Most successful people were not born into success; they simply did, and continue to do, things that help them realize their full potential. Here are twelve things they do differently that the rest of us can easily emulate.
1. They create and pursue SMART goals.
Successful people are objective. They know what they are looking for and why they are fighting for it. They create SMART goals: Specific – “Join a health club and workout 3 days a week for the next 52 weeks.” A specific goal has a greater chance of being accomplished because it has defined parameters. Measurable – There must be a logical system for measuring the progress of a goal. When you measure your progress, you stay on track, reach your target dates, and experience the exhilaration of achievement. Attainable – A goal must represent an objective toward which you are willing and able to work. The goal must be realistic. Relevant – Choose goals that matter and are relevant to your objective of building a profitable business. Timely – A deadline helps you focus your efforts on the completion of the goal by the due date. This prevents goals from being overtaken by daily distractions. When you identify SMART goals that are truly important to you, you become motivated to figure out ways to attain them. You develop the necessary attitude, abilities, and skills. Goals that seemed out of reach eventually move closer and become attainable, not because your goals shrink, but because you grow and expand to match them.
2. They take decisive and immediate action.
Very few people ever live to become the success story they dream about. And there’s one simple reason why: They never take action! Growing happens when what you know changes how you live. So many people live in a complete daze. It doesn’t matter if you have a genius IQ and a PhD in Quantum Physics, you can’t make any sort of progress without taking action. There’s a huge difference between knowing how to do something and actually doing it. Knowledge and intelligence are both useless without action. It’s as simple as that.
3. They focus on being productive, not being busy.
In his book, The 4-Hour Workweek , Tim Ferris says, “Slow down and remember this: Most things make no difference. Being busy is often a form of mental laziness. Work smarter, not harder.” Take a quick look around. The busy outnumber the productive by a wide margin. Busy people are rushing all over the place, and running late half of the time. They’re heading to work, conferences, meetings, social engagements. They barely have enough free time for family get-togethers and they rarely get enough sleep. Yet, business emails are shooting out of their smart phones like machine gun bullets, and their daily planner is jammed to the brim with obligations.
Their busy schedule gives them an elevated sense of importance. But it’s all an illusion. They’re like hamsters running on a wheel.
The solution: Slow down. Breathe. Review your commitments and goals. Put first things first. Do one thing at a time. Start now. Take a short break in two hours. Repeat.
And always remember, results are more important than the time it takes to achieve them.
4. They make logical, informed decisions.
Emotional gut instincts are effective in certain fleeting situations. When it comes to generating long-term, sustained growth in any area of life, emotional decisions often lead a person astray. Slow down and think things through before you make any life-changing decisions.
5. They avoid the trap of trying to make things perfect.
Many of us are perfectionists in our own right. We set high bars for ourselves and put our best foot forward. We dedicate copious amounts of time and attention to our work to maintain our high personal standards. Our passion for excellence drives us to run the extra mile, never stopping, never relenting. And this dedication towards perfection undoubtedly helps us achieve results… So long as we don’t get carried away.
True perfectionists have a hard time starting things and an even harder time finishing them, always.
Remember, the real world doesn’t reward perfectionists. It rewards people who get things done. Only by wading through years of practice and imperfection can we begin to achieve momentary glimpses of the perfection. So make a decision. Take action, learn from the outcome, and repeat this method over and over again in all walks of life.
6. They work outside of their comfort zone.
The number one thing holding smart people back is their own reluctance to accept an opportunity simply because they don’t think they’re ready. They feel uncomfortable and believe they require additional knowledge, skill and experience before they can aptly partake in the opportunity. Sadly, this is the kind of thinking that stifles personal growth and success. Nobody ever feels 100% ready when an opportunity arises. They force us to stretch ourselves and our comfort zones, which means we won’t feel totally comfortable at first. And when we don’t feel comfortable, we don’t feel ready. Significant moments of opportunity for personal growth and success will come and go throughout your lifetime. If you are looking to make positive changes and new breakthroughs in your life, you will need to embrace these moments of opportunity even though you will never feel 100% ready for them.
7. They keep things simple.
Here in the 21st century, where information moves at the speed of light and opportunities for innovation seem endless, we have an abundant array of choices when it comes to designing our lives and careers. An abundance of choice often leads to complication, confusion and inaction. Several business and marketing studies have shown that the more product choices a consumer is faced with, the less products they typically buy. After all, narrowing down the best product from a pool of three choices is certainly a lot easier than narrowing down the best product from a pool of three hundred choices. If the purchasing decision is tough to make, most people will just give up. The solution is to simplify. If you’re selling a product line, keep it simple. And if you’re trying to make a decision about something in your life, don’t waste all your time evaluating every last detail of every possible option. Choose something that you think will work and give it a shot. If it doesn’t work out, learn what you can from the experience, choose something else and keep pressing forward.
8. They focus on making small, continuous improvements.
Making small, positive changes – eating a little healthier, exercising a little, creating some small productive habits, for example – is an amazing way to get excited about life and slowly reach the level of success you aspire to. If you start small, you don’t need a lot of motivation to get started. The simple act of getting started and doing something will give you the momentum you need, and soon you’ll find yourself in a positive spiral of changes – one building on the other. Start with just one activity, and make a plan for how you will deal with troubles when they arise. It will be hard in the beginning, but it will get easier. And that’s the whole point. As your strength grows, you can take on bigger challenges.
9. They measure and track their progress.
Successful people are not only working in their job/business, they are also working on it. They step back and assess their progress regularly. They track themselves against their goals and clearly know what needs to be done to excel and accelerate. You can’t control what you don’t properly measure.
The proper approach is to figure out what your number one goal is and then track the things that directly relate to achieving that goal.. On a weekly basis, plug the numbers into a spreadsheet and use the data to create weekly or monthly trend graphs so you can visualize your progress. Then fine-tune your actions to get those trends to grow in your favor.
10. They maintain a positive outlook as they learn from their mistakes.
Successful people concentrate on the positives – they look for the silver lining in every situation. They know that it is their positivity that will take them to greatness. If you want to be successful, you need to have a positive outlook toward life. Life will test you again and again. If you give in to internal negativity, you will never be able to achieve the marks you have targeted. Remember, every mistake you make is progress. Mistakes teach you important lessons. Every time you make one, you’re one step closer to your goal. The only mistake that can truly hurt you is choosing to do nothing simply because you’re too scared to make a mistake. So don’t hesitate – don’t doubt yourself! Don’t let your own negativity sabotage you. Learn what you can and press forward.
11. They spend time with the right people.
Successful people associate with people who are likeminded, focused, and supportive. They socialize with people who create energy when they enter the room versus those who create energy when they leave. They reach out to connected, influential individuals who are right for their dreams and goals.
You are the sum of the people you spend the most time with. Find your tribe or right people and work together to make a difference in all of your lives.
12. They maintain balance in their life.
If you ask most people to summarize what they want out of life they’ll shout out a list of things like: ‘fall in love,’ ‘make money,’ ‘spend time with family,’ ‘find happiness,’ ‘achieve goals,’ etc. But sadly, a lot of people don’t balance their life properly to achieve these things. Typically they’ll achieve one or two of them while completely neglecting the rest. It’s extremely easy to lose your balance. While drive and focus are important, if you’re going to get things done right, and be truly successful, you need to balance the various dimensions of your life. Completely neglecting one dimension for another only leads to long-term frustration and stress.
Source: MarcandAngel.com ; mercola.com ; 3/19/12
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