Transcript for:
Essential Habits for Wealth Building

A lot of people think that getting rich is about doing some crazy 5 a.m. millionaire morning routine or taking a huge risk and hitting it big overnight. But after becoming a millionaire in my 30s, I realized it's actually none of that. It's really just the tiny small habits that you do consistently over time.

That is what actually makes you rich. So these are the 20 tiny habits that made the biggest difference for me. All right, so one of the first things that I do is as soon as I wake up, I stay in bed for about two minutes. just thinking about what I'm grateful for.

I always try to think of at least three things, and I make it a point to really feel the joy and the gratitude in my body. This starts my day on a really good note, and it really primes you to attract opportunities, take advantage of them, and just make the most of the day. Because the thing is, you can't attract money if you aren't matching the frequency of money. Like if you're thinking all day about everything that you don't have, all the scarcity, how can you actually attract money into your life if that's your vibe?

So it might sound a little woo woo, but gratitude has made a huge difference for me. All right, the next tiny habit is to set up an automatic transfer into your savings account or some sort of investment account for the future every single pay period. This doesn't even have to be a tiny habit because you just have to do it once and it's going to happen automatically.

Like go into your bank account or log into your paycheck portal wherever you manage your direct deposit and set a transfer for 5%, $20. 10%, 20%, something into a savings account that's out of sight and out of reach. Look, I know saving money can be hard, so really the only way to get around it is to hack your own psychology.

Automate it so that it happens and it's non-negotiable. Sometimes getting rich can literally be as simple as just setting one automatic transfer and completely forgetting about it. Then a couple weeks later, you're going to log into your bank account and see that you've accumulated thousands and thousands of dollars and you're going to feel so good about yourself.

If you want to get rich, don't leave saving money for the future and investing to chance. Make it a non-negotiable. All right, the next tiny habit has to do with being productive and managing your time wisely. Obviously, if you want to get rich, you need to be productive.

You need to do more than the average person. That doesn't necessarily mean hustling and burning the midnight oil. It's about being smart with your time.

So this habit is about batching your time. Whenever you're planning your day or your week, try to do like tasks all at once instead of spreading them out throughout the week. This minimizes something called context switching, which is where you have to switch your brain from doing one type of task to another.

And then you also have to set out all of your equipment and do all the transition related to switching tasks. So one example how I do this is meal prep. Instead of scrambling to figure out what we're eating for dinner every single weeknight, I actually just meal prep to all my grocery shopping in a two to three hour period on the weekend.

And that makes making dinner throughout the week really easy. All it means is just kind of putting pieces together and maybe throwing something in a frying pan. But everything's chopped up, ready to go, and meals have been planned.

Another example of how I batch my time to be efficient is if I ever need to go out or just look nice and have makeup and hair done, I actually try to do everything on that one day. So if I'm going out to dinner with a friend, I try to shoot. videos on that day, take any Zoom meetings where I have to look good, and do anything where I have to look presentable all on the same day so that the other days I don't have to do my makeup and I can wear sweatpants. All right, this next habit is related to automating your savings, but this time it's actually about automating your investments. And specifically, it's doing a strategy called dollar cost averaging.

So I know that investing in the stock market can be scary, that's why most people never get around to doing it. So the only way to get around this is to automate your investments. by dripping your money into the stock market over time. So the way I do this is every month, a portion of my income goes straight into the stock market. I buy the same dollar amount of the same index funds every single month.

And this strategy has two benefits. One, it's non-negotiable. So investing happens no matter what. It's not a question of if I'm going to invest, when I'm going to invest.

It's just I'm going to invest. It just happens. And the second benefit of dollar cost averaging is that you end up improving your average entry price into the stock market over time. Because think about it, if you dollar cost average the same $1,000 into the market every single month, so when the market is high, your $1,000 is going to buy you less shares because the prices per share is more expensive. Now, when the market is low, Because all the stocks are on a discount, your $1,000 is going to buy you even more.

