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The key to getting rich isn't about working past midnight every day to stay ahead of the competition or having a three hour morning routine. It's actually about forming micro habits, tiny habits that compound over time and make getting rich easy. So I'm going to share with you the 18 tiny habits to help me get rich and how you can apply them in your life. Starting with tiny habit number one, look at your money daily. Every day I get a email for all of my companies called Daily Cash Report. And it includes all the balances, all the credit cards, all my accounts, the transactions for the previous day. Because I want to get a sense of the heartbeat of cash flowing through my businesses. I want to be aware what you focus on expands. If you don't know how much cash is being generated in your bank account in your businesses, then how can you give it the right attention? I call it the 24 hour rule. You should be checking your money every 24 hours. Don't hide from it. Don't pretend like you don't want to see it. I don't want you to go to the ATM machine to find out you don't have enough money to pull money out because you're not aware. Have the app on your phone. Check it often. If you don't like the number, make it better. Which brings us to tiny habit number two. Value your time. If you don't value your time, no one else will. You'll be upset that people are taking advantage of you, asking you to do favors and never returning it in the first place. Rich people say no more than they say yes because a yes is a no to their future and a no is a yes to their goals. What do you want to create in the future? It's actually okay to be a little selfish to create a better scenario for who you are and what access to resources you have so you can be richer, so you can be more for people in the future. Which brings us a tiny habit number three, set clear goals. When I started my first company that succeeded Spheric Technologies, I read a book called Good to Great, and it said you have to have a vision for your life. So I sat down and I created a vision. Five years, five continents, 50 million in revenue, 50 people. I don't even know where it came from. It sounded good. Did I get to that level in five years? No. Just shy though. And that was the business that made me a multimillionaire. What I had was clarity and focus. See, a goal properly set is half complete. Most people just don't write it down. Without a deadline, that goal is just a dream. So I use this thing called the rule of 300 to help me hit my goals. It's all about having a hundred percent clarity, 100% belief 100% of the time. If you do that, you'll hit your goal. Which brings us to tiny habit number four. Review your goals daily. Every day. I use triggers when I sit at my chair in the morning when I'm doing my morning routine, or I get in my car, or I come to my desk at my office to remind me to review my goals that are on my phone. So it's literally pinned at the top of my notes file and they're my 12 power goals for the year. Most people set goals and don't review until the end of the year and they realize either hit them or didn't hit them. It's like business plans. They usually write them and then stuff them in a drawer. I review my goals three times a day. The way I make it easy on myself is I just connect it to a trigger. It literally activates this thing called your reticular activating system to help you scan the world for opportunities to make that a reality. It's like when you're thinking of buying a new car, let's say a red Volkswagen. And for the longest time you didn't see any of the red Volkswagens. All of a sudden you can't stop seeing them all over the place. Why? Your brain is on the search of red Volkswagen so you'll see them all over the road. Which brings us to tiny habit number five. Automate your savings. My philosophy is very simple. I want to set it and forget it. I want to make the decision when I'm feeling good about life and then never revisit it. Even though I live off 10% of my income. Most people should follow the 50, 30, 20 rule, which is 50% of their income goes to what they need, 30% goes what they want, and the other 20% should go to savings. What I do pretty much every week is any extra cash in. All of my companies get swept out, put into my Holdco, and then my Holdco automatically invested in the portfolio. I've already decided. So I either do high risk stuff and private equity or I do low risk stuff and index funds in the public markets. But I don't want to think about it. I want to set it and forget it. Which brings us to tiny habit number six. Avoid bad debt. Bad debt is high interest debt. This is consumer debt, hard money lending. I remember when I Was starting off, I had to buy some furniture and I thought I'd be like the cool guy and go get an apartment and finance a bunch of furniture because they said it would cost me nothing. No interest payments for three years until it did. And that interest payment, plus the fact that it took me a few more years to pay it off, cost me more than double of just buying the furniture outright at the beginning. And did I need that at 20 years old? No. I was being silly. Lenders have an incentive to take advantage of you. It's why most credit card companies try to get you some kind of credit early on. I'm talking college campuses. It's wild. You should only take on debt for things that can make you money. Think real estate, think