What differentiates those who are successful from those who are not? There are lots of ways to approach that question, but one of the most powerful is also one of the most simple.
It’s a matter of habits. In business and in life, if you truly want to succeed, there are some habits that work and there are other habits that never should be repeated.
If you’re not as successful as you want to be and you know you can do better, copy the habits of those who are successful.
Just as important, eliminate any of your own habits that are holding you back. Here are seven top candidates–habits that successful people never allow:
1. Believing you can please everyone. Once you truly understand that it’s impossible to please everyone, you learn not to even bother trying. It’s nothing but a recipe for disaster, misery and frustration–and one of the biggest keys to failure.
2. Repeating what didn’t work the first time. Whether it’s in business, a job, or a relationship, successful people do not repeat the same mistakes. If it didn’t work the first time, they don’t try again expecting a different result. Successful people know that mistakes are for learning, not for repeating.
3. Accepting short-term contentment over long-term value. Successful people know that things take time, and it’s the daily grind that in the end will get them to their dreams. It’s the small painful steps you go through day by day that will benefit you in the future. If you can make it through the pain you will get to the gain.
4. Compromising themselves to fit in. Successful people never try to adjust themselves to fit in to the crowd. They understand that who they are is what they are, and they don’t try to change themselves for others. The bad news is that if you want to succeed, you are not going to fit in with everyone. The good news is that the great ones never do.
5. Trusting something that looks too good to be true. No matter how great something looks on the surface, successful people do their due diligence and make sure that what they are looking at has actual value and is worthy of their time. They know that when something looks too good to be true, it probably is.
6. Taking their eyes off their vision. One trait virtually all successful people share is focus. They never take their eyes off their visions, dreams and goals; they do what they need to do and they do it with meticulous determination. People who are successful know where they are going, and because they do, they succeed. It’s as simple as that.
7. Disconnecting appearances and reality. Who you are on the inside should be what is reflected on the outside. The moment there is a disconnect between the two, there is dis-ease within yourself. Success requires that you bring all parts of who you are–inside and out–and that you keep everything in sync. It isn’t easy, but the people who are most successful never fragment themselves to be successful.
Start today to examine your own habits, determine what’s leading you toward success and what’s in the way, and make the changes you need to–for the sake of your future.