So dollar cost averaging is an automated way for you to buy a lot when things are cheap and buy less when things are expensive, which is what you should be doing. And what this does, it really improves your returns over time. And it also minimizes the risk of putting all your money in at once and then everything crashing. All right, tiny habit number five is something that I call eating the frog. So you know how it's so easy to procrastinate the thing that you know that you have to do, but you're like afraid to do because it's so important to you.

Maybe it's that high stakes phone call you have to make or the 500 words you need to write for the book you want to write one day, or the video you have to record, you know, that big kind of hairy task on your to do list that will make a big difference for you, but you're scared to do. So human nature is, or at least if you're anything like me, you'll leave that to the very end of the day after you've done everything else, including all the like busy procrastination tasks like cleaning your kitchen and checking your email. But eating the frog is when you sit down and first thing you do in the morning is that big hairy task.

Then you get out of the way and that makes you feel so good and so accomplished for the rest of the day that you're going to be like super productive and it'll really boost your confidence. A big problem I see with people is that they have a hard time. moving forward on their goals and making things happen because they let all the other non-important things fill up their time and they never get around to actually doing the things that would move the needle. So there's really no way around it.

If you want to make a lot of money, you have to learn how to use your time wisely and get shit done. So eating the frog really helps with that. All right, tiny habit number six is to write down your goals, specifically financial goals. One study found that you are 42% more likely to achieve your goals if you write them down on a regular basis.

So all you have to do is write them down for a 42% edge towards achieving your goals. I'd say that's pretty good. So freaking write your goals down. Ever since starting my financial journey, I've always known what is the financial goal that I am working towards.

In the beginning, it was to get out of debt. So I always kept track of that, writing down the goal to pay off my student loans, pay off my credit cards, et cetera. And after that, I set a goal to make $100,000 in my business.

The next time I've set a goal to have $100,000 in investments. I've always written down my financial goals and it's no surprise that I've hit every single one of them Okay, the next tiny habit is to use social media Intentionally now there's nothing wrong with social media But you have to use it intentionally if you use it to network with people to meet people who will open up opportunities Maybe job and business opportunities or if you use it to market and sell your services the way businesses do Then social media can be very powerful The only thing is most people tend to doom scroll and just waste hours and hours and use social media as a procrastination tool Instead of working on their goals. That's where social media can be dangerous So one tiny habit that really helps me use social media wisely is to just limit my time You can use the iPhone screen time app which will basically send you a notification and shut you down after you've spent a certain amount of time on each of these platforms or set an actual timer like Allow yourself to scroll Instagram mindlessly for 20 minutes, but set that timer.

Because if you don't, it's so easy to look up like three hours later and you'd be like, oh my God, where did the time go? So find ways to set time limits and use social media intentionally. Okay, the next tiny habit is to learn to delegate.

In other words, learn to not do everything yourself. It might seem heroic if you're able to do everything yourself and be some sort of superwoman, superman who doesn't need help from anyone ever. But... That mentality is really like outdated.

I would say if you really want to accomplish big things, make big money, you need to learn how to rely on other people for help and to value your time. You don't need to have a huge budget to pay for an executive assistant or anything crazy like that. It could be as simple as refusing to go spend three hours out of your Saturday to go buy groceries.

Instead, you can order groceries on Instacart. And yes, you have to pay a fee, maybe $10, $15 more. but isn't your time worth at least $15 to save three hours?

Another example of this is it's so easy to find people on TaskRabbit to do all kinds of things. They'll pick up your dry cleaning for you so that you don't have to sit in traffic. For $30, you can get someone to build your Ikea furniture so that in that time you can work on your side hustle or learn a new skill instead. There are so many ways to just value your time more. It doesn't take that much money.

This is one area where I've definitely had to grow because I grew up being very individualistic and independent But you learn how to delegate and get other people to help you and that will be such a game changer Okay This next tiny habit is simply just to get outside and get some sunshine every single day at least 30 minutes Because health is wealth. So if you go outside, you get the sun, that creates vitamin D. There are real scientifically proven benefits to actually getting real life sun exposure.

It boosts your mood, it creates vitamin D, it regulates your hormone levels. It's just good all around. And if you're like miserable and sick and depressed, you're not really going to get far in life.

