You're not getting anywhere.
The weeks go by with no end in sight. Every day is a slog. There's not enough time in the day to get everything done.
You can't start your dream business.
You don't have enough savings to become a homeowner.
Your biggest project is left until the end of the day.
Have you taken a closer look at the kind of man you are? What are your daily habits like?
The fact is successful men cultivate habits that make them better every day. In today's article, I'm breaking them out so you can get yourself back on track:
- Remember Loss And Stay Humble
- Get Up Early And Win The Day
- Understand That 80% is Good Enough
- Read More Books
- Give Up Alcohol
- Surround Yourself With Success
- Be An Active Listener
- Schedule EVERYTHING
- Pay With Cash, Not Card
#1 Remembering Loss & Stay Humble
Every man falls on hard times. I've lost close friends, been unemployed, and struggled in debt.
As tough as they were, those experiences helped me greatly in the long run. You could say that they toughened me up – but that's not the point.
They gave me perspective. Whenever I experience a problem with my company or personal life, it seldom comes close to how bad I've had it before. Knowing this brings a whole new meaning to the phrase “it could be worse.”
Make no mistake, gentlemen, it could be much worse. This success habit is all about perspective. Once you look back on the tough times in your life, today's challenges might be insignificant.
#2 Get Up Early And Win The Day
Do you ever feel like there's a stone crushing your chest? That if you pushed it aside, you could rule the world?
Too many guys ignore that stone and lug it around all day. They leave it for last – but by the time they try to shove it away, they're burned out.
Don't make that mistake. Get the hardest tasks out of the way first. For me, it's filming videos for my YouTube channel. Once that's accomplished, I coast through the rest of the day.
Take it from me, gentlemen – the best success habits consist of knocking the hard stuff out ASAP.
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#3 Eighty Percent… Is Good Enough
This success habit is key. We might strive for perfection, but we'll never achieve it. You need to do your best, turn in the project, and move on.
Take my business for instance. Sometimes my videos have mistakes in them. However, if I linger too long on a single project, it will never get done.
This 80% rule is what's helped me reach hundreds of thousands of men with my content. The results are there, gents.
#4. Read More Books
According to studies, 85% of self-made millionaires read at least two books a month. Part of success is the thirst for knowledge.
So what do I do? I have books scattered all over the house. There's a bit of a library in every room of the house (it drives my wife nuts). If I like a book enough, I'll purchase multiple copies to have in strategic locations.
Why do I do this? I want easy access to information wherever I am. Of course I read them beforehand – you can't reference what you don't know!
Not to mention the sheer benefits afforded by reading. Between a prolonged lifespan, reduced stress, and better sleep, why wouldn't you hide a book in every room?
#5. Give Up Alcohol
This success habit is simply moderation.
Alcoholism rose by 49% over the last decade. I can proudly say that I'm not in that statistic.
The average man spends $68 a week on alcohol.
Drinking offers absolutely no benefits. There are plenty of safe ways to kick back which don't require a “buzz.”
Avoiding alcohol leaves money in my pocket. It also stops me from making bad decisions. Alcohol blocks chemical signals between neurons. This leads to slurred speech, impaired judgment, and slow reflexes. As a proud family man, I'd hate for my kids to see me like this.
Alcohol dependency can even induce brain shrinkage over time. The loss of brain matter only gets worse with age and consumption.
Simply put? Alcohol is bad for you. The only drawback to sobriety is that I'm the popular choice for the designated driver.
#6. Surround Yourself With Success
The men I speak to the most are the men who are the most driven, the most obsessive, and the most passionate about their work.
These are guys that eat, breathe, and sleep their chosen fields.
It hearkens back to a point I make regularly: Surround yourself with successful people. This exposes you to expert advice on a regular basis. The more you hear it, the more your brain normalizes it, and the easier it will be to apply to your own life.
This also makes it simpler to build a pool of knowledge as you build your circle. The more springs you draw from, the less likely you are to run out of water.
#7 Be A Better Listener
This success habit helped me build connections to last a lifetime. I was the man who never listened. I simply waited for my turn to speak and disregarded the other man's point.
Being a good listener benefits you in several ways. For starters, people will enjoy your company and seek it more often. You'll learn new perspectives and new insights. By understanding the needs of others, you also stand a better chance of bettering your popularity.
You might even get some good advice out of it.
#8 Schedule EVERYTHING
The best way to stay organized is to keep a rigid timetable. Much of this comes down to fine-tuning your time management skills and being realistic about your goals.
One example comes straight from Essentialism, my favorite book on time management. Just because it took you one hour to accomplish a task that usually takes you four, it won't take one hour every time. Perhaps you were hyper-focused that day, or there were abnormally few distractions to pull you away.
Keeping this in mind, I divide everything into time blocks. Even rest and relaxation is set to a specific time each day.
Scheduling is a critical success habit.
#9 Pay With Cash, Not Card
Let me be clear: I do use credit cards from time to time. Certain credit card companies offer cashback programs for loyal users. Where and when cashback takes effect depends on the bank.
Using credit cards and paying them off build your credit score, which can then lower your interest rates and allow you to make larger investments with ease. The better your score is, the less you have to pay upfront.
That being said, I don't buy anything unless I can pay cash. This rule allows me to live below my means and put away a lot in savings. My home is a simple one – and it's paid off. Whenever hard times fall upon us, I have a cushion to fall back to. I'm never living from paycheck to paycheck.
And that, gentlemen, is essential to financial success.
Many of these habits come down to efficient time management, frugality, and moderation. Master these three concepts, and you will be well on your way.
