7 Habits That Will Skyrocket Your Success in 2017!

“We are what we repeatedly do.  Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit.” ~ Aristotle

I love the New Year.  Fresh start.  New ideas.  New visions.  New resolutions.  

But what’s missing from the onslaught of resolutions that are created right now is the REAL STUFF…the glue…the daily habits that easily give us access to the things we want!

Here are 7 simple habits that will completely skyrocket your success this year!

1. Get Up Early

If you would have told me last year that I would be waking up at 5am every morning, I would have thought you were nuts.  But here I am…an early riser.  There is a reason that most of the world’s most successful people get their day started before the sun rises.  The mornings are a great time to get the necessary alone time you need to set your intentions for the day, to get your head clear about where you want to put your energy and to take the time to care for yourself.  Once the world starts moving around you, these things become significantly harder to do.  Is it possible to do this at night (if you’re a night owl?).  Of course it is, but as a person who has gone from a late-night person to an early morning riser, I can tell you first hand that the massive difference is in the freshness of your mind (so much creativity happens in the quiet, fresh mind of the mornings!) and the lightness of the day ahead (you don’t have the weight of a full day on your back).  Getting up early has proved to be one of the most productive things I’ve done for my life and my business.  

2. Be Grateful

I’m not just talking about saying thank you’s, I’m talking about creating a daily practice of gratitude.  Writing down what you’re grateful for.  Every.  Single.  Day.  The more you focus on what you have and what you’re grateful for, the more of those things will come into your life.  My daily gratitude habit is writing down what I’m grateful for in my gratitude journal.  Every day I write whatever comes to mind that I feel particularly grateful for and end the exercise with 2 or 3 things I’m committed to.  Like “I’m committed to staying positive,” or “I’m committed to being kind.” This is the very first thing I do in the mornings and it sets the tone for my entire day!  

3. Journal With a Purpose

I have always been a lover of journaling, but in 2016, I learned the art of PURPOSEFUL JOURNALING.  Which basically means that I am journaling in a specific way in order to live the ideal life I want.  I am creating the life I want through the journaling process!  In the past, my journaling had been merely an account of what was going on in my life and any accompanying thoughts or emotions I had about those events.  While it was cathartic, it wasn’t productive.  

But journaling with a purpose opens the doors for all sorts of incredible things to happen!  While there are an endless stream of writing prompts and journaling exercises that lend themselves to purposeful journaling, here are just a few that you can use…

1. Write a money statement.  It usually looks something like this: I am so happy and grateful that I received $10,000 into [insert your business name here] today! Money comes to me easily and daily!  This is more of a declaration than anything.  You are telling the universe you are open for business and ready to receive income.  Lining this statement with gratitude and a belief that money is easy to make anchors this in you every single day!  

2. Write statement after statement about your ideal life as if it’s already happening.  This may be surprisingly difficult at first, but I promise it gets easier (and VERY fun to do!).  This may look something like this…

I have a waiting list of my dream clients

My VIP days are booked out for the entire year

I easily pay my bills at the beginning of the month

I love to work out every single day

I am fit and healthy

I easily exceed my financial goals every single month

My education programs sell out every time

My daughter and I have a group of moms that we do weekly activities with

1. Write down your visions.  Anytime you have an idea, thought or vision about your business (or your life in general), WRITE IT DOWN!  Write out every single thing that you possibly can.  No filtering.  No editing.  Just get it out.  You will be amazed at how damn productive this is!  All of a sudden, you’ll have a reservoir of content to pull from, a treasure chest of targeted ideas on where you want your business to go next, an incredibly clear mission statement!  

4. Check in With Your Success Team Regularly

Every week, two weeks, or month, check in with the awesome people who are part of your success team.  Who makes up your success team?  

1. Your Coach. This person is a part of your success team because they force you to think BIGGER, to expand your mind to things you didn’t even know were possible.  They help you come up with practical strategies on how to achieve what you want and create solutions to challenges you’re facing.  Meeting with your coach on a regular basis forces you to stay on-point with the larger direction of your business.  I have coaching clients who meet with me every single week, some who meet every other week and some who meet once each month.  And I meet with my coach every other week.  

2. Your Accountability Partner. Your accountability partner is a fellow biz woman who keeps you honest.  Setting up agreed-upon rules of how you two check in with one another will hold your feet to the fire (because you don’t want to look like a flake, do you? Sometimes peer pressure is good!).  My accountability partner and I meet once/month to set up the month and then email each other an update every single week.  

