The 5 Shared Habits of 5 Successful People 

April 2, 2024 Jash Patel

The habits that Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Warren Buffett, Bill Gates, and Mark Zuckerberg all have in common.

Habits and routines, that’s what our entire life consists of. It’s what both winners and losers have in common. Where they end up is predominantly decided by the daily actions they undertake.

So highly ambitious individuals, who are dead set on winning, should optimise their routines for success. And who better to take inspiration from than the most successful men on the planet?

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Who will we be looking at?

The following list of the shared habits of successful people was extracted from the daily routines of Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Warren Buffett, Bill Gates, and Mark Zuckerberg, all of whom have achieved and surpassed the billion-dollar mark.

Elon Musk is currently the wealthiest man on the planet who founded the preceding software that is now PayPal, formed SpaceX, CEO of Tesla, and has acquired Twitter.

Jeff Bezos is the founder and CEO of Amazon, the multi-faceted online business spanning e-commerce, digital media, and cloud computing.

Warren Buffett is hailed as the most successful investor in the 20th and 21st centuries through taking majority control over Berkshire Hathaway and transforming it into an investment vehicle.

Bill Gates cofounded Microsoft, the largest personal computer software company. Within a decade his net worth amounted to tens of billions of dollars.

Mark Zuckerberg is the co-founder and CEO of Facebook, now Meta. Meta owns Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, Horizon, and Quest.

Now, let’s get into the 5 habits shared by 5 of the most successful men on the planet.

The 5 Shared Habits

1. A Good Nights Sleep

Reaching the pinnacle is all about decision-making and a lack of sleep undermines that. Sleep restriction leads to a lack of clarity due to brain fog. The decisions you then make are of lower quality, fatal to those paving the way for the future. The same goes for us in our lives. By sleeping less, you lower your ability to control impulses and think rationally. Instead of working towards a grander vision of your future, you give in to your basic impulses. Making bad quality decisions regularly is self-harming, minimise the chances of that by getting your 7 to 8 hours of sleep daily.

2. Reading (but not just anything)

This one is interesting. A lot of people say they don’t have time to read. What’s more likely is they don’t make time to read. Meanwhile, successful people do. However, that time spent reading isn’t for entertainment. They read to gain knowledge to power the decisions they must make. Jeff Bezos, Warren Buffet, and Bill Gates all read and stay informed on the latest news in their respective fields. Elon Musk and Bill Gates also spend their evenings reading non-fiction books. The content they consume is carefully selected. You should do the same.

3. Exercise

Exercise isn’t only physiological but psychological too. Our bodies weren’t built to be idle and sit behind a desk all day. We are designed to move. If we don’t, both our physical and mental health will decline. That’s why exercise, particularly cardio, is a popular habit among the successful. Some use the gym and others get creative. Mark Zuckerberg is currently training in jiu-jitsu and MMA. Doing some sort of exercise is more important than the exercise selection itself, particularly for mental health and decision-making. But once you begin, you’ll find that fitness is a realm in itself that you won’t ever regret exploring.

4. Work

It’s no surprise that work takes up a significant portion of a hyper-successful person's day. What may be surprising though, is how much time they spend working. On one end of the spectrum, you have Elon Musk who works 80 to 100 hours a week. Meanwhile, Mark Zuckerberg works 50 to 60 hours a week but says he spends most of his time thinking about the future of Meta. The nature and what you consider to be work will dictate how much time you spend working. In any case, though, work is only part of your day. If you have other values, you should pursue them.

5. Socialising

These CEOs spend much of their time in business meetings with colleagues for the functioning of their respective companies. But outside of work, time is made for family too. Spending time with people in real life is overlooked by many of us. Some may spend their days playing games, whilst others are wholeheartedly invested in work. But socialising is like exercise, it's an essential aspect of being a human being and it should be a priority. There is a time and a place for isolation and introspection. If you operate in society though, and you do, being social is a healthy habit.

Final Thoughts

The top CEOs seem to have a “balanced” lifestyle, except maybe Elon who is a workaholic. One point does spring to mind though, this is based on their current routines after they’ve achieved success. Although each of them is still striving for more, we can undoubtedly say that their days would have consisted of more work and less leisure during the early years. In either case, at the start or now, no time is wasted and every habit gears them to fulfil their values.

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