Seattle, September 2024
We all have our definition of success but we also share what society views as “a successful person”. While real success may not necessarily mean money, affluence, and being famous, I think we all want to achieve our version of success. For me, success might be more about living a life of purpose and rewriting my story, for someone else it could be something different. When I looked and analyzed a lot of books, courses, workshops, and YouTube videos on success habits I came up with my top five habits that set the stage. I wanted to keep it basic and expand later because we all need to begin somewhere so here is a very brief list of priority habits to focus on first.
Continue to Learn and Read Daily.
The most successful people in the world are avid readers and keep engaging in acquiring new skills. They understand the power of knowledge. Einstein read for 4 hours a day on physics, Bill Gates read a book a week, and Elon Musk read science fiction for hours growing up. Barack Obama, Brene Brown, Oprah, Tony Robbins – all of them read diligently. They read about business, leadership, their industry, fiction, and history. With the internet, you have access to a lot of information. Most cities also have libraries where you can borrow books for free in paper copies, or electronically, and even audiobooks. Many prestigious universities and experts offer their courses openly or for a very nominal fee these days on popular education platforms. It could be overwhelming initially because there is such a huge amount of material to go through, but you can start by reading one page a day or listening to a book on your commute and slowly build from there. Make a “to-read list” and revise it periodically, focusing on small but consistent input of daily reading and you will see the richness of ideas and knowledge that will follow.
Develop a Robust Sleep Routine
Mendeleev’s periodic table, Frederick Banting’s insulin for the treatment of diabetes, and Einstein’s theory of relativity all came up in sleep. Ok this may not be a trendy topic, and some sources may cite anywhere between 6 and 9 hours of sleep required, but it would be hard to imagine a tired person conquering the world. As a doctor, I hope you can take my word for it: it’s important for your brain health. And your brain is pretty much your main real estate so to say. Sleep allows you to consolidate memories, and “clean up toxins” from your brain, it’s shown to impact immunity, cognitive performance, and longevity. Start by allowing enough sleep opportunities for your body to recover and prioritizing getting enough snooze time, instead of going to bed when all the tasks are taken care of. Keep a sleep log and track your hours of rest and your subjective experience of performance and energy for at least 2 weeks, reflect on what trend you see, and adjust your sleeping behavior accordingly. Continue this “quality improvement cycle” until you find your own best sleeping practices. I developed different sleep routines for stressful times, for nights on call and post-call, and for joyful days, it’s doable but takes some time. Check out this video for some inspiration:
Adopt Relaxation and Self-Regulation Practices
Most successful individuals did not become successful overnight, they encountered multiple failures and challenges on the way. They continued to try despite the hard days, bad days, and just terrible misery. How are you going to persist on your way to your dreams?
Build your playbook to keep you going, even in the hardest of times. It could be yoga, meditation, journaling, breathing, and guided imagery techniques. Increase your chances to withstand stress by learning to practice relaxation and having secure relationships with friends, mentors, or a therapist. Check out this video for some examples:
Nourish Your Body
You probably heard that health is a new wealth and so much of our performance, productivity, and quality of life depends on what we eat. Make an experiment by keeping a log of what you eat for a week and how each food makes you feel, and try to eliminate foods that make you feel unwell after. There are plenty of diets out there, and it’s important not to fall into the trap of fads. Eat plenty of protein, and a variety of fruits and vegetables, and make water your drink of choice. This is not about following a specific protocol from a celebrity, this is something you will need to focus on and develop over time to stay healthy. Fuel your body for success!
Move Daily
Most successful people from Fortune 500 CEOs to entrepreneurs to celebrities share their commitment to the movement. That is because they ultimately understand the value of good health and treat their body as a most luxurious Ferrari that needs regular maintenance to keep running at its peak. I am not saying you must join the 5 am club, run marathons, or become a competitive bodybuilder. Begin by setting a sustainable goal and building up.
To give you an example. I started with 10-minute core workouts, then added 8 K steps a day target, then added 3 strength workouts a day over 6 months. I am training to feel well and to improve my longevity, not for the looks or weight loss or running a marathon. Your goals might be different so they will need to be tailored to you.
We are all different and have different physical abilities. Listen to your body, talk to your doctor or trainer, and get yourself to move, even if in micro-breaks of 1-2 mins of jumping jacks or sit-ups throughout your day. If you are a total beginner, aim for 8-10K steps a day, although it is somewhat arbitrary, it is simple enough. Finally, see if you can add resistance training 3-4 times a week.
So these are the foundational habits of successful people that not everybody is talking about. It begins with investing in your most important asset – your body and your brain.
I hope you found some helpful tips here to get you started. The list is not exhaustive but should serve as a good starting point.
Remember motivation will wax and wane, so don’t rely on it. But also give yourself some grace on the days when life gets out of control, don’t let perfection be in the way of progress.
Finally, focus on doing the smallest steps that bring you closer to your goals consistently. Over time they will compound and you will celebrate a transformed version of yourself in 6 to 12 months.
Thank you so much for reading! I am sure you have been working on some of those already. Let me know in the comments below which habit you think should be added to the list next.
