8 Daily Habits That Dramatically Improve Your Prospects of Becoming Rich

Obtaining wealth and success is a journey. We can look at those who have made it and tell ourselves that they were born special or have been incredibly lucky. Those both may play some role in their success, but using someone else's success as a reason for our lack of achievement is just an excuse.

Almost all successful and wealthy people started out where we did. What differentiates us and them is not genetic disposition or being born into a rich family. Rather it is the way that they live their lives each day. It is the habits that they have created for themselves and the way they have learned to become better -- and it is the daily grind of working consistently towards understanding the world.

This journey starts with our daily habits. Over time, when continuing these habits and frameworks of thinking, we will move closer towards success and wealth.

Here are eight daily rituals that you can begin today that will drastically improve your chances of wealth and success:

1. Exercise.

Exercising has many positive effects. First, it will keep you healthy. This helps you look good and feel good about yourself. It is also a great time to decompress. We are busy during the day, and, when we work out, we are able to leave everything else aside.

Not to mention that exercising releases endorphins which, by definition, make us feel better. Some people say that you have to work out in the morning or in the evening. Instead, just find the time that exercising is best for you.

For some, working out in the morning is a great way to kick off the day. Others would rather use the morning to work and enjoy winding down with a workout in the evening.

2. Self-reflect.

We have many experiences each day. We could extract how each of these moments makes us feel and impacts on our life. Reflecting the outcome of our experiences helps align us moving forward to do more of what we love and learn from our mistakes and successes.

Successful people take the time each day to reflect. This could come in a variety of forms, depending on what works for you. Some people like to journal. Others like to go for walks. Other people like to meditate. Regardless of what you choose, finding some way to self-reflect will put your future decisions more in line with who you are at heart.

3. Build your network.

Being self employed is hard. Imagine if you sent one cold email each day and one message to someone that you know giving them an article they would be interested in.

Over the course of the year, you will have reached out to 365 people and added significant value to the lives of those that you already know. Successful people have powerful networks and are able to leverage them to find new opportunities, learn, and be challenged.

Sending two emails sounds quite easy and it is. Yet, close to nobody does it each day. Taking the five or 10 minutes each day to create stronger connections with others will drastically improve your success.

4. Work on a skill or habit.

Spending 10 to 30 minutes daily on a skill or habit will pay drastic dividends over time. Over the course of a few years, you could become one of the best at one particular thing with this daily commitment.

Or, you could work on different skills/habits over time. Doing so, even with just a small amount of your day, will allow you to develop new skills or habits that you can apply throughout your life. Plus, doing so will make you happier by feeling more productive and a greater sense of personal growth.

5. Get enough sleep.

This point is a bit controversial. Some people would argue to sleep less and do more. If you are someone who can operate at maximum output with less sleep, then all the power to you. But don't kid yourself, most people, though, less sleep means sacrificing in productivity or output, even if you are drinking coffee.

Sleeping enough also gives our brain the necessary time to recharge and process the information that we received throughout the day. It can be difficult to make the conscious effort to get enough sleep when you are busy, but doing so will allow you to tackle life with everything that you have each day.

6. Take time to be grateful.

The most successful people take the time each day to be grateful for what they have. This gratitude promotes overall happiness. In turn, this allows us to tackle life with more energy and rigor.

Given that we are as lucky as we are, and have the opportunities that we do, we need to capitalize on them. Being grateful reminds us of that and can help us both take advantage of opportunities as well as persevere in difficult times.

7. Do something that makes you uncomfortable.

The most successful people take risks and challenge themselves. Making an effort each day to do something that pushes you out of your comfort zone will have endless benefits. It will make you more comfortable with risk. Being able to take chances is often the only way to yield large rewards.

This will also help you when you are in the face of adversity. Staying composed when times are tough will pay off in critical situations in your life. Being accustomed to risk also prevents complacency. It will give you a tendency to try new things which will leave you better off and make life more meaningful. Right now I'm trying to learn to become a better programmer as well as starting an Amazon store to make some extra cash. Just because I'm not good at it doesn't mean I shouldn't try. Start today, even if it's only five minutes.