So sunshine is one free, very easy way to take care of your health and again, health as well. All right, tiny habit number 10. is to go through all of your spending, both on your credit cards and bank statements, and go through and cancel any subscriptions and just see what's going on. And no, I'm not even asking you to make changes or cut back on your spending, just look. Simply the awareness of what you've swiped your credit card on is already going to adjust your spending naturally. But the problem is when you go months and months and you never look at what's going on in your credit card and you're just shocked at the balance every time because you never built any awareness about your spending habits.

And I know it's so tempting to take that head in the sand approach and to avoid because you'd rather not know what's going on But if you want to get rich you got to know what's going on with your money, right and really build awareness about your spending It's actually really empowering and you have to know what's going on with your money because if you don't who will so I always go Through all my spending every single month and I cancel any subscriptions that I'm not using and just make tiny little adjustments And it makes such a difference. You don't get rich by being careless with your money So taking care of your money first begins with knowing what's going on with it. All right, the next tiny habit is to create something called a why I'm awesome file.

This is a running list of both your personal achievements and your professional achievements. Mainly, this is really important for professional achievements because what this does is it gives you leverage for negotiating your pay and asking for a raise. Sometimes we're just so busy with the day to day that we actually forget to look back and see everything that we've accomplished. So. whenever you finish a big project at work or you bring in a bunch of new clients, make sure you document it with cold, hard data.

You want to have numbers. Don't use vague language. Always use concrete numbers like increased revenue by 30%, brought in 12 new clients that increased sales by $3 million, whatever, whatever it is, make sure you quantify and keep that running list. And then once a quarter, twice a year, at least once a year.

Look through your why I'm awesome file and then ask your boss for a meeting and explain all of these things and make sure you ask for more money. Because hey, if you don't ask, you don't get and people aren't just going to hand you raises. It's really up to you to own your value and to make sure you're getting what you deserve.

And it's a lot easier to do that when you are keeping this why I'm awesome file. I keep mine in my Google Drive and I absolutely love it. Whenever I'm feeling down and need a little confidence boost.

I just read through this Google Drive folder. All right, the next tiny habit is to make a shopping list before you go grocery shopping. And this tiny habit is about more than just saving money on groceries.

It's also about being intentional. Like you won't overspend if you plan ahead and are really intentional about what you really, really need. Otherwise, your money's just gonna leak to all kinds of things that you didn't really need. And that's not really a behavior that's gonna get you rich.

As important as it is to make a lot of money, you also have to develop the skill of Keeping the money that you make and not spending more than you need to so whenever I go to the grocery store I already know what meals I want to make for that week And I also make sure to not go to the grocery store hungry. That is a very very bad idea Definitely don't go to Costco when you're hungry because Costco is a very dangerous place when you're hungry It's just a tiny little habit, but it makes a really big difference Sometimes your grocery bill is gonna be like 50% less when you actually go with a list All right, the next tiny habit is to automate your life and limit decision fatigue wherever you can. So what I mean by decision fatigue is like you wake up in the morning, you're like, oh, what am I going to eat for breakfast? Should I have cream in my coffee or no cream?

What should I wear today? Should I go to the gym today or should I go to yoga class? What should I work on today?

Should I work on this or that? And then. By the end of the night, you're like you barely have energy to decide what to eat for dinner Because our brain power is limited like we wake up in the morning with a limited amount of brain juice We want to save that brain juice for our most important work the stuff that's gonna move the needle Get us that raise at your job the thing that's gonna make you the most money in your business that one big project The things that really matter and move the needle So save your brain juice for that and try to automate the rest like I actually drink the exact same smoothie every single morning for breakfast and I have the same black coffee, I don't have to think about that. I also pretty much wear the same uniform every day.

It's a t-shirt and jeans or a t-shirt and sweatpants. Now not to compare myself to Steve Jobs but Steve Jobs actually did this. He would wear the same black shirt every single day.

Have you ever seen him wear anything but the same black shirt and jeans? And that's because he wanted to save all of his creative brain juice to build Apple and it's no wonder that Apple is one of the most incredible companies to have ever existed. So the areas where it'll make the biggest difference for you to eliminate decision fatigue is your finances.

