Boost your success with these daily choices
Anyone who has ever been on a diet can attest that much of a diet's success has to do with making the right decisions constantly.However, in entrepreneurship, there are a million and a half things that are out of our control all the time. That's why our success is largely determined by the choices we can make: from deciding on what to eat or wear, to what budget cuts will help keep the company afloat.
Successful people thrive, achieve, and enjoy success because they make smart decisions every day.
Without further ado, here are some of those decisions. If you incorporate them in your daily life, success will never be far away.
They choose to feel good about themselves.
Eleanor Roosevelt once said, "No one can make you feel inferior without your consent."
Like many other success stories, Roosevelt realized that she couldn't choose who was happy with her and who wasn't (and there were certainly plenty of people unhappy with her).
Although she couldn't control what people thought of her, she could control the way she thought about herself. Remember, no matter what life throws your way, this is something you can decide daily. So choose to realize your greatness. A baby step you can start today is leaving yourself positive notes daily.
They choose to set specific goals.
Successful people don't start with a million aspirations and attempt to work on every single one of them all at once. Pop icon Madonna hit the spot when she said, "I'm tough, ambitious, and I know exactly what I want. If that makes me a [expletive], okay."
To the successful, an aspiration is not vague, but rather it's a specific, well-conceived desire. You can do this today by turning your dreams into specific, time-sensitive goals, and placing them near the top of your priority list.
They choose to work hard instead of dream.
Yes, it feels nice to daydream and imagine the great things that could happen when we finally achieve what we've been longing for - from opening a business, to finally fitting in a dress two sizes smaller.
However, as the iconic author and poet Maya Angelou said, "Nothing will work unless you do."
Dreams don't come true just because you spaced off during the workday. Successful people don't only know this, but they use it to push themselves forward. They realize they'll achieve their dreams eventually, but they don't get discouraged when it takes a whole lot of elbow grease to get there. You can too--a great way to start is by evaluating your progress every month.
They choose not to cry over spilt milk
If you're waking up every morning thinking about what went wrong the day before, you're probably doing entrepreneurship wrong. Corcoran Group founder and Shark Tank mogul Barbara Corcoran spoke the truth when she said, "The difference between successful people and others is how long they spend time feeling sorry for themselves."
Learning from your mistakes is Entrepreneurship 101. But the ultra-successful take it a step further by remembering the lessons and then forgetting the rest. Their philosophy and your new one: the past is the past and it cannot be undone. Learn from it and move on.
They choose passion.
Some of us get excited about an idea and try to do everything in our power to make it a reality. But oftentimes, when the going gets tough, we lose the fire and our dream fizzles into thin air. Successful people are different.
Fashion designer Eileen Fisher said it best: "Life-fulfilling work is never about the money -- when you feel true passion for something, you instinctively find ways to nurture it."
Obviously, knowing your runway and having your financial ducks in a row are vital. But entrepreneurship never involves a steady paycheck or constant clear skies.
That's why you need to use your passion to keep yourself motivated, especially when the road becomes rough and your destination seems far out of reach.
They choose to surround themselves with positive people.
Just like a bad cold, negativity can be incredibly contagious. As Melinda Gates says, "If you are successful, it is because somewhere, sometime, someone gave you a life or an idea that started you in the right direction."
You can and should choose to surround yourself with passionate, motivated, and aspirational people. I do, and I know it challenges me (instead of dragging me down) daily.
They choose to enjoy life.
"It makes no difference how many peaks you reach if there was no pleasure in the climb." Oprah Winfrey said.
You don't run a marathon by thinking "only 46,111 footsteps to go!" after the starting gun goes off. Similarly, to be successful in business, you need to adopt Winfrey's mentality and appreciate the small victories. You need to learn to love the journey, not just the destination.
Because your success won't happen overnight, but it will happen eventually.
What are some choices you make every day to boost your success? I want to hear them! Share them with me on Twitter.
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