business investments. Think investing in yourself, where you can get an ROI by investing in the SME 500, not the S&P 500. It's all about short term leverage. Don't make other people rich off of borrowing money from them. Which brings us to tiny habit number seven. Exhaust the body, tame the mind. At 11 years old, I got diagnosed with ADHD and it messed me up. I was taking Ritalin and Adderall and all these pills that try to make me normal, but I never felt normal when I was taking those pills. I actually liked who I am. What I had to do was figure out how to be me without the medication. A big part of that is going to the gym. That's why I say every day I go to the gym to work on my mind. Yes, it has a physical value to doing that, but if I don't go, I can't think, I can't focus, I can't get things done in my day. Which brings us to tiny habit number 8. Use your feed on social media to feed your mind. The other day my son's friend came over after school and he was asking me how I deal with being distracted from things like girls and TikTok. And I was laughing because I said I actually scroll TikTok two hours almost every day. The difference is is what's on my feed. I like to use my social media to teach myself things to micro, learn to use it. Almost like a social university. So what I do is I'll search for topics I want to learn about and then go look at those videos and leave comments on the videos that are good and then adjust my feed. That's how I use my feed to feed my mind. Which brings us to tiny habit number nine. Read ten pages a day. The other day I was at the Gym and some kid asked me what's the number one habit millionaires have? And truth is, out of all of them, I had to pick from, it's got to be reading. The reason why is that nobody knows how to do the thing they're about to do the first time they do it. And the best way to avoid all the pain of trying to do it through trial and error is to read books. My life was built by books. I've read over 1600 books. I actually did a video on it. You can go search for it. But the whole premise is that every philosophy, idea, process, habits, was all inspired by other people much smarter than me that have lived a big life and mastered skills. And they were sharing everything they learned for 25 bucks and a six hour investment on my time. I think it's the best trade in the world. Which brings us to tiny habit number 10, wake up early. A lot of people talk about getting up early, but let me tell you why. A lot of people sleep in because they stay up late. What I do is I set an alarm to go to bed on time. And that 5am Club, that's cool. But what you learn over time is 4am is even cooler. And the reason why is between 3 and 6am is where is said to have the thinnest veil to the spiritual realm. So it's not just about getting up early to get work done. It's also about being connected to your creator, connected to the universe, taking advantage of the inspiration and ideations that will come to you at the quiet in the morning. It's a beautiful thing. Some of my best ideas have come from that. Instead of setting an alarm for what time to wake up, set an alarm for what time you go to bed. When people see me get up at 4am, they think it's impressive, but it's not that impressive knowing my alarm went off at 9pm to go to sleep. I've been sleeping for seven hours. Which brings us a tiny habit number 11, invest in your environment. Four years ago I was renting a house and I was there for six months. And the office had this beautiful window, but it was directly in the sunlight where I couldn't see anything. And I decided within the first few days to hire a sign company to come put a film over the glass. And when my wife heard about it, she thought, that's crazy. Why would you spend 1200 bucks to get the glass covered so that you can stay in that spot? And I was like, I don't want to move my desk. I like the Energy of this space, this environment. And I'm willing to spend $1200 so can be in the energy of the vibe. And it's funny, I see people make this mistake all the time. They spend most of their time at their desk and they don't have a great chair, they don't have great monitors. They have invested in keyboards, they have invested in the tools. Maybe it's the camera, maybe it's the ring light. Whatever would make your work environment feel fun is something I'm a big fan of investing in. Which brings us to tiny habit number 12. Follow one course until successful. That's what focus stands for. See, the richest people in the world do one thing. They just do it for 20 years. They go all in and dedicate themselves to a decade. They don't get distracted. They don't have three businesses with one making some profit and the other two being unprofitable. They don't diversify earlier on because diversification is divorce ification. If you want to create wealth, you have to be concentrated. So don't be easily distracted. Pick something and decide to be a master at it. Which brings us to tiny habit number 13. Protect your space. Words matter. What you hear matters. I'm a big fan of turning off the news, cutting out toxicity, toxic friends, curating my feed to show me opportunity and possibility. The end of the day, the quality of your inputs will determine the quality of your output. You have to protect yourself from the things you're being exposed to. Which brings us to tiny habit number 14. Stop asking for money. There's this great pitbull song that says ask for