Archives For Leadership

You may have heard the phrase that success leaves clues. These clues can serve as a roadmap for us to follow. Those of us who are actively trying to improve like to pick out role models or people who are where we want to be and follow their path.

During the workweek, it is often obvious the steps that we should take to get ahead. The Life You Can Afford to Live and Drive Planning spends a copious amount of time on winning at the workplace and in life. I have noticed that truly successful people create an intentional approach to their life all week long. Even throughout the weekends they are creating relationships and participating in activities which enhance their personal growth and development.

Time with Family and Friends

Surrounding yourself with those closest to you reminds you of your purpose and grounds you. This time serves as a reminder for why you work so hard and what is truly important.

Vacation

Getting away from the same scenery and town is educational and energizing. Traveling always reminds me of the diverse world that we live in thus making me more appreciative and thankful for all of the different cultures. This time away almost always proves to be the times when Jackie and I meet the most interesting people.

Worship

As a Christian I respect Sundays. Therefore, I will most often be in my home church giving praise. Regardless of your style of worship it is healthy to recognize and serve something bigger than yourself. Successful people most often recognize their place in the world and universe.

Avoid Work

As I just mentioned above I certainly do not want to work on a Sunday but that goes for any portion weekend. It is a misconception that successful people work 7 days per week. Truly successful people lead rich lives outside of the workplace. There has become an American trend to tout your lengthy work hours as a badge of honor, no thanks. If you work effectively and smart; you can enjoy your weekends outside of the office. Lastly, I certainly want to avoid mundane chores. Most tasks that are in this category should be outsourced to someone who is better suited for the task than yourself. Use your time more wisely.

Exercise

The extra hours which are available on a Saturday and Sunday are perfect for exercise. There are numerous studies that prove healthy, active people do better financially and relationally. Working your body releases stress and helps you to stay mentally sharp throughout the week. As a side note, as a rule successful people workout throughout the week as well.

Read

Leaders are readers. Every successful person that I know reads books. However, every reader that I isn’t successful. So, you figure that one out:) For me there is no better time of the week than a Sunday afternoon to spend with a book. As I have mentioned on The Life You Can Afford to Live blog, my reading habit is to focus on three books at a time; Business, Faith and a Suspense Novel.

Network

Making connections with others throughout the week can be difficult for someone who leads a busy life. Successful people recognize the importance of maintaining a successful network. At Drive Planning we teach our Members that “Your Network is Your Net Worth”. There is certainly a correlation between the friends you keep and your income. Many believe that your income will gravitate to your five closest friends income. Think about your relationships and see if that holds true for you.

Plan for Next Week and Long Term

My wife is great at this! She will plan her meals and wardrobe out for the week. Even going as far as prepping the meals ahead of time. This allows her to avoid bad eating decisions simply because she may be in a hurry. As for the clothes, there are numerous accounts of Presidents and other high achievers who either practice this planning method or plan to wear the same suit or clothes day in day out. This is one less decision that frees their mind for more important matters.

Long Term Planning during the weekends is perfect due to weekends general slower pace. The slower pace allows you to take a big picture approach and evaluate if you are on course. Trust me on this one, successful people plan everything.

Get Creative

Weekends are perfect times to allow your creativity to flow. Taking up a hobby or pursuing a passion is a frequent weekend activity for successful people. This creativity even helps to be a more creative problem solver in the workplace and a more well rounded person. So, while it may not look like you are working this time spent on a hobby or creative endeavor affords value all week long!

Sleep

You may be thinking how could you fit in sleep with all of the other activities we just mentioned? Pace yourself on all of these but do not avoid catching up on rest throughout the weekends. Allowing your body to recharge is one of the healthiest moves you can choose. Sleep is so good for both your mental and heart health that it can’t be overlooked. In order to be successful you must be around to experience it, so please take care of yourself!

Hopefully, these simple items will serve as reminders for you to take an intentional approach to your success even throughout the weekend. The successful people that I study model the habits that I have listed above with a life that is lived on purpose. For me, I do not feel that I work since I love my work so much. I am fortunate to have never been one of those people who was dying to get to Friday. I’d urge you to create a career and a life which provided you money freedom and time freedom. This unique combination affords you flexibility to include some of the items listed above all week long.

In the meantime, when you get to Friday afternoon; make an intentional decision to include items from the list above. That is a step towards your success!

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If you’ve ever known anyone ultra-successful, you know that they can appear to be a different breed. We’re not talking about someone that’s a straight-A student and goes on to make $250,000 per year. We’re talking about people that win gold medals, become billionaires, or impact the entire world in some way.

These ultra-successful people are all unique, but they share many of the same habits.

Mimic these habits of successful people and become more successful yourself

7 Habits of the ultra successful blog

Get up early

The vast majority of the most successful people in the world get up very early. They make great use of this time, too. They have a morning routine that often includes exercise and meditation or prayer.

