'Rich people don't have a lottery mindset,' says CEO—here are 3 things millionaires do differently

Everyone approaches wealth differently, and I've ever been fascinated by however the world's wealthiest people bash it.

As a CEO and big of the podcast "We Study Billionaires," I've interviewed 25 billionaires and much than 100 millionaires, including salient investors similar Howard Marks and Cathie Woods.

What person I learned from them? For starters, affluent radical don't person a "lottery mindset" — oregon the content that there's a shortcut to instant wealthiness by virtuousness of random luck.

Here are 3 habits they stock that anyone tin adopt:

The astir financially palmy radical person a passionateness for solving puzzles — and they dainty the banal marketplace the aforesaid way.

When I interviewed billionaire Howard Marks, co-founder of Oaktree Capital Management, we talked astir however helium got done periods of upheaval similar the Great Recession and the aboriginal days of the pandemic.

Instead of making decisions based connected fear, helium said helium focused connected the information and imaginable opportunities, alternatively than connected the risks oregon downsides.

Using this approach, helium made a palmy stake connected distressed firm indebtedness during the 2008 fiscal crisis, which earned Oaktree investors astir $6 cardinal successful gains.

If you find yourself faced with uncertainty, Marks recommends taking emotions retired of the equation, and looking for ways you tin marque the circumstances enactment for you.

One of Warren Buffett's biggest occurrence factors is that helium invests businesses that person imaginable to turn successful worth decades into the future, nary substance what their banal prices mightiness beryllium astatine immoderate fixed time.

Many billionaires person admiration for Buffett's attack and however overmuch patience it requires. At a conference, Airbnb co-founder Brian Chesky spoke astir a memorable luncheon helium had with Jeff Bezos and Buffett. 

During that lunch, Bezos recalled 1 of his archetypal meetings with Buffett, successful which helium asked him: "Your investing thesis is truthful simple. Why doesn't everyone conscionable transcript you?"

"Because nary 1 wants to get affluent slowly," Buffett replied.

I precocious interviewed billionaire David Rubenstein, co-founder of backstage equity steadfast Carlyle Group. He is simply a philanthropist who serves arsenic president connected respective boards. He is besides the writer of 3 books and big of PBS' "History with David Rubenstein." 

When I asked him however helium gets truthful overmuch done, helium was speedy to enactment each the things helium doesn't do: No golf, nary drinking alcohol, nary binging connected Netflix. He avoids each the things that helium believes drains his time.

Billionaire Jesse Itzler agrees astir the powerfulness of saying "no." Itzler is the co-founder of Marquis Jet, 1 of the world's largest backstage pitchy paper companies, a spouse successful Zico Coconut Water, the laminitis of The 100 Mile Group and an proprietor of the NBA's Atlanta Hawks.

"Your 20s and 30s are a large clip to accidental 'yes,'" helium told maine successful a podcast interview. "You privation to network, get vulnerability and build. But your precocious 40s and beyond are a large clip to accidental 'no' and instrumentality afloat power of your time."

His extremity for saying "no" to idiosyncratic gracefully: "Follow up with thing amazing. Send a dessert oregon prime up a bill. Choosing not to bash thing doesn't mean you person to beryllium retired of the game."

Trey Lockerbie is the CEO and co-founder of the kombucha marque Better Booch, and big of the podcast "We Study Billionaires." Follow him connected LinkedIn and Twitter.

Don't miss:

• There are 4 main paths to becoming a millionaire—and this is the easiest one, says wealth expert
• Author who studied millionaires for 5 years: Don't play the lottery if you privation to discontinue rich
• Early retiree shares 13 'stupid simple' wealth rules that helped him prevention $1 million: 'I wasn't calved rich'

Want to gain much and enactment less? Register for the free CNBC Make It: Your Money virtual event on Dec. 13 astatine 12 p.m. ET to larn from wealth masters similar Kevin O'Leary however you tin summation your earning power.