13 things that will make you more successful.
The uncomfortable truth is that most of you reading this will do just that. Read this article — and then do nothing about it.
And that’s the thing about the advice you read online. You can read it all, but you learn nothing if you don’t implement it.
I’ve met and interviewed over 100 multimillionaires, CEOs, founders and entrepreneurs and learned their habits, absorbed their advice and tried to understand what it takes to achieve their level of success.
So here are 13 things I’ve learned from some of the world’s most successful people — multimillionaire entrepreneurs to spiritual guides and my own experiences about how to be successful.
1. Divorce is a life hack.
Ok, so I’m not advocating that you immediately run home and leave your partner. What I mean by “divorce is a life hack” is that if you’re in a romantic or platonic relationship that isn’t serving you, cut it out. Life, although seemingly long, is incredibly short. And if you’re blessed enough to be given approx 85 years to live, why would you want to spend even a second of that in a relationship that wasn’t adding value to your life?
For me, that was my marriage. For you, it could be clients, friendships, or something as simple as an old pair of jeans that don’t fit and make you feel like sh*t. Divorce it all.
Optimise your life like you’d optimise your work day, career, and business. Learning to remove people from your life is just as important as learning how to add them.
2. Kindness pays an incredibly high ROI.
Kindness is grossly underrated. And I don’t know a single ‘successful’ person in business who isn’t overwhelmingly generous with their time, advice and money. No one wins alone, and no self-made bazillionaire did it by themselves. We all need help to achieve what we want, so whether success means money, cars, or happiness, never ever be too afraid to ask for help. Or too arrogant to give it.
And once you make it — remember, if you were lucky enough to have so much help, you succeeded, you must pay that help — and kindness forward.
3. Stop trying to improve your weaknesses.
If you’re sh*t at admin, get a Virtual Assistant. If you can’t write, hire a freelance copywriter. If you never have time to clean the house, get a cleaner.
If you’re sh*t at something or hate doing it, stop doing it.
And look, I get this is coming from a place of privilege. You need the resources to do these things, but to improve your strengths — which will help you succeed — you need to accept the things you’re not good at and delegate them to people who are better at them than you.
And if you’re not there yet, ask for help — or work your ass off until you can.
There are only so many hours in the day so focus on using them for things that add to your life and career — not take away from them.
4. Don’t take criticism from people you wouldn’t take advice from.
A well-respected industry figurehead once told me my business would (and I quote) “crash and burn” and that I’d be better off doing “marketing or something”.
If I’d listened to this bullsh*t advice, I wouldn’t have taken my personal branding business from zero to six figures in six months. Or hired a team of 7 incredible people in 12 months.
Remember, when someone says “you can’t”, they mean “I can’t”.
5. No amount of money is worth working a job you hate.
This might be hard to hear, but you don’t hate Mondays; you hate your job.
So get that exit plan in place asap. It’s not quirky or relatable to say you hate Mondays in 2022 — so quit. Take back control of your happiness, your purpose and your career and find something that makes you look forward to Mondays. Quitting is for winners because winners know that they need to stop doing something to start doing something better.
There’s no amount of money worth working a job you hate.
6. Sleep is non-negociable.
When we’re tired, we remember 81% of negative words spoken to us and 31% of positive or neutral words spoken to us. AKA, when you’re tired, everything seems bad. The world feels like it’s against you, and you can’t see or think clearly.
Sleep isn’t optional if you want to succeed. It’s an essential part of your cell rejuvenation, mental clarity and overall wellbeing. An essential part of high-performance and success.
“Sleep when you’re dead” is a fast-track ticket to failure — and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.
7. Always speak to strangers.
All of our parents told us, “Don’t speak to strangers”, but unless you’re ten years old, that advice is bullsh*t. Don’t be afraid to introduce yourself to someone at a bar, when you’re on your commute or virtually on social media.
Every opportunity I have had has come from meeting, connecting with, and talking to strangers. It’s so easy and comfortable for us to stay in our safe little echo chambers of friends we’ve had since school and colleagues we trust but those people will never teach you anything new.
So, talk to strangers. It’s essential for success.
8. Choose a boss, not a business.
A business won’t challenge you. A business won’t promote you. A business won’t acknowledge your hard work or notice you’re not doing so great and give you feedback that’ll see you improve. A business can’t support your growth, but a boss can.
You learn from people, not businesses. So choose a boss, not a business.
9. Sales is EVERYTHING.
No matter what your job title is, we’re all in sales. Because life is about selling. Whether you’re on a date, at an interview or convincing your mother-in-law of your point of view, everything is sales. And if you want to be successful in any part of your life, you have to understand how to sell.
10. Build your personal brand.
Brand messages are re-shared 24x times more when shared on an individual’s social media accounts vs a brand’s social media account. Content shared on an individual’s social media receives 8x more engagement than the same message shared on a brand’s social media. Leads that come through an individual’s social media convert 7x more frequently than leads generated through any other channel.
People buy from people — they always have. That’s why so much business is done on the golf course. What personal branding does is cultivate those relationships at scale, so instead of it being a 1:1 conversation, you can now build bonds at a 1:many ratio. It’s networking at scale.
I built a 100% inbound agency all off the back of my personal brand. And when you consider the stats above it’s quite clear what a waste it is not to leverage that kind of opportunity.
11. Respect people’s opinions, even if you don’t agree with them.
My dad once told me, “I might not agree with your opinion, but I will fight to the death for your right to have one”. I think it’s Voltaire — but it’s always stuck with me.
Everyone has an opinion and whether you agree with it or not is your prerogative, but if you only surround yourself with people that agree with you — “yes people” — you’ll never grow. You’ll never consider a different point of view. Never consider that there might be a better way. The worst thing you can do in life is standing still. Shielding yourself from a diversity of thought is a fast-track ticket to staying stuck where you are.
12. Investing in yourself pays the best dividend.
Self-investment is the best investment. Because money comes and goes, relationships come and go, but you’ll be with yourself forever. So go on that course. Take that trip. Turn your phone off and spend time doing what you want to do.
We’re all concerned about having the latest phone, car or handbag. But the feeling of buying those things lasts about three days, and then we’re on to the next. So stop doing it. Stop buying dumb stuff and start spending on yourself.
An investment in yourself pays an infinite ROI — and I don’t know any stocks or shares that can guarantee that kind of return.
13. Stop giving a f*ck about what people think.
Every single one of us cares deeply about what other people think — even the ones who say they don’t. Because it’s hardwired into our brains to care. Ten million years ago, when we were all living in caves and in tribes, doing one thing to raise an eyebrow would see us shunned by our tribe — and probably eaten by a sabre tooth tiger.
The fear of judgement was very real because the risk associated with that judgement could be death.
But we don’t live in caves anymore. And your tribe isn’t going to shun you. So stop giving a sh*t about what some stranger online who you’ll never meet thinks about your post. Stop stressing about your dad’s opinion of your business idea — he’s not your target demographic.
Stop giving a f*ck about whether people like you or dislike you, and you’ll reach this nirvana-state part of your life where the decisions you make are for you and only you.
That’s a pretty successful place to be.
Conclusion
A 31-year-old founder, entrepreneur, mother-of-2, soon-to-be-divorcee, podcast host and in 2020, I quit my safe job in the middle of the pandemic to scale the world’s leading Personal Branding agency. These are 13 pieces of advice I’ve picked up from my countless clients, podcast guests and friends I have picked up along my business journey.
I hope they’re as helpful to you as they have been to me.
What would you add?
