Nine Success Principles I Have Learnt from Four Decades of Experience

As the? anniversary approaches of starting my first job many decades ago, I have reflected on what I have learnt, what I believe in, the values I live by. I thought that I would share them with you.??

Here they are!

Number one. Set yourself non-negotiable goals

Having non-negotiable goals force you to grow. Without having goals in our lives, we can feel sort of like a tumbleweed, just kind of getting blown around aimlessly by the environment.

Don't fly by the seat of your pants with this. Be intentional, tap into your mind's capacity to actually help you to get there. With that internal GPS, you will see the alternative routes to get you to where you want to be.

"The trouble with not having a goal is that you could spend your life running up and down the field and never actually score." Bill Copeland

And also incorporate a way to have accountability.? Never underestimate the power of? having an accountability partner. Our mind has a wonderful way of justifying why we haven't done what we set out to do!

I have experienced this myself. And I have also seen it with my clients.

Checking in with them every couple of weeks makes the world of difference to confidence and success.And also incorporate a way to have accountability.??

Number two. Excellence will always be valuable

Currently, the world is so saturated with information but true excellence is still uncommon. In this information age, what people are starving for is wisdom, what people are starving for is profound knowledge, profound information.?

I've invested well over 30,000 hours in marketing over my career. 6000 hours in the LinkedIn platform alone.

(You may have heard about the 10,000 hour rule, which was popularised by Malcolm Gladwell's blockbuster book ‘Outliers’: it takes 10,000 hours of intensive practice to achieve mastery of complex skills …)

There seems to be this profound shift that takes place when we accumulate so many hours, so much dedication, so much of our time into a subject, we become world class, we become elite.

When we invest that amount of time, regardless of where you begin, you will radically improve. Even prior to reaching that 10,000 hour mark, you're going to grow yourself in such a profound way because you're developing a level of excellence that is rare.

By all means dabble, but when you find something that you are really interested in, double, triple, quadruple down on a thing and really invest your time into it.? You will develop a state of natural exuberance, a natural excellence.??

Excellence is going to exude from you and combine this with choosing consistency, choosing creating a goal and having accountability, you are going to grow.

Excellence is sustainable. It helps you to always stand out in a crowded environment, in a crowded field.?

Going above and beyond is a rarity and it puts you into an elite space. There's a wonderful quote from Wayne Dyer that says, "It's never crowded along the extra mile." On that extra mile, you're going to find there is no crowd, where there's plenty of room for success and growth and development.

Consistency is a superpower People who achieve exceptional success are those who keep working at it, who keep perfecting their craft, who keep finding ways to grow and to diversify and they get better.?

When you start something new, you are inexperienced.? It can be frustrating.? You need to persevere.? To become better.? As this happens, the frustration subsides.

Most people who are a success at anything will? tell you that they were pretty terrible, but they kept at it. They kept working, they kept refining their craft, they just didn't quit, they kept moving forward. Progressively getting better and better and better.?

Just don't quit.

Just keep showing up, keep working towards getting better. There are going to be times when you don't feel like it, there are going to be times when it seems incredibly challenging, just keep at it. There are going to be times when you might take a little time off here or there, but keep at it, return to your practice, keep moving forward, keep finding a way to grow.

Number three. Be authentic

Stay true to who you are. Muting your personality, suppressing your authenticity, putting a mask on to try to fit into the status quo, these are sure fire ways to be unfulfilled and to feel disconnected.?

You might actually achieve superficial success, but this would be through outer appearances. You'll very likely feel this gnawing sense that something is missing. We all know successful people whose modus operandi is to go for fame, and/or for the money.??

Suppressing and muting who we truly are, not honouring what's really within our soul, what's really within their heart can leave us feeling empty.

We are often worried about fitting in.? We want to be a part of the tribe, we don't want to get kicked out, isolated or, abandoned, being exiled from the group. Centuries ago this would mean death.?

This is hard wired into us, but what's beautiful about us is that we can supersede those very primitive thoughts. Today, more than ever, there are ways to connect with society and have society to honour our uniqueness, to honour our excellence, and rise to prominence in our respective tribe.

Maybe, like me, you have elements of yourself that may be viewed as strange and that can make you feel uncomfortable and want to keep them to yourself.