Make a decision now of what you're going to invest, how you're going to invest, and when. And then automate it. It's that dollar cost averaging that we talked about earlier. Eliminate decision fatigue on what you eat. Have a system for your meals.

It's going to be a protein and a vegetable. And this is the list of proteins. This is the list of vegetables.

That's it. Automate your outfits. Like these are what you wear on Mondays.

This is what you wear on Tuesdays. Automate your workouts like you do the same weight lifting on this day and that day You don't have like 20 different boutique fitness classes to choose from just pick the same few things to keep doing over and over and also Automate your schedule like what time you wake up what time you go to work? What your routine is try to routine and eyes is that even a word try to routine eyes as many things in your life So you can save the brain juice for things that really matter.

All right, this next tiny habit is one of my favorites is to listen to a money audiobook whenever you're doing chores. So you spend a lot of time doing dishes, walking your dog, cleaning little things around the house, driving to work. So use that time to enrich your mind.

I'm pretty much always listening to an audiobook and a lot of the time it is about money. Like this is probably the one thing that has made the biggest difference for me because what's that quote by Einstein? You can't solve problems from the same level from which that problem was created.

So if you're trying to break through to another level of wealth and money, you're going to need to change your brain. You're going to have to become a different person. And the only way to do that is by getting new inputs through things like audiobooks.

I've read so many money audiobooks by now, but these are 10 that have made the biggest difference for me. I highly recommend them. They'll absolutely transform your mindset and what you see as possible for yourself.

And the best thing is you don't have to spend any extra time doing it because you can listen to it while you're just doing dishes. All right, tiny habit number 15 is to have lunch with at least one new person every single month. I got this idea from the book Never Eat Alone by Keith Ferrazzi. It's a really great book about how to network.

So if you really want to expand your income and make a lot of money, you're going to need to expand your network. Because again, none of us is a lone wolf. It's always somebody that will open the door to a new job opportunity. It's someone that gives you that business idea or can be a very, very lucrative business partnership. Everything we accomplish, all the money that we make, if you really think about it and what it comes down to is other people.

It's about knowing the right people, meeting the right mentors, having the right people on your team, getting a recommendation from someone for an amazing job opportunity. A lot of doors open for you when you know the right people. So people who have really amazing powerful networks definitely didn't get there by accident They invested time into meeting new people and nurturing those relationships So one really easy way to do this is to just go out to eat with one new person because we all have to eat Anyway, right?

So might as well arrange a quick lunch or dinner with somebody new and that'll really open up your world in a lot of ways For example the other week my boyfriend Threw a conversation with someone at a party and then an introduction that person made for him he was able to double his income in a matter of weeks. So don't underestimate what one key introduction might do for you. All right, this next tiny habit, again, because health is wealth, is something called the 30-30 rule.

I didn't come up with this. My friend Justin, who's a health and nutrition coach, taught me this, but he advises to eat 30 grams of protein within 30 minutes of waking up. This might apply more to women than men, but it's super important to jumpstart your metabolism and stabilize your blood sugar first thing in the morning.

Otherwise, the rest of your day, your hormones go crazy and your metabolism slows down and you also lose energy. So before I started doing this, I would like crash at 3 p.m. and have to just lay on the couch or drink a bunch of coffee to keep going. But ever since I started eating 30 grams of protein within 30 minutes of waking up, mostly with a really delicious protein smoothie.

I have had so much energy and haven't needed coffee in the mid-afternoon. So again, like when you're healthy, you have energy to do things, to accomplish things that will make you more money and just make you a really successful person. So the 30-30 rule.

30 grams of protein within 30 minutes of waking up. Try it. All right, this next tiny habit is one that I love. It's very near and dear to my heart. It's basically to send a text, a voice note, or phone call to a friend or a family member or someone that you care about.

And this doesn't have to be some long two-hour catch-up that you put on the calendar. It could actually just be an impromptu phone call that you make to your best friend while on a walk. Maybe you haven't talked to your mom or dad in a while. Send them a little voice note. These little things make a big difference.

