Everyone has heard the common phrase that the rich only get richer and the poor get poorer. But why is this happening? Financial success depends on habits - daily actions that people perform automatically without even thinking about them. The level of income is a reflection of people's way of thinking, life principles, learned attitudes. Let's figure out how the habits of rich people differ from those that lead to poverty. This will help you master the complex science of financial success.

Habits of Rich and Poor People: What's the Difference?

The thinking of the rich and the poor is fundamentally different in everything. Depending on the level of income, people behave in completely different ways at work, in relationships, and even in communication with others. It makes sense to compare "rich" and "poor" habits in different areas of life.

The key to success is continuous learning

Rich people are constantly evolving. They are interested in everything that happens in their field of activity. They read books on their profession, attend seminars and trainings, and invest in training courses. The main principle that successful people are guided by is: who does not develop, he degrades. This setup works. The more rich people learn and implement, the faster their income grows.

The poor are also focused on education, but they have a completely different approach. They invest in education once, and then expect that the diploma will feed them. This concludes the educational process. A poor person gets a job and complains endlessly about the low salary instead of getting additional skills and earning more.

The principle of job search - for the soul or for the money

Take a look at the lists of the richest people in the world. You will discover an amazing truth: billionaires do not work just for money. They are engaged in the business of life and that is how they perceive it. Rich people are driven by the desire to be the best in their field. This is what gives them a tremendous incentive for continuous self-education, opening their own business.

Successful people are able to work hard 24/7 because they truly love their job. However, they no longer have to do this, because many processes can be entrusted to other people.

The rich do just that: they leave to themselves those things that only they can handle, and delegate less significant obligations. If the moment comes when work ceases to inspire, successful people part with it and rush to another field of activity with new ardor.

The habits of poor people are different. This is where the obsession with money comes into play, and not with deeds to your liking. The main goal of a poor person is to find a job in their specialty, where they will pay more. Even when the level of income ceases to suit, the poor will remain in the old place, but will not open their own business and are unlikely to think about retraining.

Differences in lifestyle and attitudes towards money

It's a paradox, but the poor think more about money than the rich. Their concern is the constant search for earnings. Successful people think strategically, value time and effort. They try to create sources of passive income in order to spend more time with family and friends, play sports and hobbies. The poor take hours away from their loved ones to give them to work, and receive only a salary that is barely enough.

Successful people take care of their body and mind. They try to eat right and regularly, play sports, have a good rest, find only useful information, filtering out unnecessary. This gives them energy for new achievements. The poor are ready to give up the quality of food in favor of quantity. They don’t have time for the gym and meditation, but they always have hours to watch TV and social media feeds.

How to Build Good Habits and Succeed

One of the most famous business coaches, Brian Tracy, devoted many years to studying the habits of millionaires who got rich from scratch. He has published over 70 books on the psychology of success and has earned millions himself, so he can be considered an expert in the mindset of the rich. Here's what he advises:

Stop judging those who are successful. Notice how often we talk negatively about rich people in our conversations. This is a subconscious attitude, and it prevents you from achieving financial success. First of all, it is necessary to eliminate it. Learn to admire successful people, take their example in habits.

Don't resist change. Clinging to the comfort zone, we ourselves limit our capabilities. Any changes can be easily put up with if you stop internal resistance. Rejoice in change. Learn to find benefit in them, even if the phenomena at first seem negative.

Set big goals. Don't be afraid, everything will work out. May your goal be great. Yes, you will not achieve it right away, so consider the intermediate steps. Define clear criteria by which you will understand that you are approaching the realization of the main goal. It's like a game: after completing the quest, you will move on to the next level.

Keep a diary. Clearly write down the tasks for the day, indicating the deadlines. Divide them into categories based on importance and urgency. Always prioritize more important things. They bring the most benefit.

Take care of yourself. People often fail to succeed due to lack of energy. Proper nutrition, proper sleep and reasonable physical activity solve this problem.

Don't be afraid of rejection. Never stop just because you got rejected. Try again. More attempts, higher results. If something didn't work out today, analyze the mistakes and repeat tomorrow.

“As a metaphor, I like to use the word avalanche. says Thomas Corley, author of the book "Habits of the Rich: Daily Habits Underpinning the Success of Rich People". “These habits are like snowflakes—there are more and more of them, and now you have already been covered by an avalanche of success.”

For five years, Corley studied the lives of rich people (with an annual income of $160,000 or more, and net liquid assets of $3.2 million or more). And the lives of poor people (with an annual income of $35,000 or less and net liquid assets of $5,000 or less).

