Right now there’s probably a fire lit under you because it’s a new year.
And that fire might keep burning for a week or two, but eventually it goes out, and everything goes back to normal. To kick butt and conquer the world, it’s important to remember that it’s the little things we do repeatedly that lead to our biggest changes.
For example:
1. Make People Around You Better Off
What this looks like is different for all of us. Maybe it’s something as simple as holding the door open for someone. It could be as complicated as building a company to solve a problem that impacts a billion people within a decade. As Zig Ziglar once said, “You get everything you want if you can just help enough other people get what they want.”
2. Read Books About the People You Want to Be Like
Take notes. Then, implement what works for you. That’s part of the reason, I created The Billionaire Reading List. I’m hoping to learn about their habits, mindsets, and life paths.
3. Choose the People You Surround Yourself With Wisely
I don’t think it’s a coincidence that the most significant accomplishments of my life have been the result of surrounding myself with ambitious and optimistic people, like my business partner, Brian Koehn. If you become the average of the five people you spend the most time around, raise the average.
4. Realize That Time Is Your Most Precious Asset
It’s the only resource in your life that’s non-renewable. Place a really high dollar value on it. Then, ask yourself, “Would I be doing what I’m doing right now if my time was worth X dollars an hour?” If the answer is yes, carry on. If the answer is no, change what you’re doing.
5. Move Fast—and Ship
Rinse, wash, repeat. The more you ship—or complete something—the better you’ll get at it. Make it a habit to finish what you start, and then move on to the next big thing.
6. Make and Build Things With Your Hands
Not only is this therapeutic, it can help with your creativity. Building things from the LEGO architecture series, for example, has done wonders for both my productivity and creativity.
7. Have a Daily Practice
It doesn’t really matter what the practice is. When you do something daily, you’ll experience the power of visible and incremental progress.
8. Run Your Own Race
Compare less and create more. These are two things that have served me well. As Phil Sims always says in the Xbox One Game Madden when I’m losing, “Don’t look down the field for that big play. Just keep on marching.”
9. Practice Gratitude
There’s been plenty of scientific evidence that this will make you a much happier person. It’s a simple life hack with a tremendous ROI.
None of these ideas are particularly complicated or mind blowing. You’ve probably heard many of them before. If they’re done consistently over the course of a year, they can lead to big changes.
Bonus: 96% of personal development efforts fail because people don’t design environments conducive to who they want to become. (We’ve published a short episode on the Unmistakable Creative about this.) Create a space that helps you be your best you.
This article was originally published on Medium. It has been republished here with permission.