Have you ever wondered what sets apart wealthy people from the average person? If you think about it, rich people seem to have access to top-tier success tips that most of us don’t. Well, the secret to becoming rich is not a secret anymore. You have to master seven essential money skills for you to start noticing a positive change in your financial life so keep reading and soon you’ll be able to put them into action!
Money Skill #1: Self-awareness
The first money skill that rich people practice is self-awareness. Self-awareness is a strong sense of familiarity with one’s feelings, character, and expectations. Self-awareness is a skill that helps you appreciate your individuality and acknowledge your strengths and weaknesses. It helps you identify things that make you different from other people and exploit those things to become better.
When it comes to building wealth, strong self-awareness is a skill that will give you an edge. Keep in mind that you are the most valuable asset in this journey. If you don’t know who you are, and what ticks which box in your life, you’re just setting yourself up for failure. For example, self-awareness will help you know your personality type. Research indicates that personality has a major influence on an individual’s decision-making process and their social interactions. If you’re an extrovert who has an easy time interacting, you can leverage this to build high-value business networks that expose you to better opportunities.
Another importance of self-awareness is that it will help you understand an investment method that works for you. The cautious investor, for example, is less adventurous and less risk-averse. This type of investor would rather channel their money, where there is the least risk. Then we have an emotional investor. This type summons their inner emotions before making any crucial investment move. This type trusts their instincts and sometimes overlooks advice from external parties which can be either a strength or a weakness.
Lastly, self-awareness is the surest recipe for growth. If you’re able to bring your shortcomings to light, then chances are high that you’ll do everything in your power to overturn them. Understanding your failures is the first step in improving and becoming better. With that said, how do you cultivate self-awareness?
This is simple. You can either do it yourself or make use of other people to discover who you are. Meditation and self-introspection are good places to start. Secondly, always seek honest feedback from people close to you, or those that you work with. This is because we often overlook certain aspects of our lives that other people notice with ease.
Money Skill #2: Self-control
Moving on, self-control is another money skill that draws the line between the rich and the poor. Self-control refers to the ability to restrain certain feelings and desires, especially when it’s hard to do so.
Self-control, or the lack of it, is most prevalent in our everyday money habits. For example, how often do you see something and feel the need to buy it? It could be food, a new phone, shoes, or even that movie ticket you know you don’t need.
The truth is, this happens every other day, and unless you learn how to suppress these feelings and desires, you’ll keep spending your money on worthless things.
And this is where self-control steps in. One key importance of self-control is that it draws emphasis on one’s needs instead of their wants. Self-control will help you master delayed gratification, which is a common trait among the rich. It is only through having self-control that you’ll be able to push the less-important desires to the back of your wish list. This way, you can save money for bigger projects that will help fast track your financial freedom journey.
Although important, we can all agree that self-control isn’t a skill that we’re born with. This is something you will have to practice repeatedly until you master it. If you have poor financial habits, there are small habits that you can integrate into your daily life to help you get there. For example, sticking with cash instead of credit cards is a good way to practice self-control. Program your mind to register that running out of cash is the end of buying anything. This way, you’ll get used to prioritizing the things you need and saving your wants for later.
Money Skill #3: Confidence
Ever wondered why most rich people appear fearless? It’s proven that successful people have a higher level of confidence than the average person, and that confidence is a contributor to wealth. Confidence refers to a strong belief and trust in ones abilities. A confident person believes that they are capable of doing great things, regardless of the circumstances. Confident people are proactive, brave, and more ambitious than their peers are. These qualities often lead them to top leadership positions in either their companies or the businesses they are entrusted with.
When it comes to finances, confidence can help you make money in different ways. For example, it will give you an edge in most negotiation rooms, be it salary negotiation meetings or million-dollar business deals. When you’re confident, you won’t have to deal with the fear of rejection. You’ll stretch your muscles further and ask the tough questions- even those that would make your peers cringe. This will mean going for projects that seem tougher or starting businesses that appear intimidating.
Confidence also comes into play when it comes to building worthy relationships. Confident people have an easier time networking at events and approaching mentors that end up touching their lives positively.
This is why you’ll find most leaders possessing this trait and holding on to it even as they progress. Even though many people believe that they’ll one day become rich and take over the world, only those who overlook their fears eventually bring this dream to life.
