How To Be Successful in 2019 (What You Should STOP and START Doing)

It’s happening again.

2018 is turning 2019. You are feeling hopeful and motivated to bring positive change to your life.

A new year brings a new beginning, right?

Armed with these 17 actionable steps you’ll be able to radically improve your life and learn how to be successful in 2019. Let’s get to it?

1. STOP Setting New Year Resolutions… START New Month Resolutions Instead

How often have you set New Year resolutions just to fall shortly after 1–2 months?

New month resolutions, 90 day years, or daily themes help you get over analysis paralysis of making big life decisions.

“I like pushing myself to the limit and pushing the envelope, and in my mind, that is not really compatible with a reliable long-term plan,” says Tim Ferriss. “I generally treat my life as six-month projects and two-week experiments of various types. Then I take the most attractive door that pops up, and rinse and repeat.”

Todd Herman recommends picking a 90 Day theme.

You can also commit to monthly challenges like 1) no movies, 2) daily meditation, 3) quit social media, 4) read daily for 30 mins.

Action steps:

1. Write down all your goals and projects you want to tackle.
2. Rate all your goals against each other until you can pick ONE that could have the most impact.
3. Ensure that the goal is specific and you are able to complete it within 30–90 days. Now split it into small action steps, create mini-deadlines and get crackin’. ;)

2. STOP Letting Life Happen To You… View Your Life As A Laboratory Instead

You have a lot less time than you think, and you’re not spending it the way you think you are.

Create an hour-by-hour log to see where your time is spent over a week and you’ll be shocked with results.

When Drew Houston (founder of Dropbox) did this exercise he was stunned to discover that 1) his jar was mostly filled with sand and 2) really important rocks were falling on the ground.

When you view your life as a laboratory and start to consistently track and review your activities, you will naturally optimize how you do things.

What gets measured, gets improved.

This is how my daily log looks like.

Action steps:

1. Set your alarm to go off every 1–2 hours
2. Document how you spent your time. Repeat it for a week.
3. At the end of each day review how you did and think of one thing you could do to improve.

It’s OK to have a bad day, it’s not OK to have a bad week.

3. STOP Being Ordinary… Become Extraordinary By Mastering Your Own Machine Instead

Figure out what makes you unique.

By learning how your machine works you can gain a tremendous edge.

When you focus on your weaknesses, everything seems like hard work. When you follow your natural strengths, work becomes a challenging play.

Take time to discover your innate abilities, blind spots, and personality traits. If you’ve never done it before, it will be a transforming experience (it was for me).

“Part of knowing who you are is knowing who you’re not.” — Mike Bell

My Kolbe test results.

Action steps:

1. Take as many personality tests as you can — Enneagram (after the test, use this site to interpret results), Myer-Briggs, GeniusU, CliftonStrengths (paid), Kolbe (paid)
2. Survey your closest friends and family. Ask them what do you do better than anyone else they know? And — What is your biggest weakness in their opinion?
3. Pull the data together and decide how you’ll tailor your role to operate more in your zone of magic and work around your weaknesses.

4. STOP Glancing For Shortcuts… and Get Obsessed About Marketing Instead

“We drink the can, not the beverage.” ― Seth Godin

Whether you own a business or not, you’re a marketer. If you want to get others to say YES to you, you must understand what makes people tick.

• Do you want your FB post to be seen? Marketing.
• Do you want to get a promotion? Marketing.
• Do you want that guy to notice you? Marketing.

Brendon Burchard recommends all his clients, even his Olympic athletes, to take at least two sales courses each year and two social psychology courses.

Russell Brunson said all his millionaire mastermind members are OBSESSED with marketing. There is a reason why many successful business owners recommend Cialdini’s book “Influence” (and not some business book).

So get obsessed about understanding fundamental human nature, psychology, and persuasion. It will change your life.

Action steps:

1. Read Robert B. Cialdini book “Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion” and Jonah Berger’s “Contagious: Why Things Catch On”. Read them more than once.
2. Study Seth Godin’s work.
3. Practice. Knowing and not doing is not knowing.

5. STOP Permitting Technology To Enslave You… And Take Back Control

Successful people are cautious about their relationship with technology.

Technology allows us to do amazing things, but we have become addicted to it.

Yuval Noah Harari says, “If you are not careful, technology will start dictating your aims and enslaving you to it’s agenda […]

We are not living in the era of hacking computers — we are living in the era of hacking humans. Once the corporations and governments know you better than you know yourself, they could control and manipulate you and you won’t even realize it.”

Neil Strauss, for example, blocks his computer from Internet access for 22h a day (with app Freedom) and has a timed safe, where he can drop his phone into.

It’s time for you to take back control.

Action steps:

1. Set boundaries. For example, put your phone in airplane mode in the evening and commit not to check it for the first 90 minutes the next day.
2. Make browsing inconvenient. Delete the apps. Unplug Wi-Fi.
3. Go nuclear. Stop using websites, apps that don’t add anything to your life.

6. STOP Wasting Your Mental Energy… Create Constraints Instead

When people hear the word “constraint” they think of it as a negative. But in truth, it’s a powerful force for good.

