There are people who we believe are successful. They could be a family member, a neighbor, a businessperson, a celebrity, or an athlete. We look up to them. We admire them. Indeed, their victory sparks our curiosity. What success tips do they follow? How do I become like them?

Truly, we want to meet and ask one, “What’s your secret to success?” Worry no more. Filworx lists the best habits of successful people we can adopt as soon as now. So, how will you succeed in life according to these outstanding folks?

1. Successful people ditch the alarm and eat their breakfast.

Probably, the hardest success tips you’ll do is to ditch your alarm and start waking up naturally. Oprah, Arianna Huffington, and Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos follow this routine. They sleep for at least eight hours and wake up on their own.

A study conducted by Japan’s National Institute of Health shows those participants who were suddenly woken up (by an alarm) had higher blood pressure and a faster heart rate than those who woke up naturally.

One more thing about successful people: they eat their breakfast. So, sit down with your family and enjoy a healthy breakfast. It’ll fuel your body and maintain your focus for the tasks ahead of you. Success tips are easy to achieve with family.

2. Successful people follow habit stacking routine.

We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit. — Aristotle

The Wall Street Journal best-selling author S.J Scott coined the term ‘habit stacking’ in his book Habit Stacking: 97 Small Life Changes That Take Five Minutes or Less. Its main purpose is to introduce a new habit to an existing one by building a simple and repeatable routine.

It’s done by creating a set of small actions and following them in order. For instance, after you wake up at 5 am, you drink water then stretch for five minutes. Right after this, you eat your breakfast while reading a 10-page article. This way, you’ll develop a new habit on top of an old one. The routine itself will become a habit when you start stacking habit upon habit. Good news: research revealed it only takes between 21 and 40 days to develop as a habit. So, better start stacking your best daily habits now.

3. Successful people know it’s not about the IQ.

The secret to a successful life is not IQ. It doesn’t guarantee success. In her TED talk, Angela Lee Duckworth tackled the most accurate indicator of success. She said grit is the key to success—not IQ. Duckworth defines grit as “passion and sustained persistence applied toward long-term achievement, with no particular concern for rewards or recognition along the way. It combines resilience, ambition, and self-control in the pursuit of goals that take months, years, or even decades.” Grit is one’s willingness to consistently work hard through challenges. Luckily, researchers attest grit can be taught.

Are the smartest people the most successful? Not really. Psychology professor Anders Ericsson said it might be of one’s advantage not to be genius.

In one study he conducted with elite chess players, he discovered there’s no correlation between IQ and success. In fact, in his study, players with lower IQs were more successful. Shocking? Here’s why. Those with lower IQs felt their disadvantage because they lack the ‘extraordinary intelligence’. So, they worked harder to master the skills. In contrary, those naturally smart players lost because they were confident in winning. Thus, they did not practice harder. Yes, effort beats IQ.

4. Successful people see the importance of exercise.

Exercising is one of the many habits of successful people. If you’d notice, they still exercise even though many of them can afford cosmetic surgeries to make their body look and become healthy.

Why? They see the importance of exercise in their whole being. In fact, it‘s pointless to use ‘busy at work’ as an excuse not to exercise. It’s actually beneficial. It improves your memory and thinking skills. Studies have shown the parts of the brain controlling thinking and memory (the prefrontal cortex and medial temporal cortex) have greater volume in people who exercise than those who don’t.

Moreover, exercise increases the release of endorphins into your body. This boosts your productivity and creativity. Now, start your day with exercise.

5. Successful people believe in the power of visualization.

The mind is everything. What you think you become. – Buddha

The mind is a powerful tool to become successful. Imagine, you can already feel, see, smell, and hear your dream’s victory just by thinking about it. This is the power of visualization. The more you imagine, the more it’ll happen.

This mental practice is almost effective as the real physical practice, according to research. Likewise, doing both is more effective than either alone. Also, two minutes of visualization and positive thinking can improve your mood and clarity for the entire day. It’s a good way to start your journey to success.

Now, think of your goals. Dr. Maxwell Maltz noted in his Psycho-Cybernetics classic books that our subconscious mind can‘t differentiate a real memory and a vividly imagined visualization. So, internalize the very detail of your dreams. This way, you implant success even before it happens. If you want to work in your dream company, visualize yourself submitting your resume and acing the interview with your future boss. It’s effective.

Achieve Your Dreams with these Success Tips

Finally, we learn one thing about successful people. They‘re not just lucky individuals—they‘re the disciplined ones. So, think about your success. There’s no other time to reach your goals but now. Follow those success tips and you’ll surely achieve your dreams. If you’re searching for your ideal career, check out Filworx. We’re a free job site and we offer job openings. Start your journey now and share us your success story!