A shortlist of habits extremely successful people have

Hey everyone! Since we will be talking about Habits this week, let’s start this article with some fundamental definitions.

The definition of Habit is a Noun:

a settled or regular tendency or practice, especially one that is hard to give up.

Or it’s an Adjective:

a long, loose garment worn by a member of a religious order or congregation.

Need some help deciding what habits you should lean into or wear in the new year? We are here to help with that.

Inspired by a study published by Frontiers in Psychology: I’ve compiled a list of habits wildly successful people share:

Habit #1 :

Successful Leaders Are Calm

Your inability to relax is the difference between you and Jeff Bezos. Are your business endeavors causing you to snap rudely on the phone? Dish out harsh orders? Does your stress constantly show up?

I encourage you to throw away stress in 2021 and pick up stress management because most CEOs know how to not crack under pressure. If you are straining to manage a small restaurant without catching a headache then imagine running a multi-billion dollar corporation. And if you can’t handle your small business’s day-to-day operation without cracking, well, how can you expect your business to grow past where it currently is? As a leader, you need to get in the habit of withstanding a level of pressure others cannot.

“The real test of leaders is not how they respond to success, but rather how they respond to setbacks.” — General David Patreus

Habit #2

Successful Leaders Are Resilient

Successful Entrepreneurs share a common mentality that nothing can get in their way. In fact, they do not think minor setbacks take away from the bigger picture. As a result, they can manage a large team rather efficiently. In short, they are resilient to many things. They are resilient to emotional outbreaks, to pandemics, to changes in employees. CEO’s of successful enterprises make it a habit, in short, never to give up.

Habit #3

Successful Leaders are Optimistic

It would help if you began 2021 by donning an optimistic mindset and motivating your employees to be the best version of themselves they can be. Optimism is a habit all serious entrepreneurs should have. It is an imperative addition to leadership skills that separate great business owners from ….just okay ones. Be a positive reinforcement in your employee’s lives. Many CEOs see optimism and encouragement as just part of the job and habitually make it a point to motivate their employees.

“The human instinct is to protect ourselves and our families first, but in times like these, we have to take care of each other.” — Nigel Travis, Chairman, Dunkin’ Brand.

Habit #4

Successful Leaders Make Time For Themselves

Surprise! This whole time we’ve been leading up to this moment. The truth is out of all the habits talked about … being optimistic, resilient, and calm. “optimism, self-esteem, and self-efficacy.” This is the one that is the most important.

Being in constant control of your emotions is not possible, and the pressures that business owners feel to conform to this standard are most times extremely unhealthy. That is why this point is the most important learning of all.

Top CEOS make time for themselves.

“David always believed that having a wide range of outside interests leads to a balanced life and makes for a better career,” said Jake Siewert, a Goldman spokesman.

I am writing this to you in the new year so business owners everywhere can know that we are in awe of what they do! You keep your business running flawlessly without effort, and you do this while donning optimism, resilience, and “keeping your cool” as your regular habits. We want to encourage business owners everywhere to add “making time for yourself” to their list of new habits to try in 2021 because that’s what extremely successful business owners do.

And if the CEO of Amazon, Jeff Bezos, can make time. So can you.

In short, a habit is something you can put on as part of a religious ceremony, and it is something you can do. Both definitions work for us here. In 2021, put on your habit of resilience, confidence, and optimism. Then start a more literal habit of participating in a hobby that brings you happiness. These four things are the key habits extremely successful people have.