8 Things Successful People Do

http://smallbusiness.yahoo.com/advisor/eight-things-remarkably-successful-people-do.html

What’s the Reason?

[Taken from Simple Dollar]
As I mentioned several days ago, my uncle passed away. On Friday, I attended his funeral, where one of my uncle’s old friends spoke very eloquently.

After the service, I spoke to that friend of my uncle for a few moments. I thanked him for the words he had spoken and we reflected together for a bit. He left me with a brief statement that’s been floating in my mind for a while now: “Everyone and everything comes into your life for a reason.”

Why do you do the things you do? Why do you have the things that you have? Why do you spend time with the people that you spend time with? What are these things really bringing into your life?

If you can’t truly describe how those things bring a net positive into your life – or, in some cases, how your involvement is bringing about a net positive – then why are those things in your life?

It’s a good question to ask about everything in your life.

Usually, people apply it to the big things in their lives. Why do they have the job that they have? Why do they have the close relationships that they have?

I find it equally powerful to ask such questions about the little things. Why do I make the purchases that I make? Why do I have the professional acquaintances that I have? Why am I going to this particular social event?

Is there a real reason for any of these things?

When you start to ask real questions like this, you become something like a paleontologist, brushing away the unimportant things to reveal the true state of things buried underneath.

You start to reveal your true relationships – the ones that bring value for you and for the other person – and discard the ones that do not.

You start to use your money for purchases that are actually useful for you, and put aside the money that you might waste on purchases that aren’t useful.

It’s such a simple question. What’s the reason? The better your answer, the better off you are.

Spend some time today to think about that question. Think about the big things in your life and ask yourself what the reason is that you have it in your life. Then look at some of the smaller things with the same question in mind. Realize that not having a good answer to the question is a useful thing, because it tells you that you might want to consider some different choices in your life.

More Valuable than Money or Possessions

[Taken from the Simple Dollar] There was a time about eight years ago when I woke up thinking about the possessions I had and the money I was earning. I was a collector of stuff and I was immensely proud of the money I was earning. Not only did I want lots of stuff for my own enjoyment, I also wanted to flaunt it to a certain extent.

Over time, though, I began to realize that something was missing in my life. There were things that I wanted in my life that were drifting farther and farther away from me.

I wanted the freedom to write for a living because I deeply enjoy the written word.

I wanted a strong relationship with my wife.

I wanted a strong relationship with my children and to raise them into a self-reliant and curiosity-filled adulthood.

I wanted time to read and enjoy books – not to collect them, but to read and enjoy them.

I wanted to build a close circle of friends that would stick with me through thick and thin (as I would stick with them).

My life was focused heavily on my income and possessions, but it really felt empty after a while.

Eventually, after I realized that I really needed to turn my financial situation around, I began to really focus on the things above as the center of my life. Each of them – along with another focus or two that I’ve added since then – pushes me to build a great life that I enjoy without spending money.

Writing only requires a computer and trips to the library to do research.

A relationship with my wife requires just time and attention, as does a relationship with my children.

Reading just requires time, along with those aforementioned trips to the library.

A close circle of friends mostly just requires time and attention.

Better health (a newer focus) requires time to exercise and attention to the foods I eat.

There’s no significant money being spent on any of these things, yet they fill up the vast majority of my time and attention. These are the components of a life that I’m happy leading.

For me, a major key to financial success was simply taking stock of my life and figuring out what I wanted most from it. When you’re not doing that, it’s easy to get distracted by the constant hum of consumerism that fills life in the United States, from the advertisements to the product placement within programs, from the social influences to the pressure to be seen as affluent.

Take some time to step back and ask yourself what’s genuinely important to you. What really matters in your life? Step back from the things you invest your time, money, and energy into and focus instead on maximizing those things that matter most to you.

You might find that financial success comes easier than you think.