“Achievers – whether in business, sports, or the arts — are committed to continual improvement.” – Jack Canfield
Success leaves clues. If you looked at some of the most successful people on the planet, you’d realize that most of them have a few common traits. It doesn’t matter what field they’re in or where they started from… they still follow the 5 principles of success below.
If you’re planning to start your own business or take your business to the next level, you’d do well to adhere to the principles below.
1. Have a solid plan
Dwight D. Eisenhower (34th President of the United States) once said, “Plans are nothing. Planning is everything.”
What he means is that you must plan out your goals and your journey to achieve them.
What will you do? What resources will you need?
You need to plan it all out. However, life has a way of throwing us curve balls.
You can’t predict what will happen and might have to alter your plans… BUT… you still must have a plan going into battle.
And yes, achieving your goals will be a battle indeed. So make sure you have a solid plan and make changes to it accordingly when you need to.
2. Serve others
Zig Ziglar once said, “You can have everything in life you want if you will just help other people get what they want.”
This is especially true in business when you need to sell something to make a profit. If your products alleviate a problem, solve a need or satisfy a desire, you can bet you’ll sell tons of them and generate a hefty profit.
It all begins with keeping other people in mind. By helping others (and charging them for it), you’ll have a thriving business.
3. Always do your best
The most successful people always go the extra mile. They work harder, they train longer and they constantly strive to exceed expectations. They know that’s the formula to success.
Like a motivational guru, Jim Rohn, said, “Don’t wish it were easier. Wish you were better.”
And that’s what the best of the best do. They’re always trying to get better.
4. Keep the main thing the main thing
If you want success in life, it’s crucial you focus on what matters. Your energy goes where your attention goes – and you only have so much energy each day. High-performance individuals are often highly focused.
You’ll seldom find them to be couch potatoes watching TV all day. You’ll not see them frittering hours away Tweeting or ranting on Facebook. They have other more important work to do.
If you want to be successful, you need to focus on activities that will lead to you being successful. It’s that straightforward.
5. 100% accountability
Successful people hold themselves accountable for everything they do. They believe that they’re 100% responsible for their own life… and they’ll not give up ownership of their future to the government or other individuals.
An entitlement mindset is the last thing you’ll ever find with most high achievers. They know the world owes them nothing. So they approach their goals with a hunger and drive that’s lacking in the millions of people who expect success to be handed to them on a platter.
The 5 principles above are just the tip of the iceberg, but they’re as good a place as any to start. Grasp the fundamentals, and slowly improve your life and business by eliminating procrastination, adopting better habits and setting bigger goals.