A constraint is where you extremely limit yourself in one field so you can be extremely creative in another.

Few examples:

• CEO of LearnVest, Alexa Von Tobel eats the same thing every lunch — salads.
• Steve Jobs, Mark Zuckerberg, Ray Dalio, and Barack Obama always wear the same thing.
• Three.Sentenc.es — it’s a policy to constrain your emails to three sentences.

Why? Because successful people know that mental energy is in limited quantity.

You can also create constraints in your work. For example, if you’re a writer you could commit to only writing and mastering 3,000-word list post.

Action steps:

1. Write down what recurring things happen in your life or business. For example — email, clothing, eating, recurring work tasks.
2. Highlight your biggest frustrations and time consumers.
3. Figure out how to constrain, simplify or eliminate them.

Few ideas: Create a weekly meal plan. Create themes for days of the week. Read this for more ideas.

7. STOP Obsessing About Productivity … Focus on Impact Instead

“There’s nothing so useless as doing efficiently that which should not be done at all.” — Peter Drucker

Successful people spend a lot of time thinking about problems before jumping to fix them. They figure out the lead domino that would kick off all the others in one fell swoop.

Dwight D. Eisenhower has been credited as the most productive and effective president the US ever had. Using Eisenhower Matrix you can shift from being busy to becoming effective.

“What is important is seldom urgent and what is urgent is seldom important.” — Dwight D. Eisenhower

The core idea is that you should spend as much time as possible doing Important / Non-Urgent things, instead of putting off fires (Urgent / Important).

Action steps:

1. Write down activities you do during the day and put them on Eisenhower Matrix.
2. Pay special attention to Urgent and Not Important activities as they are the ‘low hanging fruit’ that you could delegate, outsource or systematize.
3. Check which Urgent and Important activities you could prevent from happening again? Note: These usually happen because of a lack of planning and preparation.

8. STOP Simply Working… Forge A Personalised Training Regimen Instead

The idea of deliberate practice is often confused with just working hard.

Musicians and athletes know this naturally. They separate playing from practicing. For some reason, knowledge workers forget this. But growth doesn’t just magically happen.

Michael Simmons talks about 5-hour rule. You need to learn 5 hours a week just to stay relevant.

But proactive training regimen must be developed if you want to get ahead.

Cal Newport has said, “Doing things we know how to do well is enjoyable, and that’s exactly the opposite of what deliberate practice demands….”

Action steps:

1. Learn how to practice. This book is a good start. It’s for musicians, but it covers practicing principles that you can apply anywhere.
2. Design your own training regimen. Check how Mozart, Picasso, and Kobe Bryant practiced to get inspired.
3. Schedule a time to practice improving your skills. If it’s not in the calendar, it’s a dead dream.

9. STOP Sweating About Your Life’s Purpose… Enter The Trench Warfare Instead

“What am I going to do with my life?”

Don’t you get anxious just thinking about that question?

Successful people are incredibly patient in long-term, but they don’t waste their days worrying about years.

While you are busy asking yourself existential questions and then procrastinate watching Netflix, successful people are in the trenches figuring things out as they go.

“They say:”Think Big! Have a compelling vision!” I say: Think Small. Do something super cool by the end of the day. Excellence is the next five minutes or nothing at all. It’s the quality of your next five-minute conversation. It’s the quality of, yes, your next email.“ — Tom Peters

You don’t have to figure everything out now. Just be clear about what you would like to happen today and give it your best.

Action step

Don’t overthink. Just pick something where you love the process, has good income potential and go do that.

But what if it’s the wrong direction? — you may ask.

You’ll find out sooner. 😊

10. STOP Consuming Content… Learn Your Way With Words Instead

The most valuable career skill is public speaking, some would argue.

But what’s public speaking? It’s just words that impact people.

“More and more communication is written today,” said Jason Fried.“Get great at presenting yourself with words, and words alone, and you’ll be far ahead of most.“

After you’ve studied marketing from #4, with copywriting you learn how to put that knowledge in words.

Action steps:

1. Intentionally decide that you’ll consume less content and create more instead.
2. Learn storytelling. Watch “Finding Joe” ($3.99) and watching movies will never be the same. You’ll see Hero’s Journey everywhere.
3. Read the book “On Writing Well”. Study copywriting (which is basically a marriage of writing and marketing).

11. STOP Being Impatient With Others… Become Impatient With Yourself Instead

Have you noticed?

The more time you have to complete a task, the more time it takes to do it.

You can move faster than you think. You can train yourself to shorten the time it takes to complete tasks.

Said historian Will Durant, “I think the ability of the average man could be doubled if it were demanded, if the situation demanded.”

You’ll be blown away how fast you can move if you just make the decision to move fast.

Action steps:

1. Ask yourself: “Why can’t I do that in half the time?”
2. Write down in detail what you will do to move faster.
3. Take action and become impatient with yourself.

12. STOP The Destruction of Inner Critic… Learn To Fight Back And Manage It

Inner critic exists in all of us.

