by Vickie Austin
When we picture the wealthiest people in the world, our image may be of someone hunched over a desk, buried in meetings or making visits to the plant, or maybe all three. The “tyranny of the urgent” often consumes us, and as soon as we take a job working for “the Man,” our sense of boundaries starts to shift.
But like the ultra-wealthy, you, too, have control over your time. You just have to claim it.
Habits make wealth
Our good friend Warren Buffett, chairman of Berkshire Hathaway and long seen as a wizard in the investment world, swears by the habit of reading. He is known to have said, “The best investment you can make in yourself is to read good books.” Buffett reads newspapers, reports and books and lets others read social media.
Exerting control over our time with social media is one way to get a bigger return on investment of the hours we waste catching up on people and events that won’t move us closer to our goals.
It’s no surprise that Buffett and Bill Gates, co-founder of Microsoft, are book buddies. Gates is said to read 50 books a year, although he may read more now that he’s turned the day-to-day operations over to others. Oprah Winfrey, media mogul and talk show host who gained fame and wealth as a keen interviewer of people, swears by journaling and meditation.
For the antsy, meditation may seem like too big a stretch, but spending time in some serene state, whether it’s prayer or meditation or looking at the clouds go by, seems to pay off.
Move it or lose it
Keeping our bodies strong and vital is a key to longevity and wealth as well. Richard Branson, founder of Virgin (airlines, records, you name it), gives credit to his workout routine. Like Branson, those who carve time out of their busy schedules for self-care will see dividends. If you’re running a company or building an empire, you can’t accomplish anything or become wealthy if you run out of gas. Spending time in the gym, walking in nature, playing a friendly tennis match with a buddy, all put gas back in that tank.
Original blogger and author, columnist and founder of Thrive Global Arianna Huffington wrote a whole book about the value of sleep. She realized she’d been working too long and too hard when she passed out from exhaustion and sustained a head injury. Her book The Sleep Revolution: Transforming Your Life One Night at a Time is a wake-up call to those who think grinding it out will result in wealth.
Take back your calendar and do things that fit your “best and highest use.” Leverage your skills to build your wealth and outsource the rest.
