5 Key Habits of Successful People

by | Nov 13, 2018 | Mindset and Money

Everyone has habits; both good and bad. These are behaviors undertaken every day automatically. Successful people intentionally create success habits that enable them to achieve the life they desire. They are prepared to invest their time in creating these habits as they understand that they will help them to reach their goal.

Creating new habits has to be an intentional process and generally takes 21 days for the new behavior to be assimilated into daily life and routines.

Successful people tend to adopt the same habits. These success habits become part of their daily lives and help to keep them successful as they understand that the journey to success is not final. It continually moves as they need to keep growing in terms of achievement.

An entrepreneur may set his goal of achieving success at selling services worth 5 figures in one year. However, once that goal has been achieved he will re-evaluate his definition of success and set another goal for the following year.

Generally, the following five habits will be key to gaining success and maintaining it.

1. Positive Mind-set: having a positive mind-set can be learned. It will require mental programming (changing your thinking patterns). There are various ways to create a positive mind-set including using positive affirmations, visualization, self-hypnosis or coaching.

One of the most crucial factors in succeeding in anything is to believe that you can achieve it.

2. Exercise and Healthy Eating: taking care of the body through exercise, diet and good sleep routines is another crucial component. Research has shown a strong mind-body connection. By taking care of your body you are preventing ill-health from causing you problems on your way to achieving your goal.

3. Prioritization: successful people plan and they prioritize. They decide what the essential elements or tasks are each day and act on those first. By knowing which tasks will help them achieve their goal they are continuing to act on the plan for success that they created.

Delegating inessential tasks ensures that they get completed but do not detract from your ultimate goal.

4. Goal Setting: identifying the end goal and creating a plan is another essential habit. Without a goal you won't know what you are aiming for. All successful people know what success means to them and plan how to achieve it.

5. Life-long Learning: whether it is reading, taking a course or listening to audio recordings, successful people understand that knowledge is power and a crucial aspect of helping them to achieve their goals. They stay up-to-date on relevant industry information, new trends and innovations. This is built into their daily routine.

These are just five of the key habits of successful people. By adopting these success habits into your daily routine you will be creating a stronger, healthier and more successful version of you.

Let’s Start With Defining Your Success

by | Jul 14, 2018 | You are an Entrepreneur

How do you define SUCCESS?  One defnition is success is achieving your financial goals through your online coachinfg or consulting business.

Not a Destination

The problem is, success isn’t a destination. Success is a journey with stops along the way.  Being successful is moving toward your goals, this the way to achieve it is to be constantly moving forward with the goals in the distance.  Your happiness isn’t dependent upon actually reaching that goal, however.  Your success is based on the sense of accomplishment you derived from having closed the distance and achieved that goal.

The bottom line is that your definition of success is on the path to get the things that you want, one at a time, and to continue to improve yourself and to inspire yourself to reach the next level.

That brings us to the framework for those goals that you want to achieve – your habits for success. The practices that you cultivate will result in the success you desire. Habits for success are clearly defined, well thought out and designed to take you to the goals that you have set for yourself. To understand what a pattern for success is, set some goals first. But for demonstration purposes, here are three different examples because it can be difficult to know how to identify the successful habit.

The reason that people have problems becoming successful is that they have not figured out exactly what it means to be a success!  Defining it for yourself is the first step in achieving it. AT ACPI, we have varied goals for reaching our audience as well as monthly financial goals to tell us we are on target.

Defining Success

The problem is...success isn’t really a destination. Success is a journey with stops along the way. Those stops are the destinations where you want to arrive, but there is no final destination.  Being successful and happy is moving toward your goals, and the only way to achieve it is to be constantly moving forward.

You are going to want more, and that’s okay. You set another goal – a higher purpose – of being able to attend charity dinners where the price of a plate is over $1000 for example. Your happiness isn’t dependent upon the actual goal achievement. It is based upon your hard work and your sense of accomplishment derived from having achieved that goal

The bottom line is that your definition of success is never a specific destination. Preferably, your destiny is being on the path to get the things that you want and continue to improve yourself and inspire yourself to reach more and more goals.

That brings us to the framework for those goals that you want to achieve – your habits for success. The practices that you will be teaching yourself result in the success you desire. Habits for success are clearly defined, well thought out and designed to take you to the goals that you have set for yourself. To understand what a pattern for success is complete, you set some goals first.

Five Lessons from Warren Buffet

You might be wondering what super-investor Warren Buffett can teach you about life. You might be thinking that he knows a lot about money, but that has little to do with being an expert on life. You might be surprised. Warren is famous for his simple lifestyle and love of his work. Let these lessons in life be a guide for contentment in your own life:

1. Focus on what you love. Warren has a beautiful, modest home, and drives a $40,000 car. He could own the most expensive house and vehicles in the world, but he doesn’t. He drinks Coke, buys what he likes, and enjoys a relatively simple life.

