What's the difference between getting further into debt, and living a life of wealth? Not as much as you might think.

Jean Chatzky is one woman who believes, even in the toughest economic times (as all of us are experiencing; some more than others) that anyone can prosper…if they possess key traits and abilities that will set them apart. She calls these traits, and her new book, The Difference, and describes how you can go from the person who lives paycheck to paycheck to the person who lives in comfort.

Do you have The Difference? And, if not—how can you get it? Jean shares the eight things that matter most to help you become financially free.

Happiness and Optimism

Some people believe money leads to happiness. Not true. Once you're living comfortably, more money doesn't buy more happiness. The reverse, however, is true: Happiness leads to money. And success. Likewise, so does optimism. Both empower you to solve problems, create new ideas, take long-range consequences into consideration and come back to try again if you miss the first time.

Resilience

People who have moved from a bad financial situation into comfort or wealth have resilience. They can overcome—on the job, in their personal lives, with their finances. They don't deny the bad things that happen, but they're able to turn their focus to things over which they have control with the belief that they have the ability to effect change. The good news is you don't have to be born with resilience—you can learn it by controlling the things you can control and letting go of the others.

Connectedness 

Ever heard of social capital? It's the asset created when relationships between people change in ways that lead to action, generally for good. It's an important component of The Difference, and the wealthy and financially comfortable not only have more of it than people living paycheck to paycheck, they know how to use it. They cast a wider net, socializing with neighbors, co-workers, people who can help them advance financially or in their careers. To get your share of social capital, you have to make time for people and put yourself forward as a leader.

Passion

This is a key element that moves people from a life of financial struggle to one of financial success. The wealthy, simply put, want it more than the rest of that. Some want it in the form of money, but most are quite passionate about the careers they choose to pursue. And, at a time where doing what you love may not seem possible, it's important to know you can learn to love what you're doing- right here, and right now.

Intuition

Over the years, your brain has scored up scads of patterns, information that tells you that if one thing happens, something else is likely to follow. We feel these signals in our gut—and we call them hunches. They are really our intuition, a sixth sense that is more developed in the wealthy than in anyone else. You can learn to bring yours forward by adopting strategies like giving your intuition a little room to breathe: Jean herself says she has the best moments of "enlightenment" when she's not searching for them.

Make savings your new, "got to" habit

The wealthy people in Chatzky's study certainly have the funds to be crazy spenders, but most aren't. Both wealthy and financially comfortable individuals say that saving more money has been an "absolutely essential" financial goal as an adult.

Invest in stocks

Jean did the research for The Difference when housing prices were cratering and the markets were falling out of the sky. Yet, one lesson emerged again and again: The wealthy understand the need to take risks in the market—in good times and in bad—in order to make their money work as hard as they do.

Gratitude

The Karma Kickback. The people who get rich—and stay rich—are not just grateful. They practice gratitude by giving back to their communities, to organizations they believe in and the people they care about. (Your place of worship may call it 'tithing.') Even if you are thinking of something you view as mundane—like your job—when you think about it as a gift, you focus on what life might be if you didn't have it.

Can you see The Difference in your life today? Tomorrow? As long as you see it, you'll live it.

John

Email John:  johnsblog@teshmedia.com

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