He managed to isolate what he calls " the habits of the rich" and " habits of the poor”, meaning the manner of behavior and thinking of people belonging to the respective groups. However, Corley explains, each person has both the habits of the rich and the habits of the poor. “It is important that the habits of the rich are over 50%,” he says.

What are these habits that have such a big impact? Here are a few of them:

1. The goals of rich people are always in their field of vision.

"I focus on my goals every day"

Rich: 62%
Poor: 6%

Wealthy people not only for every month and every year, 67% formulate them in writing. “I was amazed,” Corley says. “I thought that a goal was something big and general, but rich people say that desire is not a goal.” A goal is a goal only if it has two characteristics: it is achievable, and there are physical actions that can be taken to achieve it.

2. The rich know what to do today

Rich: 81%
Poor: 19%

The rich not only make to-do lists, but 67% of them complete 70% or more of the listed tasks each day.

3. The rich don't watch TV.

"I watch TV for an hour or less a day"

Rich: 67%
Poor: 23%

Similarly, only 6% of the wealthy watch reality TV, compared to 78% of the poor. “A common characteristic of the wealthy is the efficient use of their time,” Corley explains. “The rich don’t watch TV not because they have some kind of supernatural self-discipline or willpower. They just don’t have time to watch TV because they are busy with other normal daily activities like reading.”

4. Rich people read… but not for pleasure.

Rich: 86%
Poor: 26%

Of course, the rich love to read, but they prefer non-fiction—self-help books in particular. “The rich read voraciously about how to improve themselves,” says Corley. – In fact, 88% of them read for self-improvement for 30 minutes every day. Among the poor, for comparison, this figure is 2%.

5. They also love audiobooks.

“I listen to audiobooks on my way to work”

Rich: 63%
Poor: 5%

Even if you don't listen to audiobooks, you can make the most of your commute time through other self-improvement techniques.

6. The rich go beyond the standard requirements at work.

"I do more than my job requires"

Rich: 81%
Poor: 17%

It's worth noting that while 86% of the wealthy (versus 43% of the poor) had hours per week, only 6% of the wealthy people surveyed said they were unhappy at work.

7. The rich don't expect to hit the jackpot.

“I regularly play the lottery”

Rich: 6%
Poor: 77%

This does not mean that the rich never risk their money. “Most of these people are business owners who invest their own money and take on financial risks,” Corley explains. “These people are not afraid to take risks.”

8. The rich watch their weight.

"I count calories every day"

Rich: 57%
Poor: 5%

“Rich people value their health,” Corley says. – One of the participants in my study was 68 years old, and his net worth was about $78 million. I asked him why he didn't retire. He looked at me like I was an alien and said: “For the last 45 years I have been exercising every day and watching what I eat. I knew that at the end of my career I would make the most money.” If he can extend his career by four to five years, that would mean earning around $7 million."

There are not so many representatives of the middle class who actually understand the thinking and psychology of rich people. We tend to think that wealth is a lucky coincidence, that wealthy people don't play by the rules, that they're mean and selfish. But hardly anything else, except for the emotions themselves, is behind this statement. In reality, wealthy people think and act in a completely different way.

5 facts about the psychology of a rich person

1. Normally endure discomfort. Most people, of course, prefer to live in physical, emotional and psychological comfort, this is the main goal in life from the point of view of the middle class. As for rich people, on the contrary, they understand that it is very difficult to earn millions, and the pursuit of luxury can be destructive. They also learn to live in a state of constant uncertainty. The future millionaire feels fine surrounded by cynicism and other negative factors. But those who have enough strength and patience to withstand such pressure, as a result, receive the means for a rich life.

2. Rich people always think about the future. Most ordinary people have grown up with stories about the good old days, when the world was better, music was more beautiful, athletes were stronger, and businessmen were more honest. This tradition is passed down from generation to generation. People who are obsessed with the past rarely succeed in business, are often depressed, and are tormented by negative thoughts. The psychology of rich people is somewhat different. They always have a plan for tomorrow, they study the mistakes of the past, but they are connected with the future with dreams. They become such because they are ready to put everything on the line and turn their dreams, goals and ideas into reality. Most of what they have planned becomes a reality years, or maybe decades, but it is these ideas that model the future.

