10 Habits You Can Start Today To Start Changing Your Life

Living your best life means something different to every single person and it doesn’t have to mean having fame and fortune. Your definition may be drastically different from that of your spouse or partner, too, and there’s nothing wrong with that. What’s important to remember is: No matter what your dreams, no matter what your circumstances, you CAN change your life’s path by making small changes. These small changes compound over time to produce amazing results, without taking a tremendous amount of time out of your daily life.

Here are 10 things you can do right now, TODAY, to change your life and your level of happiness:

1. Figure out who you want to be, then plan the steps you need to get there. Do you want to be CEO of your own business, a partner in a top law firm, or volunteer of the year at your kids’ school? Every path requires different skills and knowledge base, so it’s up to you to figure out what you need to be the type of person you desire.

2. Practice habit stacking – or multitasking. If you’ve been meaning to read more but can’t seem to find the time, take the 10 minutes it takes your coffee to brew in the morning to read. Don’t reach for your phone; grab your book instead. This commitment is much easier because it’s not a lot of time and you’re already spending that time waiting for your coffee. Another example is to floss right before brushing your teeth. You’re already in the bathroom so flossing is the next logical habit to start.

3. Incorporate the 2-minute rule. Instead of committing to meditating for 20 minutes every day, commit to 2 minutes. Or add an extra 2 minutes to the end of your cardio workout. Relieve stress by doing some deep breathing exercises for 2 minutes. It’s much easier to do something for 2 minutes than it is to carve out time for 20+ minutes.

4. Make clear boundaries. Boundaries are necessary to keep us sane in both our personal and professional lives. Do you want to be on call with clients or your team 24/7 or would you like to handle business only during business hours? Do you want toxic friends or family members sucking the fun out of your family events? Consider who you want at these events and invite who you want, not who you feel obligated to invite.

5. Identify as the person you want to be. Use some adjectives to describe the type of person you want to be. Are you “someone who doesn't eat junk food" or are you “someone who’s constantly tempted by snacks”? Are you “trying to quit smoking” or are you “a non-smoker”? The same is true in business. If you run your own business, you’re a CEO, you’re a top leader, no matter how you slice it. Turning your description of yourself into a positive voice – and dropping the word “trying” – really impacts your mindset.

6. Find your community and join them to further sink into your identity. Surrounding yourself with like-minded people will help you keep that positive mindset; however, it takes more work to find that right community than just saying “I don’t eat junk food” or “I’m a success coach.” Dig deep, the same as you would to find your ideal client/customer. The term “coach” alone is far too broad; a “Healthy Living Coach” is better but you’ll really find your community if you identify as a “Healthy living mid-life woman Coach” (or substitute Mum for whoever your target market is). 

7. Get back on the wagon immediately if you slip. All is not lost if you make a mistake. If you overeat at dinner time, don’t eat any more snacks and plan a healthy breakfast. If you skip a workout, there’s always tomorrow. You’ve worked hard to develop this habit so don’t allow all your hard work to go to waste because you made one simple mistake. It’s far easier to start the habit immediately than it is to start all over again months down the road.

8. Set a concrete goal for a certain number of days and don't break the chain.  Tracking your habits gives you a visual reminder of all the progress you’re making but make sure it’s an attainable goal. For instance, if you want to improve your writing skills and speed, consider a goal of writing 500 words per day for 30 days.  At the end of 30 days, consider tracking for another 30 days. Setting a goal that’s too large – such as writing 10,000 words per day – is overwhelming and can lead to giving up. Seeing your progress will give you increased energy to keep moving forward. 

9. Choose concrete goals instead of abstractions. “Getting healthy” or “going to the gym” are not concrete goals; they are too abstract and they don’t lead to forming healthy habits. Instead, choose to do 5-10 pushups a day. You’ll still get healthy by doing this over time but the initial time investment is nominal. At some point, it will become second nature – a new habit, then at which point you can add another tiny habit to the mix.

10. If you start too big, don’t give up; make your tiny habit even smaller. So often we’ll set “tiny” habits that are still too big because we’re used to thinking of everything as oversized. If you can’t run for 15 minutes, drop it down to a time that is possible for you to complete. If you can’t get motivated to go to the gym, let your first tiny habit be getting your sneakers on. Then your second tiny habit can be filling your water bottle. These tiny habits are meant to become automatic movements that you just don’t think about once they’re ingrained. In the end, all these tiny habits build on each other and you will find yourself at the gym or running for 15 minutes.

Tiny habits are the stepping stones upon which we build our lifestyles. If something isn’t working to our liking, or we’re not living our best life, then it’s time to explore how to change our tiny habits so we receive the outcome for which we work so hard.

