by Jeffrey Benjamin

Your daily habits determine your destiny. You are the sum of your thoughts and actions. You can make a difference in your life. Last month I shared the first 10 of the 21 habits for success. Here are the remaining successful habits.

11. Define yourself. If you let others define you, you might not discover who you really are. Who are you? What do you stand for? Make the time to define your goals, values and beliefs. Who you define yourself as triumphs.
12. Focus on your strengths. Focusing on your weaknesses can dissipate your energy while emphasizing your strengths lifts you higher. What are you great at? Devote the majority of time to what your strength is. Sure, you want to turn your weakness into strengths too, but not at the expense of exploiting your strengths.
13. Get physical. Olivia Newton Johns lyrics comes to mind, “Let’s get into physical, let me hear your body talk…” Get in fitness motion. No need to run a marathon or become a power-lifter. Even 20 minutes a day of walking, hiking, yoga or whatever is enough to get the blood and oxygen moving. It makes you feel good and it’s a great way to bust some stress.
14. Stop talking. Let your actions do the talking for you. Additionally, you’ll learn a lot more about yourself and others. Enough said.
15. Have a sense of humor. Life can be challenging and stressful at times. A sense of humor can help you get through it. Elbert Hubbard was right when he said, “Do not take life too seriously. You will never get out of it alive.”
16. Uplift others. You will never reach a higher ground if you are busy pushing others down. People prefer being around people that make them feel good about themselves.
17. Strengthen your team. Your goal is not big enough if you can achieve it all by yourself. Running teams will make life easier and more fun. A family that is a team is happier and more fulfilled. The same is true with company teams.
18. Accept yourself. Mark Twain sums it up, “Everything in life changes as soon as you trust yourself. A man cannot be comfortable without his own approval.”
19. Tell people what you want. Humans don’t have the capacity to read minds. People won’t know what you want or don’t want if you don’t tell them. Great relationships are created on an understanding of what each person wants or doesn’t want.
20. Expand your network. People who have small networks limit their opportunities. Get out and meet others to build relationships that can help you.
21. Make fear your friend. Fear either controls you or sets you free. Which do you prefer? Dumb question, huh? Marcus Aurelius had a great perspective, “It is not death that a man should fear, but he should fear never beginning to live.”

Life is a do-it-yourself project. Put at least one of these habits for success into practice to get a result in your personal and business life.

Best of success to you!

Jeffrey Benjamin is the founder of Breakthrough Training in Reno. He is the co-author of Real Life Habits for Success. Contact him at www.breakthroughtraining.com