10 Things That Successful People Did...

What’d they do when they weren't successful that brought them to their current stature? Sure, we can learn a lot from successful people. But I think we can learn a hell of a lot more from what got them there, than where they’re at now.It’s true in any area of life, with success comes laziness. The guy who was grinding, getting up at 5 or 4 am had hunger. The guy who can go where he wants, when he wants, in any vehicle he wants, doesn’t have that same hunger. He does less, but makes more.

We look at the life of the uber successful and we think, man I’d love to have his life. But what about the risks he took to get there? What about the missed birthday’s, parties, and endless hours of work at a dream that he – and quite often only he – believed in?

The difference between the 10 things that successful people do, and the 10 things that successful people did, is sacrifice. What they did to get here is stuff that 99.999% of us don’t want to do. We don’t want to miss out. We don’t want to risk. We’re scared of both and we won’t achieve the success that they eventually achieve which allowed them to do what they want, when they want.

And so, here are the 10  things that Successful People did  to get where they are now.

1. Things that successful people did - They didn’t accept their excuses.

We all have excuses. We sleep in because we feel ‘our bodies need the extra rest’. We go out for drinks when we should be tending to our dream or our mission, because we feel like we ‘need some fun’. We stop on rep 6 when we could have done 7 because, well, ‘what’s one rep?’.

Well, that one rep is everything. That early morning is everything. That night spent working rather than drinking is everything. And the most successful people in the world know this from the start. Yes they partied, but their work didn’t suffer as a result.

Where fun is #1 for a lot of us – and more power to you. The mission, whatever their mission that they hold with such regard is, is #1 for them. Whatever excuses they could have given themselves, they didn’t listen.

Mandela could have used his unjust imprisonment as an excuse to give into his anger. Instead, he used it as an opportunity to learn, grow, and eventually free others.

Listen to your excuses. Understand why you have them. Then figure out how you can use them for good.

2. Things that successful people did - It wasn’t just about them.

If you want to be really successful – and truly successful in life, not just in business – it can’t simply be about you. It can’t be about the result. The money. The ‘things’. It has to be about helping others in some form or way.

This goes in line with a later point about having a reason, but if something drives you that is greater than just the ‘ends’, you’re going to work harder, longer, and you’re going to give more to your project. The other thing that will happen, is people will help you along the way. They’ll root for you. You’ll have a tribe of men and women who’ll truly want to see you succeed because you’re not just doing it for monetary gains, you’re doing it for something greater than your own benefit.

Money can be a motivator, but it can’t be the motivator. Legends are never the one’s who are fixated on the almighty dollar. They’re the one’s who are fixated on helping others, or bringing about some kind of change that will benefit more than just themselves.

Yes you can make money by trying to make money. But there’s no fulfillment in simply making money. And isn’t that the point? Make your mission about more than just the man in the mirror, and you’ll begin to be proud of that same face that you see in the mirror.

3.Things that successful people did - Early mornings and late nights. 

People who are on their way to achieving something extraordinary work better, and more often than others. It’s a simple fact.

Yes they neglect other areas of their lives and focus on this one mission that they have. But that’s what’s important to them. If going out every night and having drinks with friends is what you hold as the most important thing in your life, then that’s what you’re going to do.

There’s literally no substitute for hard work. Abraham Lincoln said, “Things may come to those who wait… but only the things left by those who hustle.” If you want to be successful, you’re going to have to out hustle everyone else.