Secrets of success that every inspiring entrepreneur must Know

How many times have you heard somebody claim they know ‘the secret of success’ only to find out somebody else has another secret completely different from the last secret you heard?! Which secret is right?! Who knows THE REAL secret?! … is there ‘a real’ secret?! If so, just how many secrets are out there?! But most importantly, who’s secret advice do we follow to ensure our personal success?

1. How You Think is Everything.

Always be positive. Think Success, not Failure. Beware of a negative environment.

This trait has to be one of the most important in the entire list. Your belief that you can accomplish your goals has to be unwavering. The moment you say to yourself “I can’t…”, then you won’t. I was always given the advice “never say I can’t” and I’d like to strike those words from the dictionary.

I’ve found that from time-to-time my attitude waivers. A mentor of mine once said “it’s ok to visit pity city, but you can’t stay and there comes a time when you need to leave”. Positive things happen to positive people.

2. Decide upon Your True Dreams and Goals: Write down your specific goals and develop a plan to reach them.

Write down my dreams and goals? Develop a plan to reach them? You mean like a project plan? Yes, that’s exactly what this means. You may have heard the old adage: A New Years resolution that isn’t written down is just a dream, and dreams are not goals.

Goals are those concrete, measurable stepping stones of achievement that track your progress towards your dreams. My goal is to start a second career as a freelance writer – what are your goals?

3. Take Action. Goals are nothing without action.

Be like Nike and “Just do it”. I took action by reaching out and started writing. Every day I try to take some action towards my goals. It may be small, but it’s still an action. Have you taken action towards your goals?

4. Never Stop Learning: Go back to school or read books. Get training & acquire skills.

Becoming a life long learner would benefit us all and is something we should instill in our kids. It’s funny that once you’re out of school you realize how enjoyable learning can be. What have you learned today?

5. Be Persistent and Work Hard: Success is a marathon, not a sprint. Never give up.

I think every story of success I read entails long hard hours of work. There is no getting around this and there is no free lunch. But, if you’re working towards something that you’re passionate about, something you love – then is it really work?

6. Learn to Analyze Details: Get all the facts, all the input. Learn from your mistakes.

I think you have to strike a balance between getting all the facts and making a decision with incomplete data – both are traits of successful people. Spend time gathering details, but don’t catch ‘analysis paralysis’.

7. Focus Your Time And Money: Don’t let other people or things distract you.

Remain laser focused on your goals and surround yourself with positive people that believe in you. Don’t be distracted by the naysayer’s or tasks that are not helping you achieve your goals.

8. Don’t Be Afraid To Innovate: Be different. Following the herd is a sure way to mediocrity.

Follow through on that break-out idea you have. Ask yourself “What would I do if I wasn’t afraid?”

9. Deal And Communicate With People Effectively: No person is an island. Learn to understand and motivate others.

Successful people develop and nurture a network and they only do that by treating people openly, fairly and many times firmly. There is nothing wrong about being firm – just don’t cross the a-hole line. How do you deal with people?

10. Be Honest And Dependable: Take responsibility, otherwise numbers 1 – 9 won’t matter.

Also try this philosophy,

Does it make good business sense to be selfish? I think so. Of course you have to put yourself first. After all, if you are not taking care of yourself, who is?

Taking care of yourself first is not selfish at all. Rather, "me-first" thinking, especially when it comes to accomplishing your goals at work and in life, often gives the boost needed to move your business forward.

So how do you put yourself first without upsetting others like, say, my mother? Here are four tactics you can use to get ahead today:

1. Define what's most important to you. If you are like most people, you probably have a list a mile long of things that need to get done. But how can you do it all? Chances are you can't. Yet with a conscious effort, you can get what is ultimately most important to you done. And won't that make your life a whole lot more fun? Plus, when you are happy, those around you are most likely happier too.

All goals are valid and can be as diverse as "staying healthy" to "spending time with my children" to "making that business deadline" or "following up from yesterday's meeting." All of these are important but identify what is most important to you and you alone.

2. Integrate your goals with others when possible. Thinking about putting yourself first doesn't mean you ignore the goals or needs of others. Rather, you can view others' goals and see how they fit with your direction. This allows you to support others while still focusing on what is important to you. For example, if you want to take a walk during lunch to support your goal of greater health and someone needs to talk to you, simply invite them along to walk with you. (I got that tip when I heard Nilofer Merchant speak at the TED Conference earlier this year.) They get heard and you get your exercise -- a true win-win.

3. Use your productive time effectively. How else can you get more done toward what is important to you? Identify your most productive time of day. We all know we are more productive at certain points of the day than others. Use that most productive time to move what is important to you forward. Protect your most productive time by limiting interruptions if you can, by not scheduling meetings during this time, and by giving yourself the benefit of true focus dedicated to your efforts. Turn off your email chime. Close any social media distractions. For at least 15 minutes at a time, honor yourself with focus on moving your most important goal forward.

4. Identify challenges. Another important tactic is to stop and ask yourself: "What is getting in my way?" Are there commitments you've made, or routines you engage in that no longer serve you? Maybe you always stop for coffee on your way into work. If one of your identified goals is to "get out of work on time," that extra 20 minutes at the beginning of the day might be better spent focused on something else.

Are there tasks and projects around you that drain your time, attention and energy that can be delegated? Consider creating a "stop-doing" list. Do this and you might discover you have more time than you thought you did.

Change is not always easy. For the next five days identify what you can change to put yourself first. You are in control of your life.i believe this simple video will teach you more!