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Our connected world has given us the possibility to hear about highly successful people from all walks of life. Their deeds fascinate and inspire us and especially Felicity Seekers like us wish we could be as successful as they are.
Lucky for us, success leaves clues as Tony Robbins would say. Highly successful people didn´t get lucky. They did something differently than the other 99% of the population.
They have figured out the habits that lead to success and they keep practicing them. That is one reason why the rich keep getting richer.
That should make you think. If we can adopt these habits, we should be able to become rich, too, right?
Let’s look into some of these habits of success.
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1. Wake up early
There is magic in waking up early. Trust me, I know. I’ve been waking up at 5 am pretty much every day for years.
Now, I don’t want to lie to you. Of course, there have been a lot of days where I would lie back down and sleep a bit more.
However, on those days where I wake up at 5 am and stay awake to jumpstart my day, I have the most productive and happiest days ever!
I regularly surprise myself by how much I can get done in the mornings. By the time lunch rolls around, I have sometimes already moved mountains and don’t have to feel guilty for tackling the afternoon in a more relaxed manner.
Now I know that some people are more like night owls. And that’s alright. Still, you should ask yourself why so many successful people recommend waking up early.
They cannot possibly all be morning persons, right?
2. Have a morning routine
Waking up early is essential. But if you waste the first few precious hours of your day scrolling through social media, you might as well sleep a few hours more.
The most successful people have a morning routine. This is a sequence of actions that set them up for a productive and happy day.
My morning routine for example currently looks something like this: I wake up, have breakfast, get ready, write three gratifications and three affirmations, read about half an hour
The gratitude and affirmation exercise helps me tune my mindset for happiness and success right in the first hour of the day, in which the mind is most susceptible to such stimuli.
By reading half an hour, I already completed my daily goal to read something that will improve myself, which is a huge relief since in the busyness of the day that task often gets lost.
If you are interested in what self-development books I am reading, check out my Reading List for Personal Growth.
And by taking a few minutes to study French every day, I almost effortlessly get closer to my goal of being able to have a conversation in French at the end of the year.
Oh and I incorporated stretching into my French Sessions. That way, I also get more flexible without having to cut out some time for stretching separately.
As you can see, with this routine, I take care of my mind, my body, my emotions, and my intellect within the first 1 1/2 to 2 hours of the day.
And since it has become a habit for me, it is effortless to do. Can you imagine the progress I will have made after doing this for a year?
No wonder the most successful people have a morning routine, right?
3. Create to-do lists
This is the 21st century. I don’t think we need to talk much about the importance of to-do lists anymore.
Successful people always have a lot on their plate. And to make sure that they can handle so many different tasks, they create to-do lists. Long-term lists as well as short-term ones.
Now you want to create a to-do list for the whole year. Like a new year’s resolutions list but with goals you actually commit to accomplishing.
You might also want to create a five-year plan or a three-year plan if you have huge goals you are working towards.
The short-term to-do lists you want to create should be monthly, weekly, and daily to-do lists. The daily ones are the most important.
Now optimally you want to create this daily to-do list at least the night before so that in the morning you can take a quick look at it and start working on your tasks.
But remember always to make sure that you do not stuff your to-do lists with too many tasks. That will overwhelm you and will make you less productive. Especially little tasks and habits do not need to appear on those lists. For example, you should not write “Brushing my teeth” on your list (except of course for whatever reason you tend to forget that).
And you should also create a system for your to-do lists so that you have them all in the same, easily accessible place.
As I have done before, I recommend you to use Trello. This program has seriously been a lifesaver, and I’ve been using it daily for over a year now. And the best is: it is free!
4. Stay away from entertainment
One big habit that separates the 1% from the other 99% is the time they spend on entertainment.
We live in a world of entertainment. You have endless options on series, movies, music, videos, social media apps, etc. to entertain you. And your phone enables you to take advantage of that wherever you are.
Of course, you can indulge in some entertainment. We wouldn’t be very human if we would be serious all day long. And quite frankly series and movies and music can bring you a lot of joy and inspiration, why miss out on that?
However, you should carefully consider how much time you want to spend on entertainment each day.
Every hour you spend on Netflix could have brought you one step closer to that extraordinary life of your dreams if you had invested it in one of the 15 Ways To Spend Your Time Wisely.
Jack Ma and Mark Zuckerberg have the same 24 hours a day as everyone else. Yet they get a lot more done than most ordinary people. Why do you think that is?
5. Read for personal development
First of all, I strongly recommend you to read regularly. Many people nowadays do not read books anymore. The most they read are Instagram captions and tweets.
If you do read books, however, chances are very high that you read fictional books. Now I know, they can be very thrilling and emotional, and yes very often there is some more profound lesson hidden within them.
Still, you would benefit so much more if you’d start to read with the focus on learning something instead of entertaining yourself.
As I mentioned above, entertainment is all fun, but it won’t get you very far in life.
And even if you do not have time to read much each day. I am sure you can find at least 15 minutes in your morning or evening routine to dedicate to reading. And if you have an average reading speed, you should be able to read at least one book a month at that pace.
That’s 12 books a year. That’s a lot of new knowledge you are going to absorb, which will make you grow immensely!
To jumpstart your journey towards a successful life, check out my Reading List for Personal Growth. I am regularly updating it on the most inspiring non-fiction books I’ve read.
6. Move your body
Another thing I preach over and over again is that you need to take care of your body.
Your body and your mind are the two things that enable you to live this incredible experience called life.
Have you ever imagined what life would be like for you without hands, feet, eyes, a mouth, legs, etc.?
Really think about that for a moment and now look in the mirror. If you don’t love your body, you have not yet truly realized the blessing it is.
