Do you want to know the life-changing habits of the most successful people of our time? And increase your chance of success?
I did as well. A couple of years ago, I felt lost and unproductive but knew I could do better. Somehow, I stumbled on self-help and finance books. After studying these books, my mindset shifted and my habits followed.
I then started listening to and watching the most influential people online. As I listened to them closely, my perspective on things changed. I learned new habits and incorporated them into my own life.
I’m still a work in progress but I feel more awake, in control and productive and so I’m here to share what I learned and which habits had a major impact on my life.
I am not a professional in any way, nor is this advice. It’s just information that I’ve found useful in helping me look for my life’s purpose. This post may contain affiliate links. If you choose to purchase through my links, I may receive a small commission, at no extra cost to you. See full disclosure for more information.
What you’ll learn in this article:
In this article, you’ll find out about the habits of the most successful people and how they benefit our lives and ways to increase the chances of success. I will include action steps after each habit and share some tips on how to get started if you’d like to incorporate some in your own life.
Everyone has their own definition of success. Some may perceive it as wealth abundance and some may see success as being fulfilled and content with their life. However you define yours, these habits are still going to be relevant and life-changing.
1. Continuous Self-Improvement
Most of the books I read, speeches I listened to and articles I studied stress this as the most important.
“If you want to have more, you have to become more. For things to change, you have to change. For things to get better, you have to become better. If you improve, everything will improve for you. If you grow, your money will grow; your relationships, your health, your business and every external effect will mirror that growth in equal correlation”
– Jim Rohn
One way to increase the chances of success, which is one of the habits of the most successful people, is continuously improving yourself.
What is self-improvement?
Self-improvement is continuously building your own skills, acquiring new knowledge, insights and ideas to then use that information, to improve your character, in order to become the best version of yourself.
For example, let’s say I would like to improve my time management skills. I’d first learn about time management strategies and then incorporate what I learned into my lifestyle. The results? A more productive me. I just improved myself and developed my character which will impact my likelihood of success in my industry.
So, begin to invest in yourself first. There’s always room for personal development and growth.
Action step/s:
- Begin to read personal development books and blogs and make sure to act on what you have learnt.
2. Continuous Learning
“Continuous learning is the minimum requirement for success in any field.” – Brian Tracy
The second way to increase the chance of success, learnt from the habits of the most successful people, is continuous learning.
What do we mean by continuous learning?
By continuous learning here we mean, ongoingly studying new things, relevant to your industry, in order for you to build new skills and become more successful.
In today’s fast-paced, digital world, things change rapidly. Your today’s knowledge and skills are quickly becoming old and outdated. We need to continuously upgrade our knowledge and skills if we want to be relevant and up to date with the ever-so-changing world.
To be more successful you must make a habit of continuous learning. You don’t stop learning once you finish school. As humans, we keep learning as our life goes on. There’s always room for more.
Make a habit to acquire new skills, new knowledge, and new insights every day. The more you learn, the more successful and productive you’ll be in your industry.
Action step/s:
- Make a habit of researching and learning more about your industry daily (Just a couple of minutes a day will get you far ahead)
- Subscribe or follow information-sharing platforms relevant to your industry. (Facebook groups, newsletters, LinkedIn)
3. Planning Ahead
The third habit of the most successful people on this list is planning ahead. They make sure to spend a decent amount of their time planning and organising their years, months, weeks and days.
“If you don’t know where you are going, you’ll end up somewhere else.” – Yogi Berra
– Yogi Berra
To be more successful, you must make a habit of planning things out. Plan out your business ideas, your week, your day, and anything that requires many steps and tasks. Planning will increase the chances of getting more things done.
That may sound like a lot but it can be easy if you turn it into a habit. Make it simple for yourself. Get a calendar or download an app and plan out your week to be more organised.
Tip: To plan out your week and days, use apps. They’re easy to access and very convenient. They notify you, set timers and help you get organised neatly.
Just type in your App Store: ‘Week planner’ or ‘Daily To-do list’ and you’ll find plenty to choose from.
Action step:
- Plan how you’ll achieve your goals for the year.
- Plan out your week’s tasks
- Use your week’s plan, to write your daily to-do lists
4. Challenging Yourself/Taking Risks
“Risk is the unique path to success.”
― Adria J. Cimino
As I was studying the habits of the most successful people, I noticed that they practise overcoming fear. They are not afraid of failure, they understand that failure is just a part of the process.
Most successful people have a habit of taking risks and challenging themselves often. They invest their money, start various businesses, share their opinions with the world and challenge themselves to exercise early in the mornings or run marathons.
