We can learn a lot from those who have led the way. The study of successful people gives insight to countless stories of achievement, all of which share a remarkable quality: At one point in time, they made the decision to pursue a life of greatness. They chose success because they realized something, despite all risk, It’s possible. I’ll never forget my last job at a nursery. It was 6 days per week, 10 hours per day, for minimum wage. I had recently been laid off a 6 figure job, but I hadn’t invested a dime in myself or my future. I had a nice truck, motorcycles, and threw great parties on the weekends, but none of those things made me happy. I was significantly depressed. At my new job, I could listen to my earbuds almost all day. I was craving a better lifestyle. I wanted a life I loved. I found a podcast about entrepreneurship, where I was introduced to countless entrepreneurs. Episode after episode, I began to see that the ones who call entrepreneurs aren't some special breed. They are people just like you and me. Every day I listened to several episodes and I started to see patterns in the way successful people conduct themselves. This went on for three months. One morning, I called in sick from the door of my first entrepreneurial conference, where Les Brown would be speaking. The next week, I quit my job. 1. Never Settle The successful never settle, and neither should you. They view compromise of their potential, compromise of the self. Potential is 100% of capabilities. It means that not one bit of energy is caught up in roadblocks, bottlenecks, or distractions. It's the maximum of possibilities, and it's the result of conquering the most difficult challenges. Highly successful people have a vision that guides every decision they make, and every moment of their day. To settle for less than what is possible, is the equivalent of self-sabotage, and most people do it without even realizing it. They don’t realize it, because they don’t have a vision. Check in with your biggest goals daily. A strong vision will pull you, like gravity pulls the river. 2. Fear Is Not The Enemy Fears hold us back in many ways. It is a mental game that we play with ourselves, but it is amazing how much power this emotion has. It's important to remember where fear comes from. It is a primal reaction to danger or - more importantly - what we imagine to pose a danger. A survival skill at its core, fear is as valuable as it is a nuisance. It lets us know that we're working on something that matters. Developing a clear understanding of our hesitations, fears, and overwhelm gives us the upper hand. It allows us to see past what we've created in our heads and paint a picture of real obstacles. Clarity in your understanding of these challenges, leads to results-driven solutions. Whether it's our livelihood, family, long term plan, or immediate safety, both nervousness and fear give us clues as to what we need to balance to achieve our optimum outcome in any challenging situation 3. Decide to be Great Success is a not just a choice. It is an endless string of choices. You can decide to be a winner, an achiever, and an example. You can choose to make an impact and a difference, by embracing the learning curve and disciplining yourself to pursue your goals. Observe the way you use your time over the course of a day. Can you see ways that you can increase productivity in a day? Every moment, you have a decision to make. Decide that you will set your own standard of excellence and decide what that means for you. Successful people make decisions based on the outcome they want, not on the feelings they have or the way they feel. They practice discipline, by implementing actions based on results, not on emotion. 4. You Must Take On Risk I've jumped a lot and yes, I've fallen a lot too! It's hurt sometimes, it's been hard, but every time I've jumped farther and learned things that give me strength and fuel my success today. Hiring a coach and getting involved in a mastermind community changed the game for me. It gave me a foundation of knowledge, guidance, and accountability that helped me take on calculated risks, and achieve my goals. Instead of jumping alone, I had a parachute! 5. Choose Your Environment Take responsibility for your surroundings, because we are a product of our environment. Position yourself in an environment where you can thrive. Find the resources that can help you elevate your position. If we’re a product of our environment, does that mean we are defined by where we are from? No. Absolutely not. I went from 3 suicide attempts and bad grades at 15 years old, to a 6 figure business owner at 23. The place I’m from motivated me to make a change. I positioned myself in a different environment. You are not defined by the environment you’re in, but by what you do in the environment you're in. You always have the capacity to change that environment too, and at times, it is important to do so. The reason is, we grow. Our environment has an influence on the way we live, act, work, and think. We must take action to fill it with encouragement, support, opportunity. I highly recommend you take action immediately and remove the things that slow you down, distract you from your ideas, and overwhelm you. Success is built on a foundation that we aren't born with. It grows as we tune our mind and step out of our comfort zone toward opportunities. Sometimes we just have to go for it with little more than a vision. When we do, that's where the magic happens. That's where we level-up! These days, there is a massive amount of information available at our fingertips. There is more information than can be digested. If we ask the right questions, we can search for the right information. If we take the right action, we can achieve anything. We can all choose greatness. What other attributes do you notice in successful people?