money, get advice, ask for advice, get money twice. And that to me is how I live my whole life. Most people are asking for money from investors, investors and friends and family. Why don't you ask for advice? And what happens is when you do that, the person tells you all the things that would need to be true for them to be excited about it. And you just get really good at agreeing with them. And next thing you know, instead of just getting advice, you'll actually get money. Which brings us to tiny habit number 15. Live below your means. Being wealthy isn't a number, it's actually a ratio. When I was making 120k a year at 25, I was driving a 15 year old car. I was living off of 30 to 40% of my income. Today I probably live off of just over 10% of my income. Why? Because it's not what you make, it's what you spend. Broke people buy stuff. Rich People buy things that make them money. If you want to be wealthy, don't buy things that you don't need to impress people you don't like. Which brings us to tiny habit number 16. Give back to your community. I learned a long time ago at 17 in rehab that I can only keep what I give away. If I want sobriety, I have to help other people be sober. If I want to be rich, I got to help other people be rich. If you want abs, guess what? Go help other people get abs. See, when you have that abundance mentality, focus on other people and being of service, you will create the opportunities in your life to get those results. Most people are running around with scarcity. You want to be there with expansion. So share your things. If you have a nice house, invite people into your home. If you have nice cars, please share your freaking cars. I have a neighbor that's got a beautiful car that never sees the light of day because he's worried he's going to curb his rims or somebody's going to lean up against it. And that thing has not brought any, anybody else joy except for him. From a selfish point of view, you want to be the person that brings smiles on other people's faces every day. Which brings us to tiny habit number 17. Reflect on your achievements. Oftentimes when I'm feeling doubt or I'm not certain about my decisions, or I've got a big meeting, a big keynote I gotta give and I'm just not feeling it, I go back to a thing called my achievement list. And this is a list of all the accomplishments I've had over the years, no matter how small. From my very first, first kick flip to my first exit, I've listed them and I review them. Because the energy of those moments reminds me what I've accomplished in the past, what I'm capable of doing. And when I'm sitting in this low energy, self defeatist mindset, I want to go back to those moments where I've won. Because massive success is built on tiny little wins. And that's how we build momentum. When you're in momentum, you can't be stopped. The hardest part about winning is getting back into momentum. If you're not feeling it, you need to use your achievement list to get that energy going. It's like a rocket. When it takes off, it uses 90% of all the fuel to just get out into orbit. Once it's in orbit, it can maintain. Your achievement list can help you stay in that momentum so you don't ever come back down to earth and you stay flying high. Which brings us to tiny habit number 18. Be blissfully dissatisfied. I got this language from my coach, Ed Mylett, because he believes that you can achieve and have a lot and be grateful for that stuff, but in the same moment, be dissatisfied with the fact that, you know, you're here to do more. I think about this all the time. When people are like, how much money is enough? I'm like, what are you talking about? As long as I'm here, I'm breathing and my heart is into the work to create for other people. I'm going to wake up, I'm going to create. I might have unattachment to the result, but I'm definitely involved in the creation. I just believe if you're listening to this, that you're here to do something more with your life, that you're here to do something massive with your life, that you're here to create something special. And it doesn't matter how big that is. If you're getting up every day, you might as well go build something. So if you want to learn the seven skills of the top 1%, click the video and I'll see you on the other side.
Podcast Summary: The Martell Method w/ Dan Martell
Episode 18: "Tiny Habits That Made Me Rich"
Release Date: April 9, 2025
In Episode 18 of The Martell Method, host Dan Martell delves deep into the 18 Tiny Habits That Made Me Rich, offering listeners actionable insights and strategies that contributed to his transformation from a troubled youth to a successful entrepreneur and bestselling author. Through personal anecdotes, practical frameworks, and candid reflections, Martell emphasizes the power of micro habits in achieving long-term financial success and personal growth without succumbing to burnout.
Timestamp: [00:00]
Martell underscores the importance of daily financial awareness. By receiving a Daily Cash Report for all his companies, he maintains a pulse on cash flow, ensuring he doesn't miss critical financial movements.
"If you don't know how much cash is being generated in your bank account, then how can you give it the right attention?" – Dan Martell
Timestamp: [02:15]
Recognizing that time is a finite resource, Martell advises setting clear boundaries. He highlights the significance of saying "no" more often to protect one's future and goals.
