This is how I became rich. The best part is it’s easy. The better part? It’s not even a pyramid scheme.

Five steps and a minute of your time. That’s all it will take, so dig in.

1) Read

Warren Buffett, Bill Gates and Elon Musk. What do they all have in common? Excluding wealth, they are all voracious readers.

Pop culture aside, finding a single successful person who doesn’t read is near impossible. A single book contains a life of knowledge.

They paid their life for this wisdom – all you pay is a few hours.

2) Write

Creativity is the true measure of genius and success. Advances in technology are eroding the usefulness of people. Repetitive tasks are being outsourced to robots at an alarming rate.

So what’s holding its value even better than gold in this current climate? Creativity.

The ability to think laterally and generate ideas is in our history’s highest demand. What’s the best way to future-proof yourself and bolster your creativity? Writing.

Writing is the tinder to spark your creative fire. It requires original ideas, imagination, and linking different concepts. Writing also improves communication, understanding and lateral thinking.

A study of thousands of nuns[1] found that writing was one of the most effective activities in protecting your brain from Alzheimer’s and Dementia. Remember, there is no such thing as a good writer or a bad writer. There is only someone who keeps writing.

3) Practice Mindfulness

If I told you I was going for a run in the 60s, you would say…

“Who’s chasing you?”

Science has since taught us the value of physical exercise.

Mindfulness is amidst this social transition. Countless studies demonstrate its obvious benefits. From lowering anxiety to boosting concentration, sleep, and tacking a few extra years onto your life, there doesn’t seem to be anything mindfulness can’t do.

And this is all it is:

“Self-regulation of attention, with an attitude of acceptance, curiosity and openness.”

Mindfulness

Mindfulness is about stepping back from your thoughts and feelings. You become an observer within the present moment. You begin acting instead of reacting.

4) Be kind

Kindness is within all of us. It’s an adaption made possible by our cerebral cortex, the part of your brain that sets you apart from the rest of the animal kingdom. Unfortunately, it shares a plus one with your primitive mammalian brain.

As children, it’s true that we lie and steal without being told. As the saying goes, you don’t need to teach a child to be bad. This leads some to infer that human nature is inherently bad. The reality? This could not be further from the truth.

The mammalian brain is our default function, only caring about self-preservation. It’s our cerebral cortex that must dominate. This dominant cerebral cortex makes us kind, caring, and human.

But it takes time. Your cerebral cortex develops slowly, and you must teach it. To be kind is one of the defining traits that make us human. And what is the defining notion of happiness?

Use. As humans, we desire to be of use. To provide value. The world is always in use of kindness. Kindness is always of value. To be kind is the highest expression of humanity. 

5) Gratitude

You can’t be sad, angry or miserable when you’re grateful. We always look at what we don’t have for a good reason. We are a product of evolution. That extra fur hide the neighbour has could be the difference between staying alive or a shallow grave of ice.

For most of us, survival isn’t a problem, but our brain circuity needs a little more time to catch up to this new reality. We are wired to see the glass half empty as a survival mechanism.

This is why practising gratitude has the power to change your brain. Thinking about what you have changes your perspective. You notice the beauty of life hidden behind carrots and sticks. The beauty is there waiting for you. You just need to open your eyes to it. We might just find that the grass looks a little greener.

See that picture below? That’s not far off my own bank balance. Yet, I’m as rich as I’ve ever been. The interest I earn on these 5 investments blows away the 8% average annual stock return.

No, you can’t put a price on these riches. Just wait until you see the dividends they pay.