Success doesn’t happen overnight. Success happens in baby steps. It takes lots of action and it takes commitment. The secret is to keep moving forward no matter what tries to stop you. The commitment keeps you going.

Along the way you experience failures, setbacks and wins.

The hard part is to keep going when the failures outnumber the wins. You need to believe and keep trying new things until you win. Your mindset needs to be in the right place. The failures are learning experiences. The wins are the result of finding the right direction and the right message. I like to think about it like an experiment. Some things work out and others give you information for your next step.

I set myself to win in every situation I can.

When I start a new habit or new project, I try to start by thinking about how to be successful. If I try to add too many things I know I will fail. I start with one thing at a time. Changing one thing is doable. It is also better for the experiment because I will see the results of the change-positive or negative

When I was doing a kitchen for a coffee shop, I was starting from scratch. At first, I just got used to working in the kitchen without adding anything new. Then each week I would add a new thing. First it was biscuits, then it was soups, daily specials, etc.

When it got to be too much for just me, I hired a helper. First it was help with the dishes, then it was help with the cooking. By the time I had the kitchen up and running the way I wanted, it was time to hire someone to replace me on the line.

Once I hired someone to take my place I realized my strategy worked. She was blown away at first. It took a few weeks of both of us working side by side before she had it down and didn’t need my help.

I had set myself up for success instead of failure from the beginning.

I have taken this practice with me in all my careers. Start slowly and ramp up.

Now I am starting some new habits and instead of adding all of them at once, I am adding a new one each week or two. It’s a winning strategy. I am succeeding with the new habits.

 

What new habits do you need to add? Which one will you add first?