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5 Simple Rules to Achieve Excellence in Your Professional Life

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how to achieve excellence

Beginning a journey towards achieving personal excellence requires courage, while continuing that journey is even more difficult. The difference between a winner and a loser can be easily determined by how bold an individual is in making decisions. Whereas the people that are stuck in between what to do and what not to do, high performers immediately take actions towards their goals.

People living with a mediocre mindset are always finding shortcuts, while avoiding the amount of dedication and hard work it requires to complete the task. They never really think about taking a leap of faith. They are afraid of their prey and limit themselves in all aspects of their life. On the other hand, there are people who have the spark of excitement needed for personal excellence, but they’re unable to live up to their maximum potential.

Here are the five simple rules that you can follow to achieve excellence in your professional life:

1. Success Is Predictable And Therefore Plan For It

Often times, people are living with a misconception that a successful life is just a matter of luck or an accident. The same people are good at waiting for the miracles to happen in their life. They do not plan or strive to excel their abilities.

In reality, success is predictable and you can learn a particular set of skills to double, triple or quadruple your success rate. All you need to do is to figure out how other professionals are planning their success and how you can imitate them to get the same results.

Seek help from your idol, read about them and plan like them. Follow their footprints and you will reach the same destination where they are at right now.

2. Work Even if You Don’t Want to Work

What is self-discipline? It’s the ability to dedicate your hours even when you don’t feel like working. Successful people practice self-discipline rigorously. They avoid people who are lazy, procrastinate and are not courageous enough to reflect on what direction their life is heading.

According to studies, it has been found that employees work for only three hours in their eight hour job.  Most of them waste their time in gossiping about the movies, the kind of person they met last night at dinner and other subjects which are not relevant to their profession.

You can easily beat 80% of the people around you by working for an extra hour or two in developing your skills rather than gossiping about politics and movies.

“The three great essentials to achieve anything worthwhile are: Hard work, Stick-to-itiveness, and Common sense.” – Thomas A. Edison

3. Take Control of Your Responses

No profession is free from problems and challenges. The sooner you accept the truth, the better and easier it is for you to grow and excel your skills.

Almost 8 out of 10 people do not have control over their responses. When faced with a problem, they get angry and hold everyone responsible for leading the business in such a horrendous situation. They handle the situation irrationally and end up mounting more problems.

How you respond to a particular situation determines how quickly you are going to climb up the ladder of your professional career. Luckily, like other habits, you can develop a strong mental attitude while dealing with the problems.

4. Make Results Your Priority

Instead of dwelling on the possibility of what you could have done to avoid the problem, think in terms of how you can mend the situation and bring out the desired result. High achievers do not play the blame game and are a part of those few personalities who set results as their topmost priority.

To begin, embrace the situation as it is. Manage yourself in a way that no matter how difficult a particular situation seems, you’re not going to accept the disappointments. Your response must be relaxed to every situation.

Practicing such behavior over and over again automatically trains your mind to make the right decisions and lead you towards accomplishing the results you’ve desired.

“You must take personal responsibility. You cannot change the circumstances, the seasons, or the wind, but you can change yourself. That is something you have charge of.” – Jim Rohn

5. Look For the Benefits in Every Situation

The famous life coach Tony Robbins figured out that, “Problems are the gifts that make us figure out who we are, what we’re made for, and what we’re responsible to give back to life.” Enlightening!

If you change your perception towards your problems and look at them as an opportunity to grow, then your life will immediately turn into an adventurous venture. All you have to do is pay attention to how you’re talking to yourself and what kind of words you’re feeding your subconscious mind.

Remember that 80% of our work and actions in day-to-day life are led by the guidelines of our subconscious mind. The surprising fact is that it’s us who define these guidelines unknowingly. You cannot change the subconscious mind or cause at first, but you can always change its effect, and eventually how you react will automatically change the cause.

Professional people are motivated people. They plan their profession towards greatness and work hard even if they are not feeling like it. They’re in control of how they react and look for the opportunities in every situation. They strive for superiority in their profession and make results their topmost priority.

Now I want to ask you: Which one of the above practices are you going to model in your own career? How do you stay motivated at the workplace and bring maximum output? Share with me your views in the comments below.

Nakul Grover is the author of Superhuman In You and has been inspiring people through his blog Positive Life Project. He has been writing on self-improvement for over 5 years now. Featured on various websites, his work is helping people to live an extraordinary life. He loves spending his leisure hours reading books and developing new skills.

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Success Advice

Why One-Size-Fits-All Leadership Will Always Fail (and What Works Instead)

The surprising truth about leadership styles that can make or break your team’s success.

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Why one-size-fits-all leadership doesn’t work
Image Credit: Midjourney

Leadership has always been as much about people as it is about performance. Ken Blanchard, in his influential book, “The One Minute Manager”, put it simply: different strokes for different folks. (more…)

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Success Advice

What Every New CEO Must Do in Their First 100 Days (or Risk Failure)

Your first 100 days as CEO could define your entire legacy, here’s how to make every move count

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leadership tips for new CEO
Image Credit: Midjourney

When Tim Cook took over from Steve Jobs at Apple, the world watched with bated breath. Jobs wasn’t just a CEO; he was a visionary, an icon, and a legend of innovative leadership. (more…)

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Entrepreneurs

The Leadership Shift Every Company Needs in 2025

Struggling to keep your team engaged? Here’s how leaders can turn frustrated employees into loyal advocates.