A habit you can incorporate into your life is to stretch your limits. Push yourself daily to do the things that scare you, put yourself out there, and take calculated risks.
Action step/s
- Challenge yourself with a healthy habit such as waking up earlier or exercising more often.
- If you really want to do something but you’re scared of how it may go or what others will think, just do it! Taking a risk is better than not doing anything at all.
5. Visualising Success
“To bring anything into your life, imagine that it’s already there.”
– Richard Bach
The fifth habit of the most successful people is visualising success.
Visualisation has become very popular in recent years. It is said that when we visualise success as if we already have what we want, it is more likely that we’ll achieve it.
There’s some science behind it explaining how visualisation affects the mind and how it attracts that imagination into reality. I’m not the best at describing this to you, so you’ll have to do your own homework on this one but I can confirm it works. I achieved more goals than I thought I could by just simply visualising myself achieving them.
Action step/s:
- Visualise yourself achieving all of your goals for a few minutes each day.
Tip: Sit in a comfortable place, close your eyes, and imagine how you would feel if you achieved whatever you wish for a few minutes.
6. Practising Mindfulness
The habits of the most successful people also include practising mindfulness.
I have learned to practice mindfulness after being continuously encouraged to do so by most of the books I’ve read. It is a part of many successful people’s lifestyles. It is an extraordinarily important routine of Hal Elrod’s lifestyle. He called it ‘The Miracle Morning’.
The Miracle Morning Routine consists of breathing exercises, positive affirmations, visualisation, exercise and journaling. All of these are a part of mindfulness.
I have come to understand how mindfulness plays a major role in productivity and success. The benefits of mindfulness include clearing your overstimulated mind, increasing self-awareness, improving concentration and helping to relieve stress.
Therefore incorporate this amazing habit into your own life and enjoy the benefits.
Action Step/s:
- I strongly recommend the Calm App. You can practice breathing exercises, record your thoughts and emotions, express gratitude and follow the daily move to relax your body in just a couple of minutes daily.
- You may also benefit by reading The Miracle Morning Book by Hal Elrod
7. Tracking and Reviewing Your Progress
I have come to realise that many successful people have a habit of tracking and reviewing their performance regularly.
Why is tracking and reviewing your progress important?
It helps you identify what it is that you’re doing well and where you’re falling behind, to then take action to improve. That’s productivity at its finest.
This does not only apply to the workplace or school, It applies to your daily life and goals as well.
I learned to track my spending and diet habits. I also review my goals and action steps. That has increased my self-awareness and is helping me to succeed faster and more efficiently.
Action Step/s:
1. Start tracking your daily habits. You can start with tracking your spending habits by downloading an app to help you do this. I use Money Dashboard Neon.
2. Review your Goals Action Steps Weekly (If you don’t already have well-defined goals and action steps to achieve them, make this a priority)
8. Cultivating Self-Discipline
“Discipline is the bridge between goals and accomplishment.”
– Jim Rohn
The Power Of Self-Discipline, No Excuses by Brian Tracy, demonstrates how self-discipline is a major role in success and productivity and demonstrates that it is one of the habits of the most successful people.
I have learned that most if not all highly successful people have high self-discipline.
Why is cultivating self-discipline important? Cultivating self-discipline will urge you to fight against procrastination, laziness, bad habits and distractions.
You must have self-control if you want to achieve more because being productive and achieving success is not easy. It requires tremendous willpower to push yourself to get out there and do it even when you don’t feel like it.
Successful people became successful because of their strong self-discipline.
Action Steps:
- Make a goal for more Self-Disciple this year!
- Learn about Self-Discipline.
Tip: Read self-disciple books such as No Excuses, The Power Of Self-Disciple by Brian Tracy. (link above)
9. Watching The Clock
Many successful people understand that making good use of their time is incredibly important. They understand that time is precious. We cannot earn it back and we only have a limited amount of it. Therefore, they are wise in how they spend it.
You must make sure to invest your time wisely. This is especially important when it comes to productivity. They go hand in hand.
To become successful, you must have good time management habits. This can be done through planning and organising your days and making sure to spend most of your time on valuable tasks and activities. To learn how to do this in-depth click here.
Action Steps:
- Begin to use most of your time on high-value tasks.
10. Beginning With The End In Mind
“To begin with the end in mind means to start with a clear understanding of your destination. It means to know where you’re going so that you better understand where you are now and so that the steps you take are always in the right direction.”
— Stephen R. Covey
Most successful entrepreneurs have a clear vision of the end result they’re striving for.
How to begin with the end in mind?
Well, are you starting a new business? Setting a new goal? Buying a new course? Applying for a new job? Then, Make sure to know exactly WHY you are doing it, understanding where it will get you in the end. What will you achieve exactly by doing it? What are the results?
