b'TURNING KNOWLEDGEINTO BEHAVIOURS the secret to successYoull never change your life until you A s a life and business coach, Imsustainable plan so they quit andchange something you fascinated [and slightly obsessed] withend up in a worse place than theydo daily. The secret of the question of why success comes morewere before, now also frustratedyour success is found easily for some, yet others struggle toand disappointed.in your daily routine. create the life they want.Action always beats intention - John C. MaxwellPeople arent born successful, they becomeSo what is it that the 8% of people successful. know that the rest of us dont? Based on that, success can be attributed to daily habitsIts quite simple. They are specific about what and understanding our own map of the world. By turningthey want to achieve and they have a plan. the knowledge we have into behaviours and building theFor example, saying you want to live a healthier life isnt confidence to take steps forward, it really is possible toenough on its own. What kind of healthy? If you want to design the life we want. lose weight, how much weight? Several decades ago, researchers carried out a goal- Break it down into how much per week then its infinitely setting study at Harvard Business School. Their cohorteasier to take steps to make it happen.were students who were about to graduate and theyEliminate the vagueness and get really clear. Set realistic wanted to analyse the effect goal-setting had on theirgoals - if the bridge is too big to cross, it can go the other future outcomes. way. Your goal should stretch you but not be out of your They asked the students one question.reach. Had they a written down goal and a plan for the future? No-one wants to fail at reaching their goals, not because Only 3% answered yes to having a goal and a plan. they havent taken action, but because the goal was The study found that, in the future, this 3% group earnedunachievable in the first place!significantly more money than their counterparts.The moral of the story is clear? Setting goals is crucial.High achievers define timeframesHowever, on its own, a goal isnt enough. Anyone can setLeaving a goal open ended is easy to wriggle out of. No a goal, its what you do to take the action towards it thatdate or time equals no urgency.makes the difference in reaching it or not. Ask yourself, specifically when do you want to achieveHaving a plan and taking action turns yourThis?By 5pm next Friday? By the1st of next month?knowledge into behaviour. By writing your goal down, you have a 33% Whatever you want to achieve in life, the success comesstronger chance of turning your knowledge and from taking action. Those who do nothing, achieveideas into long lasting behaviour. nothing.If you want to quit your 9-5 and own a business, youWhen it comes to building a successful life and business, have to launch it. there are three things to have in place. If any one of these If you want to have a best seller, you have to startelements is missing, reaching your goal will be harder to writing. come by.If you want to be more visible, you have to put yourself1. STRATEGY2. TAKE ACTION3. RESILIENCEout there.The hard part isnt in knowing what to do, its in actuallySuccess is the sum of small efforts repeated doing it.day in, day out.Only 8% of people stick to their New Years resolutionsBy personally committing to taking intelligent, consistent and, not only that, by the middle of steps towards your goals every single day, you will make January, most resolutions have been abandoned!progress. It doesnt matter how small the steps are, what Why? Because people are motivated to achieve but theymatters is the implementation and turning your knowledge dont know how to actually make it happen. They have nointo long lasting behaviour that propels you forward.15'