Habits are Hip

Okay, so maybe habits aren't the hippest thing in the world. But they just might be the most important. What separates the best from the rest comes down to habits. A few good ones (that's really all it takes - two or three really good ones) will make a massive difference in the way your career and your life looks downstream. So choose them well.

A bit of a cheesy metaphor but I think it will serve nicely to make my point: a good habit is like a strong oak tree. Starts off as a little seed, planted in a single moment. Fail to nurture it daily and it dies a fast death. But tend to it - just a bit each day - and the thing grows. Until one day it's so strong it is next to impossible to break it.

Your habits will define how close to your personal mountaintop you get. Ones I suggest to you include getting up early, underpromising and overdelivering (always give people far more than they expect and you'll win), being a passionate learner (by reading daily and listening to audio programs by big thinkers), spending the first 30 minutes of each day planning (or thinking), leaving every person you meet better than you found them, working out regularly. Just a few to pick from. To get you going. To plant your seeds.

Robin Sharma