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, during a busy workday, 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. 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. 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 a successful person, an aspiration is 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 and they don’t cry over spilt milk.
Yes, it feels nice to daydream and imagine the great things that could happen when we finally achieve our goals. 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 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. Successful people also choose to look forward. 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.
They choose passion and surround themselves with positive people
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.
Just like a bad cold, negativity can be incredibly contagious. You can and should choose to surround yourself with passionate, motivated, and inspirational people. In business, you need to learn to love the journey, not just the destination.
Because your success won’t happen overnight, but it will happen eventually.
Make even more awesome decisions
Get even more tips on successful decision-making from the LTH Tribe. Have any of your own tips? We’d love to hear them!