Money Skill #4: Vision
While it’s good to dream big, it’s equally important to understand why you’re dreaming in the first place. Many people lack the drive to pursue the goals they set, and this is why most fail. Sometimes, this drive can take the form of a mental picture that embodies your future aspirations, hopes, and dreams. This mental picture is called a vision.
In simple terms, having a vision is the ability to imagine or project future possibilities and outcomes. Visions are a common denominator that rich people have. These people can look into the future and see themselves successful. Most importantly, rich people have a purpose that motivates them to work towards the future they want.
Instead of just going with the flow, successful people let their visions direct their paths and give them purpose. Similarly, you have to understand ‘your why’ before you embark on any financial venture. For example, by having a vision that positions your family in a bigger home, or living a more comfortable life, you’ll get the motivation to start saving money or invest.
Usually, a company vision plays a big role in unifying employees to give their best. Everyone wants to be part of something good. And if your business has a vision that’s clear and impactful, then you’ll have people coming on board.
Money Skill #5: Patience
Patience is the ability to accommodate delays, no matter how inconvenient they are at the time. Patience helps people overcome challenges without getting overwhelmed. Particularly when it comes to building wealth, patience will carry you in the face of difficulty. You’ll need patience when your business is picking up slowly, and sales are slow. You’ll need patience when the stock market is tanking, and everyone is fleeing to safer investments. You’ll need the patience to earn a promotion or a raise. You’ll need patience when dealing with difficult business partners.
To summarize it all, patience will enable you, as a business owner or executive, to make sound and informed decisions that will contribute to your success. Patience births other values that are even more critical for success. Values like tolerance, delayed gratification, optimism, and self-control all result from being patient- and this is why the patient person will always be richer.
Money Skill #6: Creativity
Truth be told-rich people never run out of their creative juices. Successful people have an eye that sees things differently. They have eyes that can identify gaps and devise ways for filling those gaps before the ordinary person does.
For sure, creativity is the secret sauce of nailing success in today’s competitive world. Creativity refers to the ability to harness one’s original imagination and inspire something real and tangible. While most of us believe that creativity is synonymous with thinking outside the box, creative people don’t even have a box, to begin with. These are some of the wildest dreamers you’ll ever come across. What’s even more surprising is that creative people draw their inspirations from simple things and basic places. Most times, creativity and innovation go hand in hand. Creative people often end up being savvy business owners and genius inventors of life-changing products.
Think of Google, Uber, Facebook, and Airbnb. Today, it’s impossible to imagine what life would be like if these services and social media platforms didn’t exist. The good thing is that creativity can be expressed in multiple ways. You can show creativity in your writing, art, music, business, or in your communication with other people. There’s no limit to the doors creativity can open for you.
Money Skill #7: Communication
Finally, effective communication is another common skill that rich people possess. Communication is one of the ways through which rich people earn money daily. As a skill, communication enables one to exchange information whether verbally, in written form, or through their actions. Clear and effective communication encompasses telling the truth, being clear when communicating your ideas, and listening keenly as other people communicate.
Successful people have all three on their fingertips, making them effective communicators. This manifests in their flourishing businesses and investments, and their strong business networks. Most people don’t realize how much potential lies in this social skill.
I can name a tad too many instances where clear communication can change your financial trajectory- whether directly or indirectly. For one, communication increases your likeability. The secret to business success is knowing how to make people effortlessly jump onto your train. For example, to acquire significant funding from investors, you’ll have to draft a worthy pitch-deck. When applying for funding, you’ll have to convince potential investors, in simple terms, why your startup deserves their money.
Communication also comes into play in the business world. As a business owner, you must be able to convince customers why they should spend money to buy your product or service. You can do this by drafting detailed blog posts on your website, emails, social media posts. At a time when people spend so much time on the internet, written communication is a guaranteed method to acquire clients.
Effective communication is also important in networking. Sometimes, sharpening your communication skills helps you meet people that push you to greater heights financially. For instance, you could meet an individual with a stronger social influence who helps you market your business. To emphasize this point, I’ll leave you with a quote by Warren Buffett, one of the most brilliant investors in history. “If you can’t communicate with other people and get across your ideas, you’re giving up your potential. You have to learn to communicate in life. It’s enormously important.”
There you go! Those are the seven money skills you must learn now!