Whatever you’re trying to achieve, start your journey with three simple steps. They are listed below, and you will need them when life gets tough.
1. Visualise your success before it happens.
When you picture your life in the next five years, what do you see? Are you a world traveller who only uses a laptop and Wi-Fi to make a living? Do you have a successful business that is about to go public? In your mind’s eye, visualise the rich relationships and the kind of lifestyle you want to have.
Now, without losing focus, save that mental movie. Keep it deep in your brain so you can watch the replay every day. And if it helps, fast forward or rewind to the most exciting parts of your memory of success. It’s an imaginary memory, of course, but that’s OK. Whittaker says your brain can’t tell the difference anyway. A fake memory, however ambitious, can serve the same purpose as real ones.
“It means that when you put yourself in a situation that you’ve already seen, gone through and mastered, it’s much easier to go back to that, to rinse and repeat, and put yourself back in an optimal state,” Whittaker says.
When you feel anxious or overwhelmed, breathe. Press play on your imagined memory to rediscover what fuels your passion.
2. Create a plan for success by writing down your goals.
Now that you have your imagined memory, write it down. Put your goals in a journal to make them seem less like fiction and more like a thriving reality. After all, words on paper can become a list, and lists can be completed. It’s the same process as chores at work or housework. Your dream is just as important, and it is something you can plan for.
“Once a year, everyone on the planet should ask themselves two questions: Who am I and where do I want to go?” says Whittaker. “Figure out what the end goal is and simply reverse engineer [success in] three years, one year and 90 days. Then turn those 90 days into action items. Put them on your calendar and, every 90 days, repeat the process.”
Need help creating your success plan? Whittaker offers his success plan template, which you can download for free.
3. Embrace the magic of daily routines.
Good habits are the key to success, so you need a solid routine to practice them. It’s about more than just organising your day, week or month. A routine creates the momentum you need to achieve small, immediate goals. With each achievement you get a burst of motivation, so it’s worth the effort.
Want to create the best possible routine? Focus on how you start each day. For most people, that means avoiding emails and the internet in general.
“By picking up our phone first thing in the morning, all we’re doing is reacting to someone else’s agenda for our time,” says Whittaker. “Often we wake up and feel happy, but then all of a sudden we see something that’s come to us and we’re like, ‘Argh, I’ve got to do that later today…'” …. “It’s such a bad situation. You’re on the defensive first thing in the morning.”
Instead of doing that, flip the script. Here’s what Whittaker recommends for creating productive days
- Save any creative work for your peak productivity window.
- Do your life’s work before your busy work.
- Recognise that each day is here to be earned.
- Write down three things you are going to do to win the day.
- Put yourself in some kind of adversity. Take a cold shower, do a quick workout, or anything else that challenges your mind.
- Set boundaries. Share your “do not disturb” schedule with co-workers and family.
- Reach out to people and see if they need help. In time, they will reciprocate.
With a good routine, you can also get out of bad habits. Things like negative self-talk and complacency are hard to maintain when you’re focused on making progress.
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