1. Don’t compare your life to others and don’t judge them; you have no idea what their journey is all about.
Stop trying to be someone else. We all have our own distinct purposes in life. Be yourself always and become the best version of you. You are original, not a counterfeit.
2. Don’t act the way you are feeling. Instead, act the way you want to feel.
There is a saying that action precedes feeling. If you feel sad, act like you are happy, and you will eventually become happy. High achievers get disappointed a lot because they fail many times, but since they are highly-optimistic people, they see advantage in adversity and make the best of every situation.
3. Make peace with your past so it won’t screw up your present.
You need to forgive yourself for every mistake you have made in the past. High achievers don’t go around beating themselves up for the mistakes they have made. Forgiveness is the first step to progress and only those with a strong heart can forgive themselves and those who have hurt them. Move forward today and stop dwelling on the past.
4. Don’t answer ads that promise get-rich-quick schemes because it won’t be you who gets rich quick.
Believe me when I say this: apart from bonanzas, lottery, promos or TV shows, there is nothing you can do in this world that gets you rich in a jiffy. If it sounds too good to be true, then it most likely is.
5. You can’t do everything yourself, so get help along the way.
High achievers are people of great influence. Your level of influence in most cases determines your level of success. Make meaningful relationships and help others get what they want.
6. Don’t envy what others have; you don’t know how they got it.
They say that not all that glitters is gold. The truth is that you don’t know how he got what he has or the price he had to pay in exchange for it. Think about this before you envy somebody.
7. If you can’t say anything nice, don’t say.
High achievers don’t talk just because they have to say something; they talk because they have something to say. Most successful men are very careful with their tongues–they hardly speak out of turn or when it is unnecessary. Learn to talk less and listen more.
8. Be comfortable only outside of your comfort zone.
Do something every day that scares you, and break your own records each day. This is the gateway to tremendous self-improvement. It is the secret of high achievers.
9. If you are going to jump off a bridge, make sure you know how deep the water is.
Always determine the price you have to pay for every decision you make before making that decision. Many great men today are college dropouts, but they knew what they wanted and the understood the implications, so they went all-out. So before you quit your job or quit college, and before you jump off that bridge, ask yourself this very important question: “how deep is the water?”
10. Change only what you can change and let go of the rest.
You can’t change everything you want to change. No matter how important it may be, sometimes it’s better to do your own part and leave the coming generation to do theirs. Things we can’t change, if we persist, eventually change us.
11. What others think of you is none of your business.
What matters most in life is your belief in yourself. People will always talk about you, and if they don’t, then you are probably not worth much. Ignore whatever anyone has to say about you and hold firm what you know and what you believe.
12. Never test the depth of the river with both feet.
This is very important. Don’t put all your eggs into one basket; you may never recover from it. Spread out your risks in life. There is no way to succeed without taking risks, but its wiser and safer to take calculated risks.
13. Honesty is a very expensive gift. Do not expect it from cheap people.
This is one of Warren Buffet’s guiding principles. I have learned this lesson the hard way and my experiences are not very pretty. The sooner you learn this, the better. Do not expect too much from people–only a few men have that virtue called integrity.
