Useful lessons from achievers
While there isn’t a one-size-fits-all recipe for success, several highly successful people (celebrities, athletes, authors, politicians, and entrepreneurs) have similar daily habits, and they adhere to them. Habits create a structure in their lives, which allows them the freedom to flourish.
Learn more about the habits that make them tick.
Daily Routines
Read any book about or by a successful CEO and they will tell you that daily routines are a key ingredient in their recipe for success. They have a solid morning routine—what time they wake up and how they navigate the hours. Their morning meditation and workout are non-negotiable. What clothes they wear, what foods they eat, when they go to bed—nothing is left to luck, chance, or mood.
Bill Gates, the co-founder of Microsoft, is a voracious reader. Ayurveda recommends which color to wear every day of the week. Embracing these will not dramatically transform your life, but having a system in place that helps you plan your wardrobe is immensely helpful. Don’t you love anything that adds structure to your day and allows you to use your time effectively?
Calm Mornings
In Ayurveda, we talk about the importance of waking up in Brahma muhurta when our Qi or prana (or life force energy) is the strongest. Brahma muhurta is a Sanskrit phrase that translates to “time of Brahma,” “sacred time,” or “the creator’s time.” It begins an hour and 36 minutes before sunrise and lasts for 48 minutes. This time of the day is serene and silent. It’s a good time to meditate, reflect, and make your to-do list.
Having a peaceful and non-frantic start to the day can be centering. It also increases focus. Research tells us that successful people make time for the Self and other personal priorities before the day takes over. For instance, Oprah Winfrey starts her day with meditation.
Showing Up Consistently
While everyone else is talking about it, successful people are quietly doing it. Most folks get discouraged easily and get inspired only when things go their way. They change their business plan or desire to try a new dance class or the topic of the book they want to write, because the older idea seemed difficult.
To be successful, one needs to have reliable habits, not moody motivation. For example, if you want to learn how to play an instrument, regular practice can lead to substantial improvement in your performance over a period of time. If you want to run the marathon, you need to have the discipline to create a plan for run days and rest days. You can’t show up once in a while or on the day of the race and feel upset about your inability to run well.
Cutting Back On Noise
Ask yourself who and what holds you back. You can journal about it or reflect on it. When I was younger, every time I engaged with an entitled fool who believed their opinion should be the last word, I used to get riled up. I would spend days ruminating over it. Ironically, the seething anger and frustration was toward someone who wasn’t even aware I was upset with them. Can you imagine how much time and energy I must have wasted?
Be very choosy about who and what deserves your energy! Do you think Indra Nooyi, former CEO of PepsiCo, cared two hoots about what someone said to her about being an ambitious woman? Use filters to keep the unnecessary busy work and noisy people out. As Jim Rohn says, “Either run the day or the day runs you.”
Focusing On Health
This one is key. There is no success without wellness, which encompasses physical, mental, and emotional wellbeing. How can you sustain the pressures of life and success if you don’t take care of your own self?
Research tells us that successful people prioritize their physical and mental health. Best-selling author Robin Sharma said, “If you don’t make time for exercise, you’ll probably have to make time for illness.” Whether it’s hiking or hitting the gym or going for a run or taking a dance class or kick boxing or practicing yoga, make movement non-negotiable. It helps with heart health, better mood, enhanced sleep quality, fitter body, alert mind, and elevated productivity.
Build A Network Of Peers And Mentors
No one can do it alone. Building and maintaining strong relationships is important. According to “Positive Psychology”, meaningful connections are one of the top happiness indicators. Make the effort to organize a coffee or a lunch meeting. Invest in your networks. Ask what you can do for them, not what you need.
Willingness To Learn
Successful people are perpetual students of life. My husband is a great example of this. He has a brilliant mind and will absorb everything like a sponge. When we were in our early twenties, I would be shocked why he was so interested in learning about everything. From the best way to peel a pomegranate to the history of the Middle East to the secrets of woodworking, to every Tom Brady statistic, he always made time for learning new things.
Despite being an introvert, my husband can talk to a neuroscientist with the same enthusiasm as he does to our six-year-old niece (who wrote that she was grateful for him at Thanksgiving). The desire to learn and read about varied topics has made him a better conversationalist and well-rounded person. If you want to expand your repertoire, there is YouTube, TED Talks, audiobooks, podcasts, and even documentaries.
I am the last person who will suggest you emulate anyone. But after reading this essay, see if any of the suggestions mentioned above resonate with you. It could be just one or two to begin. Maybe they’ll inspire you to step outside of your comfort zone and explore something that will be beneficial in both your personal and professional growth.
“You become what you believe.” ~ Oprah Winfrey