3. Rich people are confident in themselves and their abilities. For some reason, we constantly make bad heroes out of wealthy people. The main and widespread label hung on the rich: they are very arrogant and arrogant. But in reality, they are just successful and self-confident people who constantly take risks and are rarely disappointed. Even if they failed, they realize their mistakes and return, but already for victory. This is more arrogance than arrogance.

4. Wealthy people are used to seeing money as the key to freedom. The most common misconception about wealthy people is that wealth is mostly about bragging about one's status. But, despite the fact that the financial condition, of course, gives a person a certain weight in society, in the psychology of rich people it is just a tool for gaining personal independence. It is impossible to be truly free without money.

The middle class depends on the labor market, the state, which dictates what needs to be done. It is quite difficult to be free when you have several loans hanging on you that require monthly payments. Rich people do not need to work in bad conditions and harm their health, endure bad bosses and so on. Moreover, they can afford to arrange charity auctions, events, collecting money for good deeds.

5. Rich people carefully choose their friends and partners. The psychology of rich and successful people is such that they prefer to communicate with the same influential people as themselves. By contacting lucky people, you will certainly feel the increase in the level of your dividends. After all, as you know, we become like those with whom we often communicate. As they say, winners attract winners.

Habits of rich people

Psychology is a complex thing. Try to understand why one easily donates thousands and tens of thousands to good deeds, and the second, also not the last beggar, by the way, trembles over every penny. It all depends on the way of thinking. Truly wealthy people are generous. If you make an excursion into history, you can see that most of the millionaires are patrons, philanthropists, people who do charity work. Among them are such businessmen as Carlos Slim, Bill Gates, Andrew Carnegie, John Rockefeller. What you need to know about the habits and psychology of a rich person? These are the following facts:

1. The rich are purposeful. Any successful person always has clear goals, which are a kind of pointer that tells you what, when and how to do it better. If he doesn't have a goal, he won't achieve anything. It is important to remember that capital cannot be made randomly.

2. The psychology of rich people is unique. From the outside, it may seem that they spend money right and left, make rash purchases, litter with money. You may be surprised, but they spend less than they earn. This is perhaps one of the most important rules in the life of the rich. Ordinary people increase their expenses in parallel with income growth. If the salary has become higher, then you can buy more expensive things, food, buy a car or just take a loan. In the end, all this leads to the same result. As for rich people, they regularly save a part of the earned sum. They do not spend all their money at once, but on the contrary, they accumulate. And then they invest, live on interest and have passive income.

3. Successful and rich are hardworking. People who have achieved financial success on their own work tirelessly, are not lazy. A person who works for hire simply works out his working hours, without showing much enthusiasm and interest in the matter, because he knows that at the end of the month he will receive a salary. But a big businessman or investor conducts his business energetically, with a gleam in his eyes. This is the main difference in the psychology of a poor and a rich person.

4. They prefer risk. Many ordinary people fail before winning, because they are afraid to put everything on the line in some business. However, successful people take justified risks. So be brave if you want to become rich. But at the same time, remember: courage and recklessness are different concepts.

Secrets of a successful business

Now let's move on to an equally important issue. How to learn to think like a rich person? Here's what you need to remember:

• Before you achieve what you want in real life, you need to get it in your mind. You will never become a millionaire if you do not see yourself in this role.
• Your thoughts are your limit, they set the limits of possibilities.
• How do rich people think? First of all, stop thinking like a poor person.
• You need to change your thinking and lifestyle to match the status.
• You need to do what will bring you success, this is what truly rich people do. The rest do what they want.
• Successful people have order everywhere: in the house, at work and in the head.
• Read more, look for the information you need to both improve your business and develop the appropriate mindset.
• Design your workplace in a way that inspires you to work.

What do rich people think?

Truly rich people see the world differently than others. The author of How Rich People Think, Steve Sebold, has taken a good look at this issue and found the main differences in the thinking of the rich, which we will discuss below.

For the rich selfishness is a virtue

Ordinary people sometimes have a desire, for example, to save the world or let another person go ahead of themselves, this just does not give them the opportunity to get rich. Wealthy people have other thoughts: “I can’t help others if I don’t help myself first.”

Wealthy people have “effective” thinking

It is unlikely that you will meet a successful person in line for the lottery (even before he is rich). The simplest person, as a rule, waits for someone else to lend a helping hand and help him achieve prosperity (this can be a lottery, a government, a good friend or family member), and as a result remains poor. The rich do not wait for handouts, they act, and purposefully, and spend their time on solving the difficult tasks necessary to achieve the goal. Wealthy people prefer concrete knowledge to the detriment of formal education. The average person is sure that the only way to achieve wealth is to get a diploma or write a dissertation. Wealthy people earn their capital by selling their own specific knowledge gained in the process of doing their own thing.

