What is your definition of success? For some, it’s making a million dollar salary and having access to all the luxuries the world can offer, while for others, it’s making it through a work week without losing their mind and choking another employee. Webster’s dictionary defines success as, “the accomplishment of an aim or purpose”. So, you can see that this is a very general and broad explanation–which is actually good. Why? Because only you can define what your success means. Only you can determine how successful you are as long as your goals are met. Many people think in order to be “successful”, you must have a multi-million dollar home, a high-end wardrobe, and a Bentley parked in your multi-car garage. I am here to say that this is not true. Sure, this is what success looks like for some people, but not everyone.
I define my personal success by meeting my goals that I’ve set out for myself. I have daily, weekly, monthly and yearly goals. It’s staying consistent day in and day out to get even closer to my larger goals over time. I have learned many habits from talking to highly successful and motivated people, and I’ve incorporated these habits into my routine– and I must say, I have been more “successful” over the last few months than I have in years. Let’s go over the 10 habits that can help you achieve higher success in life.
1 . Set goals Successful people don’t excel unless they know where they’re going. If you don’t know where you are going, you will end up some place you didn’t want to be. Setting up goals should be the number one priority for anyone seeking success. Start with smaller goals for the day–and check them off. Checking-off a simple task or goal during the day creates a mind shift of becoming more successful and productive. You gain a sense of completion. Break down exactly what is required to get you there. Set up mini goals. Set up a daily, weekly and monthly goal for yourself.
2. Take responsibility for your life Another key attribute of successful people is that they don’t blame others for things that don’t go right. They don’t play the victim role. They learn from their mistakes. They learn how not to do things if it doesn’t work out the first time. The excuses are for the weak minded. They ask themselves, “How can I improve from here?” Your time is better spent in the present while working on your future. Remember, everyone suffers from setbacks. It’s how you bounce back from them that what determines your future.
3. Self discipline Discipline is a strong trait of most successful people. This can be developed with consistent use. When people ask me how I have the time to blog, podcast, write, workout, etc–I usually find out that they spend more time on social media or watching TV at night. If you are truly working on goals for success, is watching someone else live their life going to help you with yours? If you have hours every night, mindlessly watching TV, scrolling on instagram or watching YouTube videos, then you have time to work on that dream of yours. Learn about starting that blog or podcast, read about your passions, start that online course. Use this time wisely.
4. Be obsessed with Self development Can you really claim success if you have given up working on yourself? It’s human nature to want to grow and learn new things throughout our lifetime. Always keep open to learning new things and develop a growth mindset. Have mentors, high vibe friends, books and courses that expand your high self.
5. Read…A lot! Reading is a common past time for many successful folks. Many people today can’t even sit for 2 minutes before becoming bored. They will probably post on social media about how bored they really feel. Successful people are happy to be alone with a good book. Not a reader? Try audiobooks. You can listen to them in the car, at the gym or taking a shower.
6. Learn to manage your time Time management is paramount for successful people. Prioritize the most rewarding and largest goals of the day first, and then the smaller goals last. Work on the most important things earlier in the day. Plan in advance to know what clearly needs to be done, so you can become more focused to get it finished.
7. Take risks You can’t win the lottery if you don’t buy a ticket. If you don’t take big risks, then you can’t achieve big rewards. Successful people know they will need to take huge risks in order to get to where they need to go. A lot of people are too afraid of failure. But, in the mind of a successful person, a bigger failure is a regret of not trying something new or different. Don’t live with regrets.
8. Keep going if you fail Every person achieving a dream will suffer from failures or setbacks. This is how we learn from every situation. Most people will quit, telling themselves, “It’s not for me.” This is the saddest stuff to witness–people giving up on dreams because they failed. Successful people learn new strategies, new approaches and new ways to learn and improve the situation. They never quit. Losing or failing is expected and knowing this head on, makes it easier to deal with when it happens. You will build character in adversity. Bonus, you now have a comeback story.
9. Find a way to win They find a way to win, no matter what life throws at them. It’s the whatever it takes mentality that gets them there. They give it their all when faced with downfalls.
10. Do what you love If you’re not doing what you love, can you really claim success? Why do we spend time at jobs that we hate? Find a way to turn your passions into profit. Talk to people, read and learn more about it. Find your life purpose. Brainstorm with like-minded people so you can do what you love every single day. If you have to take a pay cut to make it happen, it’s worth it. If you do what you love every day, you will never work a day in your life.