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TOM@RICHHABITS.NET
In my five-year Rich Habits Study I interviewed 233 wealthy individuals and 128 people living below the poverty line. One finding has followed me through hundreds of media interviews in the United States and twenty-seven other countries, from CBS Evening News and Fox News to CNN, USA Today, and international outlets.
When I asked whether the American Dream was still possible, 86.7 percent of the poor said no—it was dead. Only 2.1 percent of the rich agreed.
At the same time, 94.4 percent of the rich stated that wealth remains a central part of the American Dream. Among the 177 self-made millionaires in the study, that number was 100 percent. Not a single one of them believed the Dream had died.
Those two statistics reveal far more than differing opinions. They expose two opposing belief systems that shape every subsequent decision.
The poor group largely saw the American Dream as something external forces had taken away—government policy, a rigged economy, bad luck, or systemic barriers.
The rich, and especially the self-made, viewed it as something still available to anyone willing to adopt specific daily habits and accept personal responsibility for outcomes.
I have written extensively about this contrast on on my Rich Habits website and in my books. The self-made millionaires did not inherit their belief.
Forty-one percent were raised in poverty and 59 percent in middle-class homes. Most became wealthy after age fifty. They saved at least 10 percent of their income, read educational material every day, exercised regularly, avoided credit-card debt, maintained close relationships with other success-minded people, and set written goals. Their conviction that the American Dream remained alive powered the habits that eventually made their Dream become a reality.
The poor in my study were far more likely to play the lottery regularly, watch reality television for hours, carry credit-card balances, and believe wealth comes primarily from random luck or inheritance. Nearly 90 percent thought most rich people inherited their money. The actual figure was only 24 percent. That gap in perception is not neutral. If you are convinced the American Dream is dead, the daily disciplines that create wealth feel pointless.
Media coverage of my research has repeatedly returned to this point because it is foundational.
Belief precedes behavior.
Without the conviction that upward mobility is still possible, the 300-plus Rich Habits I documented are meaningless.
The rich in my study balanced their checkbooks, networked deliberately, mentored others, and volunteered. They did these things because they believed effort still mattered.
I did not set out to write a book or lecture anyone when I embarked on my Rich Habits Study. I set out to discover why some people become rich and others remain poor or stuck in the middle-class. I did this by studying what the rich and the poor actually did from the moment they woke until they the moment they went to sleep. The data is unambiguous.
The people who still believe the American Dream is alive are the ones most likely to pursue it.
Those who have written it off are the ones most likely to stay exactly where they are.
Belief alone does not create wealth. Consistent action does. But without the belief that wealth is possible even when born and raised in poverty, the action required to break free from poverty never occurs.
The American Dream is not dead. For 94 percent of the self-made rich—it remains very much alive. And they are the proof.
Tom Corley is an accountant, financial planner and author of “Rich Kids: How to Raise Our Children to Be Happy and Successful in Life”, “Effort-Less Wealth”, “Change Your Habits Change Your Life”, “Rich Habits Poor Habits”, “Rich Habits: The Routines Millionaires Use Daily to Build Wealth” and “Rich Habits Wealth Academy.”