Have you read the book ‘The Compound Effect’ by Darren Hardy? This book changed my own mindset for my career in Network Marketing, breaking right down the importance of consistency and daily actions!

If you enjoyed this article I would love for you to share it on one of your Pinterest boards, feel free to use the image below.

#lifetips #lifestylesuccess #networkmarketingtips #leadership #lifechangingtips #lifestyletips #dailyhabits #darrenhardy

---

Grab you goal setting book today £6.99 over in my book shop

20 Habits of a Successful Network Marketer

When it comes to direct sales and network marketing, there is no secret success formula but after being in this industry for over 9 years, I definitely can identify many similarities when it comes to watching and interviewing those consultants that reach success, their habits are all the same…

Habits are important (and that’s the keyword - habit). Habits and being consistent can literally decide whether you will succeed through hard times and facing adversity or if you are ready to quit at every bump in the road.

Take a look at some of the habits I have written down and collected after watching some of the best in the business conquer their goals year after year.

Why not listen and watch the post below on my YouTube channel.

1. Get Up Early – I have always dreamed of being a morning person. I truly love the way I feel when I do get up early but still love my bed more.  However, there is a reason I love it. So a quick tip, If you are not a morning person, its time to learn how to become one. Getting up that little bit earlier allows you to get the things done you need to and then set up your day for success. No more working in the early hours or into your nights off (that you should still be scheduling in). Go to bed early and wake up refreshed with the rest of the successful men & women out there. Need some help getting this habit under control? Read Miracle Morning from Hal Elrod (audible, kindle or paper back). This is one of my favourite books and truly changed my business.

2. Meditate – Now I found meditation so annoying when everyone kept suggesting it but when you take a look at some of the most successful business owners in the world, even they meditate.  Yeah, people like Tony Robbins and Oprah. So with those names, I started to take it a little more seriously. Clearing your mind and taking time to breathe when days can get away from you is one of the best ways to stay focused and accomplish what you need to. There are tons of great meditation videos on YouTube. Type it in and pick the best one for you.

3. Set Goals and Write Them Down – Things that are measured are improved. In order to accomplish your goals, you need to be clear about what they are. I was never a “write your goal down” type of business owner. Most people aren’t but once I started doing this and creating vision boards, there is something inside a person that makes us want to cross action steps off a list. Take time to set your daily, weekly, monthly and even long term goals. This is one of the most important steps in your business.  WRITE THESE GOALS DOWN or create a vision board for your future (or solely on business) When you do this, what you want to achieve becomes something real instead of just a thought in your head.
Why not join my online vision board workshop, or catch my free goal-setting workshop. It will really help you plan those goals.

4. Inspire Yourself – Personal development and inspiration is a must. Whether you choose to read, exercise and listen to podcasts, watch videos or find a coach, you must find an outside resource that inspires you. When you are inspired, you can create and keep your business moving forward.

5. ABC – Always Be Learning! There is no explanation here. Training, courses, webinars, books. Always be learning something new daily, learn your craft and be ready to pass those skills downline to your team or share them online in blog posts or live streams!

6. Read – Anything and everything. Articles. Books. Anything you can find. Read it. I try to read 10 pages a night in a book of my choice.

7. Know Your Numbers – You must know where you are, know where you were last year and know where you want to be. If you don’t know where you are in your business when it comes to income, expenses and profit, you can’t possibly manage your business. If your company has a back office, access it daily. Write down your daily numbers and compare them to last year. On top of that, have a budget. Know what you are spending on and record everything. I have diaries going back to the day I first started team building so I can compare monthly/annually to that same month and see how much my team has grown. You must move forwards and not backward’s. Tracking your month lets you adjust in the areas that need the most work. Try it.

8. Journal – I could never keep up with journaling until I listened to Oprah one day and she said, “keep it simple. If you can’t write down your complete thoughts, at least log your THANK YOU items.” This has made a huge difference in my mindset. Capturing what I am thankful for on a daily basis keeps the positivity in and the negativity out. What we focus on, we create. Focusing on gratitude has really started bringing amazing things and people into my life.

9. Practice Gratitude – Beyond putting gratitude in your journal once a day, simply practice being grateful for everything in your life. Think about daily what you are grateful for. When you get in the habit or thinking about gratitude, you open your mind for so much more abundance to enter. What are you grateful for today? Let me know in the comments, it’s time to start to give daily thanks.

10. Delegate – This can be a tough one for people. We some times think that no one can do things as well as we can. But truth is, when we try to take on everything, we end up accomplishing a lot less than we could have. We can’t do it all. Whether it be automated as many tasks as you can or simply asking for help, we need to realise we can’t do it all. When business owners try, they usually fail. Surround yourself with people who are willing to help and find tools to make your daily tasks easier. I use a ton of tools and systems to help me do this when you have a team of over 2,500 consultants - you need to have systems!

