Golden Nuggets – ten steps to effective living, shared by a wise friend:
STEP 1: Have clearly defined, written goals with clearly defined action steps and deadlines to achieve each and every one of them. Know and write down exactly what you want in business and in life.
STEP 2: Do what most people aren’t willing to do. Most people aren’t willing to get up one hour earlier and go to bed one hour later for those two extra, undisturbed hours each day. Do this and you will accomplish more in those two hours than you will the rest of the day.
STEP 3: Choose what you spend your time on. What you spend your time on is more important than how much work you actually do. Time is the most valuable commodity you have; yet, it takes little observation to see most people spend most of their time doing the most unproductive things – personally and professionally.
STEP 4: Don’t confuse activity with achievement. Don’t measure the value of what you do by how much time it took to do it. Spend the majority of your time doing the things that are going to yield the maximum results.
STEP 5: Help others grow. Your job is to create work for others, not yourself. Leverage is how you build wealth. Delegate wherever possible. If you do anything that can be done for less by someone else, then you will never get rich.
STEP 6: Don’t complain. No whining. Nobody really cares and it creates more problems than it solves. People are attracted to winners. Winners don’t complain. When things don’t go your way, suck it up and immediately get into the “Here’s what I’m going to do about it” mode. Don’t let anyone see you sweat!
STEP 7: Surround yourself with successful people. Gladly pay for access. If there is someone you want to know; someone who knows something that is of value to you or someone you want to build a relationship with, pay for their time, buy them dinner, and don’t ask for favours. Be humble but confident. Thank them for their time then follow up with letter and a gift.
STEP 8: Don’t quit right at the goal line. Don’t march eighty yards down the field and fumble at the moment of truth. Do the little extra it takes to get the touchdown and all the glory – that last and most important five percent.
STEP 9: Always be clear about why you do what you do: It’s not a question of if things are going to get hard and ugly, it’s a question of when. And when times get hard and ugly you need to have an awfully good reason to keep moving forward. Know why you do what you do.
STEP 10: Don’t ignore your health. If you aren’t disciplined to eat right and exercise seven days a week, then you might be rich someday but you won’t be healthy and isn’t that what it’s all about?
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