8. Read.

Beyond working on new skills or habits, the most successful people are always learning. They make a daily commitment to reading. This does not have to come in the form of books. Some people listen to podcasts and others enjoy shorter articles. Regardless, though, consuming content and learning each day will widen your perspective and allow you to find more of what you are passionate about.

Deciding what to read can be difficult, but do not use that as an excuse. Don't overwhelm yourself with the likes of a book a week -- start with a page a day if you have traditionally not been a reader.

How to Make Your First Ever Million the Warren Buffett Way

Whether you're looking for investment advice or you're striving for financial greatness, Warren Buffett might be the perfect role model. Known for his holding company Berkshire Hathaway, Buffett has an estimated net worth of $80.7 billion according to Forbes -- but the Oracle of Omaha wasn't born with a silver spoon.

He came from humble beginnings, yet amassed a net worth of $1 million by the age of 30 -- some might say Buffett knows a thing or two about building wealth. If you're looking for advice on the best investments or how to make a million dollars, he's the guy to follow. Here are Buffett's tips so you're on track to make your first million dollars.

(By Valencia Higuera)

10 Proven Tips For Making Millions on Social Media

Marketers go where the people are, and marketing dollars follow. Last year, for the first time ever, marketers invested more money in digital advertising than television advertising. Today, the people are on social media platforms. Nearly 2.5 billion people use at least one social media platform each month, and companies like Facebook intended to keep expanding their reach until the whole world is on a social network.

For entrepreneurs and business leaders, the movement from traditional marketing to digital marketing represents a significant opportunity for anyone interested in created new pockets of revenue. Consider that last year nearly $27 billion was spent on Facebook ads. If you are able to master Facebook marketing for a niche market that spends one ten thousandth of $27 billion, the total addressable market is still worth $2.7 million. This indicates how lucrative it can be to develop a business based on social media.

1. Promote an ecommerce business with look-alike ads.
Look-alike ads are a type of ad vehicle offered by Facebook that uses machine learning to identify your target audience. They enable marketers to effectively communicate with the audience that is statistically most likely to engage with the product.



Look-alike ads have become an effective way for ecommerce entrepreneurs to quickly connect with potential customers without needing to develop marketing personas or complex go-to-market strategies. Instead, Facebook can quickly match ecommerce store owners with ideal customers for a relatively low cost per click, while at the same time helping ecommerce entrepreneurs to quickly create sales.

In time, ecommerce can create millions simply by relying on a combination of compelling products and look-alike ads to grow customers.

2. Start a social media influencer marketing consultancy.The vast majority of marketers (94 percent) who rely on influencer marketing believe it is effective. Brands are finding it increasingly difficult to talk to their target audience. Prospects are better at filtering out ads and sponsored content than ever before, primarily because of powerful ad blockers.

Influencers provide marketers with an opportunity to begin a meaningful conversation with prospects, just when prospects are most receptive.

The problem is, most brands don’t know how to identify the right influencers to approach, and once they’re working with an influencer, they don’t know how to measure success. By starting an influencer marketing consultancy, you can provide marketers with access to an effective marketing channel that has never been more in demand.

3. Master Instagram Stories and become a content consultant.
Instagram is one of the largest social media networks in the world, and Instagram Stories is helping to propel the platform to new heights. Stories is so successful, in fact, that the product is stealing users away from Snapchat.

Many brands recognize that Instagram Stories is a great medium to connect with target audience members; however, creating engaging content on a regular basis can be challenging. By mastering Instagram Stories, you can offer brands valuable advice about how to create compelling content that followers will engage with.

To add value your service, consider using an Instagram analytics tool that will help you determine what content followers are most interested in, and how that content is performing compared to your client’s competitors.

4. Gain first-mover advantage by using LinkedIn’s new ad tools.
In order to compete with other social media platforms, LinkedIn has released a number of new and powerful ad vehicles that marketers will find valuable. It is inevitable that many organizations will master these new advertising options over time. However, the organization that is able to master these new tools first will have a significant first-mover advantage.

