Successful People Make Small Changes To Get Big Results!

As you set out to make actual changes in your life, start small.

Wall Street executive Caroline Arnold, author of Small Move, Big Change, advises that if you focus on “micro-resolutions”—small, targeted, behavioral changes—you’re much more likely to succeed in improving your life. 

For example, when Arnold set out to “get in shape,” she focused on one small behavioral change—walking to work instead of taking the train. And she only committed to doing this once a week, on Mondays. Eventually it became a habit, and now she walks to work every day. So why not just resolve to walk to work every day to begin with? 

By holding yourself to that higher standard, your chances of failure are greatly increased, Arnold says. 

Bottom line: Resist the urge to try to change too much, too quickly. Begin, instead, by asking, What if I made one small change?

- Warren Berger

Successful People Are Grateful For What They Have!

What am I grateful for?  

Self-questioning can easily drift toward a focus on what’s missing in one’s life: Why don’t I have more money, a better job, a bigger house? Meanwhile, we tend to take for granted what we actually have going for us!

But happiness experts say that if you want to find a quick and easy way to bring more positive energy into your life, start by asking yourself the question above—and keep asking it, every day. 

“Gratitude is a shortcut to happiness,” says the filmmaker Roko Belic, whose 2011 documentary Happy was a study in what makes some people happier than others.

The same conclusion was reached by Tal Ben-Shahar, a professor at Harvard University and author of Happier and Being Happy. He believes it’s important to “cultivate the habit of gratitude” by asking, at the end of each day, What am I grateful for? And writing the answers in a “gratitude journal.” He maintains that people who do this tend to be not only happier but also more successful and more likely to achieve their goals.

- Warren Berger

Successful People Find Their Passion, and Pursue It!

What’s My Tennis Ball? 

This question is derived from a commencement speech given at MIT last year by Drew Houston, founder of the successful information storage service Dropbox.

It's a more interesting way of asking yourself, What do I really care about? Or, What am I meant to do? As Houston explained in his speech, “The most successful people are obsessed with solving an important problem, something that matters to them. They remind me of a dog chasing a tennis ball.” To increase your own chances of happiness and success, Houston said, you must “find your tennis ball—the thing that pulls you.”  

Where should you look for that thing that pulls you? Pay attention to your own behavior and to the things you find yourself doing without thinking.

“When you’re in a bookstore,” says author Carol Adrienne, “what section are you drawn to?” Another suggestion is to think about what you loved doing in younger days. “The things we loved as a child are probably still the things we love,” says Eric Maisel, a psychotherapist and author. He suggests drawing up a list of favorite activities and interests from childhood to “see what still resonates with you today.”

Once you’ve figured out what pulls you, it’s time for another question: How might I find a way to incorporate this interest or activity—this tennis ball—into my everyday life? 

- Warren Berger

Successful People Take All The Time They Need To Grow!

In her wonderful book “Never Broken: Songs Are Only Half the Story”, the artist Jewel gives us a blueprint on how we can build our strength and resilience and become a stronger, better balanced, and happier person. She says that we shouldn't be impatient with ourselves and expect to make changes in our lives quickly. That's not where growth happens. She says that hard wood grows slowly.

What does that mean? It means we shouldn't look for quick fixes but should think about who we want to become in the long run.

So how can you shift your way of thinking to achieve that?

·  Make decisions that aren't only focused on the here and now. Rather, think about what's best for that version of yourself you want to become in 10 years or 20. This could impact whether you choose to start working out today (versus eating pizza while you sit in front of the TV) or taking the time to write down your thoughts on something important happening in your life (versus scrolling through the Instagram feed on your phone).

·   Get to the root of the problem. If you're faced with an obstacle and are having a difficult time dealing with things, you might reach for something to distract yourself (food, drink, TV or a cigarette). Try to get to the bottom of what you're experiencing so that you can learn why it's bothering you.

Be willing to admit that you don't have all the answers. Then look for answers: talk to a trusted friend, do some research on the topic, read more about it. Be proactive about making a positive change.

·    Give yourself permission to grow. Becoming an adult is not like developing a Polaroid or taking a selfie. There's no instant gratification, no glamorous shot, no shortcut.

