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TOM@RICHHABITS.NET
In my five-year Rich Habits Study, I interviewed 233 wealthy individuals and 128 people living in poverty. One of the clearest divides in mindset appeared when I asked about the role of luck in building wealth.
Seventy-nine percent of the poor believed wealth comes from random good luck. Only 8% of the overall rich group agreed. Among the self-made millionaires—the 177 men and women who built their wealth from middle-class or poor beginnings—that number fell even lower. Instead, 84% of the rich (and 97% of the self-made) stated that good daily habits create opportunity luck.
I have shared this finding in articles on richhabits.net and through media coverage in the United States and 27 other countries, including major outlets such as CBS, Fox News, CNN, and USA Today. The numbers consistently provoke strong reactions because they challenge a deeply held belief: that financial success is mostly a matter of chance.
The self-made millionaires in my study did not wait for luck to strike. They created it through repeated actions. They saved at least 10% of their income. They read educational material every day. They exercised regularly. They set written goals and pursued them for years. They networked deliberately, sought mentors, and went beyond what their jobs required. Many failed in business at least once and still continued. Over time those habits produced the opportunities that outsiders later called “luck.
The poor group in the study held the opposite view. Nearly 80% attributed wealth to random fortune. That belief correlated with very different daily choices: higher rates of lottery play, limited educational reading, lower savings, and greater credit-card debt. When you believe success is mostly random, the disciplined behaviors that actually generate opportunity feel pointless.
My research documented more than 300 categories of behavior, thinking, choices and decisions.
The luck question is important because it underlies two different belief systems:
Rich Thinking- The belief that you are the architect of your life and
- Poor Thinking – The belief that you are a victim or circumstances.
- Rich Thinking drives you to pursue success and wealth and Poor Thinking justifies doing nothing to change your circumstances.
The self-made rich treated habits as the primary driver for changing your life to create better outcomes. They rejected the idea that wealth is accidental. Zero percent of the self-made group believed wealth is usually accidental.
The data shows that those who view wealth as random luck tend to remain where they are. Conversely, those who treat good habits as the creators of opportunity, steadily move forward, improving their lives.
Seventy-nine percent of the poor do nothing, believing luck is outside their control. Ninety-seven percent of the self-made take action, knowing luck is created by their Rich Habits.
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.”
