—cultivating the habit of reading. Besides improving your literacy, reading widens your scope of reasoning.
According to an American Academy of Neurology research, people who engage in mentally vitalizing activities like reading tend to have a slow rate of memory declination.
3. Spend after saving
“You should not save what is left after spending, but spend what is left after saving”.
WARREN BUFFET
This is another crucial life lesson if you are intentional about your wealth-building journey.
Take your savings seriously by first saving a portion of your income and then spending what is left.
Having this mindset and habit will help you learn the patience you need to grow long-term wealth.
Elon Musk
Elon musk, the CEO and Founder of Tesla, SpaceX, and Boring Company, is currently ranked the richest person in the world with an estimated net worth of $147 billion.
He is a man with a wealth of knowledge and life lessons, and here are three tips from him:
4. Learn constantly
Over the years, Elon has shown his constant desire to learn by experimenting with new technologies. This is evident in his different interview sessions and tweets.
As individuals, we must understand that learning should not end after our university degree or circular academic programs. It is a life-long activity.
One of the ways to learn constantly is to develop a curious mindset. As you dive deep into learning, your mind opens up to fresh ideas which can birth magnificent inventions tomorrow.
5. Seek constructive criticism
I know what must have probably popped up in your mind when you heard “criticism”. Yes, getting constructive criticism can improve your life, career, or business.
Elon Musk mentioned in an interview that criticism should be constantly sought, whilst emphasizing that a well-thought critique can be as valuable as gold.
Feedbacks are important and should not be neglected. They help you identify weaknesses where you can make amends, and strengths you can build on.
Be willing to hear people’s opinions but don’t take anything personally. Also, note that not all feedback is useful. Sift through them, find valid ones and make adjustments accordingly.
6. Never give up
Giving up does not seem to be an option for Elon Musk just as was shared by Success4 in this article.
Even on days when his ideas seem unreasonable to many people, he knows what he wants and continually goes for it. In this interview session, Elon says he never gave up even after multiple failures.
The people we know today as billionaires wouldn’t have been one if they gave up at some point.
It is understandable that some days can be discouraging. However, having a “no giving up” mindset helps you pick yourself up and find better approaches to solving the challenges you face.
Jeff Bezos
Jeff Bezos, the Executive Chairman of Amazon, with a current net worth of $107 billion has these life hacks for us:
7. Hard work
Hard work is the bedrock of success as often said and this is one of the key ingredients to Jeff Bezos’ financial success.
“When you have a gift and you work hard, you are going to leverage that gift”.
JEFF BEZOS
This is to say that having a gift or skill is not enough. It is also important to put in the effort and work hard as it will be a strong boost to your success.
8. Focus on the long term
During the early days of building Amazon, despite the numerous challenges poised at him, Jeff knew what he wanted and focused on the long term.
Like a popular saying, “success is a marathon and not a sprint”. Having this thought helps you stay focused irrespective of the hurdles ahead.
It’s the same rhetoric with wealth building and investment. It’s a marathon and we should always have the long-term goal in mind.
9. Surround yourself with the right people
Generally, in life and business, the kind of people you surround yourself with has great impact and influence on you.
Jeff Bezos knows this and has always been cautious of the kind of people he associates himself with.
Amazon has been known to be one of those companies with the most rigorous hiring processes and this has been attributed to the fact that Jeff wants to get just the right people working for him.
Having the right connections can help you fast-track your personal development, career and financial goals.
Bill Gates
Over the years, Bill Gates has continually dominated the list of the richest people on earth. He currently sits at the fourth position with an estimated net worth of $103 Billion.
Here are some life lessons to learn from Bill Gates:
10. Value time
Time is an important resource that should be guarded jealously because no matter how wealthy you are, you cannot buy back time.
Bill Gates ensures that his time is properly allocated and well spent. He often has his calendar planned ahead of time to ensure it is filled with valuable engagements.
You should also emulate this attribute by planning your time ahead and ensuring it is put to good use.
11. Take risks
At the time Microsoft was being established or introduced to the world, people barely knew about computer software. There were no footprints as to how such a business could be successful.
Bill Gates alongside his co-founder took a big risk and ventured into this business which is now one of the most valued business enterprises in the world and provides employment for thousands of people across the globe.
There’s a popular saying that “life itself is a risk”. Hence, you should not always be risk-averse. Take that bold step today.
12. Discipline
In today’s world, we often get carried away with instant gratification — “a quick result kind of mindset”. It takes a mindset of discipline to stay focused and patient for results over time.
A disciplined mindset helps you to ignore the noise around you and stay focused. Bill Gates, while building his business, would’ve at different points in time, needed to discipline himself to stay on course despite the noises around him.
Larry Page
Larry Page is an American business magnate, computer scientist and internet entrepreneur. He is ranked the sixth richest person in the world with an estimated net worth of $77 Billion.
Here are some life lessons to learn from the billionaire:
13. Respect others
Larry Page said it is important to respect other people as they will eventually turn out to be of great asset to you.
There’s a popular saying that “respect is reciprocal”. As we live, we should value other people and accord them due respect. Doing this can open doors of opportunity for you as well.
Humans like being respected. It is psychological and people tend to hold you in high esteem when you respect them.
Respecting other people is a crucial part of interpersonal relationships.
How to show respect:
- Show regard for people’s efforts and work
- Value their opinions and feelings
- Accept them despite your differences.
14. Network with others
Larry Page met his Co-founder as a result of his networking efforts. They were both students at Stanford University who went on to build Google.
Just like many other business partners, the contribution of Larry Pages’s Co-founder Sergey Brin cannot be underestimated.
If you want to be successful, do not take lightly the need to network with other people, most especially, the right people.
Having the right sets of people in your network can positively influence and boost your career, and life in general.
15. Think and dream big
During the early days of building Google, many people said it would not be able to compete with other search engine companies, but Larry and his team were keen on their big vision.
They knew that there were other existing search engine businesses, but it did not stop them from pushing forward because they had a bigger picture than just building a search engine.
Today, they have built a tech conglomerate known as Alphabet which currently houses many other technology companies besides Google.
Dream so big they scare you. And do not let anything hinder you from actualizing your vision.
Bottom line
Building wealth is not a one-time thing, it takes a lot of intentional effort in all areas of one’s life. Imbibing all these life hacks might be hard, but remember that intentionality and conscious practice will help you to achieve your financial independence goals.
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