7 Principles that will make you a more successful person

Advice from successful people, regardless of the period in history they worked in or what they did for a job, has often been repeated. Just knowing these seven principles is not enough, of course. If you want to lose weight, no one will do the push-ups for you. These rules will function only if you really carry them through.

But if you make the following 7 rules your own, success and a forward momentum in your life will be your reward.

Blame game, excuses and complaining about lack of time

People who have achieved a lot have one thing in common: they did not waste time trying to look for reasons why something couldn’t be done, but rather took it upon themselves to make their current situation work in their favor.

Follow in the footsteps of the Dalai Lama who said:

If a problem has a solution, there is no point worrying about it.

If there is no solution available, worries will not help.

Decide on what you want

When we were kids we knew exactly what we wanted.

We had no problem saying our wishes and needs out loud.

But as time went by, we learned how to behave correctly in order to fulfill the expectations of others. Many young people today find themselves studying subjects they don’t enjoy only to find a job they will not enjoy later on. We have gotten used to answering questions with “I don’t know” or “I don’t care”, instead of trying to search for what will really make us happy.

Try to write down what would your ideal life look like on a piece of paper. Now that you have it written in front of you, try to think why you’ve veered away from your dreams.

Try to find opportunities in situations

Successful people are neverending optimists. Even if something bad happens to them, they try to find a smidgen of something good in there. They focus on positives rather than negatives.

If you set yourself up for positive thinking and a positive outlook on life, it will help you broaden your horizons. You will start seeing opportunities where obstacles used to be before.

Set clear and defined goals

Unclear goals lead to unclear results. Find a goal that will be large enough to excite and motivate you, but also has a certain level of discomfort.  Such goals hide an opportunity towards personal growth and will provide a chance for a higher quality of life. When you have chosen your breakthrough goal, write it down on a piece of paper and set clear steps, a timeline and quantities (kilograms, centimeters, points, dollars) of what you need, want, and must do to in order to make this goal measurable.

Connect with someone who has already achieved what you want to achieve

Everything you see today has already been done and almost everything you decide to do has already done or achieved by someone else before you. Knowing this, don’t be scared to ask a professional for advice, as most successful people like to talk about themselves and about their achievements. Or you could make an agreement that you will help the other person with something in exchange for free.

Wealthy people are constantly learning from the best.

Don’t be afraid to share your wealth

Give more and you will receive more. Wealthy people are very generous in reality. Bill Gates has donated 7 billion USD to charity, and Mark Zuckerberg has recently announced that he is planning to give away 99% of his fortune.

If you share your wealth (it does not have to be money, but it can be your time, experiences, knowledge, services, information) with the reality you live in, everyone will gain more and it will mean you yourself will gain from this as well. Even if it is just a good feeling.

The best time to start is NOW. Simply just start.

The biggest mistake is to wait for that perfect opportunity to come around. Many people keep putting things off, and keep saying that the time is not right, they are not sufficiently prepared, they don’t know the rules and regulations, they don’t have the experience and so on. Simply start and  learn everything else as you go.

“First jump off a cliff and on you way down check your wings”

(Ray Bradbury, sci-fi and fantasy literature author)