Success Tip: 4 Core Principles To Live By

The four principles I was taught that changed my life forever.

Now I’m not telling you how to live, what to believe, or that these are the ingredients to a perfect recipe for success. What I am telling you is that they’ve worked for me, my mentors, and plenty of other successful people.

There are more than just four components that go into success, but these are a good starting point. Especially for people who still don’t know where to start.

Who Do You Listen To?

Let’s say you want to get in shape. Your goal is to lose some weight. So, you go to a gym and consult a personal trainer. Your trainer is in excellent shape, ripped to shreds and he’s extremely healthy. He gives you a workout and diet regimen to follow.

That same day, you take your plan and show your similarly obese friend who proceeds to tell you that it’s the stupidest workout plan he’s ever seen.

Who are you going to listen to? Your trainer, obviously.

The problem is that for most things in life, the majority of people listen to the people that they shouldn’t be listening to.

Here are three criteria you should use when deciding who you listen to:

1. They have what you want
   It may seem obvious, but you’d be surprised at how many people don’t do this. If I want to learn how to tie my shoe, I’m not going to take advice from someone who doesn’t know how to tie their own. Get it?
2. They have been where you are at
   If a Harvard graduate uses their degree to go make $500,000 their first year following graduation, they can’t teach you how to do the same if you don’t have a degree from Harvard. You need a mentor who has been in your shoes before because they can tell you exactly how they did what you want to do.
3. They are the type of person you want to become
   If your mentor has what you want and has been where you’re at but is a complete @$$hole to other people, I would recommend finding another mentor. Follow someone who is the type of person you want to become.

Teachability Index

There are two variables when it comes to this concept.

1. What is your willingness to learn? 
   On a scale of 1–10, how willing are you to learn from someone like a mentor? How much effort are you willing to put in? What are you willing to give up to succeed? Maybe you really love going to the movies, or bowling, or golfing, or hanging out with your friends. Are you willing to give that up temporarily?
2. What is your willingness to accept change?
   Again, rate yourself 1–10. If you aren’t happy with where you’re at right now, then you have to change the way you think, feel and act about things. Are you willing to change? Maybe you like McDonalds, but what if you had to quit doing that?

If your willingness to learn is a 10 but your willingness to accept change is a 0 (10 x 0), then your teachability index is zero. But, if you’re a 10/10 in both areas, you’re on the right track.

The Training Balance Scale

Imagine an old-school scale, where if you put weight on one side, the other side will rise.

Now imagine that on one side is the How. The technique, the methods, actions, practices, etc. On the other side is the Why. The vision, dream, passion, thoughts, purpose.

Most people put 90% focus on the How and 10% on the Why. Then they get too frustrated when things don’t run smoothly the first time, they can’t seam to figure out why things are going wrong, then they lose their vision and their sense of Why, and they quit.

The key is to focus 90% on the Why. When you do that, the How will get simpler and simpler.

When your Why is big enough, the How doesn’t matter.

Constant Improvement

You will never be perfect. Sometimes people will get to a point where they think they’ve got it, where they think they know it all and they don’t need to learn anything else.

They’re wrong.

There is always more to learn, and there is always room to grow. There is always opportunity to get better, and there is always someone who can help you take that next step.

Conclusion

This information has been a round for a very long time. It’s not a secret, and it’s nothing new. Most success principles have been passed down for hundreds of years.

These 4 principles in particular are part of the foundation to learning how to succeed in anything you do.

Apply them and see what happens. Reach out to your mentor, or find a mentor if you don’t have one, and learn all that you can from them.

I know I did, and still do, and I am forever be grateful for it.