11. Be a Good Listener –  This is a huge one. Because so many of us run our businesses online, we tend to not read things thoroughly or we just don’t pay attention. When in-person, we are already thinking about what we want to say rather than listening. Whether it is your customers, your team, your upline, head office or your downline, listen to what is being said or written. Validate what the other person is saying. Take ideas and concerns and show them that they are important to you. Other people and their suggestions could be one of the most valuable things in growing your business.

12. Have a Hobby – STOP! Yes something besides your network marketing or direct sales business, no matter how much you say you love it.  You need to step away sometimes. Find something that makes you smile even for an hour a day. Exercising, dancing, swimming, gardening, crafting, organising. Whatever it is, step away and relax. This will help you be more focused and come up with even better innovative ideas for your business. I learned the hard way a couple of years ago and got ‘burn-out’ because I never stepped away from my business and continued to do things I needn’t have been doing! Step away and have a break (see below point)

13. Take Time For Yourself – Schedule some YOU time! I often sit outside in the garden without my phone, just with my dogs and simply reflect on the day. These days we are soooo connected, its good for you and business to disconnect.

14. Follow a Schedule – If it’s not on the calendar, it doesn’t exist.. Get into the habit of putting everything on your schedule so you don’t get overwhelmed. I use my google calendar for everything. One of my favorite apps is Fantastical. It syncs with google calendar and I just love how user friendly it is on my phone.

15. Be Organised – I love to be organised. I know many struggle with this and they often say, “but I know where everything is.” However, if you want to be taken seriously, the first step is having a place to go where your systems are in order. Create a place for everything to go and if you haven’t used something in 6 months, throw it out. You will find you will jump out of bed to work knowing you have an organised workspace ready for you.

16. Develop a Routine – This is an essential habit you should have if you want to be successful. Create a schedule of what you need to do every day and follow it. Know what time you get up, what is on your to-do list (specifically your top 3 things to accomplish) numbers, what time you have team meetings or Facebook parties. Know what days you do what. It only takes 21 days to develop a habit. I wake up at 7, have coffee, review my calendar and to-do list, check-in on my social accounts then go walk the dogs or get to my 9 am body-pump class or go for a bike-ride. Home, clean up, shower, grab another coffee then it’s off to my desk. Once you develop a routine, what you accomplish everyday increase by a mile.

17. Inbox Zero – Don’t fall pray to email hell. Do not let email control you. Use tools like Unroll.me 

18. Ask For Help – Reach out to those you trust when you need help... People can’t help you if they don’t know you need it, so don’t be too proud to ask for help.  Surround yourself with people who want to see you succeed.

19. Have a Mentor or Coach – This is a habit you can’t skip. I am not talking about your sponsor or your upline. I am sure they are great but you need someone that is going to push you out of your comfort zone and motivating you when you need it. Think about joining a monthly mastermind as I did, I am part of Ray Higdon’s ‘RankMakers’ group and it is a super affordable coaching group with daily challenges to help push you further and the daily lives help you with new ideas and get that kick up the ass talking we all need. I also have an Instagram coach Holly Barras (where we go into things much deeper - like business planning). Grab 30 free days into her Queendom HERE. You won’t find a single successful business owner that didn’t have a mentor or a coach either in a monthly mastermind group or who has one with one to one sessions to help them get where they are. Don’t skip out here, you can’t afford to not have a coach, make that investment.

20. Be Positive – Last but not least, be positive!  When you constantly work your business as a victim and your cup always being half empty, you will project this attitude onto your customers and your team members. What you think about, you bring about. Keep that in mind always and pay close attention to your thoughts on a daily basis. You choose how successful you want your business specifically with how positive you are.

---

There you have 20 habits for highly successful network marketers and direct sales consultants. Print this article and use it as a checklist or save the post to a board on Pinterest. Put all of them into action and watch how you and your business transform. I’d love to help you get started. Check out some info on how I can help you start your very own business using social media and you can finally determine where your future can take you.

Save these tips!

Be sure to save these network marketing success tips for future reference. Simply pin the image above to Pinterest. I hope you’ll follow Sharon Howat - Building a business online while you’re at it!

And why not join this secret entry to my monthly VIP membership - doors are flung open wide to the public once a month, but I decided to hide a secret back door pass right here for you!

Do you have any questions or other tips to share? Let us know in the comments below!

#netwrokmarketing #workfromhome #networkmarketingtips #fmworld #socialmediatips #workfromphone