you want to be successful, one of the best things you can
do is emulate other successful people. While every successful person has his or
her own unique approach, there are a lot of common patterns you can find when
you read their books and watch interviews and lectures. Here are 10 things that
many successful people do each day!
1. They focus on productivity, not on being busy.
We live in a pay-by-the-hour sort of world, but if you are
an entrepreneur, you should never pay yourself like a boss would pay you! Do
not reward yourself for spending time working; reward yourself for getting work
done.1 When you run your own business, you are paid for products and
services, not for time.
And what if you want to succeed in a corporate career? Look
at it this way. When your productivity far outshines the productivity of your
coworkers, you make an impact on your company, and you are the one who is
likely to get the promotion!
2. They set S.M.A.R.T. goals.
What is success? Most people would probably define success
as achieving a goal. But you can never be successful if you set unachievable
goals. Many goals are unrealistic or too nebulous for follow-through.
Instead, try setting S.M.A.R.T. goals. S.M.A.R.T. is an
acronym which stands for Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, Timely.
The acronym pretty much says it all. These are goals which are concrete,
narrowly defined, and which you can measure your progress towards.
You can achieve them within a finite amount of time, and
they are relevant to your overall success.
Setting a series of S.M.A.R.T. goals is a great technique
for achieving larger, more loosely defined goals. Think of each S.M.A.R.T. goal
as a rung on the ladder of overall success!
3. They take the leap.
What is the number one reason why many people never succeed
at their goals in life? Probably a refusal to try! The higher you set your
sights, the scarier the prospect of failure can be. But that is no reason not
to try. What you never know can’t hurt you—or so you might think.
The truth is, however, it is hurting you ever day not to
give yourself a chance. So take that leap you have been putting off. You
have nothing to lose and everything to gain. You never know; it could be the
leap that changes your life.
4. They exercise and eat right.
Successful people who stay that way over the long term do
not abuse their bodies. They take time each day to prepare and eat healthy
meals and to work out. Even President Barack Obama manages to find time to get
up every morning and exercise before work, often for 90 minutes a day.
If the most powerful (and busy) man in the world has time
for a daily workout, so do you!
5. They lead balanced lives.
In the professional world, there is a lot of pressure always
to be working. If you are not working 20 hours and sleeping 4, you must not
want it badly enough. That is what people will tell you in pretty much any
field.
However, that is simply not true, and people who live that
way will eventually burn out and crash hard. They think they can sacrifice
their health, relationships, and leisure time for a few hard years and then
coast for the rest of their lives. Rarely if ever does entrepreneurship
actually work this way. Most successful entrepreneurs work very hard for a long
time.
That just makes it more important than ever to find time for
other important things in your life, and especially for important people! A
healthy, balanced life is necessary if you are going to have the strength to
hang in there for the long term.
It also is essential to remember why you want success. Most
of us want monetary success to support our lifestyles and families. But if you
throw out your life and family along the way, what success will you have
achieved?
6. They are realistically optimistic.
Successful people focus on the positive wherever
possible—but not blindly. Optimism helps us spot opportunities we would miss if
we were focusing on the negative.
While you must always plan for the future and for potential
pitfalls, you must believe there is a way across the chasms that gape below.
Otherwise you will turn back long before the journey is complete, or take a
fall along the way.
7. They make the most of their networks.
The most successful people never try to go it alone if they
do not have to, and they always look for opportunities to network and expand
their circle of friends and business associates.
They realize that every conversation is an opportunity, and
could hold the seed of potential for a new business relationship or venture.
When they find themselves facing harsh times, they reach out to others for
ideas. When others in their networks struggle, they offer solutions.
8. They keep failure in perspective.
You have probably met businesspeople who take pride in
having very little experience with failure—or so they claim. But those people
are typically lying to your or not as successful as they seem. Maybe they just
got lucky and built an empire on a stroke of fate or a large inheritance.
In reality, success is typically built on a series of
failures and lessons learned. Do not let your past failures weigh you down or
make you feel like a failure. Successful people learn from failures every day
and recognize that so long as they do, they are still on the road to success.
9. They know how to set boundaries.
Many of us are raised never to say the word “no,” but
sometimes you have to say “no.” Not every business proposition is a good one,
and not all partners are the right ones. Successful people realize they cannot
take on every single project or work with every single person. They know they
sometimes have to back off and take care of themselves first.
Of course, if you can say “no” in a creative way that still
leaves the door open for future opportunities that is often a great idea!
Do not be afraid to occasionally say “no” to your own
ambition as well. This goes back to the work-life balance point discussed
earlier. You need to sometimes say “no” to another hour of work and “yes” to
taking a little time off. It may not feel like you are working hard enough, but
you are! You need time for you too.
