Leader's Compass 16 - High Five! - 5 Things Successful People Habitually Do

"Two roads diverged in a wood, and I - I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference." - Robert Frost

Many years ago I learned that success and failure both have one thing in common - they leave traces, lessons and patterns for us to learn from and, if we chose, to follow. Here are five things that successful people habitually do.

1. They do no unnecessary harm. Driving your car emits toxins into the environment. The food you eat was brought to the store by trucks that pollute the environment even more. Living a bold life can agitate and/or offend some. 

Harm is done daily no matter what we do. Successful people, however live an examined life to see how their actions can negatively affect others, the environment and the economy they live in. Their first mantra is to limit the suffering and harm. This isn't done by hiding away your talents, not driving your car or even by being an over-analyzer. Successful people simply take inventory of their life regularly and reduce the things that unnecessarily harm others.

2. They build lasting wealth physically and financially. Successful people learn how to discipline their movement, food intake and spending to build lasting wealth. 

You won't find successful people changing their diet and going on a "workout craze!" They don't let the pendulum swing to over-save and then back to over-spend. They work daily in each area to build just a little more wealth. Over time their efforts snowball and physical and financial wealth builds up.

3. They commit. Successful people make commitments, not resolutions. It's a well known fact statistically and from our own personal histories that making a resolution - like a New Years resolution doesn't work. Success comes from commitment. You want a better body? Commit to working out at a certain time every day. Your body will come. You want more money? Commit to learning more skill, saving more and investing what you have. 

Listen to the way successful people talk. They talk about how they "will" do something - not how they "want" to do something. To solidify this concept in your mind make a personal commitment to change something in your life. Better relationship? Better body? Better personal economy? What do you want? Decide and then go to www.commitmentday.com to join the movement to change January 1st from "New Year's Day" to "Commitment Day." Together we can commit to a better life, a better country and more personal accountability in our society. Successful people commit.

4. They do not let fear of failure paralyze them into inaction. Successful people know that they will make mistakes. They know that failure is just a road marker on the path toward success. They know that the only way they will truly fail is through inaction - either stopping before trying because of fear, or stopping when they have fallen because of fear and embarrassment. 

5. Successful people consistently work to master skill in life. Skill brings happiness. Think about it for a moment. The challenges you have in life are mitigated and happiness is elevated when you have the skill to handle them. 

The person with poor communication skills - poor listening, poor restate, poor empathy skills will have a difficult time in relationships. Those who have developed the skills needed to listen, speak and resolve conflict have happier and more successful lives.

Skilled money managers have less stress financially and are happier in their personal economy. Skilled workers do the job well, with focus, ease and a certain spretzzatura. They enjoy their jobs more.

In the end successful people know that the five things listed above are not one-time events. Successful people aren't looking to hit the relationship lottery, they housing lottery, the financial lottery or the happiness lottery. They create, foster and nurture habits that make them successful. Successful people do no unnecessary harm, they build lasting physical and financial wealth, they regularly commit to a course of action in life, they do not let fear of failure paralyze them into inaction and finally they work to master skill in each area of life. 

Successful people don't have a magic pill or better genetics. They, like you and I chose their life daily. They see the patterns and traces left by others and they follow the path that leads them where they want to go. Which road will you take?

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