Enjoy your life and the things you have. Avoid being concerned about what everyone else has or about what you could have. It’s more satisfying to own one perfect painting than to own ten that don’t thrill you. Seek out the things you love and avoid wasting your time on the rest.

2. Quality is more important than quantity. You only need to make a few right decisions to be incredibly successful. Warren Buffett has hundreds of billions of dollars to invest for himself and others, yet he frequently only owns 20 or so stocks. Be picky. Be happy with a smaller quantity.

Warren has a very famous line that states, “Your financial wealth would be much greater if you could only make 20 investments in your lifetime. You would make sure they were great if you had only 20 chances.”

3. Do what you love.  Warren has said that the essential part of success and contentment is doing what you love every day. That’s why he’s never stopped investing and making money. If you’re spending your time doing what you love, you continue doing the same thing regardless of how much money you have.

You might not enjoy the career you have right now. But are you doing anything to change that? Do you have a plan? Imagine how much more content you would be if you enjoyed going into work each day.

4. Mind your own business. You needn’t be concerned with what the competition is doing. Avoid being influenced by everyone else. If you do what everyone else is doing, you’ll simply be average. Avoid comparing yourself to everyone else. Follow your intuition. Most of us are overly concerned with others. We’re worried about how we compare. We’re concerned about their opinions of us. They’re probably thinking the same things. Get yourself out of that loop and do your job.

5. Stick to your talents. Warren is famous for shunning high-tech investments, even when they were practically a sure thing. He has stated that he doesn’t understand them well enough to invest in them. Stay in your areas of strength. You don’t need to do everything. Focus on what you know well.

We usually enjoy doing the things that showcase our strengths. That’s human nature. It also makes life easier. Work on your weaknesses, but leverage your strengths.

You might be thinking, “Yeah, anyone could be content with $50 billion.” But that’s not true. Studies have shown that happiness and income correlate to $75,000. Above that income level, happiness does not increase.

Super wealthy people became wealthy mainly because they were comfortable living a particular way and kept moving forward to those goals or achievements they had scheduled into life. You can be just as content, even if you never amass a mega-fortune. Aim to increase the amount of contentment in your life. It might not be an issue of money, possessions, or the other things that most people think to lead to happiness.

 

 

Positively Influence People by Finding Out What They Need

by | Jul 9, 2018 | Becoming A Consultant

To help clients, the consultants and the coaches can offer ways to help people control their thoughts or habits and become happier people. Determine what they need and fulfill those needs where possible.

What certified professional coaches do for their clients falls along the line of helping to determine the goals and committing to their achievement. The coach’s role is also to help the client be accountable.

On the other hand, certified professional consultants help their clients by giving advice, and also could fill in the coaching role. There are two ways to approach a client’s fulfillment.

The first, behavior modification, allows you to change a person’s undesirable behaviors using positive reinforcement.

The second method of influencing is reality modification, and we’ll concentrate most of our attention on this. This influencing technique is successful because of the way that you present your request. You know what people need.

There are three primary goals people subconsciously seek:

  • Symbolic rewards
  • Material gains
  • Security

Symbolic Rewards

We all need symbolic rewards, such as recognition and praise. Everybody wants to feel valuable or unique. The act of praising and recognizing another is a strong motivator. Always reward good deeds with praise, and give positive, constructive criticism where change is needed. If you are patient, in time you will see the results of your work with your client.

Material Rewards

Material rewards mean a lot to people, whether they realize it or not. In any capitalist society, some people view one’s material gain as a symbol of high value. Since money produces material gain, it is a strong motivator, and it can have a strong influence on others.

Security

Everyone needs security and stability. Security is attained when people feel they belong and are needed by others. People want security in their jobs, friends, and families. There are many ways to increase other people’s feelings of security:

  1. Clearly define for others what you have to offer and what you expect from them in return. Tell them why the relationship you have with them is the way it is.
  2. Make people feel that they are needed and belong in the relationship with you. Show a need for their presence.
  3. Let others know what their efforts are accomplishing and how they are affecting you. Show them that their efforts are appreciated.
  4. Make sure that parties in the relationship are compatible.
  5. Emphasize comfort. Make sure people are comfortable in their relationships with you.

How Planning Creates Your Success

by | Aug 3, 2017 | Mindset and Money

If you have heard the phrase that what you can conceive, you can achieve, you may realize that few people truly understand the implication. The paradox of achievement is to adopt success into your life or work endeavors. Yet, how do you know when you have succeeded? Do you know success? Most people do not, and that shocked me. 

 

How Will You Know If You Succeed?

