63% of the self-made millionaires in my Rich Habits study took risks in the pursuit of their dream, new business or investment opportunity. 27% of those same millionaires failed at least once in life. These millionaires figured out what to do and what not to do, after the fact.

Pursuing success requires taking risks and overcoming your fear of failure. It requires courage and a strong belief that you will ultimately succeed. Self-made millionaires do not dip their toes in the water. They dive into the water and then figure out how to swim later.

Waiting until the time is right in order to minimize your risk is what most people do. Most people are not self-made millionaires. If you wait until all of your ducks are lined up, you will never take the leap and pursue your dream, new business or investment opportunity. You have to leap first and worry about the parachute later.

Everyone experiences average. Average is that feeling you have when things are not going your way. Average makes you feel like you are stuck. When you’re stuck, you feel vulnerable. You have doubts. Your dreams feel like just that, dreams. But it’s part of the success process.

Pursuing success is mostly about overcoming average. Success requires doing certain little things every day that, in the long run, move you incrementally towards achieving the little goals that, in time, transform dreams into reality.

If you feel you are stuck in average, take heart; self-made millionaires live most of their lives feeling average. But, what separates the successful from everyone else is that those who succeed, keep trying. They plod along, day after day, feeling average. Then one day they hit a double, another day a triple. The home runs are always a surprise.

Life has a way of unexpectedly taking you from average to exceptional when you put in the effort every day. Dealing with adversity, overcoming obstacles, mistakes and failures makes you feel average, sometimes less than average. But it’s only temporary for those who do not give up on their dreams. You need to overcome average in order to achieve success. Overcoming average is what makes success so special because it makes those who persist realize, they’re anything but average.

Pursuing success is not for the timid. It requires an all out, single minded, laser-like focus that will take you many years. You will face overwhelming obstacles, make numerous mistakes and be forced to change course often in order to realize your dream. Most quit, run out of money or fail without getting back up. What separates the strong from the weak is passion. Passion makes persistence possible. Passion allows you to overcome obstacles, learn from your mistakes and zig zag until your dream is realized. You must be all in emotionally and financially. Success requires that you go big or go home. Most go home.

Almost all of the self-made millionaires in my Rich Habits study experienced some major breakthrough that took them to the next level. It might have been landing a big customer, a new or improved product that took off, a much needed working capital infusion to expand business, finding that apostle to their cause, an influencer opening up some doors etc.

28% of those self-made millionaires did not get their big break until age 51. 31% had to wait until age 56. Another 21% didn’t catch their break until age 60. The common denominator in each big break was persistence. Never quitting on their dream. Big breaks take time!

In my study, only 4% of the poor were able to break free of what had been to them, generation after generation of poverty. They grew up in homes where beliefs were strong: “Money is the root of all evil.” “The rich get richer and the poor get poorer.” “It’s easier for a camel to pass through and eye of a needle than for a rich person to go to heaven.”

When you grow up believing you will never become rich or, even worse, that rich people are bad people, your fate is pretty much sealed. But miraculously, 4% of the poor are somehow able to shed their childhood beliefs and go on to achieve incredible wealth and success. How? Mentors. Some person, some book, some experience entered their lives and changed their beliefs.

The chances of randomly finding a mentor in life are slim. You have to actively go out and find one if you want to become successful in life. The great news is that mentors are all around you. They are everywhere. Where? You can find them in non-profit groups, trade groups, business groups, civic organizations, in schools (teachers, fellow students, ROTC, clubs), in the library (books on self-made millionaires), in magazines (SUCCESS, Inc., Entrepreneur), in blogs (Addicted to Success, Rockstar Finance, Rich Habits) and the latest new source – podcasts (Entrepreneur on Fire, Join Up Dots, So Money).

If you really want to be one of those 4%, you’ve got to change your beliefs. You’ve got to find the sources that are all around you who can open your eyes.

Expectations can trigger happiness or depression. When you set unrealistic expectations you are setting yourself up for disappointment, sadness or depression. When you set realistic expectations you are setting yourself up for satisfaction or happiness.

Dopamine is the happiness neurotransmitter. When it rises above your normal, every day baseline, it creates happiness. Dopamine rises above your baseline when you are pursuing some goal or result and the realization of that goal or result, exceeds your expectations.

When it drops below your normal, every day baseline, it creates sadness. Dopamine drops below your baseline when you are pursuing some goal or result and the realization of that goal result, does not meet your expectations. If dopamine remains below your baseline for more than a few days, it can lead to depression.