I have learnt? to embrace who I am because this is one of the big keys to success and growth. Stay true to who you are.

Number four. ?Consistency is a superpower

People who achieve exceptional success are those who keep working at it, who keep perfecting their craft, who keep finding ways to grow and to diversify and they get better.?

When you start something new, you are inexperienced.? It can be frustrating.? You need to persevere.? To become better.? As this happens, the frustration subsides.

Most people who are a success at anything will? tell you that they were pretty terrible, but they kept at it. They kept working, they kept refining their craft, they just didn't quit, they kept moving forward. Progressively getting better and better and better.?

Just don't quit.

Just keep showing up, keep working towards getting better. There are going to be times when you don't feel like it, there are going to be times when it seems incredibly challenging, just keep at it. There are going to be times when you might take a little time off here or there, but keep at it, return to your practice, keep moving forward, keep finding a way to grow.

"The path to lasting success is to take massive, consistent, and relentless action." Tony Robbins

Number five. Embrace grit and resilience

Grit is a personality trait characterised by perseverance and passion for achieving long-term goals.

Grit entails working strenuously to overcome challenges and maintain effort and interest over time despite failures, adversities, and plateaus in progress.

A recent study suggests this trait may be more relevant than intelligence in determining a person's high achievement. For example, grit may be particularly important to accomplishing an especially complex task when there is a strong temptation to give up altogether.

I have had to have grit in my life from an early age. I have developed both business and personal grit.?

From my mother leaving the family and being a surrogate mother at 11 years old.? To a situation where a supplier went to my biggest client and told them that he could do the work more cheaply if they worked with him directly, resulting in my losing that client overnight.

You can’t have success without growth.

You can't have? success without enduring the obstacles.

In truth, we have to be at peace with the fact that obstacles are going to be inevitable in our path to getting from where we are to where we want to be. This applies in all aspects of our life. There are inherently going to be obstacles that we have to find a way to endure, to surpass, find a way under, around, though - whatever it takes.

But most people, when we are faced with these obstacles along our path, we tend to throw in the towel, and to be truly successful, we have to be at peace with the fact that the obstacles will appear, and stop assuming that everything is going to be smooth sailing.?

That's not how greatness is created.? But you get to decide what those obstacles actually mean.? This is the power that you have as a human being.?

So, when the obstacle presents itself, we could say, "Oh, this is too much, this is the thing that's going to take me out of the game. I cannot survive this, I cannot endure this, I can't deal with it," or we can reframe the inevitable challenges that life will keep on passing out to us, especially if we've chosen greatness. If life is going to qualify you for greatness, you have to become the type of person that can actually handle and manage a life of greatness.

Ask yourself, "What is this challenge trying to teach me?"?

Ask, "What quality or qualities is this obstacle trying to bring to the fore in me?"?

You can also ask, "Who must I become to move beyond this challenge?" Because that's what it's really all about. The challenges are there to qualify us for the goals, for the success that we say that we want.?

Number six.? Relationships are the fastest way to elevate ?

The most rewarding aspect in my life is my relationships - the wonderful people who are in all aspects of my life.

Our happiness and success in life and business depends on quality relationships.We depend on our strength to turn away from some relationships that don't serve us.?

I love collaboration with others, the emotional support that you can give and receive.

The lowest times of my life have depended on the support from those close to me.?

And the most rewarding have been when I have the privilege to support those I love. Our relationships play a significant role? in our overall well being.

We all get so much from our relationships. But it's not about trying to get, it's about being of service. Finding a way to serve and to uplift and not being a place of expectation, especially when you're creating a new relationship, is paramount.??

Our business relationships can appear quite superficial. Putting on our best face, often being inauthentic to move the relationship forward, to get that sale.? This is what I find quite difficult.? My family says that they always know exactly what I am thinking and feeling!

Being yourself attracts people like you, and that is especially important in business. There is nothing worse than working with a client who you are not compatible with.? I don’t know about you but I want to love all of my clients. And the people who work with me.

