PHOTO:FILE
So how does one become a Bill Gates or Oprah Winfrey? Well, you could start by emulating the way they operate in their daily lives.
You see, success requires a certain mindset and not just luck. If you’re distracted, you won’t be able to get wherever it is that you want to be, whether that involves starting your own company or excelling at what you already do.
Many famous, wealthy and successful people have shared some of the rituals they practice to stay on track. As compiled from Time magazine, here are some of the habits you can pick up.
They read a lot, mostly nonfiction
Photo:FILETom Corley, an accountant and financial planner, surveyed 233 self-made millionaires and found interesting patterns among them: About 88% devote 30 minutes or more each day to reading. Most of those prefer nonfiction works like biographies, history, and self-help books.
If that’s not enough to convince you, check this out: Billionaire Warren Buffett reportedly once said that reading is the most important habit he’s picked up. "I just sit in my office and read all day,” he said.
They meditate to clear their heads and stay sharp
Research has found that meditation has mental and physical benefits, including improving memory. Twitter and Square CEO Jack Dorsey wakes up at 5 am every morning and immediately meditates. Oprah is a fan of the practice too. Need we say more?
They get up early
Nearly 50% of the people researched by Corley, author of Change Your Habits, Change Your Life, wake up at least three hours before their workday starts. Many use the time to tackle side projects, work out or plan. So if you’re hitting snooze until you have to drag yourself to the office, you might want to rethink your strategies.
But they also manage to sleep a lot
Albert Einstein said he needed 10 hours of sleep a night to function at his best. Millionaire media maven Arianna Huffington has called sleep as “a performance enhancer." Corley found that 89% of self-made millionaires sleep seven or eight hours a night, or even more. “Sleep is critical to success,” he wrote.
They make time for exercise
Hitting the gym regularly doesn’t just help you get vanity muscles. Research shows that the kind of working out that “gets your heart and your sweat glands pumping,” according to Harvard Health Publishing, actually improves memory and learning.
Corley reported that 76% of his wealthy survey respondents say they spend 30 minutes or more each day on aerobic exercise like running or biking. Billionaire Richard Branson even claims that staying fit doubles his productivity.
They’re working on communication skills
Highly successful people are clear communicators and constantly trying to get better. Spending your day with data and facts doesn’t do much good if you can’t translate the information for people around you.
Branson once said, “Communication is the most important skill any leader can possess.” He has quoted self-help author Brian Tracy saying, “If you're willing to work at it, you can rapidly improve the quality of every part of your life.”
Including talking to themselves
PHOTO:FILEMichal Stawicki, author of Directed by Purpose, says that in his research, he’s found that high-performing individuals have running conversations with themselves. That doesn’t necessarily mean muttering to yourself, though.
“What allows them to beat their opponents is not more time spent honing their skills, but more focus on perfecting their internal dialogue,” Stawicki said. Research has found that talking to yourself can help you see situations objectively and motivate you.
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