Whether you’re 65 years old and looking for a change in scenery, or 7 years old and looking to get a head start on your peers, the question of “how to be successful” burns inside each one of us. Although there isn’t a clear-cut way to way to be successful, there are a few habits each one of us can start doing to get on the track.
There is no shortage of successful people in this world, and luckily for you, you don’t need to reinvent the wheel. The millions of people before have paved the way, now our job is to take a few notes, learn a little, and hopefully start some new habits.
Where to Start?
If you feel overwhelmed by the amount of advice you’ve been getting from people telling you how to be successful, fear not. The start to every day? Make your bed. Being successful is about habits and consistency. Your rituals determine your results. With these simple tips and tricks we are about to touch on, you can level up more than you ever would think. But just like all good advice, without consistent action and effort, you won’t see results.
Everything starts with a Success Mindset
Everything starts with mindset. Whether you want to beat your own bowling record, climb a mountain, ask someone for a date, have success at business or achieve you financial and life goals, everything starts with mindset. Individuals with a success mindset always seem to figure out how to make things happen, even when the odds seem impossible. 80% of all success is psychology, and 20% is the actual mechanics, the strategies and the tactics. There is no high level math or science on this. If 80% of all success is mindset, then, this means that by having a success mindset, you have 80% of the game already figured out. But what is really a Success Mindset?
Simply put, our mindset is determined by our beliefs. A belief is a sense of certainty we have about something. For example, if you believe you are good at sports, all you are really saying is “I feel certain that I am good at sports.” We can have empowering beliefs, like the example we saw (I am good at sports), but we can also have disempowering or limiting beliefs. A disempowering belief would be something like ” I cannot be successful in business” or “I do not have the capabilities to achieve my goals”. Our beliefs is one of the most important key factors that will determine our level of success.
Success breeds success, and it all starts in your mind. You see, success is really like a cycle, and it starts with your beliefs. Let’s say that you want to complete a project, or pass a test. The successful achievement of these goals start with the belief ” I can certainly do this”. Now, based on this feeling of certainty (belief), you will draw upon your internal resources and skills to start taking action toward the attainment of your goal. In fact, humans capabilities are directly related to their beliefs. Once you take the first step, you start generating momentum, and taking action daily. These actions produce results (pass the test, complete the project) which consequently reinforce the initial belief (I can certainly do this). It is a cycle that feeds on itself. Unfortunately, it also works in the opposite direction. Let’s take the same example of the project. Lets say that your belief related to this project or task is ” I cannot do this”, or “I do not have the capabilities”. Then, your actions will be in accordance with this belief. You will take little action or no action at all and, as a consequence, you will not complete the project. This result will then reinforce your initial belief (I cannot do this).
To be successful, the very first step we need to take is to make the decision to believe that we can be successful. Believe in yourself! There is this quote from James Allen from his book As a man thinketh ” As a man thinketh in his heart, so shall he be”. Also, Henry Ford said: “Whether you think you can or you can’t, either way you are right”. We must get rid of any limiting beliefs we have and replace them with empowering beliefs. Start today by believing that you can actually achieve the level of success you desire and deserve.
Be Passionate
One of the most satisfying conversations you can have in this life is a conversation with someone about something they are passionate about. It’s a raw, real, and pure enthusiasm coming from them. Often times, that person you’re speaking to is an expert in the field they are enthusiastic about. Enthusiasm gets the ball rolling, and that will carry you over into the other aspects that make you an expert.
Challenge yourself
Its easy to say you need to work hard, but that isn’t the entire battle. If work is the hardest thing you do every day, it will always be that way, forcing the enthusiasm to eventually leave you. If you force yourself to do something harder than your planned hardest task of the day, it’s easy to tackle the other hard parts of your day. Embrace the challenge of hard, and your success will grow.
Don’t be afraid to “Go for No”
If you never ask, the answer will always be no. in the short book “Go for No,” it talks about rewarding the salesman with the highest number of “no’s” at the end of the year. Coincidentally, that was always the salesman with the most sales. The more you try and the more you fail, the more you will find success.
Positive Thoughts
We’ve all heard that our thoughts become our words, our words become our actions, and our actions define who we are. Having positive self talk can be the main difference between you and success, and you simply haven’t found it out yet. The third President of The United States, Thomas Jefferson, said that “Nothing can stop with the right mental attitude from achieving his goal; nothing on earth can help the man with the wrong mental attitude.”
Build Personal Relationships
People don’t care how much you know, until they know how much you care. This is a universal truth all over the world, and it won’t be changing any time soon. If you are looking to advance in the business world, it pays off to have open communication and a relationship with people in powerful positions. Get to know as many CEO’s as possible. Have close conversations, and be yourself with the most important people.
Learn to Balance
If your life is work, work, and only work, your work is going to suffer. You need to have a balance between your work life and your personal life. “There is an immutable conflict at work in life and in business, a constant battle between peace and chaos. Neither can be mastered, but both can be influenced. How you go about that is the key to success.” – Phil Knight, co-founder of Nike Inc.
Aim for the Moon, Land on the Stars
If you set your goal to make $1 Million in a year, but you fall well short and only do half of your goal, you had yourself a great year. Shoot big, the worst thing that can happen is you fail, but there is no danger in that. “The greater danger for most of us lies not in setting our aim too high and falling short; but in setting our aim too low, and achieving our mark.” – Michelangelo Buonarroti, Great Renaissance Artist
Even if you think this is a productive way to go about your work, its not. Its been proven time again and again that your brain isn’t working on its peak when you are focusing on two separate tasks at the same time. Your time is much better spent giving one task 100%, moving on quickly, and tackling more tasks later in the day. If you can’t give your task on hand 100% of your focus and energy, its probably a good idea to take a break, grab some water, and breathe for a few minutes. I have included a link below of a video that shows you in little more detail how unproductive multitasking can be.
Click here to see the Multitasking Test
If you want your goal bad enough, you are going to find a way to get it. The best way to stay motivated is to stay enthusiastic, find a reason to love what you’re doing, and keep doing challenging things. Being a successful and productive person is all about staying consistent with habits that the already-successful people have proven to work.