Welcome to another solo round of The Art of Adventure Podcast! Lots of folks have been asking me to do an episode on millionaires and the rich mindset for a while, so here you go!

This episode comes after a multi year study of dozens of books about millionaires and the rich. Now that I have the privilege of interacting with millionaires on a daily basis, I have distilled down some of the major commonalities from the top books and my mentors.

Some of these books are a hundred or more years old! Some of them are quite recent. While the shape of wealth and business is constantly shifting, I hope to share some of the lasting truisms of wealth as I understand them.

I'm not a millionaire yet so I can't back these ideas up with my own proof, they are simply a collection of observations and ideas that I have seen and try to cultivate for myself.

Mindset

You might recognize this as one of the top themes from the first 50 episodes. Get comfortable being uncomfortable so you can make a big ask or go out on a limb when you need to.  Results come from action, which comes from whether you decide to take action, so before anything can happen you have to think it. The right mindset also means having a purpose - a reason why you are doing something, and a clear image of what it will look like. You would never build a building without a plan, so what is your blueprint for success?  Also, you have to believe you deserve the wealth you seek.

You have to actually deserve it.

Beyond believing you deserve the good life...from what I have seen, nobody is getting wealthy that didnâ€t deserve it, i.e. they solved a big problem or helped a lot of people solve theirs.  If you help make a ton of people rich, you will probably get rich too. If you solve a lot of problems, you will probably get rich.

Creative solutions, lots of ideas

Because rich people have broad and deep knowledge and are not operating from a place of fear, their solutions to problems are creative (remember when you made creative deals in monopoly?) and that is a great way to uncover huge value that is closed to others. Giving good ideas away helps everyone and makes you valuable. When you have plenty of ideas (i.e. practice brainstorming) you come not from a place of fear, but from a place of abundance. Try thinking "How can I have my cake and eat it to?"

Learn rich social skills

People like people similar to them. Most rich people are ridiculously positive.  You can be positive too! Learn where rich people hang out so you can meet them there. Learn the things they like to do and think about: travel, charity, playing chess, tennis, cycling, investing, entrepreneurship, etc., so you have something to talk to them about.  Rich people like to talk about big ideas, not gossip about people or talk material possessions, so practice talking about ideas every day. Maybe try not complaining too.

Setting good habits as a foundation.

If you spend more of your time doing useful, productive, money making activities than not, you can build wealth. This usually means cutting out some nonsense time when you are consuming rather than creating. You need to always have a sharp prepared mind and body, so when you sleep well, eat well, relax and fully rest, it means you can work harder when you need to, duh. For the important relationships in your life - set up a habit and a schedule to think about them and get in touch with them.

Your surroundings are important

Your physical location brings you into contact with different people and ideas. The places you go on the internet bring the same contact. If you need to physically move to a new city or get new friends or...