Success leaves clues and so does failure. If you look at the habits of people who generally succeed in the long run they are the polar opposite of those who generally keep on failing.

You can be the most fortunate and blessed person on earth but if you are consistently following these habits, no amount of good fortune can save you.

Here are 10 signs you should watch out for if you want to be successful:

1. You love wasting money and expect your parents to foot the bill

Nothing wrong with parents helping their kids when they are very young or even helping them from time to time even when they are older. But if you keep spending their money frivolously without knowing and appreciating how hard they worked for it, then it means you aren’t mature enough to respect money. And if you don’t respect money, it won’t respect you.

2. You are not disciplined

If you cannot practice discipline then you simply will not succeed. If you always want instant pleasure instead of being willing to tolerate pain today for a payoff in the future, then your life is not much different from that of an animal that only wants food and sleep. If your life is only limited to that, good for you, but you won’t be changing the world anytime soon.

“Confidence comes from discipline and training.” – Robert Kiyosaki

3. You don’t finish what you start

One of the key differences between successful people and failures is that the former usually finish what they start and the latter almost never do. Failures say they want to follow their passion but when the going gets tough, they throw in the towel. Passion isn’t enough if you lack the commitment to go through with it all the way.

4. You love playing the blame game

Yes some people are fortunate enough to get the right opportunities, but without the will to succeed even those opportunities will be absolutely useless. The single biggest factor behind success is how badly you want to succeed and your willingness to take personal responsibility. If all you do is blame your parents, your boss, your friends for your lack of success it means your approach towards life is passive. You believe someone else is in control of your destiny. And once you start believing that, you are doomed.

5. You don’t believe in yourself

If you don’t believe in yourself you are almost certain to fail. Why you ask? It is simple. Those who believe that something is possible make determined efforts to make their dreams come true. Chronic failures on the other hand believe from the very beginning that nothing is going to work. As a result they never put in the effort to succeed or are always looking for signs that prove what they are doing won’t work. Their lack of self belief ensures a lack of action and eventually a lack of success.

6. You don’t set goals

If you don’t have goals it means you don’t know where you are going. If you don’t know where you are going then it is almost certain that you are going to wander around aimlessly. Success is a journey with milestones. But it needs a map to keep you on track. Your goals are your map. If you don’t have them you will end up being lost in the wilderness.

7. You care too much about what others think

Even if people do judge you, it only reflects who they are as a person, it doesn’t reflect who you are. The truth is even if you do end up trying to please some of these people, there will be another group that will find something else to complain about. Stop trying to please everyone, it’s impossible. Instead why not please the most important person in your life? You!

8. You don’t take care of your health

If you don’t take care of your health then no matter how hard you work, it is all going to be worthless because you simply wont be around long enough to actually enjoy the fruits of your labor. A great spiritual leader observed that most people first waste away all their health in pursuit of money and then waste all the money trying to get back their lost health. Why screw up with it in the first place? Take care of your mind and body and it will take care of everything else.

9. You don’t stand up for yourself

If you can’t fight for what you want then don’t cry when you don’t get it. If you don’t fight you will be taken advantage of by others and be crumpled. Yes, being too nice is a bad thing if it kills your dreams in the process. Do not be a doormat. Be assertive and demand what you want, especially if you deserve it. If you are too scared to demand what you want because you think you will be considered impolite, then be content with living the life of a nice guy who is a failure.

“Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak; courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen.” -Winston Churchill

10. You put money ahead of relationships

Even if you do succeed in your career, you need someone around to actually celebrate with. Nobody is going to be around celebrating with you if you don’t show that you care about them as well. Success in life is not just materialistic, it includes relationships as well. If you ignore relationships for the sake of money, you may be a success in your professional life, but in your personal life you will be an utter failure.

Conclusion

There are many aspects and different meanings to success. Figure out what success looks like for you and then take the necessary actions to go after what you want. If you re-evaluate your life and you see some of these signs, figure out how to improve on them and eventually eliminate them.

On which sign do you need to work on? Please leave your thoughts in the comment section below!

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