Most people get stuck in the same routine, work, make money, pay the bills and repeat.
And it feels completely normal, but it's actually something that we've just been taught to accept since school days.
Whereas the top 1%, the truly wealthy, see the system for just what it is and they opt out.
They think differently, they move strategically and they manage money in ways that compound their freedom, not just their income.
If you're new here, hi, I'm Nisha.
I'm a qualified accountant and a former investment banker.
And in this video I thought it'd be interesting to cover the seven powerful shifts that can help you start thinking and growing rich, just like the 1.
Starting with number one, your 25 words.
You've probably heard of the quote.
You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.
Essentially, it's explaining how the people you hang out with the most shape what you believe, the habits you form and even what you think is possible.
And I recently came across a podcast with Dr. Tara Swart that took this one step further.
She says draw a tree with five branches and on each branch write the name of one of the five people who influence you the most.
Now describe each of them with five words and then sit with those 25 words because ultimately...
That's a reflection of you.
And I did this exercise and it can be really confronting and a little bit uncomfortable, but self-awareness is the prerequisite for growth.
If you want to level up in any area of your life, look at those 25 words.
Are they aligned with who you want to become?
If not, maybe it's time to consciously expand your circle or start absorbing more content that includes people who carry the qualities that you're looking for.
Number two, own first, spend later.
This is one of the most important ones on this list.
And even throughout my life, the people I know or who I've worked with.
This is the one that separates the one percenters from everyone else.
They prioritize owning appreciating assets before spending on depreciating ones.
They're laser focused on building a portfolio of appreciating assets things that grow in value over time.
So think property, think long-term investments, even specific types of education.
That leads to returns, measurable returns.
These are assets that work for you.
They generate income, they grow your net worth, they grow your skill set.
They create long-term value and freedom.
Now compare that to depreciating assets, things that lose value the moment you own them.
A brand new car, the latest tech.
They might hold value for a little while, but over time they're worth less than what you had originally paid for it.
And then there are liabilities, which take this one step further.
A liability is anything that consistently takes money out of your pocket.
For example, a car loan, that's a liability.
The car itself is a depreciating asset.
A credit card debt, that's a liability.
So while not every depreciating asset is a liability, the two often team up.
And that's where most people get trapped.
And wealthy people know this.
They don't avoid nice things.
They just use the income from their appreciating assets to fund those purchases.
They let their investments pay for their lifestyle, not their salary paying for their lifestyle.
And this is how they keep building wealth while still enjoying life.
Own first, spend later.
Next, we have become obsessed with the idea of getting rich.
Okay, obsessed sounds a No matter what they say, it's very rarely, oh, I stumbled upon it.
Their success comes from a burning passion, a drive that fuels their mindset and keeps them pushing forward.
In the book, Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill, he puts this perfectly.
Desire is a starting point of all achievement.
Not a hope, not a wish, but a keen, pulsating desire which transcends everything.
When you're obsessed with a goal, any goal, your subconscious mind starts going into overdrive.
Suddenly you start noticing opportunities that might have gone right over your head before.
When you have a strong desire for financial success, you begin to notice ways to create value, earn more, save smarter.
Not because these opportunities just magically appear, but because you're now tuned in.
So how can you apply this?
Set a specific financial goal that really excites you.
Write it down and put it somewhere that you'll see often.
It might be a savings target, a monthly income goal, maybe even a net worth milestone.
And really understand your why behind it, why you want to do it, what your reasoning is for it.
And as you start tuning into this, your awareness starts shifting and you start to see more opportunities that you will take up, which you otherwise would have completely missed.
Then we have plan well, act fast.
The most successful people excel at taking their abstract desires and then turning them into actionable, measurable plans.
They don't just dream or wait for the right time.
They map out their route to success and they make things happen.
Dr. Gail Matthews, a psychology professor, did a study on goal setting.
That proves just how powerful structure and accountability really are.
The study included 267 participants from different walks of life.
And they were split into five groups, ranging from people who just thought about their goals to those who wrote them down, broke them down into actionable steps and then shared weekly progress updates with a friend.
And results showed a huge difference in the success rates.
Only 43% of those who just thought about their goal made significant progress.
In contrast to 76 of those who wrote down their goal, created an action plan and had regular check-ins.
They were so much more likely to achieve their goals or make huge moves towards them.
So take one goal that you have maybe it's launching a side hustle, investing for the first time and break it down into three levels.
First, the outcome what's the big goal?
Then the milestone what needs to happen each quarter to move the needle.
And then the actions what are the small steps you can take this week, ideally in the next hour.
Now, if this process feels a bit messy to do on paper or in your head, you can use a tool to make it much easier, and that is where today's sponsor comes in, and that is x tiles.
It's like a paper journal where you can create your own blocks for whatever you need, but digitally.
You can map out ideas, plan projects, keep track of tasks or just jot down random thoughts.
It's all super flexible, so you can set it up however you like, instead of having to follow a template.
For example, you can set big goals on a yearly page, then break them down into monthly milestones and key tasks on your monthly page.
There's also a weekly planning section to help you stay focused and on track every week.
Right next to those planning pages, you've also got everything you need a calendar connected to your Google Calendar, a hub for your projects and a task board where you can manage all your work in one spot.
