The authors conducted a systematic study of 120 self-made billionaires and identified that their success stems from being (who create new value) rather than Performers (who optimize existing systems).

A concise overview of the five critical "habits of mind" found in self-made billionaires is available in the Self-Made Billionaire Effect 1-page summary.

They identified (habits of mind) that these individuals balance:

Working rapidly to seize opportunities while remaining patient for the right timing.

Combining deep customer empathy with the vision to create something new.

If you are looking for a paper or summary to understand the core research, you can access the following resources: