“I’m convinced that about half of what separates the successful entrepreneurs from the non-successful ones is perseverance.” Steve Jobs
You hear a lot about perseverance when the topic of success pops up. Steve Jobs, Thomas Edison, Elon Musk, Richard Branson, Oprah Winfrey, Henry Ford, Arnold Schwarzenegger and many other rich, successful people seem to possess this supernatural ability to persevere. When you read their stories you can’t help but shake your head in admiration for their unwavering ability to persevere.
If you spent as much time as I have in studying self-made millionaires, I’m pretty certain you’d see things a little differently. What I see is not some supernatural ability to persevere. What I see are routines. Every successful person I studied built their success and wealth on the back of some very basic daily routines.
Routines are nothing more than certain daily habits that automate success:
- Waking up at 5am every day.
- Reading to learn every day.
- Achieving at least one meaningful goal every day.
- Building relationships, every day, with the right people (family and other success-minded people).
- Exercising aerobically every day.
- Avoiding time wasters every day (TV, Internet, bars, and other non-productive activities).
- Eating healthy every day.
- Practicing some valuable skill every day.
- Working hard every day to make more money.
- Every day devoted to solving some problem or obstacle that is standing between you and success.
- Living a frugal life every day.
Finding a routine that leads to success is how you will succeed. You need to emulate the success routines of other successful people.
Success is not about reinventing the wheel. The path to success is not glamorous. Habits are not glamorous. But having the right habits puts success on autopilot. Good habits give the untrained, outside observer the perception that you are persistent. Habits automate persistence. And persistence is the #1 trait of all successful people.
About Thomas C. Corley
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