Want to Be Successful Like One of the Greatest Minds Ever? Here's How!
The inspiring story of Thomas Alva Edison
One day, after Edison came back from school, his mother was sitting next to the window, waiting for him. Teachers from his school sent him to give her a very special letter. After she had read the letter, she hugged her son and told him that he is too smart to go to school and that, from now on, she will teach him. What she did actually is that she gave him a compass of how to become a true, successful man.
The first, amongst many important lessons, is the lesson about habits. Our habits are truly powerful things because they define our personalities. A successful person, a successful entrepreneur knows this. Positive qualities like work ethic, being always on time, trying to do things right and not giving up no matter what start out as our choices, our free will. But they eventually develop in routines. Effective habits and their repetition are one of the best ways to become better at anything. Entrepreneurship included.
Always set a goal. Something that's physical or numerical. It will help you on your path and set up a compass in all the hardships that you will face in trying to achieve it. Make your compass always visible to you.
Find out what triggers you and make the best use of your most productive hours. This means make time. Make it today. But make time to plan for tomorrow. You will be able to anticipate possible problems and come up with that handy plan B. This makes sense, does it?
Reward yourself. Try to identify your healthy habits and routines. When you do that, you will also learn about your unhealthy ones. Think about what's the best reward in getting at some point of your path. It means that you shouldn't reward yourself just once, but each time you cross a threshold of a problem. And then make, new, more powerful, helpful and healthy habits.
Create a system for each goal. Set up small goals with different systems. Not enough time for everything? Make systems that will function even if you are not involved in it. Most entrepreneurs fear that their business won’t function without them. So it actually relies too heavily on their personal involvement. Try to involve others in some specific tasks. Let them help you. It feels much better when you know you're not alone in facing up problems. Even if they don't help you, you will get enough time to let the stress go out and let the inspiration come in.
Don't forget that we are the architects of our lives. And all the bricks are made of small habits. Becoming successful and fulfilling your dream is a big thing. But if we broke it down into a list of small things, we will realize that those things are not but the highly effective habits that we created from our inner self.
At the end, those things can't be taught in a school, university, academy... Those are things that we learn through our communication with people and our communication with that voice in our heads that always pushes us to go forward. Even though sometimes it's really hard to do that.
At the peak of his career, Edison's mother died. After her death he found the letter that she once read to him. In the letter teachers actually wrote that her son is mentally ill and that they can't teach him anything at all and that she should teach him. And she did her job better than any other teacher in the world. She gave him a recipe of how to become one of the most brilliant and successful people in the world.
© 2017 Fatima Memija Bahtic