Destinies Are Built from Daily Habits

Life is made of our daily habits. Winners choose habits that reflect their values and move them quickly forward. Unfortunately, most people have habits that are familiar or comfortable but do not achieve their goals. To increase your success, you must eliminate habits that hold you back and replace them with daily habits that reflect your highest aspirations.

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In a normal day, almost everything we do is done out of habit. Almost every day we get up about the same time and go through a familiar routine. Out of habit, we take the same route to work, eat lunch about the same time, and run familiar errands every week. Of course, there are minor variations if we run into road construction or have an early breakfast meeting, but habits help us organize our lives.

Habits simplify everything. Imagine if you woke up with no idea where the bathroom might be, what your schedule was, or what responsibilities you faced. Life would be stressful beyond belief! Fortunately, we have "ordinary routines” that help us navigate through the day.

The key is that while habits help us organize our daily routines, some habits also help us achieve our most important goals, while other habits undermine us every step of the way. There is little difference in time or effort between reading a book or watching TV, but there may be an enormous difference in how these habits impact our lives.

Successful people carefully choose even their smallest and most routine daily habits with an eye on the long-term consequences.

And here’s a vital point—habits start as very simple choices. There’s an old poem that goes something like this:

"Sow a thought and you reap an action; sow an act and you reap a habit; sow a habit and you reap a character; sow a character and you reap a destiny.”

Think about the power of that sequence! To a remarkable degree our success or failure is the long-term result of simple thoughts and ordinary daily habits.

So, why not intentionally choose daily habits or "disciplines” that take you where you want to go in life? Here are a few examples.

Many people get in the habit of listening to sports or talk radio while they commute and of course there’s nothing wrong with that. But other people get in the habit of listening to inspirational or educational CD’s, and over time, they benefit from that easy daily habit.

Or how about people who routinely grab a hamburger and fries for lunch, while others habitually reach for an apple and salad? Some people habitually come home and turn on the TV, while others go for a run, mow the lawn or do homework with the kids. Any of these choices are "easy” but over time, some habits create better outcomes than others. Some people have the habit of spending, while others choose the habit of saving and investing. Either option is easy, but they have very different long-term results.

As a coach, I encourage clients to make fundamental decisions about the habits they want in their lives. I encourage them to be clear, specific and committed to each of them.

One habit that I’m working on making a daily routine is saying "I love you” at least two times a day to the special lady in my life. I think it’s made a nice difference.

Many of my clients have developed the habit of reading something positive every single day, even if it’s only a few pages. Over time, it becomes a part of who they are and how they live their lives.

I’ve implemented "7 Daily Habits” that has come to have a powerful meaning for me. My Daily 7 are: "Read, Work, Write, Exercise, Rest, Network, and Fun.” Each word stands for a habit that I want in my life and these "code words” have become powerful habits. They have helped me grow as a person, enrich my relationships, build my business and achieve dozens of important goals. My "Daily 7″ are habits that help me live the life I want.

Choose simple, positive habits that will enhance your life. Reduce them to clear, specific actions you habitually take every day. Develop your own list of positive habits that automatically move you toward your goals and create the life you want.

For better or worse, life is made of our daily habits. Winners choose habits that reflect their values and move them toward their most important goals. Unfortunately, most people have habits that are comfortable, but which actually detract from their most important goals. Don’t do that to yourself! To increase your success, you must eliminate every habit that holds you back and replace it with habits that move your forward and reflect your highest aspirations.

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Be faithful in small things because it is in them that your strength lies.
— Mother Teresa

You are what you think about all day long.
— Dr. Robert Schuller

Picture in your mind a sense of personal destiny.


— Wayne Oates

Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could. Some blunders and absurdities no doubt crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day.

— Ralph Waldo Emerson

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We live in a world of constant change and daily competition. Every day, someone is working to reduce costs, increase performance, and take your customers from you. This doesn’t just apply to big business or the “other guy.” It applies to your business, every single day.

Most of us know this, and yet most small businesses and professional practices take no daily action to enhance their position in the market place, or their productivity. That is a recipe for disaster!

Day by day, every business leader must take specific, practical action to serve your customers better, faster, cheaper and with greater attention to detail.

Here are a couple of systems for doing this:

1. Re-invest at least three percent of gross revenue in research and development. Every month, set aside three percent to improve performance, buy new equipment or up-grade your skills. Some industries invest more (sometimes far more!), but at a minimum, set aside three percent. You can’t afford not to.

2. Use the “3% Solution”. Every month, strive to be just three percent better at your work. Answer the phone a bit faster and more cheerfully. Be slightly more thorough in your sales presentations. Up-grade your email, your brochures, your packaging, your reliability, and make them just slightly better than they were last week.

Every business can improve by three percent! That’s hardly difficult or even challenging. The key is to think in terms of constant and never-ending improvement. It doesn’t have to be dramatic and it doesn’t have to cost a lot, but the drive for excellence requires your constant attention. If you don’t do it, someone, somewhere, certainly is.

If you’d like help with this, consider coaching. An outside voice, a new perspective and someone to hold you accountable (perhaps even "hold your hand”) during the process can be invaluable. Every business needs feedback, encouragement and focus. Isn’t it time you had a personal coach? Contact me at: rodger@rodgerblaker.com

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Lists like this come across my inbox every few months, usually credited to a contest in some newspaper or magazine. I can’t vouch for the source, but they’re always creative and fun! Enjoy!

The Washington Post’s Style Invitational once again asked readers to take any word from the dictionary, alter it by adding, subtracting, or changing one letter, and supply a new definition. Here are this year’s winners:

Bozone (n.) The substance surrounding stupid people that stops bright ideas from penetrating. The bozone layer, unfortunately, shows little sign of breaking down in the near future.

Cashtration (n.) The act of buying a house, which renders the subject financially impotent for an indefinite period.

Giraffiti (n.) Vandalism spray-painted very, very high.

Sarchasm (n.) The gulf between the author of sarcastic wit and the person who doesn’t get it.

Inoculatte (v.) To take coffee intravenously when you are running late.

Hipatitis (n.) Terminal coolness.

Osteopornosis (n.) A degenerate disease. (This one got extra credit.)

Karmageddon (n.) It’s like, when everybody is sending off all these really bad vibes, right? And then, like, the Earth explodes and it’s like, a serious bummer.

Decafalon (n.) The grueling event of getting through the day consuming only things that are good for you.

Glibido (v.) All talk and no action.

Dopeler effect (n.) The tendency of stupid ideas to seem smarter when they come at you rapidly.

Arachnoleptic fit (n.) The frantic dance performed just after you’ve accidentally walked through a spider web.

Beelzebug (n.) Satan in the form of a mosquito that gets into your bedroom at three in the morning and cannot be cast out.

Caterpallor (n.) The color you turn after finding half a grub in the fruit you’re eating.

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Rodger Blaker works with executives, small business owners and professionals who want to grow in their business and create an extraordinary life! 

For info on resources for your success, visit: http://www.BlakerBusinessCoaching.com or call me at 214-485-2238.

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