6 Small Habits That Will Change Your Life Forever

ry Sunday, I send you something to THINK about, a question to ASK yourself, something to TRY and invite you to SHARE.

Want to advertise in this Newsletter?

Book HERE

THINK

“Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day-in and day-out.”
Robert Collier

Here are 6 guiding principles that have had a massive impact on my life.

I refer to them when I feel doubt, and they rarely let me down.

I hope they serve you equally well.

1) Hell Yeah or No

Derek Sivers wrote an entire book on this topic.

The essence of this principle is that when faced with opportunities, decisions, or commitments, you should only say “Yes” if you feel an overwhelming sense of enthusiasm for it. Otherwise, the answer should be “No”.

The idea is to prioritise your activities around things that genuinely excite you and align with your values and goals whilst eliminating distractions and obligations that do not contribute to personal or professional fulfilment.

It’s about focusing on what truly matters and being intentional with your time and energy.

Saying “No” to almost everything frees up your time and mind. You have the space to give it everything when something great comes along.

Trying to do everything leads to inner conflict.

It’s harder to say “No” than you think.

But it’s also more liberating than you can ever imagine.

2) Seek Certainty

“Where there’s doubt, there is no doubt.“

This is one of my favourite sayings, and it beautifully supports “Hell Yeah or No”.

When doubt arises about a particular course of action or belief, it highlights a lack of clarity or conviction.

I use “Hell Yeah or No” to inspire clarity in these moments.

A business friend of mine was considering sacking someone. He wasn’t sure whether he wanted to let them go.

I replied with this saying.

I wouldn’t consider sacking anyone in my team currently. There is no doubt.

If you’re continually thinking about sacking a team member, splitting up with your partner, or whether to go for that job, act with conviction.

Put the HOW aside for a moment.

True certainty leaves no room for doubt. Seek certainty either way.

You know what you need to do.

3) The 90:10 Rule

You might have heard of the Pareto Principle (80:20 Rule).

It suggests that approximately 80% of outcomes result from 20% of inputs. In other words, a minority of efforts (20%) often lead to a majority of results (80%).

The principle can be applied to anything!

Finances, health, relationships, fun, etc.

Find the small things that have a massive impact on your life, and do more of them.

Find the big things that have a small impact, and do less of them.

I turn up the dial and seek 90:10.

4) Success = Awareness

If you ask 100 people how to succeed at something, you’ll get a vast range of answers.

There will be multiple cross-overs in response, such as:

Set clear goals
Continuous learning and improvement
Consistent effort and persistence
Effect time management
Build strong relationships
Etc.

All of these common responses come back to one thing – Awareness.

SUCCESS = AWARENESS

Set Clear Goals – Knowing where you are, where you want to be and the difference, and what you need to do this year, month, week and today to get there.
Continuous Learning and Improvement – Knowing your shortcomings, how to improve them, what to learn and how.
Consistent Effort and Persistence – Knowing what needs to be done daily, why you’re doing it and keeping to it. Tracking your efforts.
Effect Time Management – Knowing how much time is needed to move you towards your goals. Knowing what’s a distraction and what’s worth the effort.
Build Strong Relationships – Knowing if you have the right people around you. You share the same values and goals. Knowing if the relationships are solid or fraying.

Awareness is Everything.

The things that aren’t happening in your life aren’t happening because you haven’t put your focus on it.

Your focus is pointing in a different direction or multiple directions. Say “no” to the trivial to free up space for the essential.

Shine a light on it.

Write down your goals and how you plan to achieve them.
Make your goals clear.
Track your progress daily.
Make your progress visual – Put a tracker somewhere you can remember it – Ie. Desk, Kitchen, Bedroom, Office wall, etc.

When you consider what’s missing in your life…

Think about how you can shine attention on it daily.

5) Remove Steps

If you hate doing something, you likely picture it as having loads of annoying steps.

If you love doing something, you likely picture it as having one awesome step.

The next time you have something important but annoying to do, consider how many steps you’re picturing and how you can simplify.

(Awareness… again!)

Remove certain steps.

Focus on one.

Make it fun.

6) Face Fear

Fear could be translated to “lack of awareness”.

Some people swim with sharks, jump out of aeroplanes, fight in a cage and speak in front of millions.

How?

They’ve learned how to. They fully understand it.

And so can you.

“Life is an ongoing process of choosing between safety (out of fear and need for defense) and risk (for the sake of progress and growth). Make the growth choice a dozen times a day.” – Abraham Maslow

It doesn’t have to be about the big scary stuff…

Ask that person out, walk through the gym door for the first time, or start that side hustle idea.

Face your fear.

Once you do, you raise awareness and loosen its grip.

When you become the person who faces their fear, you fear far less.

Reflect and share this with someone.

ASK

“What’s your biggest takeaway?”

“Which small habit would have the greatest impact on your life if you implemented it?”

Write down what comes to mind.

TRY

These small habits have changed my life.

Take what you like and ditch what you don’t.

Create your own rules or guidelines to help you progress in your desired direction.

They help you eliminate wasted time or energy.

When you experience fear, uncertainty or doubt… revert back to your rules.

Which small habit has had the greatest impact on your life?

HIT REPLY and let me know.

I read and reply to every email, and remember, I’m rooting for you!

Remember: Little by little, a little becomes a lot.

Reply to this email and share how it went for you. Let me know if you’d prefer to remain anonymous.