6 Habits of People Who Are Actually Successful
Welcome to this episode of the Courage & Clarity Podcast, where I'll be sharing the formula every entrepreneur must follow in order to be successful! Just do these things, and you'll have a 6 figure business.
Juuuuust kidding!
You know by now that there isn't an instruction manual or set of laws that governs our success as business owners or frankly in life in general.
But, what we DO know is that if we look at our mentors, the people who have gone before us, and those who have really figured some things out as entrepreneurs, we can spot some *helpful habits* that many successful people have in common.
In today's episode, I'm sharing 6 common habits of people who are actually successful as CEOs, creatives & online business owners.
So remember. It's not that EVERY successful person ever has cultivated these habits. And working on these habits alone isn't a guarantee for success. There are many paths to success, and success is defined differently by different people.
Now I'm not a digital dinosaur just yet, but I've also been around the block for a little while in this entrepreneurial world, and I've connected with a LOT of people who've built profitable, sustainable businesses -- specifically, I've interviewed dozens of them on this podcast!
I'm going to highlight and underscore 6 habits I've observed over and over again in the amazingly successful people I've had the pleasure to meet.
Here's a sneak peek:
Start the day with intention [5:07]
Cultivate an attitude of gratitude [7:19]
Know the difference between urgent and important [8:35]
Move your body [10:42]
Don't do it alone [12:13]
Focus on ACTION [13:59]
Habit 1: They start the day with intention.
Let me paint a picture for you: it's 7:00am and your alarm goes off -- or, if you have kids, you hear the lovely cries of "Mommy! Mommy!" from the other room. You roll out of bed -- what's the first thing you do?
No, BEFORE you brush your teeth.
Nope, even BEFORE you head to the bathroom.
Thaaaaat's right -- you check your phone!
How do I know this? Because I'm guilty of it too. We live in the age of information, where Facebook and Instagram have a magnetic pull. Too many mornings, I've caught myself starting with an innocent little scroll.
But here's the problem: reaching for your phone in those first few precious minutes of your day is like asking the world to TELL YOU what thoughts to start with.
You're inundated with whatever is waiting for you in that little screen, which essentially means your opportunity to set your thought pattern for the day is determined by somebody else's posts.
Successful people recognize that our thoughts govern our attitude, which governs our every move. So instead of picking up the phone and *reacting*, we need to think about *proactively* setting an intention.
Now listen, before you think I'm about to tell you to do some elaborate morning routine -- that's not where I'm going. Again, toddler mom here, I'm lucky if I get a few sips of water in my mouth before I'm chasing my kid down the stairs.
I don't think you need to rise with the sun and sip hot lemon water while you journal if that's not your thing, though more power to you if it is.
But what I AM saying is try stashing your phone in a drawer overnight and challenging yourself not to touch it until after the first hour you're awake.
Successful people don't start their days by jumping into the dumpster fire that is our email inbox, or getting immediately depressed by the latest salacious news reel.
Dare yourself to start the day with YOUR thoughts, even if it means briefly envisioning your day while you stand impatiently in front of your coffeemaker.
Habit #2: They cultivate an attitude of gratitude
This one's pretty straightforward: in general, successful people spend a lot of time thinking about all the good stuff they've already got.
We all know that person who never seems quite satisfied with just about anything. You might know them as a "but" person.
They have 3 new clients, "but" they're still not earning enough to be profitable.
The sun is shining today, "but" they got a flat tire so the day is ruined.
There's nothing wrong with having goals and wanting more for your life, but these ambitions don't have to be in conflict with feeling incredibly grateful for ALL the good stuff that's already in your life.
I don't have any science to back this up, but my observation is that gratitude is like hand, foot, and mouth disease in a daycare classroom -- it's contagious, and it spreads pretty freakin' quick.
Meaning, the more we take time to feel awesome about what's already awesome, the more we keep feeling awesome, and invite more future awesome stuff in. Awesome!!
So you may not be *exactly* where you want to be just yet. But there's nothing preventing you from fully counting today's blessings, without waiting on some future condition, right now.
Habit #3: They know the difference between "urgent" and "important"
Alright so for this habit, we're going to turn to another habit-loving guy for some insight. Stephen Covey wrote a book called the 7 habits of highly effective people, and in it is one of my favorite concepts.
He's got this "four quadrants" categorization system for all tasks. Essentially, we can evaluate any one thing on our to do list and assess whether it is urgent, important, or both.
Did you catch that? There's a DIFFERENCE between urgent and important.
But often times, without some awareness, urgent and important feel the exact same to us.
For example, the phone starts ringing or a text message comes through. Our natural response is, of course, to stop what we're doing and pick it up.
This dinging and ringing of the phone is "urgent" -- meaning, it's happening right now, in real time, demanding our attention. But, is it IMPORTANT? Maybe. But, maybe not.