The key to happiness, therefore, is to manage your expectations. You need to set lower, realistic expectations, while pursuing a goal or result. At worst, you will be satisfied with the results and your dopamine level will remain at your baseline. At best, the results will exceed your expectations, your dopamine level will rise above your baseline, and create the sensation of happiness.

Self-made millionaires understand this emotional tug of war that goes on during the pursuit of a dream and the corresponding pursuit of the underlying goals that turn dreams into reality. They make a habit of setting expectations that are low.

Pursuing a dream requires that you manage your expectations. If you do, you will persist in pursuing your dream. If you don’t, you will quit on your dream – the emotional tug of war will be too much for you to handle. Expectations management is at the heart of dream and goal pursuit. It keeps you in the game. It allows you to persist and persistence is the miracle worker behind goal and dream achievement.

“What time should I wake up tomorrow morning?” “What shoes should I wear today?” “What will I eat for breakfast?” “What music will I listen to on my iPod?”

Each of these requires a decision. When we ponder about unimportant every day things, we put our brain to work. Decision making taxes the brain, depleting it of brain fuel (glucose). The more decisions we make in a day, the less brain power we have available. This is why self-made millionaires are so habit and process-oriented. They create daily habits that allow them to limit the number of decisions they have to make during the day. This frees their brains up for creative pursuits, problem solving and pursuing their goals.  Don’t believe me?

• Billionaire Mark Zuckerberg wears the same type and color t-shirt every day.
• Multi-millionaire, bestselling author and famed leadership expert Robin Sharma wears the same black shirt at all of his speaking/training events.
• Joe Mansuedo (CEO Morningstar), Jeff Immelt (CEO GE), Tony Jeary (world famous leadership coach) and countless other multi-millionaires are members of the 5 am club, waking up every day at the same time – 5 am.
• America’s first millionaire, Benjamin Franklin, followed the same daily routine every day.

This is why creating good daily habits is so important. They process success, while at the same time, free our brains up to engage in other important daily activities. The more daily habits you create, the less decision making you need to do, and the more brain power you have available to pursue important goals, create and to think.

Problems are a good thing. They’re a necessary thing for those pursuing success. Without problems there would be no solutions, no innovation, no breakthroughs and no millionaires. Problems stimulate creative thought and action. Problems allow individuals and society to evolve.

Having said that, problems also create anxiety. They agitate and frustrate us. They hold us back from moving forward and realizing success in life.

The solution to seemingly intractable problems is persistence. Persistence, the habit of never giving up, can solve most of life’s intractable problems. Unfortunately, most give up. They lack persistence. Consequently, those who give up are never able to solve their problems and, as Henry David Thoreau so eloquently put it, they live lives of quiet desperation.

If you want to succeed, there is only one path – persistence. Never, ever give up on solving a problem. Solutions alter who you are. They enable you to grow and evolve.

Procrastination should be a four letter word. When you hear the word, most cringe. Everyone does it, all the time. Sure, there are strategies you can use to overcome procrastination and you can find them everywhere, including my blog. But despite the most effective strategies, you will procrastinate. Why?

It’s neurological, for the most part. Taking action on something you don’t want to do requires that you exert willpower. Willpower engages your pre-frontal cortex (conscious part of brain). This engagement requires that the brain marshal additional fuel (glucose) that powers your brain. The brain does not like to use glucose. That’s why it created habits. Habits limit the consumption of brain fuel. Your own brain is begging you not to engage in any and all activities that need willpower to get you started. So, don’t beat yourself up about procrastination. It’s hardwired in all of us.

The most effective strategy to overcome procrastination is to do the willpower-driven activity when you have the most energy. For most, that’s the first thing in the morning, right after waking up, or after breakfast. Post-lunch is the worst time to engage in any willpower-driven activity (unless you follow lunch with a short nap, which restores energy) because that is when your energy resources are at their lowest.

There are many shades to habits. Habits affect numerous parts of the body and mind, help you strengthen your relationships and can change your life for the better. Here are a few examples:

• Healthy Habits (Daily Exercise Habit and Daily Meditation Habit) – Reduces stress and disease by turning off cortisol production (stress hormone).
• Self Improvement Habits (Daily Reading Habit and New Activity Habits) – Grow your brain and IQ.
• Rich Thinking Habits (Practiced Optimism and Practiced Gratitude) – Increase happiness by adjusting dopamine levels.
• Relationship Building Habits (Hello Call, Life Event Call, Happy Birthday Call, Networking, Volunteering and the Power Help Habit) – These habits help forge stronger relationships. Relationships are the currency of the wealthy.