5 Habits That Made Me a Millionaire by 25 Practice these five habits to unlock your own financial success.
By Samuel Leeds Edited by Amanda Breen
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
You don't need superpowers to become a millionaire. Believe me, I became one by the age of 25, and I started from very humble beginnings. When I was a teenager, I began to study rich people: their behavior and what made them more successful than other people.
I found patterns and began to change my habits to align with those of millionaires, later becoming a self-made millionaire myself. Here are the top five habits millionaires share.
1. See the best in every situation
When bad things happen, you can either see the best and stay positive, or let it get you down and distract you from your goals. Being positive is a choice, and it becomes a habit. As a property investor, I am always looking for lucrative investment opportunities. When the market crashes, most people become very negative towards the idea of investing and wait for it to boom.
This is not how millionaires act in a crash: They see the best and find the cheapest deals. In the same way, when it's booming, negative people are skeptical that it won't last, so they do nothing. I again see the opportunity and buy on an upward trend.
This is not just applicable for investments — it's also the case when you see the best in people. Rich people become wealthy because they focus on solutions rather than problems. When you see the best in every situation, you usually get the best results.
Related: 20 Habits That Prevent You From Being a Millionaire
2. Stop caring about the opinions of others
Most people spend their entire lives holding back on their dreams because they are afraid of being judged by other people. When I first started buying real estate and went full-time as a property entrepreneur, there were lots of old school friends and even family members who thought I was crazy. They would ask me why I didn't have a "proper job" and warn me of all the risks associated with entrepreneurship.
I thought that once I started making good money, everybody would see the light and cheer me on. Sadly, even after proving my business successful, many friends still judged me and said I was now too "money minded."
If your friends judge you, how much more will your enemies? In becoming a millionaire, I have had to evict tenants, fire employees and take business from my competition. This has resulted in people calling me far worse things than "money minded." Sometimes you have to be tough in business. You will not make millions of pounds while trying to please everybody all of the time.
Related: The Ins and Outs of Raising Money From Friends and Family
3. Love what you do
There is no quick way to become a millionaire; you have to put in the time and energy. When I started in real estate, I used to work over 100 hours per week, and some months, I would lose money. If I had not enjoyed the work, it would have been unbearable, but because I loved what I was doing, it did not even feel like I was working. I would spend every possible hour viewing properties, negotiating deals and transforming run-down buildings into beautiful homes for people.
As it so happens, this profession can be extremely lucrative, but I loved learning the ropes and immersing myself in the industry. I used other people's money to do it, and the feeling of building my own empire was truly addictive.
I do not believe you can make millions without being addicted to your business and loving what you do. It is vital to choose a profession you are passionate about. Then, working will be a habitual joy, and you will not burn out trying to get rich.
Related: Passion, People, Process
4. Always replace yourself
You need to find people to manage the everyday running of your business so that you have the time to scale it into the millions. After a couple of years of being an entrepreneur, I was doing everything myself, from finding the properties, dealing with the refurbishments and managing the tenants to carrying out the book-keeping.
By the time I had six properties, it had become almost a full-time job just to sustain what I had already built. This is when I began to replace myself with team members, freeing up my time. Once I had systemized the business, I didn't sit back and enjoy the passive income: I actively grew the company.
You will never become a millionaire without having a good team around you, and you can only do that my learning the habit of replacing yourself. This means systemizing everything you do, then training others to do your job. You can duplicate this process until your company is making millions.
Related: 17 Passive Income Ideas for Increasing Your Cash Flow
5. Practice gratitude
Make a habit of being thankful for all the things good in your business and in your life. When you do this, in an almost magical way, more and more good things will keep coming your way. Being grateful will also put you in a good state of mind, and you will much more pleasant to be around.
I noticed that many of my business competitors would talk about their tenants in a derogatory way. They would jokingly say that they were "allergic" to tenants. This surprised me because their tenants were the very people who were paying for their luxurious lifestyles. I decided to practice having a grateful attitude towards my tenants, which resulted in them staying in my properties much longer and paying their rent on time. A small gift at Christmas would go a long way, and my habit of gratitude began to spill into all aspects of my business.
I noticed that not only was I much happier, but also my customers were loyal, and my staff were happy to work harder. Gratitude is a habit that all successful business owners must learn.
