Use these tips to make your success a certainty, not a lottery.

People overestimate how much they can do in a week but underestimate how much they can do in a year.

Creating change in your life is all about timing.

You know you need to change. You just don’t know when you should change. Your behavior remains relatively stable over time unless you face changing circumstances that force you to change your beliefs and thought patterns.

A new year can be the motivation for a new you.

New Year’s Day provides that ‘fresh start feeling’. Where the bullsh*t of the previous year has been wiped clean from your mind. This feeling increases your motivation for change and optimism for a better future.

“New beginnings offer a kind of psychological do-over, People feel distanced from their past failures; they feel like a different person — a person with reason to be optimistic about the future,” writes behavioral scientist Katy Milkman

But nearly 80% of New Year’s resolutions are in the dustbin by the end of January. So how effective is this fresh start feeling?

While many do fail, you tend to forget that 20% succeed.

I am not saying it is easy, but here’s how you can be part of that 20%.

#1: Learn to love the boring.

“Repetition can be boring or tedious — which is why so few people ever master anything.” — Hal Elrod

People think becoming successful is a magical carpet ride full of fun and adventure. But success in whatever you choose to be successful in is incredibly boring.

The difference between the successful minority and the average majority in any goal is consistency.

Joe Rogan has 1,600 podcast episodes.

PewDiePie has 4,200 YouTube videos.

Bob Ross had 1,200 paintings.

There’s no such thing as quick success — Lawrence King

Successful people become students of their craft. And learn to find enjoyment in mundane tasks.

They consistently take steps to improve themselves. They study the habits for success. They buy books about it. They seek out mentors and surround themselves with people with similar values and ambitions.

Daniel F Chambliss’ study of Olympic Gold-winning swimmers found that what separated the gold medallist from the others was their ability to “integrate a set of actions, ordinary in themselves, performed consistently and carefully, habitualized, compounded together, & added up over time.”

The key to success is just showing up, doing the work and putting in your repetitions over a long period of time. By doing so, success becomes a habit, not a once-off accomplishment.

Learning and improving becomes a default. That’s why if you learn to love the boring success is a near certainty, not a lottery.

Most people don’t stick with it, so they never become great at anything. “It took me 17 years and 114 days to become an overnight success” — Lionel Messi

#2: Focus on the number of iterations, not hours.

“There is one thing that 99% of failures and successful people have in common: they all hate doing the same things. The difference is successful people do them anyway.” — Darren Hardy.

The amount of hours you put into something is not a reliable indicator of the amount of value you create.

I know people who work 40-hour weeks and accomplish nothing.

I also know people who work 3 hours a day and produce an incredible amount of value.

In a world of infinite leverage, outcomes matter more than input. Working hard is not enough. Working hard on the right things is what is most important.

Push your life forward by experimenting frequently, failing quickly, and learning how to improve and get better. Success is created through iteration, not perfectionism.

You don’t want to put in 10,000 hours, you want to put in 10,000 iterations. By continually refining what you do, you are constantly making 1% improvements that will compound over time.

“I don’t fear the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks. I fear the man who practiced one kick 10,000 times.” — Bruce Lee.

#3: The mindset that got you here, won’t be the one that gets you there.

Each new stage of life requires a different version of you.

You can’t attempt to new solve problems in your life with old thinking. Being a good parent can’t be accomplished with the mindset of being a single bachelor with no commitments.

The trap of life is understanding when the mindset that served so well in the past is no longer the mindset that will help you in the future.

To be successful, you need to be comfortable reinventing yourself. Shedding old mindsets that are no longer helpful to getting you to the next stage of your life.

If you’ve got a big goal, you’ve got to become the person worthy of achieving that big goal. You can’t become a millionaire with $2 thinking.

If you don’t look back at yourself a year ago and think: “I was a complete idiot” you haven’t grown enough.

#4: Create a system that works for you and aligns with your goals.

People quit because it takes too long to see results, because they can’t figure out that the process is the result — Jason Pargin

Setting a goal gives you direction. But creating a system is what allows you to make progress. That’s why a goal without a system is just a delusion.

Any success in life is a process, not an event. That’s why with any goal I have, I attach my success to the process, not the outcome.

I create a plan of when, where, and how long I plan to work towards this goal every day. It’s fine if it is only 15 minutes a day. I am allowed to walk slowly, just not backward.

With writing, I am successful every day I show up to write. Even if the words that come out are terrible. With my fitness, I am successful every time I make it to the gym, especially when I don’t feel like it.

Focusing on outcomes can demoralize you. Too much emphasis on outcomes creates expectations that can be hard to meet on a daily basis. This can cripple your motivation and ruin your momentum.

Creating a system helps you to focus on the process of showing up every day. It makes working towards your goals more enjoyable and gives you a sense of momentum to push you forward.

#5: Listen and observe carefully but ignore almost everyone

The number 1 reason people fail is because they listen to their friends, family and neighbors — Napoleon Hill

You should ignore almost everyone around you. And don’t take criticism from people you wouldn’t take advice from.

I use to broadcast my goals in the hopes of getting other people as excited about them as I was. Some people would be excited for me. Others could only give me reasons why I would fail.

I would get upset if people didn’t reciprocate my enthusiasm.

After a while, I’ve learned to stop telling anyone my goals. I just keep them to myself and work on them quietly in the background.

The truth is that most people don’t care about you as much as you care about yourself. You shouldn’t expect anyone to support you more than you can support yourself.

There are still friends and family I’ll share my goals with if they ask. But I don’t openly share anymore. Work in silence and let your achievements speak for themselves.

When I quit my old job, I told no one.

When I started making money, I told no one.

When I started hitting the gym, I told no one.

I tell no one anything.

Outside opinions will throw off your energy.

— Aaron Will

#6: Stop asking for permission

Today, you can create success for yourself without the permission of anyone.

Want to put your thoughts out there? Start a blog on WordPress.

Want to showcase your photos? Create an Instagram account.

Want to voice your opinion on topics you are passionate about? Record a weekly podcast.

What’s the common theme here? None of these platforms require permission from anyone else. Not your parents, employer or friends. You don’t need to tell everyone about it. Just do it.

In 2021, I started vlogging events in my life. I didn’t ask anyone. I just bought a camera, brought them to events and started recording. I would edit the content together and upload it to social media.

I have no background in videography or editing. I didn’t need any qualifications to do anything. People would sometimes ask what I was doing. I just said I am experimenting because I thought it was fun.

Permission is neither decreed nor degreed.

Start taking action towards your goals today.

You don’t need anyone’s approval.

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