Each one of us will have to experience life on our own. Sure, that may seem terrifying and scary at first, but think of it this way: if you take the time to get to know yourself, to identify the things you want to accomplish and experience, and to know which things can make you happy, then you will create your blueprint for the path you need to take.

It does take time, but as Jewel says, you can become the architect of your dreams. That's an empowering way to look at life, don't you think?

- Nela Canovic

Successful People Build Their Skill Set!

You can't be successful without a required skill set in your field of work, regardless of whether it's studying for a Ph.D. degree, becoming a software engineer, or training to be a professional athlete.

How do you build your skill set?

·  First, identify which skills are necessary for you to succeed in doing your job. 

   Write a list of all the skills you need. Don't only think about building hard skills, but soft skills too.

·    Second, work on developing your skills. 

  This will take time. Start with skills you think will be most valuable to you, then create a plan to devote a certain amount of time each day, even if that means only 15 minutes in the beginning.

·   Third, keep practicing each skill consistently. You may have heard about the 10,000 hour rule because many people swear by it. You can also try to adhere to it, but don't only be focused on the numbers. It's not just how many hours you put in. It's also about what you do during that time. 

    

    Are you doing deep work?

Deep work is focusing without interruptions on something that takes a lot of analytical thinking, and it is essential to master the skills you are working on.

- Nela Canovic

Successful People Create a Strategy to Reach Their Goals

Goals are important, but so is developing your strategy.

It's all about having the big picture in mind; while you are focusing on what you want to do right now, always keep your eye on at least two steps ahead. In other words, take the time to think beyond what is happening today.

How can you do that?

·       Consider different approaches you can take to get you closer to your goal.

That means do your best to stay flexible. Maybe you get stuck in a rut trying to solve a problem the same way over and over again. Don't always repeat the same path you usually take; try something different and see what happens.

·       Don't only think of achieving short-term success. 

Being strategic isn't only what you're doing right this very moment; it's also about feeling the benefits of your present actions in the future.

·       Don't focus only on the person you are today. 

Instead, think of who you want to be in 10 years?

By being strategic, you will empower yourself to achieve long term results that your future self can benefit from.

- Nela Canovic

Successful People Develop Specific Goals That Can Drive Them Forward!

Having a goal isn't nearly as abstract as it might seem. It's the difference between going from day to day just trying to deal with life and all the challenges it brings and planning your path so that you know what you're doing and why it's important to you. And here's another benefit: when you have a goal you're working towards, everything you do in your daily life has a greater sense of purpose.

So what should that goal look like?

·       Make Sure It's Specific. For example, don't just say that you want to get a job, be fit, have a large salary. Instead, get specific. If you're looking for work or want to switch to another job, write down that you want to get a job offer for a specific job title that pays a certain annual salary so that you can develop specific skills you have as well as those you're working towards.

·       Make Sure It's Focused. You can increase your focus by starting each day with the question: What is the ONE THING I am committed to completing today? This question forces you to prioritize, helps your brain focus better, and streamlines the work you need to do on that particular day, so that you don't feel overwhelmed with making too many choices and instead you are free to focus on what's most important to you.

·       Make Sure It's Realistic. Remember: you're not creating goals to impress other people or make others happy. It's not about them: It's About You! 

Create goals that are aligned with your vision of what you want to accomplish in your life, whether that means getting a graduate degree, growing your own business, or becoming an expert at something.

Be sure that you either have the skills or are working consistently on developing the skills you will need to reach your goal.

- Nela Canovic

Successful People Change Their Attitude So They Can Grow Their Mindsets!

Successful People Change Their Attitude So They Can Grow Their Mindsets!

You've probably heard of the phrase "attitude is everything." And maybe you confuse it with the words people use to describe someone's behavior when they say, "He has such an attitude!" But it's not the same.

Having an attitude may indicate someone's arrogant behavior much like showing off about something they currently possess. So what does "attitude is everything" mean?

· First, it's mostly focused on your attitude towards yourself. It's the way you see yourself and the specific ways in which you describe yourself, not just to others, but also when you think about who you are at your core.

· Second, attitude towards yourself is incredibly important because it shapes the way you see the world and also yourself in it. It can impact what you believe you can and cannot do, what you're destined for, what you're meant to be doing in this life, or all of the above.

·  Third, your attitude can be the most powerful tool at your fingertips. You can use it to help you accomplish personal goals, overcome obstacles, communicate better with others, and lead a better quality of life.

