This blog is kinda of a follow up to my previous blog of  Why do we need goals in life?.

Every few months I reflect of what I’ve learned and how I can improve myself.  What Im about to tell you is a self reflection of a few months maybe even a couple of years put together. I’ve tried to keep it somewhat short and to the point.

So, I think for someone to be successful there is a high probability that they like what they are doing which leads to my first observation.

Do You Love what you do? If so Do It!

No matter what it takes!

Its a proven fact. You aren’t going to be successful at something you have no interest in. I’m a Sofware Engineer, so  when I am excited about a project, I am good – perhaps even above average. When I get stuck on a project that didn’t interest me, I was honestly a poor software engineer and dread everything that involved it.

So no matter what you do, make sure you are really interested in it.  You will encounter difficulties, don’t give up and plough through them and you will see a whole lot of gold in the end.

Now, you will never reach your goal if you don’t have a action plan.  This is where Preparation and Planning come into play.

Make some Short, Medium, and Long Term Goals

Each week usually on sundays , I try to write down 5-10 things that I want to accomplish the next following week. I make sure that at least 3-4 are things that I can complete that week and purge from my to-do list. I also make sure to add a couple of small parts of medium or long-term projects.

Also, to keep you motivated and interested, catalog your progress.  This will help you visually see how much or little progress you’ve made and will allow you to think of a better action plan at reaching your goals.

Learn These Skills

Sales / Marketing

Even if you don’t think you have a product to sell or market, you do… yourself. I’ve learned that sales and marketing are not easy skills to learn. You cant be in peoples face all the time saying “HERE I AM”. They will think your obnoxious.  Be genuine, open and honest of your approach and what you have to offer. Also find people who are genuinely interested in you. Its really hard to convince someone who doesn’t want to hear you out. If what you are selling is of value and you meet the right buyer, then it should sell itself.  If you try to “sell” too hard, you’re probably going to regret it later.

Public Speaking

I might be one of the most shy people on Earth. Talking to someone one-on-one often ties my stomach in knots. Imagine how I must feel about public speaking. I remember it was a required class in high school. I started off horrible, but by the end, I had earned an A. It’s really a case were practice means everything. I suggest an organization such as Toastmasters.

• Writing – Even if you are crafting a short e-mail, try to use proper grammar. You’d be surprised how many e-mails I receive where people make 6 mistakes in 6 sentences. Perhaps it shouldn’t, but poor writing skills on the first impression impacts my view of the person’s intelligence and/or professionalism – and not in a good way. A person who can write great commands my respect and my trust.
• Networking – Get out there and meet new people in your areas of interest. When you know a lot of people, opportunities multiply. To go back to my eBook example above, I found someone who already has a successful eBook. He’s in the process of getting it translated into an audio book now. He could definitely be a great resource for me to learn from. He’s newer to blogging and doesn’t have the number of readers that I have. I can probably give him a few tips and help him out. Now if I knew 100 people like this guy, I’d have a solution to almost every question I’d ever have at my fingertips.
• Read More and Faster – I have always been a very slow reader. I simply don’t scan text very well. Perhaps I’m afraid I’ll miss a critical word or something silly like that. This is one area that I’m going to work on in the new year. Much of my time is spent reading, you’d think I’d at least be good at it.

Take Action

• Help Someone with Something Everyday – This may sound like some kind of “Pay It Forward” hype. In some ways it is. I estimate that I’ve given guidance to around 50 or 100 bloggers who are just getting going that were looking for advice. Some of them became successful bloggers and some stopped blogging. The successful ones have returned the favor 100 times over or more. They link to my articles, they comment on my site, and fill me in with opportunities that I would have otherwise missed. This isn’t limited to blogging. If you mentor someone, you’ll be seen as a natural leader. I’ve always seen a strong correlation between leadership and success.
• Make Mistakes – When I just got out of college, I took a job with a top ten Internet company. It was a very high profile job as I managed the search engine myself. It was about 20% of this 100 milion dollar company’s traffic. The thought that I’d make a mistake scared me to death. I spent each day walking on eggshells until the day that I made a mistake. A strange thing happened. No one got upset with me, and we were able to recover pretty quickly. From that experience, I learned to always have a back-up plan. This allowed me to take some risks, experiment more, and eventually produce ideas that made the company millions. Just as importantly, I realized that I should tolerate other people’s mistakes.
• Surround Yourself with Like-Minded Individuals – There are studies that show an individual’s income will be somewhere around the average of your closest five friends. That formula works for me and my closest friends – or it did until I decided to build my career from websites. There are also studies that show your weight will reflect those who you hang around with. It makes sense if you think about it. If your circle of friends likes to bounce business ideas off each other while playing a game of pickup basketball, you’ll probably put yourself closer to the path of prosperity than if you tell fart jokes while eating Bon-Bons.
• Exercise – Whenever I work out, I am all pumped up with endorphins for hours. It feels like nothing can stop me – as if I could tackle a bear. Instead of tackling a bear, I focus that energy on my list of goals and churn through it like never before.
• Start a Website or Blog – It’s easy to talk the talk, but what matters is if you can walk the walk. A website or blog not only makes you accountable for the goals that you set, but can also help you network and gather useful information. For more inspiration read how personal finance blogging helped me.

Be More Productive

• Don’t Get Wrapped Up in Television – I love television. However, I try to watch shows that you don’t have to follow too closely. This way I can work while it’s on. You won’t see me watching a lot of Law and Order because it requires too much of my focus. However, having the Red Sox on the background doesn’t distract me from accomplishing what I’m trying to.
• Commute with Books on Tape (or Podcasts) – Most of the people I know have a 30-60 minute commute to work each day. You can listen to some morning talk show or a shock-jock DJ or you can learn some of the skills that I mentione above. I’m not saying that you should throw away all entertainment, but if you are looking to increase your productivity, utilizing this downtime is a great start.
• Declutter and Organize Your Home and Work Area – I used to waste a lot of time looking for stuff. The problem? I had stuff everywhere. I couldn’t find the stuff that I needed from the old stuff that was piled around it. It’s amazed me the number of things that I had around the home that I didn’t use. Finally I simply said “Stuff It!” and got rid of most of the stuff that I didn’t use and put other special stuff in a closet that I’ll probably ignore for another years. Just like in What About Bob, “baby steps…” I tell myself.

Think Your Way To Success

• Think Positively – I’m not going to get Stuart Smalley, Motivational Speaker on you, but making the conscious decision to focus on being financially successful is extremely helpful. Bringing finances to front of my mind, instead of the back has made a huge difference in my finances.
• Don’t Hate Money – Lose the thinking that money is the root of all evil. Start thinking about it as a key to freedom to do whatever interests you. Think of it as a way to help friends, family, and charities important to you. Think about how you could use money to make the world a better place.
• Appreciate What You Have – Schedule a day to just appreciate yourself. Appreciate the things that you do have. The fact that you are reading this likely means that you are much better off than others in the world.
• Be In A Good Mood – One of my favorite lines from Say Anything is when Lloyd Dobler (played by John Cusack) says to his sister, “Why can’t you be in a good mood? How hard is it to decide to be in a good mood and be in a good mood once in a while?”

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