Episode Details

I have found most successful people have at least one, but usually a number of guiding principles. Things like phrases or ideas by which they live and work

To help you develop or add to your own guiding principles, in today's show I have rounded up a number of philosophies or thoughts that I'm going to discuss with Mark Creedon, founder of Business Accelerator Mastermind in our monthly Build a Business, Not a Job podcast.

But before we get into the main show, I'd like to share all of the philosophies of Steve Jobs, the late co-founder and CEO of Apple.

Jobs said: "You can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backward. So, you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future."

Another interesting philosophy comes from Michael Jordan how famously said:

"I've missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I've lost almost 300 games. 26 times I've been trusted to take the game-winning shot and missed. I've failed over and over and over again in my life and that is why I succeed."

In today's show, you'll hear Mark Creedon and I talk about failure and how the way you think about it makes a huge difference in how you approach all areas of your life, so welcome to today's show.

Life philosophies that could change your life

You don't have to look far on the Internet to find blogs about the philosophies that successful people live by.

I enjoy reading those blogs and learning what drives successful people.

Interestingly I've found some of the best lessons I've learned are the simple ones.

I'm still a voracious learner and if I haven't learned something new by lunchtime every day, I've had a bad day.

1. Take responsibility for your world

Shouldn't we all?

There's a belief in this world, that I completely resonate with, that everything that has happened to you in your life is a direct result of your actions, either your physical actions or your mental actions.

Thoughts are things. As you think so you become. This belief is The Law of Attraction.

I know everyone doesn't agree with this – but I believe you should be a part of your life, not a passenger.

2. Don't make excuses, take action

"You are what you do, not what you say you'll do" — Carl Jung.

Action creates momentum and momentum matters.

Sure, it's important to make plans and know which way you're heading, in life, in your investments, and in business but plans are just theory unless you take action.

3. You are the company you keep.

Someone once told me that you're the sum of the five people with whom you spend the most amount of time and I couldn't agree more.

Studies have proven this time and time again – a Harvard study found that if your friend is happy, your chances of being happy increase 15%. It doesn't just stop there – if your friend's friend is happy, your chances of being happy increase by 10%, and if your friend's friend's friend is happy, your chances still increase 6% (if 6% doesn't impress you, you'll be interested to know that a $10,000 increase in annual income only increases your odds by 2%).

This rule also works in the negative sense – if your friend becomes obese, your chances of becoming obese increase 57%. The same goes for smoking (61%) and other negative habits.

4. Embrace your limitations.

I know one of my strengths in creating – coming up with the big ideas and implementing them.

Or creating things like blogs and podcasts. However, I know I'm not in my flow when doing other types of tasks.

Trying to change fundamental aspects of your personality is like swimming upriver – you exert tremendous effort with little forward progress. Instead of trying to change these aspects of myself, I've surrounded myself with others who are better at various aspects of