This vision and knowledge will greatly impact your performance as you’ll know what steps to take in order to get there, not end up somewhere else.
Next steps:
- Clearly identify your end results for whatever you’re working on
- Begin with the end in mind.
11. Being Very Organised
“For every minute spent in organizing, an hour is earned” – Benjamin Franklin
Another often-mentioned habit I learned from studying successful people is organisation. This includes organising your day by to-do lists and prioritising high-value tasks.
I mean, it’s quite obvious, good organisation skills are vital in every aspect of our life, work and home. So make sure to incorporate this habit into your life, it will make things a lot easier and more efficient.
Next steps:
- Become organised through weekly planning, writing To-Do lists as well as setting priorities.
12. Saving/Investing
“It’s not how much money you make, but how much money you keep, how hard it works for you, and how many generations you keep it for.”
– Robert Kiyosaki
While I was reading finance books, I noticed that the habit that was most mentioned was continuously saving at least 10-15% of your income. Then investing it to create wealth in the long run. Acquiring high appreciating assets and making money work for you. Making sure to create an accessible emergency fund was another highly stressed habit they insisted on.
I have acted on this learning and started saving and learning about investing.
That can be hard, no one said that it’s easy but everything worthwhile in life is hard. So, begin to develop a habit of saving and investing.
Next steps:
- Buy a financial book. Tip: I recommend starting Rich Dad Poor Dad
- Save at least 10% of your income frequently. If you cannot, save however much you can. It’s all about the compound effect.
- Open an ’emergency fund’ account that is easy to access at any time.
- Start learning about investing and only invest in what you truly understand
13. Self-Care
“Breathe. Let go. And remind yourself that this very moment is the only one you know you have for sure.”
— Oprah Winfrey
The habits of the most successful people also include self-care. Although they’re very hardworking, they don’t over-work themselves. They understand that taking care of their well-being is a priority.
It all starts with YOU so make sure to look after YOU first.
Self-Care is not all about bubble baths and spa days. It’s about cultivating a positive mindset, understanding your needs, taking care of your body and showing love towards yourself.
My Self-Care includes mindfulness and rewards. Rewarding myself when I achieve my goals. Making sure to give my mind a break at the end of the day by practising breathing exercises and writing down what I am grateful for each day. Yours could be different. Find what makes your mind come to peace and brings you happiness, then, include those as habits.
Action Step/s:
- Start looking after your mind and body by paying attention to them and nurturing them.
Tip: may also start by reading, ‘You’re a badass’ by Jen Sincero She goes in-depth about cultivating self-confidence and self-love. I found that it was nurturing my mind.
14. Continuously Expressing Gratitude
Another often-mentioned habit I learned from successful entrepreneurs was expressing gratitude daily.
Research suggests that being grateful for what you already have, will attract more positive things into your life for which you can be grateful for again.
Thus, keeping a gratitude journal will not only encourage you to see the positive things daily and make you happier but attract more good things into your life.
Action Step/s:
- Get a gratitude journal
- Each morning, night or both write down what you’re grateful for.
- Make sure to use the word ‘Because’ to truly understand the value that thing brings to your life.
15. Journaling
Research suggests that journaling reduces stress, clears your mind, helps you identify thought patterns, keeps your memory sharp and boosts your mood. All of those benefits will improve your productivity.
I like to journal about my goals and aspirations. It is a form of motivation. Research also suggests that writing increases the likelihood of achieving your goals.
“In my experience working with several million people over the past 25 years, the disciplined act of writing out goals, making plans for accomplishing them and then working on those goals daily, increases the likelihood of achieving your goals by 10 times or 1000%.”- The Power Of Self-Discipline No Excuses, Brian Tracy.
Action Step/s:
Next Steps:
- Get a Journal
- Start by writing about your dream life, dream career, goals and plans for the future.
16. Taking Action
“The only impossible jourey is the one you never begin”
– Tony Robbins
The last most mentioned habit of the most successful people is taking action. Unlike most of us, they put their fears apart, show courage and push themselves to just do it. Action is better than inaction. It does not matter how much you learn, research, study or talk about that idea or dream of yours. What matters the most is taking action often and early.
As you read through this article, you may have already spotted some of the habits that you already have. You were already one step closer. Well done, but keep going. Now, pick a new habit and incorporate it into your lifestyle.
Those were 16 Life-Changing habits of the most successful people that I encountered and changed things for me. Now, It’s your turn to take action!
Don’t delay, start as soon as you can. Start slowly and gradually, one at a time.
With Love,
Nikol
xoxo