I have never been one for networking but this year I joined a networking community, @Collaberex.? And I love it! Collaberex is the best networking, relationship building group I have attended in all of my decades in business. ? Networking does not have to be salesy, pushy, transactional focused, impersonal or centred around elevator pitches. It can be supportive, empathetic, a group learning environment, relationship focused. It can provide a sense of belonging, a safe place to be authentic and a place where others are there to help you in whatever way you need help. In only 5 months I have learnt a lot, met some wonderful people, built some great relationships and the icing on the cake is that I have received over $10,000 of new revenue, with $20,000 more in the pipeline.?

Number seven.? Stay curious and challenge your thinking

Curiosity is often associated with an excessive trait in young children or simply being nosey - “Curiosity killed the cat”!

I have embraced being curious or nosey. It has pushed me to explore new ideas, concepts and perspectives. In a rapidly changing business landscape, adaptability is crucial, and a curious mindset helps us embrace change and identify emerging opportunities.

Constantly seeking new information and experiences, expands our understanding of the industry, market trends, client preferences, and technological advancements etc...?

I believe that curiosity helps me better understand my clients and their needs. By challenging assumptions and seeking diverse perspectives, I can gain deeper insights into client behaviour, preferences, and pain points. This knowledge enables me to tailor products, services, and marketing strategies to meet clients expectations effectively, hopefully enhancing their satisfaction and loyalty!

A great skill to develop is to be able to question your own biases.? We often believe that our way of viewing things is the right way, and oftentimes, even regardless of the outcomes and the results that we might see, we still believe that our way is the only way. And if we previously found success in doing things a certain way, we really get even more layers of belief psychologically that this is the way to do things.

We tend to latch on to the things that helped us to get to that place of comfort. And so, it's important for us to understand that over time, we need to keep finding a way to question our beliefs, question our biases, and be aware of our biases as well.?

Questioning our biases is not about abandoning our beliefs or letting people off the hook, it's about making sure that you don't become dogmatic and become the very zealot that you believe that you're standing up against.?

We must stay curious, we must continue to keep our mind open to new revelations and new discoveries, even if we don't agree with them, remain able to take things in and to process things. If we have a barrier put up, we're not even going to be able to allow in new insight to new ideas and to process and to really come to a holistic understanding of things.?

It's more important than ever to listen to and acknowledge multiple perspectives. That's what really lifts humanity up, that's what being human is really all about, it's working together. It's being able to share ideas, being able to have empowering positive conversations, and to be able to take on what works and to discard what is unnecessary or what doesn't work. But we cannot get there if we do not remain open.

Number eight.? Find a way to serve

Booker T. Washington said, "Those who are happiest are those who do the most for others."?

I promise you, success will feel empty if we're not in the mindset of service, and so finding a way to serve -? your family,? your partner, your employees, your clients, your community, your? industry - is always gratifying.?

Being of service helps to really catapult ourselves into a realm of growth and success that is truly fulfilling in the long-term.?

Although being of service is one thing I always love to do, in some ways it feels selfish because it feels so good.

A word of warning though…. Do not serve others to the point where it adversely affects you and your health? Which leads me onto my final point………

Number nine. health is the ultimate advantage

Some of the people around us who are the most passionate are often those who will sacrifice themselves. If this is you, over time, the people who are trusting in you and relying on you, lose you because you lose yourself.?

We could serve them at even a higher level if we are healthy.?

We could serve at a deeper level, if we are physically and mentally well.? We must take care of ourselves, we must take care of our mind and our body and prioritise ourselves.

This really hit home for me when I went through a period of adrenal fatigue for which there is no cure. I felt tired and worn out all the time.? My brain literally gave up working.? It was like trying to drive a car when the gears are in neutral.? As much as you try to put your foot on the accelerator, you go nowhere.? So frustrating. I couldn’t write, couldn't think anything through. Not something that I want to experience ever again.

As with most things, the theory of staging health sounds great, but the practice is very different. Find a way to pour into your own cup so that you have more to give every single day. Health is the ultimate advantage, especially today, when we are existing in a society that is largely unhealthy.?

The competitive advantage of you being healthy, is the ability to think more clearly, more rationally, to have more energy, to not be held up with sickness and preventing you from doing the things that you want.

A question for you....

What is the one tip, piece of advice or experience that you would like to share?

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