While not a real estate investing book per se, I am devouring books that can motivate me to win. One of these books is Rich Habits - The Daily Success Habits of Wealthy Individuals. One of the challenges I've faced over the last few years has been my inability to have a consistent morning routine. There was a time when I would get up early, work out and have some quiet time before beginning my day. Some aspects of life have changed, yet it seems to be the excuse to lose such discipline. I say this because one of the first things I read is that successful people are up very early.
A theme of mine over the last few years has been to live intentionally. I've failed more often than not, yet I must persevere. The Rich Habits book offers twelve habits for all of us to adopt:
- Form Good Habits - Make a list, write those things down that you want to attain
- Set goals daily, monthly, yearly, long-term and review each day
- Plan for self improvement each day, such as reading for growth, vocationally
- Care for your health each day - exercise, eating right
- Pursue life-long relationships each day
- Live a life of moderation - avoid excess
- Accomplish daily tasks every day with a "do it now" mindset
- Choose to engage in rich thinking and think positively every day
- Save 10% of my gross income from every paycheck
- Control thoughts and emotions each day
I want to focus on the first two habits. In terms of making "to do" lists, I use an electronic version of the Self Journal, yet even in that I have been inconsistent. I need to make a habit of intentionally planning my day ahead of time rather than reacting to it. That is one habit of the rich - choose what to focus on.
In terms of creating life goals, I heartily recommend Michael Hyatt's book, Living Forward. He chunks his guidance into three parts:
- How do you want to be remembered? In planning anything the best place to begin is at the end. Imagine for a moment you are dead. What are those attending your funeral saying about you? You still have time to shape that conversation.
- What matters most to you? The life plan is built on a metaphor that compares your “life accounts” to bank accounts. Each life account represents a different category of your life. The key is to identity your accounts and then arrange them in priority order.
- How do I get from here to there? You need an action plan for every major area of your life. This involves three steps: Describing your envisioned future, acknowledging your current reality, and then identifying the specific actions you must take to get from where you are to where you want to be.
What about you - what are you struggling to make a life-long habit? – @gumshoeonline