Dreaming of a better future

The rich give a lot of effort, energy and time to think about their goals and how to implement them. While ordinary people are hovering over their past, they often become depressed and achieve nothing.

think about money logically

An ordinary person, as a rule, thinks about money emotionally or dreams only of a comfortable measured life. But a successful person will look at finance from a logical point of view - as a tool that provides concrete opportunities and opens up new perspectives in the future.

The rich have hobbies they follow

Oprah Winfrey once said: “You need to follow in the footsteps of your desires and do what you love.” These people always find ways to make money doing what they enjoy doing. And ordinary people make money by doing what they absolutely do not want to.

Don't stop there

Ordinary people have a limit of desires, they set a kind of bar for themselves, and it is quite low - in order to be less disappointed. The rich expect more from fate and strive to make their wildest dreams come true. Also, successful people try to benefit from the finances of others. Ordinary people are more than sure that it is necessary to make money by multiplying their personal funds.

The rich live less than they can afford

It seems counter-intuitive, but self-made wealthy people see wealth as a chance to spend less. The common man usually lives beyond his means, taking out loans and going into debt. The rich focus on profits. The average hard worker is hoarding money and missing out on huge opportunities, while the rich see the big picture and find a way to make big money.

Finally

At the end of the article, I would like to add that the verbal expression "wealth" comes from the word "God", and the concept of "poverty" - from the word "trouble". So we wish you to be truly rich people who have taken personal life into their own hands, despite the troubles and failures that somehow happen in the life of each of us.

photo by Oleg Korolyov for Forbes

The lifestyle of a Golden Hundred resident is a territory of myths and legends. It is generally accepted, for example, that the average billionaire spends his days skiing in an embrace with beauties. Another popular belief is that a billionaire works 36 hours a day, which brought him success in life. How long do the richest businessmen in Russia actually work? How do you spend your free time? What do they care about? We asked these and other questions to owners of a fortune from $1.8 billion to $13.5 billion

Age: 43

Money (2007): $13.5 billion

Many leaders of global companies like Jack Welch say that they get up almost at five in the morning, play sports for an hour and then work like clockwork until late at night. Do you believe this is possible?

“Six hours of sleep a day is not difficult. But I sleep about seven hours on average. And this is not from the desire to lead a Spartan lifestyle and not because there is not enough time. It’s just that the body rebuilds with age: before I could sleep longer, now I wake up earlier.

How is your typical day?

- I would say this: there is a typical one, and there is an ideal one. Ideal - I get up at about eight, go to sports, and then by 10 o'clock I arrive at work.

What is the job of a billionaire?

- Like any person who is predominantly engaged in mental work, the day consists mainly of conversations. In my case, this was the case 15 years ago, and so it is now. Only the objects of communication change.

So the art of being rich is the art of communication?

— I would say that the art of being rich is the art of knowing human nature. And her knowledge is manifested in communication.

Where do you learn human nature: life experience, books?

- A combination of these factors plus a genetic predisposition: someone is more attentive to other people, and someone is not interested in others at all. I am interested in different things, even those that have nothing to do with my work. For example, it was interesting for me recently to talk with pianist Denis Matsuev. Or this: we had dinner with Edvard Radzinsky, he is a very informative person. Igor Butman, Slava Vakarchuk from the Okean Elzy group ... It is very interesting for me to communicate with them.

Maybe you find some balance in this communication, some kind of opposition to business with its rigidity and exactingness?

I don't think there needs to be a balance. All my life I was interested in a variety of things - this is such a trait of character. So I look in the newspapers - there was a concert by Noel Gallagher (the leader of the Oasis group. - Forbes), and I think: I should have gone to see it. Of course, the music is not of my generation, but still an event. I was at the Moscow concert of Chuck Berry - this is a legend, it was impossible to miss.

In one interview, you said that when you go to a bookstore, you buy 20 books. Are you able to read them?

Yes, I'm not as busy as I seem. In addition, I do not finish reading all the books to the end - if it's not interesting, I quit. You finish five out of 20 books. So in a month and a half you can go back to the store.

What do you remember?

- "Everything is fixable" by Alexander Kabakov. Two books by Elfriede Jelinek, Austrian, Nobel Prize winner. A very good book by Salman Rushdie… Well, of course, I read “The Day of the Oprichnik” by this… flew out of my head, which everyone reads… Sorokin.

