I was walking out of the gym early one morning and passed another early morning gym rat in the parking lot. He looked at me and said “gettin’ it done early – good job”. I immediately felt good about myself. My gym friend had reminded me that I was “gettin’ it done early.”

Over the past 7 years I’ve been “gettin’ it done early”, ever since I learned from my Rich Habits research that that’s what self-made millionaires do. They wake up 3 hours or more before they actually began their work day. I now look forward to “gettin’ it done early.” Robin Sharma, famous author, leadership expert and a mentor to Fortune 500 CEOs, likes to call it the “5am Club”.

It only took me 3 weeks to develop this daily habit and it’s changed my life. I’ve written 5 books, become a bestselling author and increased my income by 75% since I adopted this “gettin’ it done early” Rich Habit. If you want to succeed in life, you have to do what successful people do. “Gettin’ it done early” is what they do.

Dreams = The Starting Point For Creating the Blueprint For Your Life.

Goals = The Construction Workers That Build Your Ideal Life According to Your Dreams.

Habits = The Tools the Construction Workers Use. Good Construction Requires Good Tools.

I think it’s clear – Habits are the foundation for constructing the life of your dreams.

While it’s true that 86% of the self-made millionaires in my study either liked or loved what they did for a living, the more interesting statistic is how much of their work they were passionate about. It caught me by surprise, so I thought I’d share that stat with you. This 86% indicated that they were only passionate about 25% of their job. The other 75% of their job, was a grind. But the 25% of the job that they were passionate about, that they loved, enabled them to tolerate that 75% of the job they did not like. This is an important statistic because it shines a light on just how powerful passion can be. Having passion for what you do allows you to persist through other aspects of your job that are not that exciting and interesting. That 25% of passion makes it all worth while.

There is only one entitlement we are given in life – time. We are all entitled to the same amount of time every day – 24 hours. What separates those who achieve and succeed from those who struggle in life is how each group uses those 24 hours. Which group do you fall into? “Yes” to the following questions means you’re on the path to success in life:

• Are you reading to learn every day, 30 minutes or more?
• Are you exercising 30 minutes or more every day?
• Are you pursuing at least one big dream every day?
• Are you pursuing goals every day?
• Are you watching less than 1 hour of T.V. every day?
• Are you spending less than 1 hour a day recreationally on Facebook, Twitter etc?
• Are you getting at least 7 hours of sleep each day?
• Do you get up early every day to pursue your dreams and goals?
• Are you building strong relationships with other success-minded people every day?
• Do you accomplish 70% or more of your to-dos every day?
• Do you express gratitude every day?
• Do you practice good etiquette every day?
• Do you seek feedback every day?

You’ve got 24 hours. How will you invest the next 24 hours? Are you processing success or failure into your life on a daily basis through your habits?The greatest risk we all take is not how we invest our money. It’s how we invest our time. Make a habit of investing your time wisely.

One of the common threads amongst all of the self-made millionaires in my study is that they took action. They made a decision to pursue their dreams and wishes and then built goals around those dreams and wishes. Goals are action steps that you have the capability of performing. By capability, I mean you have the skills and knowledge necessary to accomplish those goals.

Each day you hold back from pursuing some dream means another day is lost. We are all given the same amount of time – 24 hours in a day. If you have a dream pursue it today. Begin with baby steps. Something small that does not consume much time. Commit to pursuing your dream with just fifteen minutes a day for the next two weeks. Fifteen minutes is all it takes to get the momentum started. If you don’t start today, that someday could become never.

The path to success is not made by sprinting. It is the little steps you take, day in and day out, that take you to the promised land. Taking massive action on any dream or goal depletes your energy and willpower quickly, leaving you exhausted and frustrated when that action does not produce the results you desire. There are times during your success journey that require bursts of massive action, but they are the exception, not the rule. To succeed, you must show up every day and do the little things that move you forward and allow you to grow into the person you need to be in order to realize success. You must define your dreams and wishes, build goals around those dreams and wishes and then develop daily habits around those goals. Your daily habits are the means to success. Habits are the small steps that you must take each day which ultimately leads to big outcomes.

When you think of self-made millionaires, what images immediately pop up in your mind? Do you see a well-dressed individual surrounded by a posse, jet-setting from one exciting place to the next in private planes, exotic cars and yachts? Or do you see someone sitting all alone in boxer shorts and a tee shirt behind a desk, computer or stack of books at 5 am in the morning?

The fact is, most of that journey towards success is, at best, insanely boring where nothing happens day after day, despite your superhuman efforts. Or, at worst, it’s a walk through hell in which you must overcome one hurdle after another, one let down after another, one disappointment after another, one rejection after another or just simply being ignored by those who, with a snap of their fingers, could alter your life forever. In other words, it’s not a life you would wish on your worst enemy.

What keeps you in the game is your belief that what you’re doing will pay off down the road. It’s knowing, with unfailing faith, that there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Passion and a love for your work is the source of your energy, motivation and enthusiasm, despite the stifling nothingness or painful hardship you must endure. You simply must love what you are doing and believe in yourself and your cause. That belief and passion is what enables you survive the journey of nothingness and hardship.

The next time you see a self-made millionaire, pause and consider that that individual very likely spent much of their life walking through hell, so that one day they could be living the life of their dreams. Don’t envy their exciting, new life. Instead envy their persistence in getting there.

Everything that happens in life is a lesson. The biggest regrets you have about your life are learning experiences that help you grow as an individual. Never regret the path you’ve taken in life. Ultimately, every path leads you to a new path. This is why there are no should’s in life.

The #1 common characteristic of all self-made millionaires is persistence. Becoming persistent, therefore, is critical to success. So, how do you become persistent?

Habits, by their very definition, are persistent routines. When you adopt a success habit, you’ve effectively automated persistence into your life. This is why habits are so important. They put you on auto pilot for success (good habits) or failure (bad habits).