5 Minute Read 

“And in the end, it’s not the years in your life that count. It’s the life in your years.”

- Abraham Lincoln

Fear of failure is one those common experiences most people can relate to. But what about fear of not living out to your potential? Fear of living a lesser life. If failure sucks, not going after our dreams sucks even more.

People who succeed in life aren’t just lucky or endowed with the success gene, they’re intentional, purposeful and they create a set of habits that drive success down their way.
If you’re serious about success then consider adopting these behaviors.

1. Believe in your own ability to handle whatever life throws you

“It is lack of faith that makes people afraid of meeting challenges and I believed in myself.”
- Muhammad Ali

There’s so much stuff out there beating the crap out of stress. Telling people to eliminate any source of stress from their life. Look at successful people and you’ll quickly realize that stress is not the issue, it’s how we meet it. Successful people perceive stress as a challenge and they believe they can handle every challenge they meet.

This belief drives them to look for solutions longer and eventually leads them towards more creative answers to their problems, confirming their belief and expanding their sense of self-efficacy.

2. Show up to your emotions

“Discomfort is the price of admission to a meaningful life.”

- Susan David

There’s a common misconception that successful people just don’t experience fear and discomfort like other people do. But in fact, they experience fear, sadness, and disappointment like everyone else, but instead of avoiding or dwelling on their emotions, they show up and acknowledge them but then take the steering wheel and drive straight towards their goals.

I can tell how successful someone is going to be by how they handle discomfort. Successful people have a wider tolerance for discomfort than most people, and that’s what sets them apart. Where others get overwhelmed and crumble under pressure, successful people shine under pressure.

3. Create approach goals

“The tragedy of life doesn’t lie in not reaching our goals, the tragedy lies in not having any goals to reach.”

- Benjamin Mays

Simon Sinek says it best, he says some people see the thing that they want and some people see the thing that prevents them from getting the thing that they want.

Successful people have approach goals, they’re moved towards long-term meaningful endeavors, even if it means facing obstacles and discomfort.Other people are propelled by the things they want to avoid. They’ll do anything to dodge failure, rejection, and pain, only they ultimately end up dodging success, because I’ve never seen success come without a single bump in the road.

4. Be a student of life

“The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.”
- Dr. Seuss

Successful people are always learning, they look at mistakes as opportunities to grow and they’re inspired by the success of others. They have a growth mindset, they’re constantly seeking challenges and looking to improve their performance.

They understand their minds are their greatest assets and so in they invest in themselves accordingly. They consider themselves students of life, they study the principles of a successful, healthy, productive life but they test what works for them and adjust accordingly.

5. Say no consistently

“It’s only by saying no that you can concentrate on the things that are really important.”

- Steve Jobs

Saying yes to our goals is just the beginning. Where successful people set themselves apart is in their ability to say to no what drives them away from their mission. They understand that focus is critical and so is self-worth, and they believe they're worthy of achieving their goals. 

6. Embrace imperfection and strive for excellence

“ Have no fear of perfection, you’ll never reach it.”
- Salvador Dali

You can’t miss the people that aim for excellence. Everyone sees who they are. They put more effort into everything they do, but they’re not paralyzed by perfection.

They know excellence is a standard, perfection is self-inflicted torture.

7. Practice authenticity

“By being yourself you put something wonderful into the world that was not there before.”

- Edwin Elliot

You don’t need to be a psychologist or have any special talent to sense people. We all sense when someone is putting up an act and we don’t trust it.

On the other hand, we’re magnetized towards people who accept themselves enough to show up and fully own who they are. Nothing is more charismatic.

8. Surround yourself with the right people

“Surround yourself with people who are smarter than you. Pick people who are interested in what you’re interested in.”

- Russell Simmons

Studies show that if your group of friends starts putting on weight, you’re more likely to gain a few pounds too. We’re social sponges, our behavior is highly influenced by our environment and the people in it.

It never ceases to blow my mind how everyone knows exactly what kind of car they want to drive, but ask them what kind of friends they want in their life and they go blank. It’s amazing what happens when we’re more intentional about these things, we start drawing in the people we really want in our lives.

9. Craft meaning

“Our obligation is to give meaning to life and in doing so to overcome the passive, indifferent life.”
- Elie Wiesel

Ultimately and perhaps most importantly, successful people are driven by a purpose higher than themselves. But they don’t wait for the meaning lightning to hit them in the head. They engage with life fully and look for opportunities to create meaning, even where it apparently doesn’t exist.

10. Stay healthy

"I believe the greatest gift you can give your family and the world is a healthy you."

- Joyce Meyer

Most people only realize how important staying healthy is when they experience the effects of sickness in their lives. It steals energy, focus, and presence from every other area of life. Committing to a healthy lifestyle is the most caring thing we can do for ourselves, our families, friends and our mission. It's caring enough about yourself and the things that matter most to you, that you're not willing to hurt or jeopardize them.