Didn't Sorokin's book with the terrible future depicted there seem threatening?

“If I felt threats through reading books, I would not be who I am.

You and your friends go on extreme jeep trips from time to time. Where were you last?

- We traveled along the route Peru - Bolivia - Chile. In two weeks, five thousand kilometers. Wildly interesting and quite extreme, since the average height was about 4000 meters. Although, of course, for us this is not a matter of extreme sports - such trips are rather ethnographic in nature, they reveal quite fundamental things, the structure of human nature.

For example, Peru. It was the center of the Inca empire. And I was very interested in their way of colonizing other peoples. The Incas offered them a choice of two options. The first is to recognize the supremacy and submit to their value system, while retaining some elements of their own. In the event of natural disasters, protection was guaranteed; in the event of an external attack, the peoples defended together. And the second option: if you do not agree to this, we will kill you all. So, I realized that the empire can exist only if there is this second option.

Interesting. Who do you usually travel with and how often?

- Once a year. We've got a whole team; of the people you know - German Khan, Vitya Vekselberg, Volodya Grigoriev (adviser to the head of the Federal Agency for Press and Mass Communications. - Forbes), Sasha Abramov (assistant to the President of the Russian Federation. - Forbes).

Is there an element of corruption in trips with government officials? Or are they paying for themselves?

“They, of course, pay for themselves. In general, if we talk about the relationships that you mentioned, then trips in extreme conditions in a jeep are not the most direct way to the heart of an official. Probably, there are more main paths (laughs).

That's for sure. In your opinion, by the way, has the situation with corruption changed over the past 10 years?

I don't think it's fundamental. And 10 years ago, and today there is no public rejection of corruption ...

Well, the public condemns corruption...

- Abstractly, as evil - yes. But society does not believe that this should be fought. They think so: they steal - okay, the question is - how much they steal. There is no force that, in principle, would be intolerant of corruption. In the West, the church gave a powerful impetus. It can be said that the Reformation began with the fight against corruption: it was believed that the papal power was corrupt, that such an institution as indulgence was in itself a form of corruption. Both Luther and Calvin and Zwingli fought for the purity of the idea, against the corruption that corroded the building of the church, as they believed. This is how Protestant values ​​appeared, this is how, according to Max Weber, the building of modern capitalism was laid.

We don't seem to be in danger.

“Unfortunately, we do not have an institution of the church that is influential not in a ritual sense, but in a moral one: here the Soviet authorities did their best, and there were many other historical prerequisites. After Peter's reform, only one institution remained in general - power.

Do you go to the cinema or do you have your own cinema?

- Your own cinema? .. (laughs) I go to the cinema quite often, I watch a lot of films. The last thing I watched were old movies: Arizona Dreams by Kusturica and Annie Hall by Woody Allen.

AFK Sistema recently financed Allen's film. Do you have such ambitions to make a film?

- In general, everything is fine with my ambitions - I don’t have them. Practically.

Well, what about charity?

This idea is close to my heart. We are actively engaged in it, and with age I am going to do it more and more. In general, I think that this is no less difficult than making money. Charity is not just about giving someone a large amount. For example, we initiated the creation of the Liniya Zhizni charity foundation, which helps terminally ill children. The goal is not only to save children, which is extremely important in itself, but also to involve as many people as possible in the process - employees of our companies and not only them. I believe that when charity consists only in the fact that 50 people give $ 5 million each, this is nonsense, it has no social effect. Here Vitya Vekselberg bought these eggs, did a very noble deed, but at the same time became the object of completely undeserved ridicule. It's sad... In order for people, society to truly appreciate charity, they themselves must take some part in it, feel for themselves what it means to give their own 1000 or 500 rubles, see how they work.

Does charity change attitudes towards the rich?

- This is exactly what I say: if people are not involved in it, then it does not change. In addition, we have generally developed an attitude towards wealth as something obviously unrighteous. They used to say that it was connected with privatization, but now there are a lot of rich people who have nothing to do with privatization, and they are still perceived as evil. We have wealth in the secular aspect legally, but in the moral - no.

Do you think the authorities are making any efforts to legitimize wealth?

- The authorities in our country as a whole are trying to stay in the wake of public ideas, not trying to form them. And in this sense, the Russian government is very democratic - it follows the public consensus. And the consensus is that all wealth is criminal. Even among members of the elite, it is widely believed that the level of success is determined by the degree of immorality.