Some of the changes to LinkedIn’s suite of tools include the ability to display retargeting ads and the ability to collect lead information within the LinkedIn news feed.

5. Promote gated content through YouTube videos.
YouTube is used by about 2 billion people each month, and because they are a part of Google, they offer a suite of advanced advertising possibilities. Entrepreneurs should consider starting a business that uses compelling YouTube videos to promote gated content hosted on a branded website.

Influencers like Neil Patel and Brian Dean have used YouTube videos to spread their thought leadership, which then helps to promote revenue-generating gated content.

6. Build a movement with Facebook groups.
People crave community. This is still true even though much of our lives is spent interacting with one another digitally. Multimillion-dollar brands like GORUCK have created thriving Facebook Groups that then help to drive sales while improving brand loyalty.

Consider starting a business that is built around a mobilizing idea. For GORUCK, that idea is related to patriotism, togetherness and the desire to improve oneself. As a result, GORUCK has become well known among outdoor enthusiasts and adventure seekers. The company’s success really took off when brand enthusiasts came together on Facebook.

7. Create viral growth by constructing the next great social media integration.
Airbnb, Uber and Periscope are all multimillion-dollar organizations that used the viral nature of social media to quickly expand their customer base. While each organization used virality differently, they were able to use some sort of social media integration to increase the speed of product adoption.

In the early days of Airbnb, the platform integrated with Craigslist to help users quickly find available apartments. Uber integrated their app with social media platforms to make it easier for users to share discount promo codes with friends. Periscope was designed to post when a person was “live” on Twitter.

If your organization can find a way to thoughtfully integrate with social platforms, the viral growth can result in millions of dollars in revenue.

8. Master the one social media platform your competitors don’t use well.
Another way to think about using social media to create revenue is by finding a competitive edge. You should presume that your competitors aren’t using all of the various social media platforms well, and that a substantial number of potential customers are using that platform.

If you are able to create an effective strategy, you’ll be able to win over those customers without competing against your rivals.

9. Be the first to figure out how to use AR or VR on social media.
Augmented and virtual reality are poised to impact many different aspects of life. Apple is investing in augmented reality, and Facebook and Google are investing in virtual reality. Those who are able to figure out how to best use these new technologies to connect with potential customers will be able to win valuable consulting contracts with major brands.

10. Help brands gain access to Gen Z audiences on social media.
Members of Generation Z are simply obsessed with social media. One study found that the average college student checks Instagram and Snapchat about 11 times each day. Yet many brands are struggling to form meaningful connections with this new generation of consumers. Those who are able to help brands connect with Generation Z audience members will land lucrative contracts with major organizations.

Social media entrepreneurship has the potential to create many millionaires. If you want to be among them, you must first master one aspect of social media marketing that aligns with the goals of prominent brands. From there it will be relatively easy to forge relationships with companies interested in creating a compelling social media presence that connects brands with prospects.

INSPIRATION! Read The Stories Of 3 Iconic Women Who Didn't "Play Safe" To Get Successful

Get to know three incredible women who took risks that paid off in the end. Now, they're making their mark.

Naa-Sakle Akuete

Courtesy of subject

Founder and CEO, Eu'Genia Shea

By: Kelsey McKinney

If her mom hadn't battled two serious illnesses in two years, Naa-Sakle Akuete might never have founded her beauty company. In 2015, her mother, Eugenia Akuete, took a trip to her native Ghana after winning a two-year fight with colon cancer—only to return to Brooklyn with a serious bout of bacterial meningitis. She spent three days in the hospital, slipping in and out of a coma.

"It was pretty scary," says Naa-Sakle, 30. "For the first time in my life, I said, 'Screw it. I'm not doing the safe thing.'" And so, as Eugenia recovered that spring, Naa-Sakle quit her job at J.P. Morgan, leaving the stable paycheck and the suits behind, and joined forces with her mom to help run Naasakle Ltd., the company Eugenia had started more than 15 years earlier that sells bulk quantities of shea to global corporations, and to launch Eu'Genia Shea, a direct-to-consumer brand.

