The Sunday Times Rich List – What Does It Tell Us?
You might be aware that last weekend The Sunday Times issued their 30th annual review of the UK’s wealthiest people.
Some love it, others find it distasteful.
Personally, as an entrepreneur myself, I found this year’s edition fascinating.
The reason being that in the first edition 30 years ago, the largest single category of wealth was landowners – what might be termed “old money”; with only 43% of the Rich List 30 years ago being made up of people who had made money themselves.
That was 30 years ago. Compare that with now.
In perhaps the biggest transformation in the Rich List over the last 30 years, this year 94% of the list were “self-made”. In other words, entrepreneurs who had gone out there and made it happen.
Take Jim Ratcliffe, number one on the list, with a wealth of £21.05 billion. He set up a chemicals company called Ineos and has made his fortune in the last 20 years.
Reading the list, two things struck me. Firstly, now is arguably the best time ever to be an entrepreneur. Huge opportunities exist for anyone to go out there and make it happen!
The other thing that occurred to me was, do these entrepreneurs, the people on the Rich List have anything in common? Did they just get lucky or are there things that billionaires and millionaires do that the rest of the population don’t?
It turns out there are several habits that are common to successful and wealthy entrepreneurs.
Here are six of them:
- Waking up early
What do the likes of Virgin Group founder Richard Branson, Apple CEO Tim Cook and Oprah Winfrey have in common? It turns out they all get up early on a regular basis – often around 5.00am.
Successful entrepreneur’s days are often busy. An early rise allows them the luxury of some quiet time before it’s business as usual.
They know that rising early can allow them preparation for the day ahead so that by the time everyone else is waking up, they’ve already hit the ground running.
- Goal setting
You might think that once someone has made their millions, that goal setting is a thing of the past. After all, they’ve already made it.
But, one of the secrets to long-term, sustained success is continuing to make and adjust goals in order to stay motivated.
Regardless of what the goal might be, successful entrepreneurs know that it’s important to have specific goals to remain inspired and to maintain a strong work ethic.
- Lifelong learning
Albert Einstein once said, “When you stop learning, you start dying.”
One of the common habits of successful and wealthy entrepreneurs is that they never stop learning. They remain curious and realise that to remain relevant in their field, they need to continue learning and adapting.
As a result, they read, they stay updated and are always looking for ways to expand their knowledge base.
- Taking time off
Successful and wealthy entrepreneurs have one unexpected secret to success: It’s not all about the money.
It’s also about enjoying life. And that means taking regular time off to do whatever it is they do. Walking, visiting art galleries, skiing, sailing or lying on a beach!!
The important thing is they take time away to rest, relax and recuperate.
- Networking
Rich and successful entrepreneurs rarely do it without help from others. They realise the importance of relationships and connections.
As a result, they develop the habit of creating networking opportunities that help them to establish and maintain lasting relationships.
Successful people remember that sustained success is built on personal relationships not by trying to go it alone.
- Giving back
There is a huge mis-conception that all the rich and successful want to do is become “Scrooge like” hoarders of their wealth. However, many long-time millionaires become more committed to doing good for the world as they gain more success.
Bill Gates, Warren Buffet, Richard Branson. There are many well-documented, and many more undocumented cases of rich, successful entrepreneurs giving back to society.
They realise that at any given time you can only live in one house, drive one car and wear one suit and that ultimately money and things don’t really satisfy.
Simply put: Giving back makes life richer in a way that “trinkets” can’t. As a result, many billionaires and millionaires make it an intentional habit to give back.
Six common habits of rich and successful entrepreneurs.
So, why not decide to cultivate these habits in your own life. Whilst they may not make you a member of the super-rich, they will certainly and without question enrich your life.