But has anything changed in the past few years? For example, I recently participated in a TV show dedicated to how to become a millionaire - there is a healthy interest in this topic.

- I will say this: if capitalism, even in its current imperfect form, lasts another 10-15 years, then some kind of legitimization of wealth will occur. Passions will cool down, everyone will get used to the fact that there are rich people. The issue is the speed of change.

But our wealth arose quickly enough.

- Wealth arose quickly precisely because people generally did not strive to become rich.

Are you saying that you and other very wealthy people now had fewer competitors than they could have?

- Certainly. If there were a person who, like Roosevelt in the United States, said: this is the national idea - get rich, then, of course, there would be fewer distortions, fewer super-rich and super-poor.

And how do you live with such public opinion ...

I take it as a given.

Are you happy?

— I am quite happy because I am doing an interesting job, my life is comfortable, and there are a lot of unique and even historical episodes in it.

Maybe you have an enduring feeling of happiness?

- This is not the right place - only insane people can feel happy all the time.

Age: 58 years old

Money (2007): $8.5 billion

Do you have to work a lot?

- Lot. Business does not tolerate betrayal. Strictly speaking, he does not tolerate three things. First, when money is withdrawn from it for personal or some other needs, business immediately feels it. Second: he doesn't like it terribly when they begin to neglect him. I can judge by many examples. When a person either hunts lions in Africa, or rests and has fun somewhere else, this is not good for work. Problems in the company begin unambiguously. And third: business does not tolerate politics. He demands protection from the state, but does not tolerate politics. As soon as the leader starts playing political games, even tactically advantageous, he still loses strategically.

And yet: how many hours a day do you spend in the office? Do you have work days off?

- Anyone who says they work 24 hours a day is lying. The brain needs rest. I am an owl". I start working from ten in the morning, often finishing at 3-4 in the morning. On weekends, if I'm in Moscow, I always work. In general, I have to fly around the world a lot, live in different time zones, so the lines between day and night, working days and weekends have somehow blurred. It is not possible to live like a normal citizen, from Saturday to Saturday.

Are you in control of your schedule or is it you?

“It's a mutual process. Now I got sick, canceled all trips and do not appear in public for several days. But more often the schedule commands. Are there frequent crashes? The whole business is a complete mess. Every day life throws up something completely unpredictable.

Do you work "on the hunt" or because you have to?

- There is no such money that would make me work if I did not enjoy it. I admit that for a large number of people everything is different. And they force themselves. I feel sorry for them - they certainly could change their way of life. Maybe I was lucky, but whatever I did in life, I always did it with pleasure. If something goes wrong, the body immediately protests, and I try to change the situation. So it's not about the money, it's not about whether I can make more or less of them.

Why am I working? I often ask myself this question. Because so far I get the greatest pleasure in life from this. As soon as I get bored, I won’t do it again for a day. But if I do, I don't know what to do. There is no worthy substitute. I'm not a fan of wasting my life at parties.

Maybe devote yourself to a hobby.

- Hobby? Work is my hobby. I'm not fanatical in any way. I don't collect stamps, I'm not fond of hunting. I play tennis, go skiing, and some other sports - this is necessary to keep the body in good shape.

How are you spending your vacation?

I usually take a break a couple of times a year. Ten days in early January I go skiing, most often in Austria. Although this is not essential, any ski resort will do. In the summer, I also rest for ten days. For example, on a yacht with friends, I don’t have my own yacht. Here, too, there is nothing stable. I love to read. If the brain is free - news on economics, management. When I'm tired and my head is stuffed to the limit - then Russian detectives. What authors? Hell, it doesn't matter.

When was the last time you felt a keen interest in life?

“I always feel it. Right now, for example. There are no peaks and valleys. Maybe because my life was "smooth" ... I did not sit, did not die, did not hang between life and death. There were no extreme situations when you begin to sharply understand and appreciate life. Therefore, I have an even constant interest in her.

Sergey Galitsky, General Director of OAO Magnit (the largest retail chain in Russia)

Age: 39 years old

Money (2007): $1.8 billion

What time do you show up for work?

- On weekdays - at nine, on Saturday and Sunday at ten.

Sunday to work? What for?

- The question "why" is not from here at all. What else is there to do in the village? (Galitsky calls the city of Krasnodar, where he lives and works, a "big village" - Forbes.) Riding horses? In addition, I do not think that there should be any kind of schedule - you work for five days, then you rest. You need to rest when you are tired.

