Borrow Oprah’s get-rich secrets!
Many of Oprah’s moneymaking secrets are deceptively simple and proven to not only help you pad your bank account but also bolster something even more valuable: your belief in yourself!
1 Profit from your passion(s)!
Author, actress, national treasure . . . Oprah wears plenty of professional hats. And while there’s no need to become a mogul of multitasking like she is, cultivating a side gig—like 65% of millionaires do—is one of the biggest differences between the rich and the not-so-much. As Oprah famously advises, the key is to home in on something you already love so that the work doesn’t feel like a job, whether that means setting up an Etsy store or selling your famous cupcakes to local businesses!
● IT WORKS! Amazingly, folks with just one additional part-time income stream are almost twice as likely to have stashed away an emergency fund within six months!
2 Cash in with an early start!
Nearly 50% of self-made millionaires wake up two hours before their workday begins. And that goes for billionaires, too: Oprah has said she rises between 7:16 a.m. and 7:23 a.m. every day—without an alarm clock! What is she doing with that time? Listening to the birds, stretching, being mindful— in short, using her morning me-time to clarify the day’s goals.
● IT WORKS! Early risers tend to earn more than folks who get a later start. Turns out, accomplishing an easy goal first thing—such as taking a morning walk—triggers more of the motivation needed to succeed on more complex ones later in the day!
3 Invest in your gut!
“Trust your gut. Intuition doesn’t lie.” Oprah’s words reflect everything from her career trajectory (listening to her heart when it told her to take a risk and move to Chicago in 1983, making talk-show history) to her investment choices (buying a big stake in Weight Watchers stock when it was struggling because she believed in the company; the stock is now soaring). In fact, research shows that listening to our first instinct tends to lead to better outcomes.
● IT WORKS! A new Finnish study found that successful risktakers have more white matter in their brain, helping them make decisions with less deliberation.
4 Climb the ladder with kindness!
Oprah has built her empire on empathy— the ability to connect with others. And studies show that “empathy networking” (using kindness to get ahead) is one of the most effective ways to boost success. For example, pitch in to help a colleague on a project or send a Linkedin connection an article you think they might like.
● IT WORKS! Likability is the number-one quality employers look for, and workers who are seen as team players rather than just out for themselves are 25% more likely to be promoted!