Success principles
June

 
 
 

‘If you want to achieve things in life, you’ve just got to do them,
and if you’re talented and smart, you’ll succeed’

Juliana Hatfield

 
 
 
 
 

Monitor your results
The name of the game in pursuing success is getting results from your actions. It’s very important to keep track of how you are doing and how things are working out for you. Think about what is working for you and what is not working. Be sure to constantly be aware of your progress and constantly monitor your results and efforts. Keep a journal of your results. Write about your successes and what worked. Also keep track of what’s not working. It’s important to know when you are off track so you can get things corrected and get back on course. Always think positive and don’t let the enemy of self-doubt enter your mind.

 

Just get going
Too many people are waiting until everything is just perfect before launching their dream project. Be bold! Announce your new product or service, knowing that you will have to work through the night if someone orders it. Risky strategy? Well you’d be surprised how many entrepreneurs started this way with a bluff… What can you do to get going?

 

Find time for reflection
Every self-improvement book will tell you the same thing, you should start your day with 10 minutes or so of quiet reflection. Where you plan your day, set your priorities, or calm your mind. You will probably find this very difficult to do. It is somehow much easier to just rush into doing things. The first thing is simply to make time for yourself. Treat yourself as precious and important. Find times to be alone in quiet reflection upon your life. At several points in the day, try simply closing your eyes and taking a deep breath. Turn your attention inward and remember whatever it is you need to, and as you let your breath out exhale all your tension and concerns.

 

Manage your time
‘Time is more valuable than money. You can get more money, but you cannot get more time.’ ~Jim Rohn
Use the four D’s strategy: Dump it, Delegate it, Defer it or Do it now! Whenever something will take less than five minutes do it now! Yes, you’ve got a whole list of things to do, try applying the 4D’s to your list. Be brave!

 

Commit to constant improvement
This concept by Tony Robbins is one of the most important concepts of self-improvement. It is your committment to yourself to always seek to learn how to be more effective and efficient in your work and how to improve your relations with those around you. Constant and never ending improvement recognizes that you will never reach perfection, but will have fun trying and at the same time keep life interesting. The Japanese call this Kaizen.

 

Take the different path
Take the less walked way. You have to take as much advice and learn as much as possible from other people but then at some stage you have to strike out on your own. What’s more, if you really want to achieve success you have to choose and take a less travelled path.

 

Increase your self-awareness
By uncovering what you do and why you do it and by discovering what has stopped you in the past, you begin to see what is possible in your life. What other things have you begun to think about that you want to accomplish? Success breeds success. Once you’ve gained momentum in your success habits and in achieving your goals, a whole new world of ideas and possibilities opens for you.

 

Get your energy flowing
Everything is energy. Clear, focused, high energy that flows freely is more likely to create positive, enjoyable results than muddled, scattered energy characterized by struggles and blockages. There are many ways you can adjust and increase your personal energy flow. For example, you can: improve the quality and regulate the quantity of food you eat, keep your home, and office clean, surround yourself with things that stimulate positive thoughts, interact with positive, satisfied people, exercise and move your body to stimulate your physical energy systems.

 

Failure does not exist
There are only learning experiences. Once you submerge yourself into the belief that failure doesn’t exist, only experiences and results, you take away an enormous chunk of negative energy out of your life. Instead of saying ‘I failed’, tell yourself ‘I guess I learned something here. I’ll try something else.’ If you want to achieve highly successful outcomes, you need to alter your view of failures into something constructive that you need to keep you going until you get the results you desired.

 

Always be on time
Or better yet, be early! When you arrive late or just about on time, you almost certainly going to stress yourself. So you lose out on several fronts. You appear unreliable to the other people attending the meeting, your attention is probably not focused, you didn’t get chance to review your notes… Unpunctuality is a characteristic of unsuccessful people. Sure people may appear to forgive them, understand their problems with traffic or whatever, but they are still crossed off their list of serious people.

 

Everything happens for a reason
Successful people believe that there is a purpose behind every event or situation. Whether it’s a lesson to be learned or a change in your life’s path, they believe that whatever happens was meant to happen. Thus, they make lemonade out of a lemon. So if something doesn’t go your way, focus on the good that can come out of it. Try your absolute best to make the most out of any situation. Sometimes life doesn’t go as planned, but knowing that everything happens for a reason can help you carve a new path towards a new life with new goals and new successes.

 

End procrastination
Prioritize your daily tasks. Decide what has to be done, should be done, and what you would like to do. Get the worst out of the way first. Do that ‘have to’ job first. Get it over and out of your hair. By doing the ‘have to’s’ first, it leaves the rest of your time to do those want to’s and should be’s. Delegate, if possible, some of the worst things on your list to others. This will allow you to move on to other things and allow you to avoid procrastinating on those things you really don’t want to do in the first place. Make a list every morning of what you need to accomplish throughout the day. Reward yourself each time you check an item done.

 

Take responsibility no matter what
It’s very easy to play the blame game whenever a difficult situation arises. True leaders are the ones that will take full responsibility, whether it’s positive or negative. You may be tempted to deflect any blame onto others but there is something empowering about accepting responsibility. If you know there is no such thing as failure, only learning experiences, then it is in your best interest to take full responsibility, since you know you will achieve your desired outcome regardless. This shows maturity, as well as a coherent belief system all the way through. It’s a symbol of personal power which is necessary to become highly successful.