When it comes to shea, a thick salve with crazy moisturizing properties, the Akuetes are total pros. "I spend 20 minutes every morning shea-ing up," Naa-Sakle says, laughing. "I use it all over my body: my hands, my feet, my arms and legs, my face, even my hair." The formulation she uses isn't the store-bought lotion with a dash of natural plant fat you see on shelves in the U.S. It's the strong stuff—with a high percentage of butter that makes her skin silky and soft. Naa-Sakle got the goods from her mom, who, in the decade prior to her illnesses, had established herself as a force in Ghana's shea butter industry: In addition to founding Naasakle Ltd. in 2000, Eugenia was named president of the Global Shea Alliance in 2012, advising Ghana's then-president on how to take advantage of shea exports.

Since Eugenia had spent much of her daughter's teens and 20s overseas, Naa-Sakle used her mother's permanent return to the States as an excuse to find a way to be close to her every single day. She discussed with her husband the idea of quitting Wall Street to take over her mom's company and start her own. "He said, 'Now's the time. We don't have kids. I have a job. I trust you. This is a good product. Let's see how it goes,'" she says.

The decision to go rogue was quite a departure from Naa-Sakle's background. As the child of immigrants—her parents fled Ghana in the late '70s after a political coup—she was taught about the importance of a good education and a stable job. Naa-Sakle attended Wellesley College, then worked at Lehman Brothers and Barclays, got her MBA at Harvard, and ulti- mately landed at J.P. Morgan. "It was a long time coming, given how careful I've been my entire life," she says. "I'm still kind of amazed I did this. But I'm so happy that I did it." And the businesses are flourishing: Naasakle Ltd.'s revenue has quadrupled, and Eu'Genia Shea recently participated in the Sephora Accelerate beauty boot camp. Best of all, Naa-Sakle's mom is now healthy, and they get to share this new adventure together.

Angela Duckworth

Christopher Lane/Contour/Getty Images

Founder and Scientific Director, Character Lab

By: Karen Schwartz

Grit—the perfect storm of passion and practice—allows even the most mediocre of minds to achieve success, and success is attainable for everyone, says Angela Duckworth. The 46-year-old University of Pennsylvania professor and psychologist shot to national prominence when she published Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance, which topped best-seller lists last year.

Her book, as well as much of Duckworth's research on the psychology that helps chil- dren thrive, isn't about rebelling, per se. It's about the fruits of focused enthusiasm. But Duckworth's own story began with a bit of professional defiance.

After pursuing a relatively traditional (and impressive) path—Harvard undergraduate degree, master's in neuroscience from Oxford University, a gig at consulting firm McKinsey & Company—Duckworth left the lucrative corpo- rate world to teach seventh-grade math in a New York City public school. "Instead of going to medical school like a good Asian girl, I decided to go teach poor kids," she says. "I grew up with Chinese parents, and the idea of public service was just very foreign. Going to help strangers, who, by the way, were not your race—they just didn't get it. My dad was like, 'I sent you to Harvard for this?'" Duckworth moved in with her now-husband to save on rent, allowing her to quit her job at McKinsey. Over the next five years, she taught math in New York, San Francisco, and Philadelphia.

Duckworth felt a change in the way people responded to her job title. McKinsey elicited praise and envy. Seventh-grade math teacher? Not so much. But that didn't sway Duckworth's conviction that she'd made the right choice.

Her work as a teacher inspired her to go back to school to study psychology. "I hadn't figured out how to give [my students] the skills and habits they needed—skills that were not part of the math curriculum, but part of the life curriculum," she explains. At 32, Duckworth began the Ph.D. program at Penn.

Since then, Duckworth's work has received numerous awards, including a MacArthur "genius" Fellowship. She also founded, and now serves as scientific director for, the nonprofit Character Lab, whose mission is to advance the science and practice of character development.

Duckworth's big career takeaway? "I have always done whatever the hell I want," she says. "None of us are going to be here in 100 years." Just go for it.

