You’ve probably seen a million articles on this topic but have you ever seen these “5 Habits of Successful People”?
People have lots of different ideas about what makes someone successful. Whether it’s the tried and true advice of Stephen R. Covey and his book, “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People,” or the most recent story from the US Navy admiral, William H. McRaven regarding the habit of making your bed each morning, everyone has advice.
As a certified life coach with a 23 year history in corporate marketing, my approach to success might be a little different than those who have followed a more direct path. I’ve seen corporate success measured according to sales goals and PR mentions. I’ve personally achieved success by reaching my corporate commitments and managing budgets to plan. But as I contemplate the habits I used to achieve those goals, none of the below helped me reach success. Success was reached only through driving and pushing myself to the limits in the quest for the win – achievement unlocked.
But that approach is short lived and only leads to burn out.
So how do you succeed in today’s non-stop, always-on way of being? How do you keep moving towards your goals without burnout but with introspection and growth?
Here’s what I believe, are the habits that make a person successful.
1. Believe in yourself – This may not be a new idea but if you don’t believe in yourself, how can you believe in your dreams? You are the foundation of all that you are creating. It begins here.
2. Believe you get to win – Once you start dreaming of all that you want to accomplish, you must believe that you get to reach that goal. If you don’t believe that you deserve that endpoint, it will never come. Visualize the goal, see the outcome, feel it as if it has come true.
3. Say Thank You – When someone compliments you or praises you, the correct response is “thank you”. When you use these words, it’s like a stamp of approval to the universe that this is correct. “I am a great writer! Thank you!” As this stamp of approval seeps into your being it becomes true on a cellular level and this part of you grows and gets more and more successful and confident. Not only is this good for you, it’s good for the other person when you receive their gift of thanks. When you deny or push aside their words, you’re suggesting that they don’t known what they’re talking about by complimenting you.
4. Listen – Listen without thinking about how you’re going to respond. When you do this, you truly hear the other person. Otherwise, you’re just listening to yourself and you won’t learn anything new.
5. Slow down – This is the opposite of lean in. This is lean back. When you slow down, you allow time for introspection. You get out of your head and the hamster on the wheel goes away. You allow time to be intuitively guided. You gain perspective. You recharge when you’re away from work so that you can be more productive when you return. If you are always running, I have to ask, “What are you running from?”
Here are my recommended links to other experts talking about these concepts and their benefits:
1. Believe in yourself – http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/246720
2. Believe you get to win – http://www.therealsecretofsuccess.com/the-power-of-belief/
3. Say Thank you –https://www.ted.com/talks/laura_trice_suggests_we_all_say_thank_you?language=en
4. Listen – http://www.inc.com/lolly-daskal/listening-as-a-business-tool-for-success.html
5. Slow down – http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rebecca-shambaugh/slowing-down-to-speed-uph_b_8140812.html
Leave a Reply