Life is full of barriers but most are incredibly easy to eliminate once you know the secret to overcoming them. And today I’m going to reveal one of the most powerful secrets that could change your life.
Take my 8-mile commute home on I-95 from Greenwich to Rowayton, Connecticut… 
It’s just 8 miles and should only take 12-15 minutes but during the evening rush hour, it can take an agonizing 45 minutes.
Traffic is a barrier and all the other people on the road keeping me from zipping home make me want to eat my shirt and pull my hair out – though, I know I should keep my hands on the wheel.
What do I do?
I could just hang out on the highway and complain about it or go nuts. But instead, as soon as I see the brake lights ahead of me coming on steadily, I smugly hop off at the nearest exit and take a back route around the traffic.
Obviously my short cut home isn’t the powerful secret I want to share with you and in fact I’d rather not tell you exactly which streets I use, but the concept you need to understand is this…
Every result has a precursor action.
Whoa, what am I talking about?
Take having healthy, cavity free teeth. What’s the precursor action?
I’m sure you know. It’s brushing your teeth.
Or take losing weight. Most people focus on the pounds they want to take off, which isn’t a bad thing, but the key is to focus on what’s the ACTION, the precursor activity that will RESULT in weight loss.
Knowing the action to take is the key to achieving results, to reaching your goals. E.g. knowing which roads to use to get around traffic jams as I do, or knowing what to eat and what not to if you want to lose weight.
So how does this simple idea apply to you, to your business and to your success?
In business, there are key precursor activities, actions you need to take depending on which stage you are at. And when you do, when you actually utilize these simple actions – you can make success a habit, same as I hope you’ve made healthy teeth a habit.
I’m not kidding. It’s that simple, and I’m going to show you how right here, using simple no cost habits anyone can prosper from.
7 Success Enabling Habits
1. Write down your goals on a piece of paper.
When you do this, you’re more likely to make a plan to achieve your goals and, get this, one hundred times more likely to achieve your goals.
2. Make plans
For each goal you have, write down a sentence about what needs to happen to achieve it. A goal without an action plan is just a pipe dream, but with one, it’s likely to become reality.
3. Block out time to follow your plan.
The simple secret to success is that it’s not how much time you have in a day, but what you do with it that counts. You have a choice. You can block out your day to accomplish your plans and get things done or you can let your inbox, voicemail and whoever shows up manage you. When you block out your time and stick to it, you’ll discover you can get 40-50% or more done in a day and a week.
4. Work out 5 times a week
Yes, working out, taking care of yourself. Being healthy and fit are precursors to business success. Think about it… how effective are you going to be when you’re low on sleep, stressed out, and constantly getting sick? Just 30 minutes of exercise a day will help you stay healthy, think more clearly and be more successful – not to mention, you’ll look great.
5. Focus on the problem you solve
The precursor to the solution you provide, to the service or product you sell is your prospects’ concerns and problems. I’m sure you know this – that it’s more important to lead with the problem you solve than a description of features. E.g. “Eliminate back pain with…” Instead of, “America’s best upholstery company…”
6. Skip the pitch, ask questions instead
Use questions to get your prospects to sell themselves. It’s an instant way of transforming the selling process from a pitch and pray situation into a collaborative one, where you’re seen as the expert consultant working in partnership with your prospect to help them get what they want.
7. Set aside time to grow
When you block out time in your calendar, get in the habit of saving time to read a book on business, to work with a business mentor and to working smarter. Make learning new ways to prosper a habit and you in turn will.
Of course there are hundreds more ways, more success habits to help you get smarter and be more successful.
But if you only take away one idea here, it’s that when you list your goals, when you identify the results you want to achieve the next step is to ask yourself, what’s the precursor activity. What’s the one ACTION to take to get the RESULTS you want to achieve in business and in life.
It doesn’t matter whether you want to become better at golf, throw a big party, attract more clients or scale your business – the simple secret to success is to identify the key precursor activity and then do it.
Ready to go from a $500,000-a-year business to a two-million-dollar-a-year or more business? Ready to discover the habits of highly successful business owners, and learn how you can adopt them to prosper too?
Let me know. Email Lauren@37d57f8fa2.nxcli.io with your contact information.
December 3rd, 2012 at 4:12 am
Thanks for sharing your post.It was quite interesting to read your article.
September 14th, 2013 at 4:17 am
Good read on this topic. I believe in my opinion a person has to do very work hard and move with a specific aim in his mind on which he has to stick on for a definite time until his goal is somewhat achieved.