1. Find a Mentor.
A lot of people believe that they can figure our everything in life on their own. You can read books, watch inspiring movies or listen to experts to figure out what is best for you in life. But all of these alone wont help you to achieve everything. You will need a mentor who can guide you at the crucial points in life. Your mentor should be someone whom you respect a lot. He/She should preferably be experienced in things in which you want to seek advice. You can have more than one mentor as well. Whenever you face a tough decision in life you can ask your mentor for advice as he might have faced the same decision at some point in his life as well. For example when I was in college I had a senior as mentor. He guided my on what courses to take, what internships to apply for and many other things. I don’t think I would have been able to achieve what I did in my college without his help . I have also got a mentor now to help me succeed in my corporate life. The advantages of having a mentor are that you can use his/her experience to learn what things you should incorporate in life to achieve success.
2. Learn to say no.
Many a times in our lives we face a tough situation in which we know that the thing that has been asked from us cannot be done. But we are too afraid to say no. Your boss brings an almost impossible assignment for you and you do not say no to him as you are afraid that it might affect your performance ratings. Your friend calls you to borrow some money and you do not say no as that might hurt him. Think for a second how not saying no is affecting your life. It is destroying your work life balance, deteriorating your health and affecting your relationships. I cannot emphasize more on the Power of No. I used to be very timid in my school and college life. I accepted whatever was given to me without questioning. That brought a lot of problems in my life and started affecting my relationships. Since then I have made it a point to say no if I think that other person’s demands are not reasonable. It might affect your relationship in short term but if the other person cares about you he will understand and respect your decision.
3. Stop caring much about other people.
When I was in 4th class there was a girl whom I loved a lot. In that tender age you don’t really understand the meaning of love. One day a boy from our class asked me whom do you want to marry? For me the answer was simple . I took her name and within a few days the news reached that girl. She stopped talking with me after that. I realized that I never should have told my friend about that girl. From then on I became quite conscious and started practicing extreme social caution at all times.
Everyday from the moment we wake up we start thinking about what other people think of us. How are these clothes looking at me? What will my colleagues think if I spoke out? If I take this job what will my family and friends think of me? The fact that most people do not understand is that none really cares about you. People are so much engrossed in their own lives that they do not have time to think about you.Once you realize this it will be a big step towards freedom. You have a great idea and want to start a company. Go ahead with it. You are willing to travel the world and have saved enough for it. Start traveling now.You should only care about people who really love you a lot and who will be there with you during the worst of times. These are your family and close friends.
4. Keep yourself financially educated.
We are not taught anything about money or finance in our schools. That can prove to be a big hindrance in your dreams to become rich. We are taught in schools to get educated in a particular skill and use that skill to get a good job. Once you have a good job you would not have to care much about money. But that is not entirely true. Having a good job never solves all your money problems. If you are not financially educated you open yourself to a lot of liabilities like loans, credit cards. These liabilities diminishes your savings and you begin to look for promotions or raises. You must read the book Rich Dad Poor Dad in which the author tells us about how rich people make money work for themselves and how middle class and poor people work for money their entire lives. You must educate yourself well about money if you aim to become rich in life.
5. Never stop learning.
Einstein had a famous quote “When you stop learning, you start dying.”
A person can be of any age. He can be someone who has just learned to walk or some one who has lived through multiple phases of life. We all need to keep on learning new things to remain relevant in life. A lot of so called grown ups think that they know everything and do not feel the need to invest their time in learning new things. There are many government offices in India where employees are still not willing to use computers as it involves learning a new thing. The people who really do something worthwhile in life are the ones who keep themselves open to learning and unlearning. Read books on different topics, participate in a discussion with a will to listen and take online courses that really interest you. If you really want to taste success be humble and never stop learning.
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Edit: If you liked this answer check out some of my other answers.
Nikant Vohra's answer to What are some things money can't buy?
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