The claws holding you back need to be cut off.
We dig into rotten books. We pull apart the past. We tear through the experiences of the filthy rich. All in hopes of finding that “one formula” that changes everything. The secret to unparalleled success. However, the simplest truths of success, wealth, and life are staring us right in the face. We don’t look at them. If we do, they seem too boring and useless to have any value.
I’m about to share some of those values that have stood the test of time. They have bred success and created winners for the centuries and are likely to do so for the centuries to come.
1. Control your emotions
Emotions are essential to living a fulfilled life but they are instances where they need to be controlled. You either control your emotions or they end up controlling you. The person controlled by emotions isn’t reliable or trustworthy. He is unpredictable and easy to fall into traps, easily prone to make short-term plans, and misses out on the bigger picture.
Hence, stop trying to respond instantly to everything. Stop thinking you need to express yourself immediately. Take the time to process information, form your thoughts and understand the implications before sharing how you feel.
Also, ensure to always be in control and deliver your words with a neutral voice instead of falling into paws of anger, resentment, or jealousy.
2. Stick to your values
When the swarm of temptations arrives, you’ll be floating away into the emptiness and unknown unless you stand for something. When you stand for what you believe in and are willing to stick to your values regardless of the temporary outcomes, you’ll be winning in the long run. You’ll be earning the respect from your fellows, competitors, and most importantly yourself.
When you don’t stand for something, you’ll fall for everything.
Hence, figure what your values are. Understand what makes you live this life with your head held high. Then stick to them like a newborn monkey sticks to his mother and like gum sticks to your hair.
3. Be patient
You need to be patient deliberately and stop trying to chase instant gratification. They are temporary. They are like beautiful butterflies you chase without realizing you're about to fall down the cliff.
Patience will be rewarded heavily in the future while impatience will leave behind nothing but a trail of painful regrets. Hence, deploy patience in whatever you do.
When learning, let yourself soak the information and understand the concepts without hurrying yourself to see the output.
When creating a project, allow yourself to invest enough time to create something magnificent.
When running a business, give yourself enough time to try out different approaches and spend time doing your thinking about growth strategies. Don’t be like those goons who shutdown three months in (I’ve been that myself).
4. Be adaptable
The good times don’t last forever and neither do the bad ones. The technology that feels like our life today will fade away. The ways we travel aren’t going to be the same. Our modern standards for what’s right and fair will shift. The world laws will bend. The theories and facts that we live by will be blown to pieces.
Change is the only constant.
Hence, don’t be the tree that stands tall in the middle of a storm and doesn’t live to see another day. Be the tree that adjusts his position for the moment and then recovers once the time changes. Be adaptable to change while still sticking to your core values and adjusting them as well when you see fit. Always be changing just like the time.
5. Protect your reputation
Or die trying to rebuild it. Your reputation, your word, your character, your actions, and how you treat others are some of the ingredients that form up your reputation. Once it is tarnished, it will never be the same regardless of how hard you try.
Hence, protect it with your life. Don’t worry about events out of your control. The truth always wins in the end. Always stand for what you believe in and don’t let temporary emotions and temptations sweep away what took you a lifetime to build. Keep your guard up.
6. Kill the snake before it grows
Fix problems while they are mere inconveniences before they become shitstorms. Whenever you see a problem rising, address it as soon as you can. It will save you lots of time, thinking, and pain in the future.
7. Don’t underestimate consistency
Throw a pebble from the top of a mountain and it can form a storm by the time it reaches down. One drop of kindness can form an ocean. One page a day can turn into a book that lasts for generations. One burger a day can result in dozens of pounds of flesh. Small consistent actions can result in massive outcomes.
Hence, never underestimate consistency. Never shy away from it when trying to create a positive impact. Make it your companion. Make it your holy grail that you wake up and sleep by and see it serve you in days, months, years, and decades to come.
8. Keep promises you made to yourself
Have you seen Charles Bukowski — Friendly advice to a lot of young men? If you haven’t you must. It only takes you about two minutes. Go on. I’ll wait.
Have you finished watching it? Now replace the last line with “But don’t break a promise you made to yourself”.
Yeah, it is that important.
We hold ourselves accountable for sticking to our word given to others but act like nothing happened when we lie to ourselves and break promises a dozen times a day. Stop doing that. Completely.
Whatever you promise yourself, you must see it through. You can’t stop holding yourself accountable. Try that for a day and see how conscious and aware you become of this situation. You’ll start talking differently and executing more because you said so to yourself.
9. Don’t take anything for granted
Health. Wealth. Friendships. Family. Love. Freedom. None of that. Don’t ever take anything for granted because you don’t owe any of that. Hence, always be grateful for what you have.
This will keep you humble and thankful and you won’t be swirling down the depressing circles thinking the world sucks and you have nothing going on for you.
Conclusion
The simplicity of these rules is where their power comes from. They’re effective, powerful, and have a proven track record of resulting in success.