Daily Success Formula

There are many formulas for success. This one is sent by Sandra Bandler (sbandler@ix.netcom.com), and authored by Philip Humbert. It is sophisticated in its simplicity, and probably the one worth remembering. Successful business owners do this naturally, and it’s a good reminder for the rest of us, myself included.

Your Daily Success Formula

The longer I work with successful high-achievers and
frustrated under-achievers, the more convinced I am that
the differences are very, very small.

Yes, peak performers occasionally have unique skills or
talents, and sometimes they get lucky breaks, but mostly I
see that the differences between creating the life your
truly want and living a life of “quiet desperation” is
incredibly SIMPLE!

The problem is that the great majority of people who work
hard every day have never learned to combine the power of
CHOICE with strong BOUNDARIES.

You cannot do it all! You have only so much time and only
so much energy, and when they are gone, your life, and the
opportunities that come with it, are over.

High achievers learn to focus their time and energy on a
few specific items, and they protect those few choices with
clear, tightly-defended boundaries.

Here are three absolute essentials for peak performance.
These three “little” things make a HUGE difference and can
help you create the life you truly want!

#1  Decide What You WANT

This is critical. You must choose! We live in a wonderful
time when we can do and have almost anything we want. Every
day we have more choices than our grandparents faced in a
lifetime! If you do not learn to say a clear “YES!” to what
you want, and “NO!” to everything else, you are doomed to a
life of mediocrity. You are doomed to stress, over-whelm,
and frustration.

Decide what you want and say YES to it! Then, get very
clear about all the tempting things you will say NO to, and
stick to your guns. That ability to choose is what makes us
human, and it is the price of success.

#2  Set Rigorous BOUNDARIES

If you are available “24-7,” you are doomed! If you allow
television and the telephone, email and the doorbell to
interrupt you, your life is out of control! That may sound
harsh, but it’s true. Turn off your cell phone! Refuse to
answer email except during specific times. Close your
office door, build a hide-away office in the garage. Find
ways to do the things that are important to you without
interruption!

If you cannot focus and stay productive for long periods of
time, your odds of success are greatly diminished.

#3  Create and Use a DAILY SUCCESS SYSTEM

Every day, plan your schedule and stick to it. Develop a
short list of “daily essentials” and follow them without
exception. Make those sales calls, or work on your novel,
EVERY DAY. No exceptions!

In his memoir, “On Writing,” Stephen King says he used to
tell interviewers that he wrote every day except his
birthday and the 4th of July, but that was a lie. In truth,
he writes EVERY DAY!  He says they wanted a more interesting
story, so he told them he skipped two days a year, but he
never does!

If you want to achieve the kind of success that brings the
world to your door, do your work every day. Make a list of
a few things that support you, that move your forward and
do them as a religious practice, EVERY DAY!

Everyone knows the saying that “a journey of a thousand
miles begins with a single step.” It’s true and has helped
millions of people get started. But the rest of the story
is that a journey of a thousand miles only requires that
you KEEP WALKING! It is not difficult or mysterious.
Success rarely requires unusual skill or special talent. It
only requires that, EVERY DAY, you keep walking!

Copyright by Philip Humbert