  • Try getting up an hour earlier and have a plan for using this time effectively. Do this for 30 days and evaluate the results.

Practice self-discipline

Success requires work. High levels of success require doing work that most people aren’t willing to do. It takes self-discipline to do difficult things day after day.

  • Work on your self-discipline each day. You have countless opportunities to do this. If you need to lose weight, throw out 25% of your lunch each day. When you feel like taking a break, force yourself to work for another 15 minutes.

Become action oriented

People with mediocre levels of success often like to plan, but they struggle to actually take any sort of action. Successful people take intelligent action. They are the masters of getting things done. They’re also great at getting started on new projects.

Read daily

Reading saves years. Without reading, you’re forced to figure out a lot by yourself. A book written by a competent author is like a mentor. The world is full of experts. Why try to do it all yourself? Stand on the shoulders of the world’s all-time greats.

  • Buy a good book and use the information in it. Life is too short not to take advantage of the expertise of others. Remember that it’s not enough to read and understand the information. You must apply it.

Get clear on your goals

Ultra-successful people know exactly what they want. The average person does not. You can’t make progress toward a goal if you’re not aware of your goal.

  • Decide what you want. Make a list and be precise.

Say, “No” to practically everything

Highly successful people avoid distractions much better than the average person. Many of us say “Yes” to almost every opportunity. Successful people say “No” almost all the time.

  • Decline offers that don’t assist you in the pursuit of your goals. Everything you do either brings you closer to, or takes you further from, your goals. Before agreeing to something, ask yourself, “How does this impact the pursuit of my goals?”.

Persevere

The most successful people have a tenacity that most of us fail to demonstrate. We give up far too easily.

  • Set goals that truly excite you. That will encourage you to continue when the going gets tough. Practice persevering when you want to quit. Learn how to grind and get things done. Perseverance is a combination of faith and pushing through discomfort.

Your habits largely influence how successful you’ll become. Effective habits result in great results. Poor habits lead to undesirable results. One of the most effective ways to take your life to the next level is to create habits that support your goals.

The most successful people in the world have the best habits for success. Pick up a couple of these habits and integrate them into your life. You’ll be glad you did!

Own The Day

July 3, 2020

Each passing day can seem inconsequential, but the totality of your days is your life. So, each day matters a lot. If you can get the most out of each day, you’re going to have an amazing life!

However, conquering the day doesn’t happen by accident. It requires focus and intention.

 

Own The Day & Own Your Life (1)

 

Learn how to master the day and in turn, your life:

 

Realize the power of each day. A day doesn’t seem like much. You’ve experienced plenty of long days where it seemed you accomplished nothing. It’s true that a single day might mean a lot, but a small amount of progress each day can result in a dramatically different future.

Realize the power and potential of each day and be determined to make the most of it.

Have a plan for the day. Have a detailed plan for the day and for the week before you even think about going to bed at night. When you wake up, grab your list of to-do items and get busy as soon as possible.

There’s an added bonus to planning out your day the night before. Your brain has a chance to think about your list of items as you sleep. Your brain will predict the challenges you’re likely to face and have a few solutions in mind.

Try it and you’ll find that your day goes much more smoothly.

 

Wake up earlier. If you want to own the day, get started early. Successful people tend to get up pretty early. How successful do you want to be? A successful person doesn’t scramble around in the morning trying to find a pair of clean socks. Start your day as early as possible and grab it by the throat.

 

Focus. What are you going to do for the next hour? Ask yourself this important question each hour. Whether your objective is to write a report, return phone calls, or enjoy your favorite movie as much as possible, identify what you’re trying to accomplish and focus on doing it. Keep your mind on the identified task.

 

Take breaks. You can get more accomplished each day if you take planned breaks. Working nonstop leads to slowing down later in the day. You’ll ultimately accomplish more if you take a break every couple of hours.

 

Remove distractions. Distractions will prevent you from owning the day and from owning your life. There’s no reason to rely on your will power to avoid the distractions in your environment if you have the ability to remove them instead.

      Avoid trying to be tough and stoic. Just remove the distractions to the best of your ability.

Review. You had a good day, but it could have been even better. Figure out what you could have done differently. Make a new plan for tomorrow and include this knowledge.

Reviewing your day is a pivotal part of developing your approach to life. So many people simply repeat the same mediocre days over and over. Mediocre days lead to a mediocre life.
Are you getting the most from each day of your life? Do you have a plan for the day? For the week? What are you committed to accomplishing today? What time did you get up today?

 

An amazing life is the result of amazing days. Spending your day focused on activities that lead to accomplishing your goals qualifies as an amazing day. An amazing life can be yours, but you have to create it one day at a time.

 

Like I mention in my latest book, Bullet Proof Your Finances; If you don’t design your life, someone else will!