1. Work Super Hard
You’re not going to be able to do something significant without putting in a lot of hard work. To be in the 1% you have to be willing to do what the 99% won’t. People may not be willing to put in the hours and sweat for something, but if you can, you’re already ahead. Read Elon Musk’s biography by Ashlee Vance if you want to inspired by what hard work can do.
2. Prioritize
Even though you should be tenacious, you should not give 110% effort in everything. You have to prioritize and choose what deserves your time and what doesn’t. Make a list of all the different areas in your life and calculate how much time you are going to spend for each area. I did this at the beginning of the year and found out that I had committed to activities that would take more hours than there are in a week! That would have been impossible. So I cut down the activities and prioritized my tasks.
3. Have Values
You don’t have to be an awful person to be successful. It is really important to respect those around you and keep up good values. Nobody’s better than you and you’re no better than anybody.
4. Have goals
You are much more likely to achieve something if you know what you want to achieve. Setting goals for yourself is important. Instead of setting goals such as ‘I should get better at coding’, you should set S.M.A.R.T. goals that are Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Timely.
4. Be open to change
I believe that you should have some sort of plan for the upcoming weeks, or months. In the long run, though, it is hard to predict the future, and sometimes opportunities pop up unexpectedly. You should always be open to change, and be ready to adapt to different situations. Don’t have your mind fixated on a specific path so much that you miss another opportunity.
5. Read
I have read books that change the way I think. There is so much knowledge out there and reading allows you to use that knowledge for yourself. Get involved in a book club, or start listening to audio books when you are doing mundane tasks. Read as much as you can. Read about managing your finances, self-improvement, building meaningful relationships, how to build a company and any other topic that will be useful for you.
6. Reflect
Every so often (once a day or a week), take time to reflect. Keep a journal, and reflect on your actions and behaviours. How are you going to keep on improving if you don’t keep track? I recommend going through this 8,760 hours manual – it is a guide that helps you reflect on the past year and make goals for the next year: https://alexvermeer.com/8760hours/
7. Invent the future
Alan Kay said “The best way to predict the future is to invent it”. If there is a problem that annoys you, or you have an awesome idea, just go ahead and build it. Don’t wait for anyone else to solve the problems that you have. Invent the future.