“Success seems to be connected with action. Successful people keep moving. They make mistakes, but they don’t quit.” – Conrad Hilton
The differences between you and successful people are not as drastic as you think. There are simple choices that can be made everyday towards success. If you’re thinking it’s time to get your life together, here are eight simple things you need to stop doing if you want to be successful:
1. Stop keeping your goals to yourself.
Successful people have a great support system. It doesn’t matter if it’s one person or one thousand, they tell someone about their goals so they can be held accountable for reaching them.
2. Stop expecting an overnight success.
Accepting the fact that there are no step-by-step methods, quick fixes to your troubles, or a yellow brick road to your dreams is a key step to being successful. It is going to take hard work and dedication to achieve you goals. It doesn’t matter if you’re trying to be a lawyer, a teacher, a writer, or a coffee shop owner. The trials and tribulations are what make you feel successful when your dreams turn into reality.
3. Stop focusing on the clouds and see the silver lining.
When you are too busy focusing on the mistakes and setbacks that you are going to have to deal with and not seeing them as an opportunity to learn, you are only hurting yourself. Successful people learn to analyze their mistakes and accept them as lessons.
4. Stop pretending and actually listen to your bosses.
When your boss lectures you in their office during your annual review, do you just nod and think about that movie that you saw last night? Successful people take what their superiors say into careful consideration. They try to pick apart what has been said in order to gain a step ahead in the game. It is called active listening and it will get you farther than you think.
5. Stop cramming things into your schedule.
Do not keep your schedule so full that you don’t have time to think. Successful people make sure that there is time aside to eat, exercise, and unwind.
6. Stop going to work to earn just your hourly wage.
Successful people are always looking for ways to get to the next step or stage. Instead of showing up to work to earn your hourly wage, show up as if you were learning how to run the place. Always be willing to learn and take on new responsibilities. Your boss will appreciate your work ethic and so will your resume when it’s time to move on.
7. Stop making excuses.
Successful people take responsibility for their own mistakes. If they are late, they admit it was because of sleeping in and not because their car wouldn’t start. If they failed at something, they open the floor for any suggestions on how to do a better or more efficient job next time. A good leader will always ask who they lead, “What can I do to make this better?” or “What can I be doing better?”
8. Stop being afraid of failure.
Successful people will accept failure as another step closer to their success. When you are new at something, like riding a bike, would you give up after the first time you fall down? No, typically you will get up and try again. It is the same with life. Who cares if you didn’t get a job offer for a company you wanted to work for? Pick up the phone or open your laptop and keep searching. Opportunity has many doors, you just need to keep knocking until the right one opens.
Featured photo credit: The Winner Is.. by Roland Lausberg via flickr.com
