5 Things Successful People Do That Others Don’t
What makes some entrepreneurs and business owners more successful than others?
There can be the tendency to think: “they were just lucky” or “they got a lucky break”.
But nothing could be further from the truth. Sure, being in the right place at the right time is part of it – luck, some people might call it – but there is much more to it than that.
It was Jim Rohn, the personal development expert who said: “We must all suffer one of two things: the pain of discipline or the pain of regret.”
I’ve noticed those who are successful are prepared to pay the “pain of discipline” so that they avoid the “pain of regret” later. Less successful people on the other hand, look to avoid the “pain of discipline” at all cost, but then have to live with the “pain of regret” later.
So, what are the disciplines that successful people do? Here are five key areas:
- They Get Things Done
Those who are more successful go to work to get something accomplished. They work to make their dreams a reality, not just to get their eight hours in. They usually have a drive to get something done.
The most successful people I know are driven, and they push until the job is done and targets are hit, and then they do it again tomorrow.
Unsuccessful people on the other hand often refer to work as “a daily grind”. They don’t run their business with a passion, excited about what they’re doing and so because their work or their business is a drag, things just don’t get done.
- They Have a Drive and Push Through
The most successful people I know are driven, and they push and shove until the job gets done and targets are hit, or goals reached. They make the decision to stay focused. Those who are successful often keep going, long after others have given up.
Less successful people, because they don’t have the same level of drive, aren’t prepared to put in the hours, the days, the weeks when the going is tough and it seems unrelenting. Rather than keep pushing, they’ll stop, give up, not follow through.
Take this blog for instance, there are a whole lot of fun things that I could be doing right now rather than sitting writing this. But it’s part of my overall business strategy, and ultimately, I will see the reward for my labours. But right now, I’ve got to push through.
- They Don’t Make Excuses
There are always reasons why something hasn’t worked.
Successful people realise that making excuses will do nothing to change the outcome. What has happened has happened, and excuses won’t change a thing. Successful people realise this, and instead of making excuses for what’s happened look for ways to fix it, solve the problem and move on.
Unsuccessful people will do the opposite. They’ll look for excuses. It’s the economy. It’s Brexit, what can we expect! Or, my competitors are under cutting me on price etc, etc, etc.
Even if the “excuses” are legitimate, complaining about them won’t change anything or improve the outcome.
So rather than making excuses, successful people focus on “what next”?
- They Focus on Their Goals – Daily
Successful people tend to focus on their desired outcomes, their goals. Then they write them down, and formulate a plan for achieving them. But more than that, they also review them daily.
Less successful people often don’t have goals, instead they tend to have a vague notion of what they might like to achieve one day. And they certainly don’t write anything down. I know this, because it used to be me.
As a result, they drift along, allowing events to control their outcomes.
Successful people on the other hand, have a clearly defined goal – large or small – and they focus on it daily, until it has been achieved. At which point they move on to their next goal.
- They Are Prepared to Fail
Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, Richard Branson, Steve Jobs. They all have one thing in common. At some point in their businesses, they all failed – sometimes massively.
When these guys failed, they saw it as an opportunity – because now they knew what didn’t work!! So, they picked themselves up, dusted themselves down and got on with the job of finding out what did work.
Unsuccessful people tend to play it safe. They often operate from a place of fear – fear of failure. As a result, they won’t try anything new in case it doesn’t work which means they often miss out on massive opportunities.
As Winston Churchill famously said: “Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm”.
So, there we have it – five things every successful person does daily.
Start being intentional, and become disciplined about doing each of these five things. And watch your business fly as you begin to do the things others refuse to do.
The “pain of discipline” now or the “pain of regret” later? You get to choose and your choice will ultimately determine your level of success.
I’ll leave you with another Jim Rohn quote: “Success is nothing more than a few simple disciplines, practiced every day”.
