People always want to be successful  in whatever they do. We all want to be successful . We dream of success in life. But do we really work for it? There won’t be an imaginary bus coming and leading us to our dream land or something. How do people get successful ? What are the things that make them successful?

Here are 7 Effective habits that successful people follow

1.Be proactive

A businessman or any successful person get what they want by knocking the door of opportunity, meeting new people. They take initiative, stay consistent and live by their own principle. Pro-active people realize that they have a responsibility. They focus on things that are of concern rather than getting  affected by  the outer influence.

2.Begin with the end in mind

Think of yourself walking among people who are mourning. These include your friends and family. They are weeping over the loss of their loved one. And you come closer to the coffin to see who it is. And you  see yourself. Yes, it’s your funeral and you are in  the future. Now think, what do you want to be remembered for when you die? Ask yourself. What do you want your friends and family to say about you? What do you want to accomplish before you die?

3.Put the first things first

There are a lot of people out there who are so busy but get nothing done. They keep on complaining that they don t have time. Complaining isn’t going to stop time. And we all have the same amount of time. So the only option remaining is to managing  ourselves according to time. So instead of trying to fit everything in our day, we should try to focus on  things that will yield us the most and get it done.

4.Seek to understand, then to be understood

Be a good listener. I always thought that I was a  good listener . I was wrong. I was only  listening with a mindset to reply. Seeking to understand is not only listening to the other person but to put ourselves into the other persons shoes, to try to understand fully, emotionally and intellectually and see things the way the person does. It’s a very powerful technique. People will feel safe to share feelings and things. It will build trust and create a strong emotional link.

5.Think win/win

We always think that in life if someone wins then someone has to lose. Life is not a sport. If you put two people with this mindset together they will end fighting and thus losing. It might be hard to negotiate until we get the right solution. But it creates a relationship that both parties can benefit from.

6. Synergize

Collaboration can help us accomplish greater things than any individual can do alone. And for each idea somebody shares they add their own personality and perspective to it. It allows us to create new alternatives and open new possibilities. It allows us as a group to collectively agree to ditch the old scripts and write new ones.

7.Sharpen the saw

I would like to quote what Abraham Lincoln once said “Give me six hours to chop  a tree and I’ll spend the first four hours sharpening my saw. Now you are the saw. And by renewing yourself physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually you will forge the keystone to your success.

Also published on Medium.