What about successful people? They have it too. The only difference is that they have learned how to manage it.

How?

The negative self-talk actually is a form of self-absorption. What is that voice in your head saying when the critic comes out? — “You don’t have what it takes. Last time you just got lucky. You’ll fail.”

Notice anything? Yup — it’s all about you!

When you realize this, the solution becomes simple — shift your perspective from yourself to how your work will help other people.

Action steps:

1. Think — What are you usually doing when inner critic comes out?
2. Decide how you’ll manage it next time. Imagine scenario happening in your head, just this time you are outward focused.
3. Rinse and repeat. You’ll get better with practice.

13. STOP Criticising… Aspire For Others To Succeed Too

Successful people are growth friends to others.

They know that other people’s success doesn’t diminish their own.

While insecure people constantly doubt themselves and criticize others in order to prove their self-worth, successful people compliment and help others.

Ironically, they feel better themselves as a result.

Negativity is a choice. What choice are you making?

Action steps:

1. Start giving compliments to other people (hint: the more specific the better).
2. Look for ways to lift up your friends and encourage them to be better.

“If I accept you as you are, I make you worse; however, if I treat you as though you are what you are capable of becoming I help you become that.“ — Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

14. STOP The Boredom… Start Living at The Edge of Your Capabilities

“If you aren’t in over your head, how do you know how tall you are?” — T.S. Eliot

When you’re too comfortable you drown in boredom and depression as Yerkes-Dodson law illustrates:

The solution? Get used to stretching yourself. Peak performance and discomfort go hand in hand.

Success can usually be measured by the number of uncomfortable conversations you are willing to have and uncomfortable actions you are willing to make.

Action steps:

1. Think of one thing you’re going to do this week to actively seek challenging work in the area where you want to grow.
2. Build your resilience by challenging yourself. Start taking cold showers, try 100 days of rejection, quit caffeine.
3. Get used to living at the edge of your capabilities. Warning: It’s addicting. 😉

15. STOP Letting “Monkey Mind” Run Rampant… Make Deals With It Instead

Successful people don’t fight their human nature, they learn how to manage it.

“I think we all have two main characters in our heads: a rational decision-maker (the adult in your head) and instant gratification monkey (the child in your head who doesn’t care about consequences and just wants to maximize the ease and pleasure of the present moment).

For me, these two are in a constant battle, and the monkey usually wins. But I’ve found that if I turn life into a yin-yang situation — e.g. “work till 6 today, then no work till tomorrow” — it’s much easier to control the monkey in the work period.” — said Tim Urban (from WaitButWhy) on his incredible TED Talk.

By acknowledging that gratification monkey exists, you can come up with solutions. The first step toward change is awareness.

Action steps:

1. Notice when you get distracted and start procrastinating. Analyze it — Was it because of “monkey mind”? Or was it something else (lack of sleep, food, a notification)?
2. Make a deal with “your monkey” and offer him a treat in exchange for cooperation during work hours (like watching a funny video, snack or walk)
3. If you don’t have a real deadline, create one and commit to it publicly or use something like GoFuckingDoIt. Monkey respects emotional deadlines.

16. STOP The Romance With Failure… Study Outliers Instead

Nowadays people are obsessed with failure.

But the truth is you don’t learn the most from failures.

This idea may make you feel better, but whenever you want to do something well, you do it by studying people who are really good and have achieved results you desire.

For example, you don’t study all the failed writers to learn how to become a great storyteller; you study the world’s best storytellers.

Yes, if you want to become the top 1% you will fail a lot, but don’t distort your thinking that you should take all your lessons from failure.

Model what works instead.

This is how Tony Robbins does it:

1. Find five people in your field who have results you desire.
2. Study them obsessively through podcasts, interviews, books, courses
3. Figure out what they all have in common and use it to replicate the results.

17. STOP With The Lousy Questions… Skyrocket Your Growth Instead

The quality of your life depends on questions you ask yourself.

Ask lousy questions, get lousy answers.

You can ask, “What makes me happy?” — You’ll get a good answer.

What if you ask, “What gives me bliss?” — You’ll get a great answer.

Tim Ferris has said, “In my experience, going from 1x to 10x, from 10x to 100x, and from 100x to (when Lady Luck really smiles) 1000x returns in various areas has been a product of better questions. John Dewey’s dictum that “a problem well put is half-solved” applies.”

Growth is stimulated by asking — Why?

Here are some great questions to ask yourself:

1. How would this look like if it was easy?
2. What would I do if I wasn’t afraid?
3. I am 99 years old, I am on my deathbed, and I have a chance to come back to right now: what would I do?
4. If I were to raise the excellence in everything I do by 30%, what would I stop doing and what would I start doing?
5. What one skill, if I developed and did it consistently in an excellent fashion, would have the greatest positive impact on my career?

Pulling It All Together

I urge you to kick off 2019 with a bang or even better — set a new month resolution today!

Remember people who succeed are no smarter than you, they are just people who have acquired skills and habits through patient consistency.

So start little.

You’ve got this!

If you liked this article, give me at least a dozen claps 👏 for good luck 👊