Sarah Robb O'Hagan

Courtesy of subject

CEO, Flywheel Sports

By: Colleen McKeegan

This time last year, Sarah Robb O'Hagan told the team she had led for four years as president of Equinox Fitness that she was leaving the company to write a book. A few days later, she panicked. "The first three months were totally disorienting," she recalls. The native New Zealander, who now lives in New York, had recently sold her proposal for career guide Extreme You: Step Up. Stand Out. Kick Ass. Repeat., out this month—yet she had never written more than a blog post. She had thousands of thoughts on what it meant to be an "Extremer," but strug- gled to communicate her message.

Robb O'Hagan, 44, has always been a bit daring, but within the safety of a job. She is, after all, an Extremer, which she describes as an executive with a "sense of rebelliousness about their own potential." They're not brainiac Einsteins, skipping grades and exuding suc- cess at a young age. They can be B students with drive and a penchant for following their gut. Extreme You is filled with stories about the ups and downs of Robb O'Hagan's career— most notably her inclination to push back against those who didn't believe in her vision.

Yet taking an abrupt break from corporate life just as her star neared its apex? That was Robb O'Hagan's most surprising move. "I needed solitude in my life to think about what I wanted," she explains. It was hard to turn down the many job opportunities that came her way in the months after she left Equinox, but she focused on writing her book and figuring out what, exactly, she wanted out of the next phase of her career. "I definitely had freak-outs, just because I couldn't see a clear path," she says.

Then along came Flywheel Sports. The indoor-cycling company's chairman reached out to Robb O'Hagan last fall. She initially played coy, but as she learned more, she felt it philosophically aligned with Extreme You. This February, the company announced Robb O'Hagan as its CEO.

If she hadn't quit her job at Equinox after she felt like her growth had stagnated, Robb O'Hagan says, she wouldn't have found this new opportunity: "I believe to reach your own potential, you have to break yourself to make yourself."

This article appears in the April issue of Marie Claire, on newsstands now.

10 Life-Transforming Business Books Entrepreneur Must Read in 2017 For Success in Business

Bill Gates recently released his favorite books of 2016. Claiming he averages about one book a week, the billionaire business magnate says reading is his “favorite way to learn about a new topic.”





We were inspired to put together our own reading list of some of the best-selling business books of the year. Here’s a selection of 10 must-reads that we think have the potential to transform your business and take it to the next level.

Shoe Dog by Phil Knight

A Bill Gates favorite, Shoe Dog offers an inside look at Phil Knight’s entrepreneurial journey and how he built his startup Nike into the global brand it is today.


Tools of Titans by Tim Ferriss

In his latest book, entrepreneur and strategist Tim Ferriss shares the productivity secrets of the more than 200 “world-class performers” he has interviewed on his podcast.

The Power of Broke by Daymond John

Shark Tank star and Fubu founder Daymond John explains that starting a business with limited resources is a competitive advantage, not a liability.


The Code of the Extraordinary Mind by Vishen Lakhiani

What if everything you thought about love, work, and life is wrong? Vishen Lakhiani, founder of MindValley, challenges your most entrenched beliefs in an effort to help you redefine the meaning of personal success.


Disrupted by Dan Lyons

This is a messy, tell-all account of what happens when a seasoned journalist from an established news magazine takes a job at a software marketing startup. He chronicles his time at Hubspot where he encountered “devilish angel investors, fad-chasing venture capitalists, entrepreneurs and ‘wantrapreneurs.’”

Originals by Adam Grant

Author and professor Adam Grant examines how people can reject conformity and improve the status quo by generative creative, original ideas.

Hustle by Neil Patel, Patrick Vlaskovits, and Jonas Koffler

This New York Times bestseller guides readers through the process of “breaking free from the drudgery” in their daily lives and turning potential into opportunity.

Grit by Angela Duckworth

Psychologist Angela Duckworth claims that success is the result of passion and persistence, not talent and luck.
 

Building the Internet of Things by Maciej Kranz

This is a practical handbook for entrepreneurs who are focused on the business implications of the Internet of Things.

Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman

Though originally published in 2011, this book continues to be a best-seller in 2016. Renowned psychologist Daniel Kahneman does a deep dive analysis of the two cognitive systems that shape the judgments and decisions we make in our everyday lives.