First, in your mental health. Because feeling connected to your loved ones makes a huge difference in your emotional well-being. And that obviously spills over into productivity and being able to do things that make a lot of money in your life. You rarely see a successful wealthy person who is absolutely miserable and has no friends and family in their life.

It's just You're gonna be too depressed to really do anything. That's just that's not how it works Let's not be so fixated on just dollars and cents in your bank account There is also something called social capital the stronger your relationships are the more people you have to rely on in times of need The more people you can talk to for opportunities Sometimes sometimes you can just rely on relationships instead of paying people to do things You can just have your friend help you out Social capital is a real thing and this social capital can be built throughout the little pockets of your day sending that little text, sending a little voice note, and just minimal efforts like that. All right, tiny habit number 18 is to do something that makes you happy every single day. It doesn't have to be a long thing.

It could just be a 10 minute walk on the beach at sunset. It could be a really brief cuddle with your dog on the couch. It could also be watching Netflix.

I love watching my Netflix show almost every weeknight. I've been watching just a short 30 minute, 50 minute episode of Emily in Paris or Sex and the City or just... You know, it's my little indulgence most weeknights when I do have the time. Or it could just be something simple like cuddling Jupiter. Now, maybe you think people who are rich like are working all the time and it's hustle culture 24-7, but that really doesn't work.

It's not sustainable. Because to really be effective and accomplish big things, you need to take care of yourself. You need to make joy a priority and have good emotional well-being.

So doing little things that make you happy and give you pleasure go a really long way. Don't think that you need to be some sort of 24-7 hustler who never does anything fun or takes a break It's a marathon not a sprint. So it's all about balance This next tiny habit is to use your weekends and your weeknights your free time To build an extra income stream or learn a new income generating skill rather than doom scrolling social media or spending All of your free time watching netflix, you know, nothing wrong with netflix, but spending all of your time only watching netflix Now that's where it becomes problematic In that time, you could learn a new language, which could potentially get you a promotion at work, or you could use that time to build a side hustle like starting a YouTube channel or starting some sort of Shopify shop.

You know, use the little extra pockets of time to build something of your own. Most of us don't have unlimited time to just build new income streams, but in the pockets of your time, it all adds up. One hour there, two hours there, throughout the week.

That could be five hours a week, and over time, that's 25 hours a month. And although I can't do the math off the top of my head, Over the course of the year, that could be hundreds of hours that goes towards building a brand new income stream that could even maybe take over your full-time job. That's actually what happened to me. I was still working my main job while building my YouTube channel on the side until one day my YouTube channel was enough to support me and I didn't have to do anything else. All right, and for my last and final 20th tiny habit that made me rich is to check your net worth once in a while.

As a refresher, net worth is your assets, the total of all your savings and accounts and investments. minus your liabilities, which is the total of all of your debts and everything you owe. And it's good to just keep track of this.

First of all, it's good to know just where you stand right now and to check that over time that number is going more and more positive, that you're at least moving in the right direction. Most people don't just get rich by accident. It has to be something intentional that you monitor over time and make sure that you're at least making progress. So keeping track of your net worth, always knowing where you stand and where you'd like it to be, and the next time you look at it, is a really good tiny little habit that will make such a big difference. The other kind of side benefit of tracking your net worth is it forces you to be on top of everything that you own and everything that you owe.

And that again, and just being on top of your finances is again one really key part of becoming rich. So that's it for my 20 tiny habits. I hope you liked them.

Think of this as just a menu of options. You definitely don't have to do all of I don't necessarily do all of these all at once all the time. It's just things over the last few years that have helped me.

So what I recommend is just pick one of these 20 tiny habits to start. And once that habit gets really installed and ingrained and becomes an automated part of you, then think about adding on more. You do not have to do everything at once.

You can always start small. That doesn't mean that you're thinking small, but you'll be shocked at how doing small consistent things over a period of time will make a difference. One day you're going to look back at all the progress that you've made, all the money and income that you've up leveled, and you'll be so amazed and proud of yourself. All right, that's it for this video. Thank you so much for watching as always, and I will see you next week.

Same time, same place.