My client Marian used to wait for success to happen.  Sometimes it felt like she was waiting for disaster instead of success to pop up in front of her. Are like Marian:

You set no goals? Or, you set the wrong goals... like if you looked seriously at those goals, you would freak out. Perhaps you dread waking each day because you feel aimless, and yet, you need that paycheck!

If you do not have a game plan, your heart doesn't feel like you put out the effort.  You don't feel like the results are satisfactory. However, you have the power to change those results.

The following three attitudes or mindsets impede success:

  1. Procrastination
  2. Wasting time
  3. Lack of effective time management.

If you think of setting in motion a positive feedback loop for your achievements, you will be more confident each day. Then when life happens, or problems occur, you will feel more power to overcome obstacles.

If you say yes mentally when you face an issue, you empower action. You won't shy away from obstacles. On the contrary, you'll overcome obstacles, feel successful, and hopefully, continue to grow your success rate into positive numbers. Why?

You learn how to achieve. Start with how to be smart. Most successful people use SMART GOALS

  • Specific
  • Measurable
  • Achievable
  • Realistic
  • Timed

What is your primary goal? This goal can be ambitious or not, depending on whether you can fulfill the steps and make that goal real,

The next action is to break the goal into steps that are realistic, and you have a road map to success! Today you have success. Tomorrow, you feel more successful and happier. The next week, your success loop continues to strengthen.

Strengthen Success Loop

Setting a goal can help you measure your progress. The minute you set a goal you become responsible for attaining it. You now have a place to start from and a completion date. This allows you to see how far you have come and how far you still have to go.

Setting goals helps give you a sense of direction in your life and in your business. Having a clear and specific goal gives you a purpose; you have something to work towards. Who doesn't want to have something to look forward to?

Setting goals defines a purpose for you. This applies to both personal goals. How many times at work have you tried to look busy? But when you have a goal to reach you are automatically busy, as you don't want to be the one to miss the goal.

Setting goals helps you plan out a method for reaching them. If your employer tells you that you have to finish a 20,000 word report by the end of the month, you don't want to miss your deadline. Instead you will focus on how to create a plan so that you make your deadline. If reaching your goal means involving other people to help you then you will figure out a plan to do so.

Setting goals gives you energy and determination. As soon as you set a goal your mind starts to think about them and this gives you increased energy and drive. If you know you have a goal to reach at work, you are more likely to wake up feeling energized and ready to tackle the goal each day. When you don’t have a goal, the thought of going to work each day is without purpose other than to supply you with a paycheck.

Setting goals gives you a sense of pride. Smart employers will know that when they give their employees goals they are filling them with a sense of urgency and pride. Companies that continually set goals for their employees  report that morale is higher and that their productivity levels are high.

 

 

 

 

Tool-Focus on Ideal Clients 4

by | Jun 18, 2017 | Learn about Coaching

How does a certified parenting coach hold the right mindset for the ideal clients they envision?  Mindset: Focus on your client, not on you.

How You Think and Envision

When a new author writes a book, the author is filled with his or her personal story — it’s drama, it’s inspiration, and the need to have others learn from their experiences.

However, if the author wants to sell the book, he or she needs to know what the reader wants to read and ensure the book addresses that.

If a coach wants to sell services, the services or product must fulfill the client’s needs. The fulfillment is essential to demonstrate in your story, writing, advertising, and offerings. All of your marketing materials need to be client focused:

  1. About them — someone to listen to their story, not hear about yours
  2. About solving one of their issues — your book, story or brochure will tell how…
  3. About finding support — every word you write and every visual clue you use in a logo, color, design and copy reflects how you support them.

The New York Times best-read nonfiction books tend to be cookbooks, biographies of famous people, and how-to books on weight loss. If people are buying these books...

  1. Why are they doing so?
  2. What does a client want from a coach that is like a cookbook?
  3. A recipe, a formula, something that appeals to their appetites.

Remember who you are marketing to:

  1. A doer wants an achievement.
  2. A thinker wants the list of steps.
  3. The supporter who wants whatever is most practical, appealing and adaptable.
  4. The creative influencer wants to share the beauty with others and convince them of its benefits.

What does a coaching client want that is like a biography?

  1. The emotional connection to you.
  2. Small pieces of your life experience connect with their hearts and mind.

 What does a coaching client crave?

  1. the answers
  2. the steps
  3. the hope
  4. the promise
  5. the guarantee
  6. the formula… …to their dilemma and solutions or strategies for the issues they deal with every day - the issues that overwhelm them or make them tired and edgy.

 

Successful coaches respond to the needs of their targeted clients just like an author who is writing a book for them. You answer their needs, provide the soul food they crave, and develop a heart connection. Then, you’ve got it! !