I’ve always been fascinated with successful people and what they do each day to make them that way.
I’m always asking ‘What can I learn from these people and implement in my own life?’ So here you have it. Three habits worth trying and three traits worth cultivating that will see you on the same path to success.
1. They don’t seek balance
Did you hear that? Throw away the yoga pants and keep at your inbox. Nah, of course this is not what this means. It just means that to be successful you have to have a razor like focus.
Dr Catriona Wallace, Founder and CEO of Flamingo Customer Experience says it beautifully: “Highly successful people do not have balance. Sure, it is important to stay healthy and invest time into things other than work, of course, but to be successful as an entrepreneur you need to work your ass off!
As Bethenny Frankel said, ‘You need to constantly hustle like a gangster’.”
I’ve always found this to be 100% true. I don’t seek balance either – I just try to bring more health and happiness into my life where I can but I never try to have the scales perfectly tipped each day – it’s impossible to think you can work out, eat perfectly, run an empire, be a great partner and friend (and perhaps mother), and give time and energy to charitable endeavours too.
2. They know a little about a lot
This one could well be the biggest insight into successful people and how they operate. They give up having to know everything about their business, and trust in the people they employ.
When you master this one, your world will open up. We run a stack of events in Australia and North America (about 120 each year) and our members always come up to me and say ‘Oh thanks for organising this event Em’ and I’m quick to tell them that my input was pretty much as much as theirs: I showed up on time and happily watched it all unfold. I have a team of events professionals and wouldn’t have a clue how to put an event together. In fact, the thought scares me to pieces!
Penny Spencer, Founder of Spencer Travel agrees: “Know a little about a lot. You can’t know it all and be across every single area of your business, however you do need to know a little about it all. Have great advisors, but always ensure you understand a little of each area of your business.”
3. They’re brutal with their time
Have you ever accepted a coffee or lunch request and the minute after thought ‘Damn, this so doesn’t need to be a meeting, it could have been an email’? I learnt this one very early in my career. You can spend your time having coffees/meetings but if you’re serious about scaling an idea, then your time needs to be focused internally with your people (up until a point when it doesn’t.) Same goes for your time outside of the office.
Carolyn Creswell, founder of Carman’s Fine Foods, runs a highly successful exporting and local business and also has four kids. When asked how she manages her time she says, ‘Well, I never watch TV as a start!’
Think about what time you waste that could be spent on your business. For me, it’s always been about a short commute. I don’t commute more than 15 minutes each way to the office as a rule.
Emma is the Founder and Global CEO of Business Chicks. She’s also one of the teachers in the Bschool Diploma of Business.
For the past year, Business Chicks has partnered with BSchool to deliver a game-changing online course and our next intake begins this August.
BSchool packages the lessons, the advice and guidance of Australia’s best business minds into a practical 12-month online course that takes you through the essentials of creating, starting and scaling your business. Plus, you have access to a community of peers, and mentorship from some of Australia’s biggest CEOs, including Emma Isaacs, Carolyn Creswell, Penny Spencer, and Naomi Simson.
Want to know more? Head to bschool.edu.au/businesschicks
CONNECT WITH EMMA HERE.