"Rich people say no more than they say yes because a yes is a no to their future." – Dan Martell
Timestamp: [04:30]
Drawing inspiration from the book Good to Great, Martell emphasizes the necessity of having a well-defined vision. He introduced the Rule of 300, advocating for complete clarity and unwavering belief in one's goals.
"A goal properly set is half complete." – Dan Martell
Timestamp: [06:45]
Martell practices frequent goal reviews by linking them to daily triggers, enhancing focus through the reticular activating system—a mental filter that sharpens awareness toward one's objectives.
"Connecting your goals to a trigger activates your brain to scan for opportunities." – Dan Martell
Timestamp: [09:00]
Promoting a "set it and forget it" approach, Martell ensures his savings are automatically directed into investments, minimizing the temptation to spend and maximizing financial growth.
"I want to set it and forget it." – Dan Martell
Timestamp: [11:15]
Martell distinguishes between good and bad debt, advocating for leveraging debt only for ventures that generate returns. He recounts personal experiences to illustrate the pitfalls of high-interest consumer debt.
"Don't make other people rich off of borrowing money from them." – Dan Martell
Timestamp: [13:30]
Addressing his battle with ADHD, Martell highlights the role of physical exercise in mental clarity and focus. Regular gym sessions help him manage his mind's demands effectively.
"Every day I go to the gym to work on my mind." – Dan Martell
Timestamp: [15:45]
Martell transforms his social media consumption into a learning tool, curating his feeds to include educational content and actively engaging with valuable material.
"I use my social media to teach myself things to micro, learn to use it like a social university." – Dan Martell
Timestamp: [18:00]
Advocating for continuous learning, Martell credits his extensive reading habit (over 1,600 books) for providing knowledge and inspiration essential for entrepreneurial success.
"Reading is the number one habit millionaires have." – Dan Martell
Timestamp: [20:15]
Beyond the conventional early rise, Martell ties waking up early to spiritual connectivity and creativity, emphasizing the serene hours between 3 AM and 6 AM as prime periods for ideation.
"Between 3 and 6 AM is where the veil is thinnest to the spiritual realm." – Dan Martell
Timestamp: [22:30]
Martell believes that a conducive work environment boosts productivity. He shares his experience of modifying his workspace to align with his energy and focus needs.
"Investing in your work environment makes your space feel fun and energizing." – Dan Martell
Timestamp: [24:45]
Emphasizing focus, Martell advises dedicating oneself to a single endeavor for an extended period, avoiding dilution of efforts across multiple projects.
"If you want to create wealth, you have to be concentrated." – Dan Martell
Timestamp: [27:00]
Martell stresses the importance of shielding oneself from negative influences. This includes curating social circles and digital feeds to foster a positive and opportunity-driven mindset.
"The quality of your inputs will determine the quality of your output." – Dan Martell
Timestamp: [29:15]
Shifting the focus from seeking funds to seeking advice, Martell finds that guidance often naturally leads to financial opportunities without the direct plea for money.
"Ask for advice, and next thing you know, you'll actually get money." – Dan Martell
Timestamp: [31:30]
Martell highlights wealth as a ratio of income to expenditure. By minimizing unnecessary spending, he maximizes savings and investment potential.
"Rich people buy things that make them money." – Dan Martell
Timestamp: [33:45]
Adopting an abundance mentality, Martell believes in the reciprocal nature of generosity. By helping others achieve their goals, he creates avenues for his own success.
"If you want to be rich, you got to help other people be rich." – Dan Martell
Timestamp: [36:00]
Maintaining an Achievement List helps Martell stay motivated during challenging times, reminding him of past successes to fuel future endeavors.
"Massive success is built on tiny little wins." – Dan Martell
Timestamp: [38:15]
Inspired by coach Ed Mylett, Martell embraces a state of grateful dissatisfaction, continuously striving for more while appreciating current successes.
"If you're getting up every day, you might as well go build something." – Dan Martell
Conclusion
In this episode, Dan Martell masterfully outlines how incremental, consistent habits can culminate in significant financial and personal achievements. By integrating these 18 Tiny Habits, listeners are equipped with a blueprint to transform their lives, fostering a mindset geared towards growth, resilience, and sustained success. Martell's candid storytelling and actionable advice serve as a compelling guide for anyone aiming to elevate their business and personal endeavors without the typical strains of burnout.
For more insights, subscribe to The Martell Method and transform your challenges into opportunities.
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