Story provided by Entrepreneur –
In order to achieve success, you need to adopt the habits that will drive you to the top. Successful people strongly believe in something and are driven to manifest it. Their path is so strong that it keeps them true to their ideas and principles, despite the inevitable times of adversity and disagreements.
Financial gain is not the sole definition here. “Success” means a deep commitment to the pursuit of the fullness of life. Along the way, the following ten habits of success will serve to improve all areas of life, both personal and professional.
1. See the value in every detail.
To be successful, emphasize the results of your actions. Pay attention to each action as you strive for success and invest meaning and value into each step.
Any action lacking a clear purpose leaves you vulnerable to reacting to unexpected challenges. So, make a habit of directing each detail of your business toward your larger visions and goals. Train your mind to do the things that are especially hard and challenging.
When each detail has value, you have control over making it bold, determined and full of purpose. It is through this detail that you carve out your own personal fulfillment.
2. Practice mental clarity.
Avoid getting bogged down in mental tasks. Learn to make quick and conclusive decisions. Mental clarity makes it easier to see which decisions bring you closer (or take you further) from your goals.
Before altering a decision, however, carefully consider the pros and cons of any change. Impulsiveness may lead to disaster. Any time you change a previous decision, use the opportunity to learn what needs to go better next time, and further clarify the details that will meet your standards.
Making decisions quickly and changing decisions intelligently leads to balance.
3. Listen by sensing messages, not just hearing them.
Listening takes a tremendous amount of self-control, to not only check your own impulses for getting what you want, but also analyzing those you work with to understand what is really being communicated.
Make a habit of paying less attention to the surface messages people convey and instead listen for what is underneath.Tune in to your gut to “sense” other people’s emotions and feelings. Most of what they communicate is nonverbal. Truth is often expressed through body language, tone of voice, eye contact and touch.
Without the discipline to listen and sense the underlying messages, you may derail your success and see it get “lost in translation.”
4. Make lists.
Adopt the habit of writing down what you want accomplish for the next day, week, month and year, then prioritize the list. This way, you’ll effectively allocate the time necessary to each task in accordance with its importance.
Remember that a list is a contract. The moment you write things down, you have agreed to make these things happen. Action items in written form are closer to being accomplished than are the things you merely think about.
5. Write down your thoughts in a journal.
Writing out your thoughts is a useful habit for translating your thoughts into tangible form. Writing gives perspective to what you want, where you are at, what things you do not want to repeat and what needs to be accomplished, to get to your goals.
When you write, the left brain is distracted by the task, making room for the more innovative right brain to express your out-of-the box, creative ideas which are necessary to navigate your way through your goals.
Journaling itself is the ultimate practice for finding perspective in solving problems.There is no better way to come up with practical solutions than to spend time ironing out patterns, successes, failures, improvements and the generation of new ideas.
6. Love what you do.
All the elite success stories we see, from Oprah to Bill Gates to Walt Disney, are people doing the things they most want to do, and earning substantial income as a result. To emulate these people, you must commit to channel your work in a direction where that work adds value to society.
Financial worth is merely a side benefit — a reflection of the value you have added to other people’s lives.
7. Be willing to pay the price.
Success takes sacrifice. Develop the habit of “showing up” — consistently and every day. Be committed to the long haul and be willing to expend unlimited time and energy working toward your goals.
There is no path to success through laziness. Many entrepreneurs are not as successful as they could be because they aren’t willing to “pay the price” to reach those higher levels of commitment.
Make it a habit to identify the distractions you need to give up that consume time but add no tangible value to your life or business. Place those distractions into the category of leisure and commit to putting work responsibilities first, and leisure second.
The number one focus in success is achieving the goals you set to get there.
8. Practice self-coaching.
Entrepreneurs who are exceptionally successful make a habit of maintaining a positive inner dialogue, so make positive self-talk your habit. You can either talk yourself through challenges or talk your way deeper into them.
Negativity takes no effort. That type of lackadaisical attitude has no room in your life. Adopt a positive outlook to be successful. This does not mean you have to be happy all the time, just that you do not let negative emotions drag you down.
9. Engage in physical activity.
There is no better way to clear your mind, connect with your creativity, increase your brain chemistry and improve your sleep quality than to engage in physical activity. Make it a habit to increase your “aliveness” and improve your health, happiness and longevity.
The brain gets tired when engaged in constant mental activity, while physical activity is a necessary pick-me-up. So engage in some type of physical activity every day.
10. Give back.
To be truly successful, you need a life mission that reflects your desire to make a significant difference in the lives of others. Your main motivation should not be money. The non-monetary purpose of your career is what will bring you the happiness, self-satisfaction and significance you are striving for.
Be clear on why you want to do what you do. If you are plagued with a hunger for money alone, then that is what you will be: plagued. Find the deeper purpose of your vision and drive it to better the lives of others.
In reality success is not something to be enjoyed by the select few. We all have equal opportunity. The main differences are limited to motivation, will, effort and habit. Therefore, be someone who attains success by being bold, determined, patient, creative and independent. Good habits lay the groundwork for your ability to make it to the top.