Wealth creation isn’t accidental—it results from specific habits practiced consistently over time. Ten groundbreaking books collectively studied thousands of self-made millionaires through surveys, interviews, and data analysis, revealing clear behavior patterns.
Here’s the list of the ten books and their authors that studied self-made millionaires:
- The Millionaire Next Door (1996) by Thomas J. Stanley and William D. Danko
- Rich Habits: The Daily Success Habits of Wealthy Individuals (2010) by Thomas C. Corley
- Everyday Millionaires (2019) by Chris Hogan
- Change Your Habits, Change Your Life (2016) by Thomas C. Corley
- The Next Millionaire Next Door (2018) by Thomas J. Stanley and Sarah Stanley Fallaw
- Stop Acting Rich (2009) by Thomas J. Stanley
- Think and Grow Rich (1937) by Napoleon Hill
- The Millionaire Mind (2000) by Thomas J. Stanley
- Secrets of the Millionaire Mind (2005) by T. Harv Eker
- The Automatic Millionaire (2003) by David Bach
These books represent a mix of classic and contemporary research on millionaires, with methodologies ranging from extensive surveys to long-term observational studies, focusing on direct research rather than theory or personal anecdotes.
These aren’t speculative theories but documented practices of self-made wealthy individuals from Thomas Stanley’s landmark work with William Danko to Thomas Corley’s five-year study of 233 rich people, and Chris Hogan’s massive research of over 10,000 millionaires.
The following ten habits appear repeatedly across these studies, suggesting they’re fundamental to financial success regardless of industry, age, or background.
1. Consistent Saving and Investing
The cornerstone habit of millionaires is systematic saving and investing. Stanley and Danko’s research in “The Millionaire Next Door” found that most millionaires save 20% or more of their income—regardless of how much they make. This habit typically begins early in their careers, long before they accumulate significant wealth.
David Bach’s research for “The Automatic Millionaire” revealed that successful wealth-builders make saving automatic rather than discretionary, treating it as a non-negotiable expense. They invest regularly through market ups and downs rather than attempting to time market fluctuations.
This consistency creates a powerful compounding effect that accelerates wealth-building over decades. The self-made wealthy understand that small, regular investments grow exponentially over time due to the power of compounding, making this perhaps the most essential habit for building lasting wealth.
2. Living Below Your Means
Perhaps the most surprising finding across multiple millionaire studies is their tendency toward frugality despite substantial seven-figure net worths. In “The Millionaire Next Door,” Stanley discovered that most millionaires live in modest homes in middle-class neighborhoods and drive practical, often used vehicles.
Thomas Corley’s research for “Rich Habits” found that 93% of the wealthy individuals he studied spent less than they earned. This starkly contrasts what Stanley termed “big hat, no cattle” individuals who project wealth through conspicuous consumption while accumulating few assets.
Actual millionaires understand that financial independence comes not from displaying wealth but from retaining and investing it. They recognize that every dollar saved can be invested to generate more income, creating a virtuous cycle that accelerates wealth accumulation.
3. Creating Multiple Income Streams
Self-made millionaires rarely rely on a single source of income. Corley’s research found that 65% of self-made millionaires had at least three income streams before achieving significant wealth. IRS research shows that the majority of millionaires report seven streams of income. These additional revenue sources often include dividend-producing investments, rental properties, side businesses, royalties, intellectual property, cash-flowing assets, or company part-ownership.
The key insight from these studies is that millionaires gradually build these income streams over time, often starting with small investments while still working their primary jobs. They leverage existing skills, interests, and capital to create new opportunities rather than making dramatic career changes.
This diversification increases total income and provides financial security—if one source declines, others continue generating revenue. Multiple income streams also accelerate wealth-building by providing additional investment capital, creating a snowball effect.
4. Committing to Continuous Learning
Napoleon Hill’s interviews with over 500 millionaires for “Think and Grow Rich” revealed their extraordinary commitment to ongoing education. Corley’s study found that 88% of wealthy individuals devoted at least 30 minutes daily to self-education through reading, compared to just 2% of those struggling financially.
Their material typically includes biographies of successful people, self-improvement books, and industry publications rather than purely entertainment content. This finding appears consistently across decades of millionaire research, from Hill’s 1937 work to modern studies.
Wealthy individuals view learning as a competitive advantage and prioritize acquiring practical knowledge that can be applied to business and investing opportunities. They recognize that expertise compounds over time, just like money, creating opportunities unavailable to others.
5. Setting Clear, Written Goals
Goal-setting emerged as another universal habit among the wealthy. Corley found that 67% of affluent individuals write down their goals, compared to 17% of those struggling financially. This written commitment transforms vague aspirations into concrete targets.
