Six ways to adopt a millionaire’s mindset.
You don’t need to be a millionaire to live like one.
That’s because a millionaire lifestyle isn’t actually about material items — it’s a an operating system for life.
While you may not be able to afford the trappings of a millionaire’s life, it costs nothing to adapt their mindset and the benefits are far greater than any material items.
Here’s how to live like a millionaire no matter how much money you have…
1. Take control of your calendar like Warren Buffett.
There are no shortage of opportunities, requests, and demands for Warren Buffet’s time.
And yet, he keeps his calendar almost entirely empty.
This is because he believes in optimizing his time for whatever is the most important work in a given day or moment, values creating space to think, and thinks it’s virtually impossible to determine what will be most important to spend time on days or weeks in advance.
While it may seem like being a billionaire makes it easier to say no to people and keep a clean calendar, that’s not necessarily true. It’s not “easy” for him, he just makes control of his time a priority.
You can do something similar and likely can exert more control over your schedule than you realize.
No matter how many commitments and responsibilities you need to schedule, look for ways to bend them to your convenience as opposed to outsourcing control of your time.
Be the first to suggest a meeting time so it’s more likely to be convenient for you.
Don’t be afraid to skip or cancel meetings that aren’t productive or you don’t necessarily need to attend.
And prioritize what matters to you to ensure you find time for it in your schedule.
You don’t have to be a millionaire to have a millionaire’s calendar.
(Speaking of which, here’s how to free up two hours in your day.)
2. Explore like Richard Branson.
Where in the world is Richard Branson would be a tough game to win because the Virgin founder constantly travels the world.
He’s even invested in the future of space travel so he and others can someday travel leave this world.
Travel is a lifestyle for him and one that obviously requires a lot of money to execute, but the underlying philosophy that drives it isn’t limited to millionaires.
That’s because Branson’s love of travel is rooted in a passion for exploration — and exploring can be done on any budget.
Most millionaires incorporate some version of exploration into their lives and it’s often that very curiosity which built their wealth in the first place.
When you adopt an explorer’s mindset, you discover things that lead you down new, interesting, and ultimately successful paths.
But exploration doesn’t necessarily require planes, trains, or automobiles.
You can just as easily explore places in your local area — stores you’ve never been in, museums, unusual restaurants, and experiences you’ve never tried.
Technically, you can even use Google to explore the entire world from the comfort of your couch.
You don’t need to beat Branson to space to benefit from approaching the world the way he does.
(Speaking of which, curiosity is one of the five most valuable skills you can develop for free.)
3. Give back like Bill Gates.
Bill Gates has given away more than $50 billion to philanthropic efforts.
But don’t worry, nobody expects you to do that.
A key component of a millionaire’s approach to life (at least in the case of most happy millionaires) is to use what they have to improve the world and help others.
You don’t need $50 billion or the ability to donate any money at all to do this.
You can give your time, effort, expertise, or anything else you have to support others and doing so will not only benefit those you help, but yourself as well.
The only thing it takes to be generous is to decide you want to be.
4. Pursue new passions like Howard Stern.
Howard Stern has an estimated net worth of more than $650 million, which is staggering when you consider he’s earned it by simply talking into a microphone for a couple hours a day.
(Side note: That’s not a knock on him, what he does is incredible and he does it better than anybody in history.)
But when Stern is off air, he chooses to spend his time mainly doing things that don’t require any of that money. He pursues passions that you could just as easily pursue without millions of dollars in the bank.
Stern has plunged himself into hobbies like playing chess, painting, and photography and says each brings him tremendous joy (and the occasional frustration because he’s still Howard Stern after all).
Most millionaires recognize the importance of pursuing passions and that those passions don’t need to be expensive to be enjoyable.
Find things that interest you or you’re curious about and throw yourself into them — doing so rarely costs much money and can deliver an incredible return on investment when it comes to your life.
5. Move people like Oprah Winfrey.
Oprah Winfrey has created quite the fortuitous cycle.
Her ability to motivate and inspire people has made her billions of dollars which in turn helped her build a platform to motivate and inspire more people.
But while it may take substantial resources and opportunities to reach the masses the way Oprah has, it doesn’t take any money to reach a few.
And the benefits to your life in terms of how it feels to help others can be just as powerful.
Many millionaires share the lessons of their lives— both their success and struggles — to help others and you don’t need a big bank account to do the same.
Write a blog post to share how you overcame an issue with the world.
Take a friend to coffee to help them talk through a problem they face.
Become a role model for a young person who needs one.
You don’t need to give out free cars or help millions of people like Oprah to feel the rush of helping somebody get closer to where they want to be.
6. Treat every day like Jeff Bezos.
It’s tempting to assume millionaires exist in a parallel universe where none of the “rules” apply to their work or lives.
But millionaires who have earned their wealth realize that’s not true — they recognize the more grounded they stay, the more likely their success is to continue.
A great example of this is the “Day One” mantra Jeff Bezos preaches at Amazon.
He consistently reminds everyone at the company to approach each day as if it’s Day One despite the incredible success Amazon has had to this point.
By doing so, he reminds himself and his employees to remain focused on results, avoid stasis, and continue to look forward as opposed to resting on what they’ve already accomplished.
It’s a perfect example of a mindset you can adopt that doesn’t require a million dollars to employ in your own work or life.
What would your work look like if you treated every day as Day One?
What would your relationships look like?
How might it change your choices?
Just like with all the mindsets I’ve shared in this post, a Day One approach may not make you a millionaire, but it can certainly help you live like one.