The 25 Habits for Your Success

​Our ingrained habit is to notice what is wrong rather than what is right in life. We forget all that we can be grateful for such as our sight and hearing, the loving people in our lives, the fact that we are still alive and breathing, etc.

Our personal integrity is the foundation of long-term success both in our personal, as well as our business lives. However, until we reveal our true identity, we can’t have integrity. We tend to believe that we are separate beings, but the truth is that we are not separate from each other, we are an inseparable part of each other and the bigger universe. This is called Oneness, which simply means that I cannot be happy and successful unless those around me are happy and successful.

Much of the world operates within a scarcity mindset. We believe we have limited resources, a limited life, limited wisdom — in fact, we place limits on everything. This comes from believing that we are separate from each other and also believing that we own things. In reality, the resources of the universe are unlimited if we only know how to tap into them.

Though the universe provides unlimited resources, since we do not own them, they can be taken away from us if we squander them or they are not put to proper use. Resources are gifted to us not for self-indulgence, but to make a difference to the bigger One, society. We must be responsible for the resources that are placed at our disposal, then the resources allocated to us will expand.

We must continuously sharpen our tools and learn new skills, thus, giving us the capacity to continuously make our best better. Otherwise, we will not be able to sustainably maximize the use of resources allocated to us. We must constantly learn, listen, evaluate, verify, and integrate.

All sustainable successes are embedded in continuously achieving excellence. Perfection is a forever-moving target and in the pursuit of attaining perfection, we potentially achieve excellence. Excellence, therefore, is never a permanent state or an end in itself.

Success comes from undertaking and prioritizing tasks that add the highest value, as opposed to doing tasks that don’t add the highest value, but are quick and easy.

Procrastination is a direct result of the absence of our commitment to our purpose in life. When we achieve self-integration and become one with the universe, which is Habit #2, our purpose in life becomes clear to add the highest value in all our thoughts and endeavors. In the absence of this purpose, what we’re doing simply becomes a task and chore rather than a joy and passion, which leaves us with no incentive to begin, let alone complete, the task. The result is procrastination.

We need to provide energy to our human body/vehicle. Without enthusiasm, we have no energy. Endless enthusiasm comes from immersion in our purpose, which is completely endorsed by our true selves (revealed through Habit #2, self-integration). Purpose-driven enthusiasm transforms work into a passion, failure into a lesson, and hurdles into untapped opportunities. Success then becomes a joyful and wondrous journey of continuous discovery and breakthroughs.

The past is history and the future is only a dream. It is only by living in the present that we make history and fulfill our dreams.

We live our lives conditionally. Often, we arbitrarily create conditions and expectations that prevent us from moving forward, such as “I’ll start exercising right after the holidays.” We find reasons to postpone what we intrinsically know we should do right away. We kind of put life on hold. As we know, time doesn’t wait for anyone. We constantly and continuously miss opportunities. All that comes about because we haven’t enthusiastically bought into our purpose of adding the highest value in all our endeavors.

Our sole and clear purpose in life must always be to unconditionally add the highest value in all that we do.

When our habits are based on insecurity, greed, fear, prejudice, ignorance and our egos, we will always limit ourselves with conditions, hesitation, cutting corners, and end up utterly compromising our endeavors — setting ourselves up for eventual failure. This self-centered habit doesn’t allow us to nurture any long-term trust or relationships, which is essential for any sustainable success.

In the absence of the 12 Self-Integration Habits, we only practice honesty out of the fear of getting caught, which leads to shame, embarrassment, guilt, and being negatively branded. Otherwise, we practice dishonesty, which is then nurtured by our insecurity, greed, and egos. We end up always being stressed out from our fear of getting caught, judged, and punished.

​Without investing in the first 12 Habits, we will always be guided and run by our insecurities and egos, which normally do not allow us to recognize and acknowledge goodness in anything outside of ourselves. The law of nature is that whatever plant you nurture grows. Nurturing goodness in people, we can benefit from the valuable assets they bring to the team: insights, skills, talents, and creative energy.

If we have all sorts of degrees, knowledge and experience, but aren’t responsible and reliable, our value in the marketplace is diminished and our personal values and self-worth are compromised. It’s just as though we were a highly-acclaimed, technically advanced electric shaver that didn’t produce reliable results. We wouldn’t keep it, regardless of how much it cost.

It is through keeping the promises we make for ourselves, that we bring discipline into our lives and we become the most valuable asset to ourselves and our team. Immersed in the previous 16 Habits, we won’t make any promise — to ourselves or others — lightly.

When we are a slave to our insecurities, greed, fear and egos, it becomes critical for us to feed our incessant need for recognition, though that need can never be quenched. That need is fulfilled by taking undeserved and shameless credit for everything regardless of who did it — yet never take any blame even if we are directly responsible.

The mind is a data-gathering instrument that not only collects incomplete information, but that information is often adulterated by our insecurities, greed, fears, and egos. Whereas our Souls, which remain pure, are connected to the Universal Power of the universe. That is why our Souls take everything lightly and a hearty laugh always touches our hearts and Souls.

At the end of our journey, all our trophies, medals, wealth, titles, and awards are going to be less important than those rare moments when we were able to make a difference to a complete stranger without the remotest expectation of getting anything in return.

An essential necessity of the Social-Integration Habits is to truly understand others’ needs, where they stand, and what will add the most value to them. This requires a commitment to developing unselfish and thoughtful listening skills.

Whenever our focus is not on unconditionally adding the highest value in every thought, word and action, our older habits of simmering insecurity, greed, fear, and ego will boil over. Instead, anything unfamiliar and different begins to make us fearful and uncomfortable. Thus, anyone who looks different, dresses differently, talks differently, thinks differently, and behaves differently will make us at least apprehensive if not outright judgmental and prejudiced, which may provoke paranoia and ignite anger — derailing us from our core purpose of adding the highest value at all times.

Our capacity to quickly judge and evaluate is a unique gift that allows us to discern any harm or danger that threatens our survival. But, we extend that survival habit to instantly judging people without having enough information, data, or experiences with them. The irony is that the less we know, the more quickly we judge. To really know and understand anyone, we have to withhold our opinions, judgments, and preconceptions until we truly appreciate where they are coming from and their needs, wants, agendas, and purposes.

The process of forgiving, which we all practice, is conditional. We are often preached to “forgive and forget” because the outcome of holding grudges is self-poisoning and self-defeating. This process is all about saving ourselves and has nothing to do with truly forgiving others.

​Operating in this world where Oneness is mostly absent in thought and action, we get continuously bombarded with decisions and circumstances that simply don’t make sense. We are constantly thrown off course and depleted by life’s distractions and demands, which derail us from practicing the empowering 24 Habits and we find ourselves lost once again in our old, destructive habits.