Millionaires don’t just set vague objectives—they create specific, measurable targets with deadlines and review them regularly. Their planning horizons tend to be much longer than average, often looking 5-10 years ahead while simultaneously breaking long-term goals into actionable daily tasks.
This balance between big-picture thinking and immediate action steps allows them to maintain motivation while consistently progressing toward financial independence. Written goals serve as a compass during difficult times, keeping wealthy individuals focused on their priorities rather than being distracted by short-term challenges.
6. Prioritizing Physical and Mental Health
Multiple studies have shown that millionaires demonstrate strong health habits alongside their financial disciplines. Corley found that 76% of wealthy individuals exercise aerobically at least four days weekly, compared to 23% of the financially struggling. This commitment to physical well-being supports their financial success through better mental performance.
Successful people recognize the connection between physical well-being, cognitive performance, productivity, and longevity. They view health as an investment that pays dividends through increased energy, better decision-making, and reduced healthcare costs.
While specific health practices vary, the consistent theme is intentionality about maintaining physical and mental well-being despite busy schedules. Millionaires understand that health is their most fundamental asset—without it, financial success becomes meaningless and often unattainable.
7. Building Strategic Relationships
Napoleon Hill’s concept of the “mastermind alliance” came directly from his millionaire research, revealing how wealthy individuals deliberately cultivate relationships with other success-minded people. They recognize that their social circle profoundly influences their thinking, opportunities, and habits.
Corley found that 86% of wealthy individuals associated with other successful people, while 96% of those struggling financially did not. These connections provide millionaires with opportunities, knowledge, and support unavailable to those in less achievement-oriented social circles.
The research shows that millionaires approach networking strategically. They seek relationships that elevate their thinking, expose them to new opportunities, and challenge their limitations rather than simply collecting business cards. They prioritize depth over breadth in relationships, investing time in connections that create mutual value.
8. Practicing Delayed Gratification
The ability to sacrifice immediate pleasures for long-term gains appears consistently in millionaire research. Stanley’s work revealed that most self-made millionaires built their wealth slowly through disciplined saving and systematic investing over decades rather than through sudden windfalls or high-risk ventures.
They willingly drive older cars, live in modest homes, and avoid luxury purchases during their wealth-building years, understanding that premature lifestyle inflation undermines long-term financial independence. This patience also extends to their investment approach, focusing on steady appreciation rather than get-rich-quick schemes.
The capacity to delay gratification is a psychological foundation for many other wealth-building habits, enabling the consistency that wealth creation requires. Millionaires recognize that immediate consumption trades future freedom and security for momentary satisfaction through materialism—a trade they’re unwilling to make.
9. Managing Time Like a Valuable Asset
Millionaires exhibit distinctive patterns in allocating their hours, treating time as their most precious resource. They understand that time, unlike money, can’t be earned back once spent, making effective time management essential to financial success.
Corley found stark differences in how wealthy and financially struggling individuals spend their time. The wealthy watch significantly less television, spend less time on social media and wake up earlier. Many millionaires follow structured morning routines that include planning, reflection, exercise, and learning before beginning their workday.
They protect their time from low-value activities by practicing strategic delegation, minimizing distractions, and focusing on work that leverages their unique strengths. This disciplined approach to time management allows them to accomplish significantly more than their peers despite having the same 24 hours each day.
10. Embracing Failure as a Learning Opportunity
Hill’s interviews with industrial titans like Henry Ford and Thomas Edison revealed their remarkable resilience through multiple business failures. They developed what modern psychologists call a “growth mindset”—viewing abilities as being developed through effort rather than fixed at birth.
This pattern continues in contemporary millionaire research, with Corley finding that 27% of wealthy individuals had failed at least once in business but persisted to success. Rather than viewing setbacks as permanent defeats, millionaires extract valuable lessons from their failures and apply these insights to future ventures.
Their relationship with failure differs fundamentally from most people—they see it as a necessary step toward success rather than a reflection of their capabilities. This resilient mindset allows them to take calculated risks that others avoid and persist through difficulties that cause others to quit, ultimately enabling them to discover opportunities invisible to those paralyzed by fear of failure.
Conclusion
The most powerful insight from these millionaire studies is that wealth creation follows predictable patterns regardless of industry, background, or economic conditions. These ten habits work together synergistically—practicing one makes others easier to adopt.
The research suggests that financial success is available to anyone who consistently implements these principles over time. The self-made millionaires in these studies weren’t born into privilege; they followed specific behavioral patterns that compounded over decades.
Rather than attempting to adopt all ten habits simultaneously, consider starting with one or two that resonate most strongly. As thousands of ordinary millionaires have demonstrated, small behavioral shifts maintained consistently can produce remarkable financial results over time.