Even if you were the ugliest human on earth (which statistically speaking you are not, especially since beauty lies in the eye of the beholder) and even if your body is not entirely healthy, aren’t there still so many things about it that you should be grateful for?
And if this beautiful and strong body enables you to live your life, shouldn’t you take care of it?
The most successful people have realized this, and they spend A TON of money on fitness and health. Did you know there actually is a whole industry dedicated to biohacking?
If that’s something you’re interested in, check out 9 Reasons You Should Want To Be Rich. I talk a bit more about it in there.
Even though you can spend a fortune on your health, you really don’t need to. Just reduce unhealthy habits like smoking and drinking and increase healthy habits like working out.
If your body is healthy, you will feel more energized and therefore will be able to achieve so much more each day!
7. Fuel your body
In addition to the previous point, you of course also need to eat healthily and drink a lot of water.
Make it a daily habit, and it will become second nature to you.
8. Do the inner work
As mentioned above, not only your body but also your mind enables you to live this life.
Therefore you should also dedicate some effort into keeping your mind sharp and healthy.
Meditate, journal, work on your confidence, rewrite limiting beliefs, do therapy, to sum it up, do whatever it takes to have a healthy and happy mind.
And do it regularly! You will not be able to succeed at much if you suffer from burn out or such.
9. Strategically work toward your goals
Having goals is important. If you don’t know where you want to go, you will not arrive there or way later than necessary.
However, setting goals, you never work on as most people do with their new year’s resolutions is only going to frustrate you at the end of the year.
Successful people set S.M.A.R.T. goals, meaning specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time-bound.
This makes it possible for them to add tasks to their to-do lists that will get them closer to the realization of their goal.
You need to break your goal down into little tasks. You need to create at least some sort of plan for the achievement of it. Otherwise, your so-called goal is just a dream you are hoping to come true.
10. Unplug, Disconnect & Take care of yourself
The most successful people know that straight hustling all day every day will not work forever. There will come the point at which your productivity rate suddenly drastically drops because your body and your mind simply can’t take it anymore.
If you are lucky, that point comes pretty soon. If you are not so fortunate, that point will come after you have not only destroyed your health but also lost a lot of your most precious relationships because you neglected them for too long.
Striving for Felicity is all about living life to the fullest in EVERY area of life. What use is money to you if have no one you can share it with? What purpose is any success if you paid for it by wrecking your body and shortening your lifespan?
Take time to unplug, disconnect from all your responsibilities, and take care of yourself. That’s not something selfish. It not only shows that you have self-worth, but it will also make you come back stronger so that you can help more people and succeed even bigger.
11. Be grateful
Yes, I probably sound like a broken record, but the key to happiness is GRATITUDE!
The most successful people have realized that, and because they are grateful for what they already have, they attract more enjoyable opportunities in their life.
Because they are grateful, they are happy, and everybody likes to be around happy people. Therefore the grateful are quite good at networking, which gives them immeasurable advantages in life.
Gratitude will also motivate you to achieve even more to be grateful for. And being happy gives you the energy to work harder.
Gratefulness has many positive side effects, and you are missing out if you are not using it!
12. Remember your why
Your “why” has power. The most successful people know that and carefully consider their why before approaching any new project.
Remembering your why can get you through those frustrating times, in which you want to quit. It will give you back that fire, that made you start in the first place.
On the other hand, if your why doesn’t excite you anymore, or you can’t even remember why you started in the first place, maybe it’s time to abandon your task and focus on something more worthwhile.
After all, time is our most valuable asset. You shouldn’t waste it without a good reason.
I go into more detail into this topic in my 15 Ways To Spend Your Time Wisely.
13. Get outside your comfort zone
Courage is a muscle. You have to use it regularly to keep it strong.
Living an extraordinary life can be scary, especially in the beginning. You are afraid to take risks, afraid to leave your comfort zone and embark into the unknown.
Will it get easier? No, you will always need to take certain risks and take that leap of faith if you genuinely want to live an extraordinary life.
But it will feel easier because every time you leave that comfort behind, you strengthen your courage a bit more.
So try to reach for something a bit uncomfortable regularly.
14. Dedicate time to your friends & family
As mentioned multiple times already, the 1% understand that a truly fulfilled life consists out of mastery of every area of your life. And your social life plays a huge part in that.
Your family and friends are of immeasurable value to your happiness in life. Yes, they can be frustrating at times. But these are the people you can share your good as well as your bad moments with, your successes as well as the failures.
They are there for you whenever you experience hardships. They keep your love tank full, as the 5 Love Languages explain.
I don’t think I need to go into any more detail to explain to you why you should make a habit out of dedicating time to your friends and family.
15. Create multiple streams of income
This is something you always need to focus on. You can’t just take one week to create an income stream and then forget about it.
Make it a habit to not only create multiple streams of income but also to maintain them. If you have taken the effort to get the stone moving might as well keep it in motion.
The more streams of income you have, the more secure you will be from outer influences.
16. Live below your means
Have you ever noticed Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos or Gary Vee walk around in expensive designer clothes?
Sure there are wealthy people like Kylie Jenner, who invest a fortune into their designer items but very often they make money through doing that.
People love that about them, and they probably wouldn’t be as successful without this image.
However if you spend your money on all that expensive stuff and it isn’t part of your income agenda, you will slowly but surely see your money running out as Johnny Depp did for example.
The 1% live below their means, and that has caused their wealth to increase steadily. That way, below your means, will one day mean having multiple homes and driving a Ferrari.
Puh, that was a long one. Did you read all of it? Which of these habits do you need to adopt to reach that extraordinary life of your dreams? Comment down below!
Also, feel free to ask for any content that will help you on your journey. I’d genuinely love to be the catalyst on your way to a life in Felicity!
Looking forward to reading your comments ^^
Sophie
