Blog

Life is about choices. We cannot only choose how we view ourselves and our lives but we can even choose our habits. I believe we can position ourselves for success by choosing to develop new habits.

Four Habits of Success

Habit 1 – Exercising Choice: Stephen Covey calls it getting a “paradigm” shift. Most of us could use a paradigm shift. Covey states that most of us “see things not as they are, but as we are conditioned to see them.” Once we understand that much of our life has been conditioned by our past, then we can make a “paradigm” shift in the way we see things. That paradigm shift comes through our choices. We can choose to get a new perspective. We can choose to see ourselves differently and move beyond our past, our victim mentality, excuses and blame. Successful people not only choose to view themselves differently but choose to see the difficulties of their lives as opportunities for growth instead of obstacles to be eliminated.

Habit 2 – Being Focused: W. Clement Stone says the ultimate secret of success is to keep your mind on things you want and off of the things you don’t want. When you keep focusing on what you want- consciously and sub-consciously you find a way to get there. Successful people focus on the positive outcome. They not only focus on the positive but know where to focus their time, energy and gifts.

Habit 3 – Value Driven: Elvis once said, “Values Are like fingerprints. Nobody’s are the same, but you leave them all over everything you do.” Values are really the things that matter the most to us. Successful people in life and business factor their core values in their everyday decisions and choices. A successful person is guided and driven by these core values. They are the principles they govern their life and business by even in difficult circumstances. They are proactive in their approach to life. A proactive person is a value driven individual and a reactive person is often an emotionally driven individual often reacting to their environment and circumstances of their life.

Habit 4 – Taking Action: If you keep moving, you will eventually get to your desired destination. You may have to change course and even make all kinds of adjustments along the way but consistent movement every day, even small steps will eventually get you to your desired goal. They key is movement- getting off of home base. Successful people are people of action. Wishing and hoping are great for daydreaming, but not so great for getting the job done. Without a plan, we simply plan to fail. Successful people strategize, plan and intentionally move towards success!