Words: Gentleman's Journal
The world’s most successful people didn’t get there because they were picked out from the crowd. They got there through hard work, diligence and the forming of the most effective habits they could. Look to further for the habits that are guaranteed to bring you success.
Set your alarm and keep it set. Don’t snooze, don’t change it because you’ve had a late night. Successful people are often so because they are diligent with their routines – and the way they start their morning is of the utmost importance. Starting the day rushed, without even a moment to yourself is going to be reflective of your workday and not beneficial in any way.
As one of the most successful actors of our time, it’s safe to say that Clint Eastwood might occasionally go through stressful times. As a result, he’s used meditation for over 40 years to help handle his stress – and he does so twice a day – citing it as a religion for him, particularly when he’s working.
It’s safe to say that intelligence often comes from filling every single moment with learning something new, and in order to help him do so, Bill Gates reads 50 books a year. Warren Buffett, who sees reading as equally as important, aims to read 500 pages a day.
Pete Souza
Getting an early morning workout in every single morning is a great way to set yourself up for the day ahead and to ensure that you’re in the best mood possible to tackle whatever the day throws at you. It also gives you valuable alone time before you’re thrusted into a room of people demanding answers.
It’s been said many times that getting up at 5am is the key to success because of the precious hours that you’re getting some peace and quiet before the madness of the day begins. Branson has said that “getting up and at it early gives me time to get on top of things, and chart my day effectively.” Tim Cook gets up at 4:30am everyday to get emails out and exercise before his underlings begin to cloud his mind and time with a plethora of tasks.
Mark Zuckerberg recently donated 99% of his Facebook fortune to a charity with the cause of human advancement, and Bill Gates has given away $28 billion to the Melissa and Bill Gates Foundation, $8 billion of which has gone to improving global health. No matter where you’ve come from or what you believe in, donating regularly to a charity of you choice is a great way to ground you.
Being able to prioritise when it come to business is one of the best habits you can form. Having a to-do list with the most important – and worthy – tasks at the top is essential when it comes to being able to make quick (and smart) decisions. Weirdly, Steve Jobs learnt the art of prioritisation by thinking about death: “If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?” If, after a certain amount of days, the answer was still “no”, he knew that something had to change.
It’s been said that having a creative hobby is a sure fire way to become a harder worker, that it will result in you being more satisfied, productive, have a better attitude and increase creativity. but also can make you more productive, have a better attitude, and can even increase creativity on the job. Warren Buffett, one of the world’s most successful men, plays the ukulele in his downtime and has cited it as a great way to continue expanding his intelligence.
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