7 Habits that make a successful career
You can’t build a reputation on what you are going to do. ~ Henry Ford
What makes a successful career?
The core philosophy that underpins a successful career, which dates back to Aristotle, is causality or the relationship between a set of factors (causes) and a phenomenon (effect).
By modelling the causes and effects of what successful people do, you can get similar results.
The key is to learn what they do, and then develop the habits and practice them in your life.
You become what you do.
So you need to think and act your way into feeling like a successful person and shape your own character by your thinking and behaviour.
You control your mind, your mind controls your brain, and your brain controls your actions.
7 Key Habits
Here are seven key habits you need to develop to ensure a successful career:
1. Optimism. Have a positive attitude. Look for the positive side in everything you experience, make sure you talk to yourself in positive terms all the time and resolve to respond positively to every challenge.
2. Grit. Decide exactly what you want and then resolve to persist until you succeed or complete the task. Self-discipline means having the ability to make yourself do what you should do, when you should do it, whether you feel like it or not. Having grit means having to do something when you really don’t feel like doing it.
3. Focus. Having an outcome focus requires you to decide specifically what you want, by when, and write them down. Physically writing down your goals and desired outcomes activates your brain to seek out what is required to complete the task.
4. Plan. Make a detailed list of everything you need to do to achieve each outcome or goal – an action plan. Identify obstacles you may encounter (and how to overcome them), determine the knowledge and skills you need, set priorities and organise your task list by sequence and priority.
5. Results. In addition to grit and persistence you need to practice a results-focus – keep the end in mind, to ensure you realise the desired outcome. Focus single-mindedly on the highest priority task that will deliver the results, until it is complete, before moving to the next task.
6. Flexibility. Be open, flexible and responsive to new ideas and information using your imagination and creativity to look for new, better and faster ways to get things done. Continually ask yourself the following questions: What am I trying to do? How am I trying to do it? Is there be a better way?
7. Learning. Continue to develop your knowledge, skills and understanding. Read, listen to audio programs, watch instructive videos and attend seminars and courses. Regularly review completed tasks and ask: What was successful? What could be done better?
There are no limits on what you can accomplish, except the limits you set on yourself.
A goal is a dream with a deadline. ~ Napoleon Hill
Now Take Action. Prepare a plan outlining actions you will take over the next few