My 10 Daily Success Habits

I have been tagged by Wendy at Creation Thoughts to participate in a survey that is going around the blogosphere. It was originally started by Aaron Potts and named Simply Successful Secrets. We are basically asked to list the top 5-10 things that we do on a daily basis to become or remain successful at what we do - or our personal "success habits".

At the end I will tag other bloggers that I know, as this is an ongoing survey. The results are to be published on Aaron's blog when he feels the survey has run its course.

I'm flattered to be invited to participate. Thank you, Wendy! 😉 Here is my contribution to the survey of personal success habits, in no particular order:

My 10 Daily Success Habits

• 1. Brain Dump
  If you’re not familiar with the term, its simply the process of taking everything that is in your head and on your mind, and putting it on the paper in front of you. I have been doing this for over 10 years now, and find that it helps to 'get a handle' on random thoughts and turn them into actionable tasks. This is also recommended by John Reese, though he has a bit of a different format. See page 6 of this document. While I do 'major' Brain Dumps on a weekly and monthly basis, I always start my day with a Mini Brain Dump to get a good lead on the days work.

• 2. Journaling
  Similar to the Brain Dump, I use journaling to clear my mind and organize my thoughts. Instead of listing out thoughts and tasks though, I simply write freely and use this time to do creative thinking and personal brainstorming. This can be especially helpful when I find it hard to do a 'formal brain dump'. I keep both personal and business journals, and find that it keeps my mind clear and my priorities in place.

• 3. Early Start
  I wake early, usually before sunrise - even on weekends. There is just something about those peaceful morning hours, and catching the sunrise over coffee, that starts my day off very nicely. It gives me an opportunity to do some uninterrupted thinking, enjoy "quality me time", and be at my best by the time I have to face the world...

• 4. Small Celebrations
  I'm one to celebrate the small things throughout the day, every day. Great weather (which might even be a much-needed rainshower), a pleasant conversation, a new bloom on a plant, even completing individual tasks. And it doesnt take much for me to up and take the family out to dinner over something cool that happened. Living for these positive moments in every day was deliberate and learned, and is a habit that keeps me appreciative - and focused on creating more to appreciate.

• 5. Reading & Learning
  I like to stay in the loop with industry-related news and views, and will usually read something either online or printed on a daily basis. There are go-to blogs that I check out, I generally scan article headlines at Yahoo, and my 3 favorite mags: Business 2.0, Revenue & Entrepreneur. I also have a growing collection of books on a variety of topics, from business and how-to to self-help and motivational. I will often use books or magazines to jumpstart brainstorming or creative thinking. In fact, I can rarely read without a note pad and pen in hand because it always sparks great ideas!

• 6. Positive Thinking
  I dont sweat the small stuff - Period. I tend to believe that everything will work out just fine in the end. I also dont generally use phrases like "I hope" or "I doubt it" or any other negative insinuations towards a situation. I trust to a fault. I believe wholeheartedly. I intend to make it work out, regardless of the circumstances. I have bad days and hard times like anyone else, but I'm more likely to laugh in the face of adversity than to take it personally. I've learned over the years that the most terrible events you can imagine... are usually the most positive turnings points in your life in the end.

• 7. Sense of Accomplishment
  This is a big one for me personally. I recognized an obvious pattern in my moods, realizing I felt my best after accomplishing (what seemed like) a daunting task. I call this my "sense of accomplishment fix" and will use it to cure a bad day, the 'blahs' or any rut I feel like I'm in. All I have to do is pick something, dig in, finish it... and I'm back on a roll! I have gotten in the habit of starting my day off with a sense of accomplishment by tackling my core tasks early on - before distraction takes over. This puts me at my personal best and carries over into a very full and productive day.

• 8. Check Stats
  Knowing where you stand gives you a good perspective when figuring out what needs to be done next. Not to mention... there's nothing more motivating than seeing how much money you made while you were sleeping 😉 . I find that its a good starting point for the day - checking stats such as commission earned, new orders & subscribers, traffic levels, search engine rankings, etc. A dip motivates me to push even harder. An increase gets me analyzing/thinking ways to keep it on an upswing!

• 9. Conversations
  Isolation is unhealthy, but its not uncommon in the "work at home" environment. Some of us are natural born networkers and socialites. Some of us are not. I make it a point to have at least one Conversation each and every day. It may be a business peer, close friend or potential client. This may seem like a strange "success habit" to you, but I could literally go weeks without leaving the house or seeing and talking to another adult. I enjoy my quiet time and can easily get lost in great reading or an intense project that I am working on. I make it a point, though, to take at least one phonecall on weekdays (at my convenience) and schedule coffees and lunches with friends on a regular basis. Conversations can be fun, and I find that they always re-fuel me 🙂 .

• 10. Organization
  I begin my day by organizing my personal space. Now my idea of "organized" may not be the same as yours... but its important to me to scan over my desk to see what's in front of me, and line it up in a way that makes sense to me. This will match my tasks and priorities for the day, of course. I am an "out of sight, out of mind" type of person, so deskspace is ultra important as what I leave out for myself is what needs to be tended to first.

Yes I'm quirky, I admit 😛 . But these are the habits that I have formed over the last 10+ years in business, and the things that have allowed me to get the most out of my life along the way.

In closing, I'd like to 'tag' the following bloggers to participate in this survey by posting 5-10 of your daily success habits:

-> Paul Short
Because you're just as quirky as I am! And because I admire you...
-> Chrissie Cole
Because I know 'memes' annoy you, and I love you that much!
-> Jason Cain
Because I wonder if you are still alive and blogging...
-> Bonnie Lowe
Because you can post some knock-your-socks-off entries over there!
-> Teli Adlam
Because you impress me, and I find that I am constantly learning from you
-> Rob Sellen
Because your personal story truly inspires me...
-> Rae Hoffman
Because 'conversations' with you are among those that I treasure... and because you are one bad-a$$ no-holds-barred successful woman!

Best,

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