8 Secrets of the Rich That Can Change Your Life, According to Codie Sanchez
Written by
Gabrielle Olya
Edited by
Molly Sullivan
Commitment to Our Readers
GOBankingRates' editorial team is committed to bringing you unbiased reviews and information. We use data-driven methodologies to evaluate financial products and services - our reviews and ratings are not influenced by advertisers. You can read more about our editorial guidelines and our products and services review methodology.
20 Years
Helping You Live Richer
Reviewed
by Experts
Trusted by
Millions of Readers
According to self-made millionaire Codie Sanchez, what separates the rich from the rest of us is not their intelligence or skills, but the ways they live their lives.
“Rich people know a secret,” she said in a recent YouTube video. “While normal people grind for a promotion or start scammy side hustles, the wealthy get rich quietly — but I think everyone deserves to know their secrets.”
Sanchez said that she used a set of principles she learned from the richest people that have taken her from “being stuck in the grind to owning my time, having multiple businesses and eventually turning those businesses into freedom.
“They’re not just ideas,” she said. “These are actionable, backed by research and data, and they’ve been lived out by some of the most successful people in the world.”
Here are the eight principles of the rich that Sanchez believes can change your life.
Your Habits Determine Your Life
The little things you do every day have a big impact.
“You become what you do — the habits you build determine the life you live,” Sanchez said. “It’s a simple truth, and so if you repeatedly do a thing, it turns out that’s contagious. If your daily actions aren’t aligned with your goals, you’ll never actually have the success you’re chasing.”
She said that rich people know this, so they focus on building habits that help them become successful. This is easier to do when you are surrounded by other people with positive habits.
“If you do nothing else, do this one thing: Power of Place,” Sanchez said. “Instead of you having to change, why don’t you change the place you’re at? It’s a lot easier to change your friend group than it is to change your friends. Don’t be around people, places, things that are the detriment to the things you want in life.”
You Must Have Equity
Having a high-paying job is not enough if you want to become truly rich.
“You simply do not get rich unless you have equity, or what I call ownership,” Sanchez said. “Now, this advice is not aimed at 20-somethings looking to make your first dollars, but if you’re a working professional with a chunk of money saved up, who’s been in a job you don’t like for very long, this advice is for you.”
Sanchez notes that many of the richest CEOs like Apple’s Tim Cook and Google’s Sundar Pichai have most of their salary tied to equity. Ideally, your job would offer you equity as well.
“Your job isn’t as secure as you think, and you might not be as valuable as you think to the company,” Sanchez said. “You need to figure out how to make sure you become so valuable that the company wouldn’t exist without you, and thus they want to give you some equity. I don’t think everybody should own a business, but you should negotiate ownership.”
Your Reputation Is Your Most Valuable Asset
In the world of business, what people think of you is everything.
“Obsessing over your reputation is more important than anything else — it’s actually your most valuable asset,” Sanchez said. “Warren Buffett has a famous line: ‘Lose money for the firm, and I will be understanding. Lose a shred of reputation for the firm, and I will be ruthless.’
“It only takes one bad decision to destroy your reputation,” she continued. “So you want to guard your name fiercely. The really, really rich refuse to play short-term games that could end up costing them their long-term reputation.”
Stick To Your Word
Once you make a plan to do something, do it.
“This one has made me probably more money than just about any of it — do the thing you say you’re going to do,” Sanchez said. “I found time and time again that the gap between the average and the exceptional is just one thing: follow through. Rich people don’t just make promises, they execute them relentlessly.”
If you are balancing building wealth with other goals, make sure to carve out time for that specific goal.
“Every single day, focus on the one thing that you really need to,” Sanchez said. “If I’m like, that one task I need to get done is so big that there’s no way I can get it all done in one day … then I give myself two hours to work on the one thing.”
Keep doing this repeatedly, and you will get it done.
Surround Yourself With Successful People
Sanchez said it’s important to become friends and allies with the people you aspire to be like.
“You’ve got to be proactive about who you spend your time with,” she said. “Understand that your environment is a mirror of your future. Every relationship you have is going to be determinant for how much money you’re going to make. If you surround yourself with history of winning, it rubs off.”
When you surround yourself with people who have more success, you’re more inclined to go on an upward trajectory yourself.
“Warren Buffett said this perfectly. He said, ‘It’s better to hang out with people better than you,'” Sanchez said. “So pick out associates whose behavior is better than yours, and you will drift in that direction — almost like they pull you.”
Have a Sense of Urgency
Sanchez said that “the greatest muscle you can build is urgency.” She notes that the wealthy make moves faster than the average person.
“They know that decreasing the time between having an idea and acting on it is where money is made,” Sanchez said. “It’s the culture in all my businesses. When most people say, ‘I’ll do it next week, next month, next year,’ I push for about half the time. We have the ’24-hour rule’ — how can you get me something in 24 hours instead of one week?”
This concept has proven success.
“Jack Welch, the CEO of General Electric, said that speed is the biggest weapon in any business, and that’s actually how he turned around GE from a dying company to one of the most innovative ones during his time,” Sanchez said.
In practice, this means setting aggressive deadlines, communicating and checking in regularly on progress, and prioritizing action over perfection.
“Perfect doesn’t exist, so take the first step and iterate,” Sanchez said. “Urgency is basically the difference between dreaming and doing. The rich, they don’t really wait.”
Don’t Waste Your Time With Small Talk
If a conversation won’t propel you closer to your goals, it isn’t worth your time.
“Avoid small talk,” Sanchez said. “I found this to be one of the main things that separates the rich from the rest. Don’t waste time on surface level conversations.”
Instead, ask meaningful questions that lead to meaningful relationships.
“Meaningful relationships and meaningful work are mutually reinforcing, which means that as you have relationships that are really based in trust, that leads to more opportunities, partnerships and success,” Sanchez said.
Just Keep Going
When you are on a wealth-building journey, you are sure to encounter some bumps in the road.
“Maybe more than anything else, keep going after it gets hard, and maybe especially when it gets hard, because the truth of the matter is, none of this stuff is easy,” Sanchez said. “When you’re talking to the super rich, they understand that the only way out is through.”
Being resilient is the foundation of success.
“Train yourself into, when it gets hard, that is when you get excited — that’s when you start to make a lot of money,” Sanchez said. “Instead of seeing challenges, it’s figuring out how to solve it.”
More From GOBankingRates
