5 Shockingly Simple Habits of Successful People

Success leaves clues and there are a lot of clues to be found in the habits of successful people.

Have you ever wondered why some people seem to have it all—success, happiness, money, love—while others seem to lean into the struggle every single day?

It’s not just luck. There are 5 shockingly simple tactics used by successful people that you can apply to your own life and business.

5 Habits of Successful People

The 5 habits of successful people that I believe are fundamental to achieving success in life are shockingly simple. When it comes to creating success for yourself, you don’t always have to reinvent the wheel. Instead, look at what other successful people are doing for inspiration in your own life.

Over the years, there have been 5 habits that I repeatedly observe wildly successful people doing. After implementing them in my own life, I can confidently tell you that the secret to success isn’t getting lucky, but it’s in the small things you do each day.

The best part… these 5 habits are free. Meaning you can borrow them and make them part of your daily practice right now if you so choose.

1. Successful People Set Goals

Successful people don’t just accept whatever is headed their way—they actively set and pursue specific goals. You need to decide where you want to go in life and then align your actions with these goals in order to get there. And, most importantly, keep track of the progress you make toward achieving those goals—it is this that will fuel your progress in life and attract the success you want.

2. An Attitude of Gratitude

I write in a gratitude journal every single morning, but I didn’t always do this. Implementing this habit has changed my life!

I go looking for the good that has taken place in my life to start each day. Others end their day in gratitude, writing before they go to bed or spending a few minutes thinking about things they’re grateful for before they fall asleep.

It doesn’t matter what your practice is–what matters is where you put your attention. If you focus on what went wrong during your day, you’re going to attract more of that. But if you train your mind to look for the good, good things will be far more prevalent in your life.

3. Celebrate Your Victories

Successful people are confident people and they don’t have any shame about saying, “I did this! I accomplished this! I achieved this!” They celebrate their wins, big or small, and give themselves the credit they deserve. When you stop paying so much attention to your shortfalls and start looking at all the things that you do well, you’ll be amazed at the difference it makes.

Sheryl Sandberg, author, and Facebook COO, once wrote a post that discussed a habit that she put in place after her husband passed away. On the advice of a friend, every night, she would write down 3 things that she did well in her journal. Not 3 things she was grateful for, or 3 things that others did well, but 3 things that she did well each and every day. She attributes that practice to getting her through a very difficult time in her life. Some days the things she did well were as simple as, “Made a cup of tea.”

We all have at least 3 things that we do well every single day–some days those 3 things might be bigger or smaller than other days, but they still exist. Some days, managing to answer your email might be one of the things you do well. Other days, it will be closing a big sale, or confidentially speaking to a huge audience–or maybe it will be taking the time to breathe deeply and tell the people around you how important they are in your life! Learn to embrace the things you are good at. It will build your self-confidence, your self-esteem, and make you feel a lot better about yourself.

4. Read, A Lot

A common theme among successful people is that they read–a lot. They read books, they read blogs, they read articles, and they read magazines.

And reading doesn’t have to cost money. You can get books for free at the library, you can read blogs and magazine articles online for free, and you can find free book PDFs (just type the book title into Google—you’d be amazed at how many authors have made free copies of their books available on the Internet).

I make reading a practice every single day and you should, too.

When you read, you’re learning more things. The more you know, the more capable you become, and the more confident you will be. Reading puts more tools in your toolbox and putting that information to work for you can make you more successful.

5. Get Moving

The final habit that successful people do is exercise, even if it’s just a small walk every day. Get out and move your body! I’m not talking about a fancy gym membership or a personal trainer, you can just get out and walk—that’s what I do. I try to walk for 30 minutes every single day and it makes a huge difference in how I feel. When I exercise at the beginning of the day I set the tone for my achievements for the rest of my day because I’m accomplishing my personal goals to get moving and to pay attention to my health. Can’t find a 30-minute block of time to walk every day? Split it up into three 10-minute power walks.

These are the simple habits of successful people that you can choose to apply to your own life–set goals, be grateful, pay attention to your wins, read more, and exercise. If you’d like to change your life and incorporate more happiness and more success into your days, start doing these 5 things.

Habit formation is not easy but the only way to do it is to simply start.

Which of these 5 habits do you need to focus on in your life? I challenge you to try it for the next 90 days and report back to tell me how it goes!