The Work at Home Millionaire Journey

“We first make our habits, and then our habits make us.” – John Dryden (17th Century English Poet)

“Failure is nothing more than a few errors in judgment repeated every day. Success is a few simple disciplines practiced every day.” — Jim Rohn (Modern Day Business Philosopher)

One way to identify the fundamental principles of success is to look at their history.  They don’t change.  There is no NEW fundamental principle of success.  They’re all just as true today as they were in the 1600’s.

Sure, maybe the details have changed.  I used to have a bad habit of starting my day by checking email, buying at least one product I’d never use, getting sucked into the Twitter stream . . . you get the picture.  Before I knew it, all the kids were up and my “work” time for the morning was gone.  Not one business-advancing, revenue-generating action accomplished all morning.

John Dryden certainly faced none of these electronic age “bad habits” in the 1600’s.  And, I doubt he had to squeeze in his work time around his kids.  Even still, in his vastly different world, the fundamental principle remained.  We become our habits.

Unfortunately for most of us, the very nature of habits makes them something we do without thought.  Most of us have habits we don’t even realize.  A few we’d probably be horrified of if we sat down and thought about them.

For the most part, we recognize our bad habits, and then blow them off.  We either put them on our list of things we should change “someday.”  Or, we laugh and say “that’s just the way I am.”

But what if your habits were making the difference in whether you met your goals?  What if the difference in personal and financial success and continued struggle came down to a change in a few habits?  Could it really be this easy?  Yes.

Well, at least it sounds easy.  Changing habits can be hard.  I used to run late all the time.  I noticed I was always about 10 minutes behind where I wanted to be.  So, I decided it would be easy to just get ready to leave 15 minutes earlier.  But I found that I was in such a habit of running late, of rushing around to leave on time, that subconsciously I was thinking I had extra time.  The result was that it was just taking me 15 minutes longer to get ready to leave!

But, I also realized that if I want to find the success I seek, being on time was an important habit to develop.  Successful people hang out with other successful people.  Time is valuable to successful people.  If I wanted to fit in with the mentors, peers, potential business partners that I had chosen — if I wanted to be successful like them — I had to get in the habit of being on time.

Now this is just a small example.  I am not more successful simply because I’m more on time.  But my point is that success is determined more by who consistently leads a disciplined life than by who can afford the latest greatest $997 how-to product, or who got the best grades in school.

Ever buy a product on how to run a successful online business and wonder why you didn’t make $1,000+ in your first 30 days like the guy in the testimonial did?  Yes, the testimonial might not be true.  More likely, the guy in the testimonial had the right habits to implement the product to work.  And you just looked at the course in your spare time without doing what it takes to succeed.

So, save yourself some money this month.  Don’t buy any how-to product.  Make your own.  Get a notebook.  Take a serious look at your daily routine.  Develop a list of habits you need to start and habits you need to end.  Pick one or two, or however many you can handle at a time without being overwhelmed.  Chart your progress on that habit every day.

You can create a new habit in 21 days.  If you have an off day and slip back into a bad habit, or fail to practice your new positive habit, that’s okay.  Start your 21 days over.  Before you know, you won’t even be thinking about it — you’ll have a new habit.  And, you’ll be one day closer to the success you’re working for.

JENNIFER HERNDON works at home with her kids. She has been a home business consultant for over 11 years. Jennifer’s passion is helping you create the life of your dreams. Blogging4Boomers taught Jennifer how to make money while having fun blogging. Get step-by-step instruction from the master on starting your business from scratch inside The Listbuilding Club .

Filed under: personal development, personal growth, successful home business, work at home moms on March 20th, 2009