 

Know what’s essential
You don’t need to understand everything perfectly. Most very successful people are well versed into many different subjects but do not have full mastery of them. They know what’s essential without getting into all the minute details of it all. Successful people aren’t the most knowledgeable people. However, they are the most effective in using the skills that they do have and leave the details to be handled by their accountant, designer, programmer and marketing manager.

 

Make your bed
Don’t underestimate the sabotaging power of an unmade bed. It sends a negative message to your subconscious. Make your bed daily and you’ll form a habit of doing it fast. It will mark the threshold into starting the day well, and provide a welcoming sanctuary when the day is over.

 

Your biggest resource are people
You should know that you cannot climb the ladder of success all alone.  Along the way, you will need people to assist you. The ones that climb further and higher than the rest are the ones that treat their network the best. You need to cherish your network to create the environment from which you can harvest adequate success. Care for those relationships because the more positive and enlightening they are, the further along you will get.

 

Have an elevator pitch
Imagine you bump into Oprah Winfrey in an elevator and you get the time it takes to get to ground floor to explain your proposition. This is called an elevator pitch and it’s got to be short, precise, sharp and interesting. An elevator pitch must contain
> a hook: a statement or question that piques someone’s interest to want to hear more
> 150 – 220 words: your pitch should go no longer than 60 seconds
> passion: energy and dedication is magnetic!
> a request: at the end of your pitch, ask for something.
Do they know someone who…? Do you want their business card or to schedule a full presentation? Or ask for a referral.

 

Have something to look forward to
Plan something that makes you happy every single day. Your daily treats could be get out of bed every morning because you love sipping coffee and doing the crossword. Or reading in bed at night, playing Angry Birds on your iPhone, taking a bath, making your favourite tea after dinner, listening to tunes – anything you enjoy and look forward to.

 

Deal with the urgent
Every day, scan your emails, mail, noticeboard, phone messages for anything that demands prompt attention. Matters like notices for school, renewals and bills due for payment can become time-consuming or expensive problems later. Avoid those problems by dealing with the urgent today.

 

Get some exercise
Take a gym class, go for a walk, lift tins of soup, lunge around your house while on the phone – do anything that gets you moving. And if you have a sedentary life, move as often as you can. Stop making excuses [no one is listening] and just do it!

 

Achieve something meaningful
Achieve something productive or meaningful. Can you make progress on an important project, take time with a loved one, take action toward a goal? Forget busywork and instead focus on achieving something every day – big or small – that gives you a sense of meaning or achievement [or both].

 

Do something nice for someone
“Do good, feel good” is one of the great truths of happiness. It is not difficult to help other people and make yourself feel great, at the same time, in under five minutes. Just be friendly for example. It only takes an extra minute to exchange a few pleasant words, but it makes a real difference. Hold doors open or let folk go in or out first. Give a simple well meaning smile. No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted!

 

Feel grateful
Psychological research shows that counting your blessings boosts your happiness. So make it a ritual to reflect on the good things in your life every day. Do it as you eat breakfast in the morning or while you brush your teeth at night, but make it a habit. Got all your senses? Have a nice house, good friends or a talent for origami? Good for you!

 

Tidy up at night
Spending 10 minutes every night doing a quick tidy will make all the difference to the way you feel as you head to bed. And especially to the way you feel when you start the next day. Keep it simple! Even if all you do is wash some dishes, put toys in a toy bin and clothes in a basket, and sweep up the day’s crumbs, you’ll feel pretty pleased with yourself.

 

Give yourself some ‘me- time’
Yes, you have battles to fight, insecurities to overcome, loved ones to contend with, and goals to achieve.  But a break from it all is necessary every now and then. It’s perfectly healthy to pause and let the world spin without you for awhile.  It’s good for you to spend time alone.  It gives you an opportunity to discover who you really are.

 

Meditate on your inner voice
Some people will kill you over time if you let them. How? They’ll kill your creativity with tiny, harmless phrases like: ‘Be realistic’ or ‘That’s not gonna work’ or ‘Where did you dig that one up?’ When this happens, close your ears and listen to your inner voice instead. Remember that real success in life isn’t what others see, but how you feel. It’s living your truth and doing what makes you feel alive.

 

Make a list for tomorrow
Before you head to bed, make a quick list of things to do and remember tomorrow. This will get them out of your head so you sleep better. It helps you feel organized and gives you a map for the next day.

 

Celebrate your efforts
Failure keeps you humble, success keeps you glowing, but faith and determination keep you going. So stay focussed and celebrate your efforts, not your outcomes. Challenges are what makes life interesting. Overcoming them is what gives life meaning.

 

Mind your reactions
If you can change your mind, you can change your life. You have a train of thoughts on which you ride when you are alone and quietly thinking. The worth of your life, as well as the happiness it brings, depends upon this train’s direction. And the baggage it carries. Within you is the power to choose how you think and how you react to life’s events. And in you reactions lie your growth, freedom and happiness.

 

Change begins with you
‘Be the change you want to see in the world’ ~Mahatma Gandhi
Any day you wish, you can change it all. Any day you wish, you can open a book that will open our mind to new knowledge. Any day you wish, you can start a new activity. Any day you wish, you can start a new habit. Any day you wish, you can start the process of changing your life. You can do it immediately, or next week, or next month, or next year.

 
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