They also have a daily page which is super handy.
You can drop notes screenshots links, anything you're working with, and move things around easily using the drag and drop tiles.
It feels like your own personal worksheet for the day and, since it's digital, you can always come back to it, whether it's tidying up a brainstorm or laying out your day.
If you've tried other productivity tools before and found them overwhelming, you might find this one much easier to use.
It's simple, clear and just adapts to however you want to organize things.
If this sounds like something you'd find useful, you could sign up for Xtiles using the link in the description below.
Then you have speak the language of possibility.
In 2018, researchers in Germany studied the personality, trait and habits of the wealthy, and they found that people with higher levels of wealth tend to be more conscientious and open to new experiences.
So in practice, that means they're more likely to focus on opportunity over limitation.
And this really stood out to me when I noticed a pattern with the people that I was working with in banking and the clients that I was working with.
They'll be presented with high stakes opportunity like a business deal or an investment.
And the first thought wasn't, can I afford this?
Instead, they ask, will this make me more money?
And if the answer to that was yes, then they move straight to, okay, how can I make that happen?
How does it work?
They didn't get caught up in the price tag straight away.
They didn't shut the door before even checking if there was a way in.
Compare that to how most people think.
They see the cost first.
They don't ask whether it's worth it.
They just decide I can't afford that.
And just like that, they cut themselves off from something that could have generated huge returns, whether it's in themselves, in a business, in the market.
This is why the language you use around money matters so much.
When you default to I can't afford it, your brain shuts down.
When you ask how can I afford this, your brain gets to work.
So if you want to start thinking like the 1%, adopt their language.
It's not about ignoring reality.
It's about giving yourself the best shot and finding a way.
And this is how you shift from scarcity to creativity or from limitation to possibility.
Next, we have leave luck at the door.
We often talk about how luck plays a really big part in our lives.
I hear it so much.
And a lot of it is about right place and right time.
There is an element of luck.
I do agree.
But I'm a big believer that you make your own luck.
And the reason why I wanted to include this.
I was rereading the book Wild Courage by Jenny Wood recently.
And it's about figuring out what you want and going after it.
And in the first chapter, she talks about a guy that she spotted on the subway.
He was good looking, seemed interesting.
And she thought to herself, if he gets off at my stop, I'll ask him out.
And he didn't.
He got off a few stops earlier.
Most people would have just let that be the end of it.
But she thought to herself, no, I don't believe in fate.
I make my own fate.
So she ran after him and she said, I spotted you on the train.
I can't tell you if you're married.
You've got gloves on, but here's my business card.
Long story short.
They ended up getting married and now have two kids, all because she refused to leave it to charts.
This is so far away from conventional dating advice.
And if she listened to conventional dating advice, her life would be completely different right now.
It would look completely different.
And this is a perfect example of someone who knew what they wanted and took action.
And this mindset applies to all facets of life.
It's the same thing that separates wealthy people from the rest.
It's not magic.
It's not luck.
It's just the willingness to move even when the outcome isn't guaranteed and making your own luck.
It's the mindset of.
I might not have all the answers, but I'll take action and figure it out on the way.
I mean, I love this book.
So next time you catch yourself saying maybe it just wasn't meant to be pause, stop yourself and ask How can I take control here?
How do I shift this from fate to intention?
And I know not everyone will agree with this point.
A lot of people do strongly believe in fate and destiny.
But I believe if you want to join the 1 club, the ones who build something extraordinary, you've got to be decisive, proactive and willing to chase opportunities that others let pass by.
Then we have build income that doesn't rely on you.
One of the biggest mindset shifts I picked up from the truly wealthy is this.
They're not just focused on earning money.
They're focusing on building income that works without them.
They are intentional about creating passive income, the kind that keeps flowing, whether they're on holiday, whether they're asleep, whether they're spending time with their family.
And now contrast that with how most people operate.
They earn an income, they pay their bills.
They repeat the exact same cycle the next month work earn spend, repeat.
It feels normal because we have been taught that this is the only path and this is the right path and this is the path that makes sense for everyone.
Right from the school days, we're conditioned to be good employees, to work hard, to stay consistent, to earn our way through life.
That cycle of thinking traps you, and it doesn't just apply to people in their 95.
It applies to entrepreneurs too, building businesses that demand all of their time but create no long-term wealth.
And i had to stop myself and thinking this way.
The top one percent know that the end goal isn't just to make money, is to build income streams that keep going even when they stop.
So one example if you invest just a hundred dollars a week consistently for 11 years, you could end up with over 100 000 invested.
That's money working for you, not the other way around.
That's the real difference between the average person and the ultra wealthy.
The average person trades time for money.
The wealthy, they multiply money with time.
So if you want to build True freedom like the 1, start thinking about how to earn passively, not just actively.
There's only so much of your time you can give.
So let your money work so you don't always have to.
Those are seven things to do to think and grow like the 1%.
If you want an eighth, you can always subscribe to this channel.
I upload a video every single week about money, mindset and personal development and everything I'm learning to get to the 1 myself.
I started posting my journey two years ago, when I was working in banking full time, and I share my stories, my lessons, my hardships and my wins along the way.
Thank you so much for watching and see you in the next one.
