For a select few, they’ve managed to make the cut, often thanks to intergenerational wealth and a bit of luck. For others, they’ve worked hard and found success in another way, becoming what we know as ‘self-made millionaires’.

For decades, we’ve looked closely at the super-successful and wondered what exactly it takes to get to that level. What do they eat for breakfast? How do they remain productive, even in energy slumps? And… what do they do in their spare time?

It’s the latter question that has recently been answered in a five-year study that looked at more than 200 self-made millionaires to examine their habits and behaviours. And it turns out, endlessly scrolling on TikTok and Instagram isn’t a big part of their daily habit (a shock to phone-obsessed me!).

Leela Cosgrove is a self-made millionaire who grew up on a housing commission estate in Brisbane, surrounded by violence, drug use and the ongoing rhetoric that she would amount to nothing. Now she runs a company that turns over two million a year, with over $19 million made in the last decade.

In her spare time, she swears by reading voraciously. And reading both fiction and non-fiction.

“I read non-fiction in the morning and fiction at night – because fiction is JUST as important to help you understand people and storytelling (a key factor in the success of ANY entrepreneur),” she told Mamamia.

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