The most successful people in the world are the most motivated – correct?

Not entirely.

It isn’t motivation that creates success, but habit and action. The most successful people in the world definitely have passion for what they do, but passion that isn’t accompanied by action is rendered useless.

It is your habits, more than anything, that will lead to your eventual success.

If your days are dominated by habits that help you on your journey to success, you’ll one day find yourself exactly where you want to be, doing what you want to be doing, earning what you want to be earning.

20 Habits That Will Make You A Success

1. Don’t define success with a dollar amount, but in relation to your happiness.

The habit of defining success with a dollar amount will lead you to constantly chasing a higher price point. It’s a chase that will never end, and a view of success that will never be attained. Get in the habit of seeing your success and your happiness in the same light.

2. Read before you write or work.

Reading a good book will get the creative juices flowing, the brain learning, and your knowledge base growing. Try reading for 30 minutes to start your day.

3. Wake up at the same time everyday.

Having a good sleep routine will help you have more energy to do more work during the day.

4. Always finish your to do list.

Get in the habit of never leaving anything that you wanted to finish at the beginning of the day, incomplete at the end. If you simply do what you set out to do, it will be hard for success to elude you.

5. Keep your to do list small and scaled.

Have 1 or 2 things that are important to finish, and make sure you finish them first. The rest of your tasks should be tended to only after your most important ones have been completed.

6. Keep two journals; one for your planning, scheduling, and work.

The other for your big ideas, thoughts, and goals. Writing stuff down makes it real and tangible. A to do list, a goal, or a dream, that isn’t written down isn’t yet real.

7. Measure everything.

Every goal you set needs to be measured. Every sales page you create, needs to be measured. If you measure everything you’ll have a blueprint for exactly what does work, and what doesn’t.

8. Stick to 90-minute work sessions.

Few people actually work as much as they say they work. Their time is usually made up of distractions. They Facebook, Tweet, and surf the interwebz. Time your work sessions. Keep a stopwatch. Focus for 90-minutes, take an active break, then get back to the beautiful grind.

9. Take active breaks.

A work break should enhance your working experience. It can’t – at all costs – take away from it. So do something active that will get your blood pumping and your mind working as effectively as it was when you first started working in the wee hours of the morning.

10. Wake up early.

The list of successful people who wake up before the rest of the world is far too long to list. This isn’t a coincidence. Get up before 6 am, 7 days a week and get a head start on your day and your dream.

11. Put your family first.

Success can’t exist without family – even if that “family” is simply loved ones and friends. You need to be working for a greater purpose than your own monitory gain if you’re going to accomplish true success.

12. Work harder than your competition.

If you work harder than everyone else, success can’t hide from you. You will find it. And you will enjoy it.

13. Use a board.

Use a big white board to keep your goals visible and close.

14. Share your dream.

Get in the habit of talking to others who have a similar dream, even if the similarity is the enormity of your goals, and the audaciousness of your plans. Napoleon Hill coined this relationship “a mastermind”, and it’s one of the most important factors in your eventual success.

15. Only surround yourself with successful people.

That is, don’t have “suckers” in your midst – people who will tear you away from your work, and destroy your dream. If you have friends that do this, stop hanging out with them. Are they worth you living a mediocre life when greatness can be in your future?

16. Keep a healthy body.

Without a healthy body it becomes evermore difficult to maintain a healthy mind.

17. Spend your money only on things that will propel your dream.

Cars, “things”, are only good for boosting your image in an effort to impress people who you really don’t want to impress. Spend money, instead, on your own development and your business to fuel your growth.

18. Make a sacrifice.

Get in the habit of sacrificing things that you may like in your life, for things that will help you become a success. The road to greatness isn’t one of excess spending and easy living. Hustle. Focus. Sacrifice. Succeed.

19. Review your journals every month.

A journal can bring you clarity when you write in it, but it’s far more powerful when you get in the habit of reviewing it.

20. Write down 3 things you’re thankful for every day.

What you’ll find is that success is often in your midst if you look at it from the right perspective. And study after study has shown that happy people achieve far greater things than pessimistic, unhappy individuals. This habit, combined with hard work, is as simple a recipe for success as you can create. It’s also an effective one.

If your habits are those of a successful, happy, productive, hard-working person, there’s no way that you can’t be successful. Make your success unavoidable by changing your habits.