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Bridging the gap between employees and employers
Image Credit: Midjourney

In workplaces around the world, there’s a growing gap between employers and employees and between superiors and their teams. It’s a common refrain: “People don’t leave companies, they leave bad bosses.”

While there are, of course, cases where management could do better, this isn’t just a “bad boss” problem. The relationship between leaders and employees is complex. Instead of assigning blame, we should explore practical solutions to build stronger, healthier workplaces where everyone thrives.

Why This Gap Exists

Every workplace needs someone to guide, supervise, and provide feedback. That’s essential for productivity and performance. But because there are usually far more employees than managers, dissatisfaction, fair or not, spreads quickly.

What if, instead of focusing on blame, we focused on building trust, empathy, and communication? This is where modern leadership and human-centered management can make a difference.

Tools and Techniques to Bridge the Gap

Here are proven strategies leaders and employees can use to foster stronger relationships and create a workplace where people actually want to stay.

1. Practice Mutual Empathy

Both managers and employees need to recognize they are ultimately on the same team. Leaders have to balance people and performance, and often face intense pressure to hit targets. Employees who understand this reality are more likely to cooperate and problem-solve collaboratively.

2. Maintain Professional Boundaries

Superiors should separate personal issues from professional decision-making. Consistency, fairness, and integrity build trust, and trust is the foundation of a motivated team.

3. Follow the Golden Rule

Treat people how you would like to be treated. This simple principle encourages compassion and respect, two qualities every effective leader must demonstrate.

4. Avoid Micromanagement

Micromanaging stifles creativity and damages morale. Great leaders see themselves as partners, not just bosses, and treat their teams as collaborators working toward a shared goal.

5. Empower Employees to Grow

Empowerment means giving employees responsibility that matches their capacity, and then trusting them to deliver. Encourage them to take calculated risks, learn from mistakes, and problem-solve independently. If something goes wrong, turn it into a learning opportunity, not a reprimand.

6. Communicate in All Directions

Communication shouldn’t just be top-down. Invite feedback, create open channels for suggestions, and genuinely listen to what your people have to say. Healthy upward communication closes gaps before they become conflicts.

7. Overcome Insecurities

Many leaders secretly fear being outshone by younger, more tech-savvy employees. Instead of resisting, embrace the chance to learn from them. Humility earns respect and helps the team innovate faster.

8. Invest in Coaching and Mentorship

True leaders grow other leaders. Provide mentorship, career guidance, and stretch opportunities so employees can develop new skills. Leadership is learned through experience, but guided experience is even more powerful.

9. Eliminate Favoritism

Avoid cliques and office politics. Decisions should be based on facts and fairness, not gossip. Objective, transparent decision-making builds credibility.

10. Recognize Efforts Promptly

Recognition often matters more than rewards. Publicly appreciate employees’ contributions and do so consistently and fairly. A timely “thank you” can be more motivating than a quarterly bonus.

11. Conduct Thoughtful Exit Interviews

When employees leave, treat it as an opportunity to learn. Keep interviews confidential and use the insights to improve management practices and culture.

12. Provide Leadership Development

Train managers to lead, not just supervise. Leadership development programs help shift mindsets from “command and control” to “coach and empower.” This transformation has a direct impact on morale and retention.

13. Adopt Soft Leadership Principles

Today’s workforce, largely millennials and Gen Z, value collaboration over hierarchy. Soft leadership focuses on partnership, mutual respect, and shared purpose, rather than rigid top-down control.

The Bigger Picture: HR’s Role

Mercer’s global research highlights five key priorities for organizations:

  • Build diverse talent pipelines

  • Embrace flexible work models

  • Design compelling career paths

  • Simplify HR processes

  • Redefine the value HR brings

The challenge? Employers and employees often view these priorities differently. Bridging that perception gap is just as important as bridging the relational gap between leaders and staff.

Treat Employees Like Associates, Not Just Staff

When you treat employees like partners, they bring their best selves to work. HR leaders must develop strategies to keep talent engaged, empowered, and prepared for the future.

Organizational success starts with people, always. Build the relationship with your team first, and the results will follow.

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Entrepreneurs

What Makes an Entrepreneurial Leader? Traits of the World’s Best Innovators

Inside the mindset of entrepreneurial leaders who transform risk, passion, and vision into world-changing results.

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entrepreneurial leadership skills and traits
Image Credit: Midjourney

When you think of Richard Branson (Virgin Group), Bill Gates (Microsoft), Steve Jobs (Apple), Rupert Murdoch (News Corporation), and Ted Turner (CNN), one thing becomes clear: they are not just entrepreneurs, they are entrepreneurial leaders. (more…)

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