Jean Chatzky says that anyone can prosper in even the toughest economic times…if they possess the key traits and abilities that will set them apart. She calls these traits The Difference, and in her new book Jean 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 enable you to solve problems, conjure ideas, take long-range consequences into consideration and come back and 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

It 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 seem not so possible, it's important to know you can learn to love what you do.

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 aha! moments when she's not searching for them.

Habitual saving

The wealthy people in our study certainly have the funds to be crazy spenders, but most are not. Both wealthy and financially comfortable individuals say that saving more money has been an "absolutely essential" financial goal as an adult. If you're not a habitual saver already, The Difference will show you how.

Invest in stocks

Jean did the research for this book 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. 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.

Jean Chatzky在她最近的新书The Difference里描述了如何从一个每月都捉襟见肘的人变成一个能略有盈余，生活富足的人。她谈到：任何人都可以在最严峻经济形势时期获得成功，只要他们都具有某些关键特点和能力，那么他们就能从众多艰难处世的人当中脱颖而出。她把这些特点叫做“用心生活，大有不同”。

你有这些特点吗？如果你没有，你要怎样去做到呢？Jean跟我们分享了最最能帮助你获得财务自由的八个特点。

1，快乐和乐观

有些人认为有钱就能快乐。这不对。一当你生活富足的时候，更多的钱并不能买到更多的快乐。反过来才是对的。快乐的人会获得更多的财富，还有成功。同样，乐观态度也是这样。快乐、乐观能让你找到问题的答案；帮你想到更多的点子；将各种长远的目标结果考虑在内；假如你第一次没做好，你可以回来再尝试。

2，顺应力

那些从糟糕的金融状况中走出来获得富足的人都很有弹性。他们能克服工作、个人生活中的财务困难。他们不排斥发生坏的情况，他们只是能转而专注在那些他们能把握的事情上，因为他们相信：自己有能力让事情发生改变。好在你不必天生就富有弹性，你可以关照好你能关照的事情，而其他事就随它去，这样你就学会了。

3，连通

听说过社会资本吗？它是人们通过关系的改变来创造资产。这些改变能促成行动，通常是好的行动。连通是The Difference这本书里一个非常重要的组成部分。那些生活富足的人不仅仅是比捉襟见肘的人有更多的“连通”关系，他们更知道如何去运用这些连通关系。他们的社会关系网更大，他们跟邻居、同事、以及那些能在财务上或职业上有所帮助的人交往。想得到社会资本的好处，你就必须花时间跟人们交往，让自己像一个领袖一样前进。

4，似火的热情

这是让一个人从财务斗争走向财务自由的关键要素。富有的人，简单的说，他们想要比财富更多的东西。有些人想要的是财富，不过大多数人都对自己追求的职业有非常高的热情。当然，当你还没法去做自己喜欢的职业的时候，你要能学会去喜欢自己正在做的事情，这点很重要。

5，直觉

多年以来，你的大脑已经获得了大量模式，信息，告诉你如果发生了某件事情，接下来就会发生什么。我们本能地感觉得到这些信号，我们把这些信号叫做直觉。这些信号的确就是我们的直觉，或者第六感，富有的人常常比其他人有更多的直觉。你可以给自己的直觉留一点空间，用这个方法来让自己对这些直觉更敏感。Jean自己就说：当她没有刻意去寻找直觉信号的时候，她常常会有最好的直觉。

6，让节俭成为习惯

我们做的研究中富有的人当然有疯狂购物，血拼的资本，然而大多数富人并不是这样大肆挥霍的。富有、财务自由的人认为：作为一个成年人，省下更多的钱是一个绝对必不可少的目标。如果你还不是一个习惯节约的人，The Difference会告诉你怎么做。

7，投资股票

Jean为写这本书做了研究。当时正是房价猛跌，市场疲软，有一个教训一次又一次地出现。富有的人懂得在市场中冒险，无论是经济好还是经济糟糕的时候，就是为了让自己的钱活起来。

8，感激

“一切都是因果。”那些获得大量财富的人—并且一直拥有财富的人不仅仅是心存感激。他们用实际行动回馈给他们的社区，他们信奉的组织，还有他们关照的人。即使你觉得自己看到的事情（比如你的工作）不过是平常事的时候，只要你把这些都当作是上天给予的一份礼物，那么你就专注在生活的价值上了，即便你之前并没有看到这一点。