And how do you know you're tired?

- Symptoms - lack of freshness in the head, you can no longer give birth, the sharpness disappears - this is fatigue. If I'm tired, I can rest on a working day. It doesn't matter if it's Saturday or Tuesday.

Playing football on your lunch break?

No, I'm not playing right now. Football is a traumatic sport. When you are forty, you need to switch to more peaceful species. Three times a week I go to the gym during working hours, I work out with dumbbells for an hour.

Do you feel like a hostage to the schedule?

- If a woman has a child, does she feel like a hostage? With such a psychology, “here I go to work, I’ll get tired there, I would have a rest,” it’s not worth working at all. I work very hard, but at the same time I do what I feel comfortable with. A person cannot be a hostage to the work that he does.

Is work important in life?

It's hard to say what's important in life. Life is meaningless on its own. You just need to find something to do to occupy this gap between birth and death. What is the meaning of life? Yes, he is not. Having children is a reproductive function, it lies outside of us. What to strive for? Some quantitative factors hardly motivate a person. Don't eat two breakfasts. You have to find something to do. You just came up with some kind of game, and you play it.

When was the last time you had the feeling that life is interesting?

Life has always evoked emotions. When you open a store a day and recruit a hundred people a week, and so for several years, then life is full. There is nothing sharper and more fun than business in all its manifestations - both positive and negative.

But if you look from the side, you are doing a boring job. Every day is the same - have you ever wanted to sell your business and do something else?

— This Russian desire to sell the business is ridiculous. Everyone asks me why I'm not selling the company and why I'm not handing over the reins. Well, I did. And the next day I woke up, and what to do next? There is a business that I understand that has reached some volumes - a market share of 2%. Only 2% - grow and grow more! Well, what new business can compare with this? The tasks are interesting, but the business itself is routine. Businessmen who are engaged in operational management are boring people. These are members of the boards of directors, who have plenty of time, can play the fool, jump with a parachute, study Buddhism, travel to Tibet.

What kind of vacation do you prefer?

- A change of scenery. Meeting with friends, going to football, to the Kuban (a football club owned by Oleg Deripaska. - Forbes). I don't support Kuban, but I enjoy watching live football. At my age, one or two days is enough for me to recover.

Watch TV?

“People who say they don’t watch TV, I think they are lying. I watch football, movies. News on NTV, on REN-TV. But there's not much to see. Considering that the information field in Russia is “peculiar”, there are few broadcasts. Even Solovyov is already sad to watch. Some people are taken out, mostly the same ones, who are not clear what they are telling. The transmission is obtained, as a rule, not sharp, but there is simply nothing more. Everything is like in retail: if there is only one store in the village, then it is good or bad, it does not matter.

Is football a hobby?

Yes, football is what I like. I love to watch, I love to play. I attend World and European Championships with pleasure. I plan to create a football club in Krasnodar and work with it for the rest of my life.

Is a football club in your hometown a form of social responsibility?

— The social responsibility of business is stupidity. It is right to speak about the responsibility of those richest Russian entrepreneurs who in many ways specifically earned their millions, they should have social responsibility for life. And in a tough competitive market, there can be no social responsibility. A company cannot have non-formalized expenses; then it will not be counted. Here I have a profit, I can give it to investors, I can invest in development, or I can give it to repair roads in some city. But the question arises: why do I pay road tax then? The second question is: how will investors invest in me if they do not understand where we are sending profits?

Did you have plans to go into politics?

- I will never get into politics for one simple reason - I am vulnerable. I have property. Only when you have money in a Swiss account that no one knows about, you can go out and scratch your tongue. And second: I do not see the need to convey my thoughts to people. When you see how they vote, you think: thank God that you are engaged in business, and not hypocrisy. We are a specifically arranged country. There are a handful of entrepreneurs who have ruined the very reputation of the business. These are bandits or "contractors" who had the opportunity to negotiate with the authorities and cut down Soviet assets. Now people see businessmen as thieves, scoundrels, scumbags. Which offends me, a person who works seven days a week.

There are thousands of articles about what successful people do on their day off. Do you want to know the secret? They do the same as on other days.

Here is a list of the top 12 things successful entrepreneurs keep in mind on their day off.

1. Robert Iger: Wake up early

Disney's CEO isn't the only person who wakes up at 4:30 every morning. Successful and rich people do not allow themselves to stay in bed until two hours on weekends. Scientists have found that our mozi works best between two and a half to four hours after sleep. Wake up in the morning even on weekends, this will be a good start for a new day.

