This article was co-authored by Annie Lin, MBA. Annie Lin is the founder of New York Life Coaching, a life and career coaching service based in Manhattan. Her holistic approach, combining elements from both Eastern and Western wisdom traditions, has made her a highly sought-after personal coach. Annie’s work has been featured in Elle Magazine, NBC News, New York Magazine, and BBC World News. She holds an MBA degree from Oxford Brookes University. Annie is also the founder of the New York Life Coaching Institute which offers a comprehensive life coach certification program. Learn more: https://newyorklifecoaching.com
There are 10 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page.
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The secret of success is not one single, pithy tip. The “secret of success,” if there is one, is that success is brought about by a combination of smart habits, a tenacious spirit, and a whole lot of luck. Making a few conscious changes to your behavior and attitude could prove to quite rewarding.
Steps
Quitting the Wrong Mentalities
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1Stop procrastinating. Avoiding the unpleasant parts of work doesn’t make them go away. Break the seemingly unmanageable into manageable chunks, then sprinkle those less-enjoyable aspects of a task into that other stuff that you really like. Building up a huge hunk of the bad stuff to deal with all at once, after you’ve completed the enjoyable stuff, is just going to leave a sour taste in your mouth at the end of a project.[1]
- Delaying gratification—“gratification” being whatever it is you’d rather do than the thing you’re procrastinating—has been shown to increase your productivity and enjoyment of the gratification itself.[2] It can also lead to lower stress levels.
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2Beat negativity. Understand that the road to success will not be unending, continual joy. There will be difficulties, setbacks, and moments where you question your commitment. These will occur whether you’re on the right path or the wrong path, so understand that while it might be hard sometimes, you’ll need to make an effort to re-establish and embrace that positivity you felt at the outset of your endeavor.[3]
- Positive mental attitude (occasionally abbreviated as “PMA”) is crucial for entrepreneurs.[4]
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3Don’t define yourself by others’ success. You’ll lose sight of your own goals and merits, and it can promote feelings of bitterness, jealousy, and inferiority. Competition is healthy, but focusing too much on others can lead you to internalize unhealthy attitudes.[5]
- Along these same lines: praise your co-workers! When your colleagues, peers, or subordinates knock it out of the park, let them know. People and teams flourish this way.
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4Embrace failure. Failure always illuminates a truth about the methods you used, or the particular goals you pursued; interpret failure not as a badge of shame, but as a call for self-reflection. Sometimes it’s only through facing the insurmountable, failing, and then struggling to pull ourselves back together that we develop the tenacity we’ll need to succeed.[6]
- ”Failure,” as Henry Ford put it, “is simply the opportunity to begin again, this time more intelligently.”[7]
- Failure isn’t always indicative of having the wrong idea—sometimes it’s simply the right idea, pursued ineffectively. Don’t scrap everything you’ve been trying all at once and or totally restructure. When working within a company or partnership, for example, it could be an issue of properly understanding each member’s accountability.[8]
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5Focus on survival. The most important goal when beginning a new business, job, or craft is simply to survive. Don’t set your sights too high or wide at the outset, establishing unrealistic goals for your fledgling enterprise.
- You will never achieve that goal of, say, providing coffee to all of the homeless in the world through your new coffee shop, if you don’t focus on keeping that coffee shop in business and thriving first. Long-term goals are important, but shouldn’t come at the expense of sustainable short-term ones.
Establishing the Right Habits
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1Pursue something meaningful to you. Committing yourself to a fulfilling pursuit means that passion can pick up the slack when you’re not feeling especially driven. This doesn’t necessarily mean to pursue something you find fun 24/7, but it should be meaningful to you. The effort you exert should be on something that will make you proud in the end.
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2Prioritize your tasks. Focus on completing the tasks which will benefit you the most in the long run. Learn to identify the difference between “high-value” tasks (that which will benefit you the most in the long term) versus “low-value” tasks (that which may be easier, but will offer much fewer benefits).[9]
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3Complete your projects.[10] Follow through on that which you’ve begun. Finishing one project will teach you exponentially more than a dozen fizzled-out attempts, even if you never want to look at that project again.
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4Introduce the unexpected. Successful innovators are often lauded and idolized, but it can still be terrifying to pursue the unproven idea. Don’t be afraid of venturing into the unknown—great ideas may be a dime a dozen, but actually putting in the work to pursue a great idea can be extremely rewarding.
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5Network like a human being. Networking can easily feel mercenary and shallow when advertised too overtly. Understand that networking is crucial to success in most industries, but that you should never forget that you’re forging connections with other people. You never know when you might form a true bond on an unexpected occasion, and find your next business partner, investor, or employer.[11]
- Studies have shown that the most successful business people excel in both cognitive and social skills.[12] Don’t neglect your interpersonal skills!
Expert Advice
Successful people frequently...
- Keep a solid morning routine. This might consist of meditation, physical exercise, or spending time reading or listening to something inspirational.
- Practice daily gratitude. For instance, you might think about or write down things you're thankful for each day.
- Set clear priorities and focus. To be successful, you can't just distract yourself by staying busy or consuming aimless information online. You have to work to constantly improve yourself.
References
- ↑ https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/how-be-yourself/201808/5-ways-finally-stop-procrastinating
- ↑ https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/your-emotional-meter/201712/the-benefits-delaying-gratification
- ↑ https://centerhealthyminds.org/join-the-movement/9-ways-to-stop-being-negative
- ↑ http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/237479
- ↑ https://your.yale.edu/work-yale/learn-and-grow/focus-your-strengths-focus-success
- ↑ http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/18/magazine/what-if-the-secret-to-success-is-failure.html?_r=0
- ↑ https://www.cabrini.edu/blog/2019-20-posts/inspiring-quotes
- ↑ https://hbr.org/2008/06/the-secrets-to-successful-strategy-execution
- ↑ https://your.yale.edu/work-yale/learn-and-grow/focus-your-strengths-focus-success
About This Article
The secret to success is letting go of all the things that are holding you back, like procrastination, negativity, and the fear of failure, and instead embracing healthy, productive habits, like working toward your goals. Prioritize the things in your life that contribute to your long-term goals over the things that don’t do much to further them. Also, remember to keep going even if you fail since failure is just an opportunity to learn and try again. For more advice, like how to kick bad habits that are getting in your way of success, keep reading!
