Book Review: Rich Habits: The Daily Success Habits of Wealthy Individuals

by Thomas C. Corley 3 of 5 Stars

I’d taken a long hiatus from business and personal motivation books. This one caught my eye for some reason and, if only to refresh my memory or tune up some old hardware in the back of my mind, I decided to give this book a read.

It’s alright. It’s not bad advice. The price for the paperback is steep, considering that it weighs in at less than 90 pages. So, one star down for that.

And another star down for the fact that 50% of the content of the book is “storytelling.”

The author begins with a handful of stories of people down on their luck. Each of them somehow meets a stranger who, seeing a reflection of themselves, offers the person a free “Rich Habits” seminar with the mysterious J.C. Jobs. Later, we find out that J.C. Jobs was himself in dire straits at one point and had set out on a mission to discover why rich people are successful.

From there, the book launches into the ten daily habits that rich people practice.

The Ten Daily Habits are:

1. Form Good Daily Habits.
2. Set goals – daily, weekly, monthly, yearly, long-term
3. Work on Self-Improvement every day
4. Exercise every day
5. Build and nurture relationships
6. Moderation in all things
7. Do it now, no procrastination
8. Think richly
9. Save and invest
10. Exercise control over your thoughts and emotions

Each habit is covered in a few pages.

The book is a quick read, and quite honestly it’s not bad advice. None of the advice is outlandish or difficult to follow. It’s all true, if simplistically so, and will tend to lead someone to success if followed routinely. I enjoyed the author’s concept of “Situational Good Luck,” meaning the type of good luck someone gets when they open themselves up to opportunity and set themselves up for success.

I’d rank Daily Habit # 5 as the most critical or most important. In my experiencing, networking is the backbone of success.

Daily Habit # 6 has me perplexed, because it seems that the Daily Habits themselves are a kind of obsession and that, when it comes to working, successful people seem obsessed and not able to withdraw from the arena. Your average executive works 60 hours per week and often has plenty of engagements outside of work. Where’s the balance and moderation in this? Perhaps this is just living for them. I can completely get on board with moderation, but I suspect that you have to exempt success from the equation, because I don’t think you can be a moderate when it comes to work and be highly successful.

I’d also take issue with his advice for Daily Habit # 4, which is to spend most of your time running to get in shape. I’d place strength training on equal ground with cardiovascular exercise.

Overall, a good primer with a solid backbone for anyone looking to get someone in shape for taking a good ol’ stab at the American Dream.