3. Close friends for brainstorming and venting. Outside of the two above, more “structured” relationships, your success team can include a few people close to you who you can trust with ideas, creative thoughts, doubts and even negative thoughts.  There is immense value in this safe space because the practice of speaking things out with these close friends can help you see solutions, new ideas and give you great feedback!  My sister, my husband (selectively) and a few close girlfriends fulfill this for me!  

4. Your brand ambassadors.  Your brand ambassadors are the most loyal members of your community.  They LOVE you adore the work you do.  Keeping a close relationship with your brand ambassadors allows you quick access to the heartbeat of those you serve.  Call upon them when you’re feeling doubtful (“Hey, Jane…if I did something like this, would you find value in that?”) and anytime you’re feeling low and need a reminder of how much of an impact you ARE making (hint: ask for testimonials from them and you’ll get all the positive confirmation you need!)!

5. Exercise

Your physiology is directly connected to your psychology.  Your body, mind and spirit are intertwined and you can bet that hitting your peak performance stride has to include your physical well being.  I am not here to be a workout guru…only to reinforce the facts that when your body is healthy, it positively impacts everything else in your life!  But let me give you some real examples of how you can use exercise to directly benefit your business.

1. Exercise when you feel stuck.  I use this trick a lot.  Anytime I’m working and start to feel myself getting frustrated for whatever reason, I get up out of my desk and move.  If I haven’t done my workout for the day, I’ll take 30 minutes and do it then.  If I have, I’ll take 20 minutes and walk around the neighborhood.  This act always – 100% of the time – gets me back in front of my computer and kicking butt in a super focused and productive way!

2. Schedule your daily workouts (put it on your calendar) and schedule it for the same time every day.  Just like every habit, it is imperative that you regulate this activity!  And the best way to ensure that you make exercise a habit is to schedule it in your calendar at an optimal time (when you’re most likely to actually do it) and then just stick to your schedule.  A great trick I use whenever I get out of this habit (which I do), is to commit to working out at the same time for 7 days.  Usually by then, I’ll be back into the routine!  And remember to change your schedule should your ideal workout times shift!  The ideal time for you to exercise every day is when you’ll actually do it – day in and day out!  I typically work out during my daughter’s morning nap around 9am.

6. Proactively create the schedule you want

As I just alluded to in the description about scheduling your workouts, scheduling your life is a phenomenal way to create the life you want!  It takes some practice, but when executed, this habit will force you to shift from “I’m floating down the river of life, going wherever the current takes me,” to “I’m building my own damn boat with a motor to go where I want, when I want!”  It’s a pretty massive paradigm shift.  Here are 5 simple steps to mastering your schedule:

1. Write a list of all the regular activities you do on a weekly basis.
2. Group them into categories (admin, content creation, business planning, etc.)
3. Look at a 7 day week on a blank calendar and start blocking out the ideal times for these categories.
   1. Think about when you work best.  Match your energy with your work.
4. Implement for one week.
5. Adjust as necessary

From 5am-7am every morning, I have time blocked in my schedule called JOURNAL & CONTENT CREATION because I fell in love with habits #1 & #2 and I realized after a week of journaling that it got my creative juices flowing like crazy!  Every Thursday from 4pm-5pm, my husband and I have a FINANCIAL FREEDOM meeting where we brainstorm, strategize and take action on our financial freedom plan!  These items are scheduled in my calendar and thus, create the habit of putting attention onto the important things in my life!

7. Laugh a lot!

My husband calls me “intense.”  Yes, I am boisterous and happy and adventurous, but I can definitely get into intense, focused moods.  And when I do, I know I need to add some laughter in order to become the best version of me again.  And I love being a goofball!  Having a kid helps habitualize laughter because hearing their laughter come back at you is the best sound ever!  For example, every morning, I dance with Sedona in the kitchen.  While she’s eating her breakfast, I turn up the dance music and jump around like a crazy person.  She LOVES it and we laugh our heads off!  How the hell can I have a bad day if it starts off like that?? 🙂  Do whatever you can to have laughter in your life!  Hang out with funny friends, go watch funny movies…stare at yourself in the mirror and belly laugh like nobody’s watching! (yes, I’ve done this and yes it works!).  The more you laugh, the more you realize that any of the stresses you may have are just temporary and that everything is totally awesome the way it is.

Do you already practice these 7 habits?  Some of them?  Need to tighten up on a few of them?  Here’s my recommendation: Commit to any ONE of these for just 7 DAYS and follow through with it.  See how it fits.  Tweak it so it works best for you.  Rinse and repeat.
You are your habits.  And there’s no better time than NOW to CREATE the habits you need to manifest the business (and the life) you dream about!

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