If the content of your text messages look like mine, you might be dissecting last night's episode of The Bachelor with your besties or swapping cute kid pictures with your hubby.
And while it's always tempting to drop everything and engage, does it need my attention RIGHT NOW when I've got my brain on crucial business tasks?
You can probably think of SO many examples of things that pop up in your day that are urgent, but not THAT important. An email from a client that could prroooobbably wait 2 hours instead of causing you to drop everything and task-switch would be another example.
Successful people recognize that a lot of things are vying for our attention in any given moment. They can FEEL URGENT when they are happening right now.
But interrupting that lightning quick response to an external stimulus like the dinging of a Facebook notification and inserting some critical thinking? That's something successful people are REALLY good at.
Habit #4: Successful people move their bodies
Ok friends, I wish there was a way around this one. I wish I could skip it and tell you that exercise -- the physical movement of one's body on a consistent basis -- had NOTHING to do with success.
Buuuut honestly, I've just seen it too many times amongst successful people: the truth is, they work out.
Now don't get all intimidated by this one. The cool part is, "movement" looks extremely different from person to person.
Some successful people wake up and hit the gym at 4am. That's great for them -- more power to you!
But other successful people are super committed to a mid-day walk break with Fido. Others attend a favorite fitness class regularly. And still others squeeze in a quick ride on the Peloton spin bike while baby is asleep.
Personally I think there are a lot of potential reasons for this correlation. It could be that we learn about discipline and kick excuse-making to the curb when we commit to daily movement -- principles that translate quite well into business.
Or, it could be that exercise is known to produce endorphins, the feel-good hormones that are released thanks to moving. Maybe that happy pep in our step helps us dive into work a little easier.
Here's the big thing: it doesn't seem to matter where, when or how you do it -- but successful people do some moving.
Habit #5: Successful People don't do it alone
Because so many of us internet-based businesses work online in locations all over the world, it's a liiiittle bit different than the corporate world where there was watercooler chatter and deskmates built right into the experience.
The experience of building a business online can be extremely isolating, and it takes some proactive EFFORT to make some friends and forge some meaningful connections.
I know that when I was first getting started with an online business, I had so much to juggle -- full time job, a side hustle, maybe a life outside of work if I got lucky. My prevailing thought was, who has time to run around trying to make friends on the internet??
But I couldn't have been MORE WRONG. Successful people are well-connected. They know that we can go further faster when we link arms instead of insisting on being a lone wolf.
Successful people are able to borrow the platforms of their friends, getting in front of new audiences. They collaborate with smart people, helping them give birth to ideas they wouldn't have had alone.
And they use their support system to get feedback, ask questions, and generally prevent themselves from staying stuck in the mud that inevitably comes with cracking the code on a profitable business.
Sometimes successful people connect in Facebook groups, on Instagram, at conferences in real life, mastermind groups, or perhaps they're students in a course together -- the list goes on and on.
"Successful people are well-connected. They know that we can go further faster when we link arms instead of insisting on being a lone wolf. Successful people are able to borrow the platforms of their friends, getting in front of new audiences. They collaborate with smart people, helping them give birth to ideas they wouldn't have had alone."
What really matters is that successful people know that making connections is important enough to prioritize, and you rarely see them flying 100% solo.
Habit #6: Successful People focus on ACTION
I saved the big kahuna for last: successful people might get overwhelmed, they might be afraid, feel doubt, have a to-do list a mile long and not be quite sure where the hell all of this is headed, but the big thing they have in common is they take. Action. Anyway.
Analysis paralysis is REAL when you're an entrepreneur, especially one who's just starting out. There are SO many different directions you could run towards, tasks you could work on, and steps you could take -- sometimes the pressure of *choosing* causes us to do nothing at all.
So here's the deal. It's not that successful people get total clarity on the *right thing* to do next.
In fact, they often have a mountain of to do items and a stockpile of ideas at any given moment. They DON'T know for certain if they're doing the "right thing" next.
But the big difference is, they focus on that next best step and they take it, despite the uncertainty.
It is SO tempting to wait for clarity before charging ahead. The threat of making a mistake is ever-present as a solopreneur.
I've noticed that successful people embrace this reality -- they stop trying to change it.
They know there's risk. They know they could take a wrong turn. But it seems successful people have managed to adopt a sense of playfulness about their journey, seeing it as a big puzzle to be solved.
Successful people know that there isn't any ONE right step at any given time.
They know that consistent action x time = success -- and that's the only formula any of us can really bank on for sure.
And there you have it -- the 6 habits of people who are ACTUALLY successful, as I've observed it.
Now it's your turn to tell me -- what do YOU think successful people have in common? Did I miss one? Do you disagree with any of these? I can't wait to discuss with you, so head to the comments below.
That's all for now -- I'm wishing you the courage and the clarity to go after what you love!