2. Benjamin Franklin: Make plans

Apparently, this prominent figure every morning wondered: “What special should I do on this day?” Wealthy people believe in the importance of having a goal every day. Weekends are also no exception. They may use the time for planned or purposeful recuperation, but you don't have to be president to know that doing nothing all the time won't work.

3. Timothy Ferris: Don't spray yourself

Maybe maximizing weekend productivity sounds too tempting and you think you can hit the treadmill, call your mother and watch the news at the same time, but those who are lucky know that this will only reduce the efficiency and effectiveness of what you trying to do. Instead, pay attention to each of these individual tasks. Ferris recommends focusing on a maximum of two goals or tasks per day to ensure productivity and stability.

4. Anna Wintour: Be active

The editor-in-chief of Vogue magazine plays tennis for one hour every day. And she's not the only one who gets exercise to succeed. Richard Branson is a full-time surfer, and the fourth richest man in India is into marathons. Among other things, sports will help neutralize the effects of a glass of wine that you decide to drink on Saturday night.

5. Steve Jobs: The main thing is priorities

"Just because something hasn't changed the world doesn't mean it doesn't matter." Weekends are the perfect time to harmonize your work and personal life. Time spent with friends, kids, or a loved one may not increase your earnings, but that doesn't mean these things are less important. Even the current President of the United States finds time to spend time at dinner with his loved ones.

6. Warren Buffett: Don't forget your hobbies

He is considered the most successful investor of the 20th century, but he finds time to play the guitar. Successful people can often be called interesting as well, and hobbies have a lot to do with it. Undoubtedly, playing golf on Saturdays can be an additional opportunity to connect with people who are useful for your business. But even a hobby like Meryl Street's knitting or George W. Bush's painting can help relieve stress, encourage creativity, and ultimately lead to success.

7. Oprah: Enjoy the silence

The richest celebrities of 2014 according to Forbes find time to sit in silence - twice a day! This is the secret of the yogis, which has now become public knowledge. Even the corporate world is recognizing the benefits of meditation for relieving stress, boosting productivity, promoting creativity, and maintaining overall well-being. Weekends can be even busier than weekdays as you try to cram family obligations and social activities into the 48 hours. The most successful people remember to spend some quiet time, and weekends are no exception. They call this meditation "practice."

8. Randy Zuckerberg: Don't be afraid to miss something

We all do it: post the highlights of our weekend on social media and check how many people liked it to see how popular we are with our friends and followers. It's the fear of missing out. And on the weekends, we tend to do it more often. But the founder and CEO of Zuckerberg Media (and the sister of Facebook's founder) says people should focus on what makes them happy. As they say, there is no better place than where I am right now.

9. Bill Gates: Take time to think

The founder of Microsoft rightly said, "It's great to celebrate success, but it's more important to learn from your failures." Reflection should be a daily practice, but on weekends it is especially important to look back and analyze the past week, as well as make a forecast for the next. The author of The Happiness Project, Gretchen Rubin, recommends starting a journal in which you write down the conclusions of your everyday thoughts. Make Saturday and Sunday the time when you can draw conclusions from the previous week.

10. Richard Branmon: Help others

This billionaire entrepreneur says that focusing your mind on issues like health, poverty, conservation and climate change can help reinvigorate your thinking in other areas. Tom Corley studied the habits of rich people for five years before writing his book about them. It turns out that approximately 73% of successful people donate their time to charity each month. Nothing helps to reduce stress and work in the future like helping those who are less fortunate in life. Weekends are a great time to get involved with local volunteer organizations.

11. Jack Dorsey: Get ready for the new week

The Twitter co-founder is notorious for putting in 16-hour days at his job, Monday through Friday. But on Saturday he rests. And he uses Sunday to prepare himself for the next work week. Successful people consider weekends to be their secret weapon to success. That way, on Monday, you'll be ready to get back to work.

12. Jay-Z: Watch the moments

He is known as a very successful rap artist and entrepreneur. What is the secret of such success? Jay-Z says it himself: “You may want to be successful more than anything, but you shouldn't doubt it. You must not sleep. Your eyes should always be open." Jay-Z did not become one of the most expensive artists just because he was waiting (like most of us) for the work week to end and the weekend to come. If you end up wanting to spend your weekends in a luxury resort, only the tenacity and habits of successful people can take you there. After all, no one is forbidden to dream!