·    Fourth, how do you change your attitude to grow your mindset? Start by reading Carol Dweck's book Mindset: The New Psychology of Success.

It explains how we adopt a certain mindset about our abilities very early in life due to the messages we receive from our environment, parents, and teachers. These messages are then "baked into" the attitude we develop towards ourselves: what we "should" be doing, what our strengths and weaknesses are, and what we should avoid.

The book explains the difference between two mindsets and how much they can be either empowering or detrimental to your work and life: a fixed mindset (believing that your affinities and talents are set in stone) and growth mindset (believing that you can grow and cultivate your skills through continuous efforts).

- Lena Canovic

Successful People Make a Short 10-15-Minute Workout Part of Their Morning Routine!

The benefits?

It will help you wake up faster, it can boost your mood, and it will help you with your work or studies.

Where can you start?

Before you shower and make breakfast, start the day with some stretches or simple exercises at home, go for a short run in your neighborhood, do some pilates, or just open youtube and follow any 15 minute morning workout. It will give you energy for the rest of the day!

- Nela Canovic (Modified by Amr Badran)

Successful People Make it a Habit to Learn Something New Every Day!

Why?

You feed your brain, create new neural networks, challenge your intellect, and take advantage of that amazing supercomputer of yours: Your Brain.

How?

Expose yourself to new topics in an online forum or a conversation with friends. Go to the library or a bookstore and browse books on a Friday afternoon, when you have a few hours to devote to yourself. Watch history or science documentaries on YouTube. Ask an expert a question so that you can find out how to do something better or more efficiently.

- Nela Canovic

Successful People Work On The Most Mentally Challenging Tasks First!

It's called doing deep work (as opposed to doing shallow work, which can be anything from multitasking to letting distractions get the better of you).

Devote your mornings to whatever needs most of your concentration, whether that's reading, taking notes, coding or problem-solving.

When is the ideal time to do it? The sooner, the better; research shows that our analytical brain starts functioning optimally around 2-4 hours after we wake up.

- Nela Canovic

Successful People Commit To “One Important Thing” Every Day!

What is the one thing I am committed to completing today? 

The benefits: you start prioritizing, you keep focused on personal goals, you make a promise to yourself to finish one thing that's important to you.

How can you do it?

Write the question on a large sheet of paper, then hang it somewhere on a wall, so you see it first thing (in the bathroom or bedroom, for example).

Ask the question out loud, and come up with an answer quickly.

- Nela Canovic

Successful People Pick Up The Phone!

Miscommunication happens all too easily over email! If you're ever in doubt, pick up the phone. Email is a very efficient and convenient form of communication. But because it's so impersonal, your words and intent may be misinterpreted.

First, always strive to be as clear as possible, even when you're in a hurry, and remember to read what you've written before you send it. If you sense that a potential conflict may be brewing, pick up the phone and talk it out. It's worth the minor inconvenience.

Many problems can be avoided this way. Relationships are built through dynamic conversations. So make the effort to pick up the phone, and even better, meet the people you are corresponding with in person.

A mistake is really only a mistake if you continue to make it. You're missing out on an opportunity to be and do better if you don't analyze yours.

- Stephen Key

Successful People Realize That Some Things Aren't Meant To Be! No Matter How Much They Want Them!

I'm less of a fighter than I used to be, and that's a good thing!

In the past, when something didn't go my way, I would focus on working harder. I thought that sheer willpower alone was enough. I know now that it's not. I'm more accepting these days.

Nine out of 10 times, I'm pleased when I let things go. When I look back, I realize things worked out for the best — perhaps better!

If you push too hard, all the time, you'll end up regretting it.

Of course, there's a fine line between pushing too hard and giving up too easily. It takes time to navigate.

- Stephen Key

Successful People Don't Waste Their Time On The Wrong People!

Trying to convince businesses to do something they aren't currently doing has been a source of angst my entire career. I've been selling my inventions for a long time.

Over the years, I've learned that if I'm selling a variation of an apple, I had better find someone who is buying apples.

I've spent too much time showing my ideas to people in different industries. The truth is that most people aren't willing to take a chance on something outside their comfort zone. It's too hard of a sell — even if you have a great idea.

- Stephen Key