Success Advice

The CEO of Go Daddy Shares His 16 Rules For Success In Business & In Life

Published

7 years ago

Mar 22, 2013

Joel Brown (Founder of Addicted2Success.com)

Bob Parsons, the CEO of Web Hosting & Domain name registration company “GoDaddy“, shares his 16 Rules for Success in Business & in Life.

Bob Parsons 16 Rules Of Success In Life & In Business

1.	Get and stay out of your comfort zone.
	I believe that not much happens of any significance when we’re in our comfort zone. I hear people say, “But I’m concerned about security.” My response to that is simple: “Security is for cadavers.”
2.	Never give up.
	Almost nothing works the first time it’s attempted. Just because what you’re doing does not seem to be working, doesn’t mean it won’t work. It just means that it might not work the way you’re doing it. If it was easy, everyone would be doing it, and you wouldn’t have an opportunity.
3.	When you’re ready to quit, you’re closer than you think.
	There’s an old Chinese saying that I just love, and I believe it is so true. It goes like this: “The temptation to quit will be greatest just before you are about to succeed.”
4.	With regard to whatever worries you, not only accept the worst thing that could happen, but make it a point to quantify what the worst thing could be.
	Very seldom will the worst consequence be anywhere near as bad as a cloud of “undefined consequences.” My father would tell me early on, when I was struggling and losing my shirt trying to get Parsons Technology going, “Well, Robert, if it doesn’t work, they can’t eat you.”
5.	Focus on what you want to have happen.
	Remember that old saying, “As you think, so shall you be.”
6.	Take things a day at a time.
	No matter how difficult your situation is, you can get through it if you don’t look too far into the future, and focus on the present moment. You can get through anything one day at a time.
7.	Always be moving forward.
	Never stop investing. Never stop improving. Never stop doing something new. The moment you stop improving your organization, it starts to die. Make it your goal to be better each and every day, in some small way. Remember the Japanese concept of Kaizen. Small daily improvements eventually result in huge advantages.
8.	Be quick to decide.
	Remember what General George S. Patton said: “A good plan violently executed today is far and away better than a perfect plan tomorrow.”
9.	Measure everything of significance.
	I swear this is true. Anything that is measured and watched, improves.
10.	Anything that is not managed will deteriorate.
	If you want to uncover problems you don’t know about, take a few moments and look closely at the areas you haven’t examined for a while. I guarantee you problems will be there.
11.	Pay attention to your competitors, but pay more attention to what you’re doing.
	When you look at your competitors, remember that everything looks perfect at a distance. Even the planet Earth, if you get far enough into space, looks like a peaceful place.
12.	Never let anybody push you around.
	In our society, with our laws and even playing field, you have just as much right to what you’re doing as anyone else, provided that what you’re doing is legal.
13.	Never expect life to be fair.
	Life isn’t fair. You make your own breaks. You’ll be doing good if the only meaning fair has to you, is something that you pay when you get on a bus (i.e., fare).
14.	Solve your own problems.
	You’ll find that by coming up with your own solutions, you’ll develop a competitive edge. Masura Ibuka, the co-founder of SONY, said it best: “You never succeed in technology, business, or anything by following the others.” There’s also an old saying that I remind myself of frequently. It goes like this: “A wise man keeps his own counsel.”
15.	Don’t take yourself too seriously.
	Lighten up. Often, at least half of what we accomplish is due to luck. None of us are in control as much as we like to think we are.
16.	There’s always a reason to smile.
	Find it. After all, you’re really lucky just to be alive. Life is short. More and more, I agree with my little brother. He always reminds me: “We’re not here for a long time, we’re here for a good time!”

Up Next

11 Creative Ways to Make Money Using YouTube

Don't Miss

The 15 Success Principles You’ll Never Want To Forget

Joel Brown (Founder of Addicted2Success.com)

I am the the Founder of Addicted2Success.com and I am so grateful you're here to be part of this awesome community. I love connecting with people who have a passion for Entrepreneurship, Self Development & Achieving Success. I started this website with the intention of educating and inspiring likeminded people to always strive for success no matter what their circumstances.I'm proud to say through my podcast and through this website we have impacted over 200 million lives in the last 10 years.

10 Comments

Michelle Sears
May 24, 2013 at 7:04 pm
Thanks for the list. I love it. 🙂
Reply
scutterbup
Apr 26, 2013 at 10:23 pm
he forgot #17: objectify and demean women at every opportunity. I don’t care about what he has to say because he’s a sexist pig and his company reflects his toxic values.
Reply
muhammad waseem dogar
Apr 12, 2013 at 4:18 am
life changing and encouraging lines …….. thanks
Reply
S K Jain
Apr 3, 2013 at 11:58 am
Fantastic words
Reply
dejiu
Mar 31, 2013 at 11:57 am
What an amazing success advice..I
cherish the advice of billionaires than any one else in this world thanks Bob!!!
Reply
Robert The Genius (@RobertTheGenius)
Mar 30, 2013 at 2:03 pm
these are hitting home today. personal/professional struggles happening currently but i just gotta keep pushing. im made of steel.
Reply
Gabriel
Mar 24, 2013 at 5:09 pm
Great great great article. Amazing pieces of advice
Thanks for sharing!
Reply
John @ Teens Make Money Online
Mar 24, 2013 at 4:19 am
I really relate to number 13, you can never expect life to be fair, especially in business. However, you need to keep your head up and keep striving to be a better person. Thank you for the article.
Reply
Don (@breatheoptimism)
Mar 24, 2013 at 2:50 am
Great list. While all of these are important, I like the first one the most. Getting out of and staying out of your comfort zone is huge. Doing so means you are always growing, learning and bettering yourself. If you are always in your comfort zone, you aren’t doing any of these and aren’t living life, just going through the motions.
Reply
Bryte Asafo-Agyei
Mar 22, 2013 at 1:06 pm
Awesome messages,living by these words will help me in my course. Thanks
Reply

Success Advice

How Learning to Say ‘No’ Can Improve Your Business

Published

3 days ago

Dec 7, 2019

Richard LeCount

Image Credit: Unsplash

The word “no” is a unique word that despite its negative connotations, is capable of positive consequences when used correctly. For example, when someone asks you to do something you don’t want to do, and you say no, you immediately know that someone is unhappy with such a response. However, in your mind, it feels like a positive outcome, because you’ve prevented yourself from doing something you don’t want to do. (more…)

Success Advice

How Leaning Into Your Discomfort Can Create the Comfortable Life That You Envision

Published

7 days ago

Dec 3, 2019

Emanuel Thomas

Image Credit: Unsplash

Have you ever heard the phrase “If you do what’s hard now, your life will become easy—but if you do what’s easy now, your life will always be hard?” Whether you have or haven’t, there’s quite a bit of truth in the saying. However, the real question is how can a person truly make sense of the message that’s being conveyed, unless they know where they’re headed in life. (more…)

Success Advice

5 Ways You Can Supercharge Your Sales Courage Today

Published

1 week ago

Dec 1, 2019

Dr. Nadia Brown

Image Credit: Unsplash

Sales can be hard. Whether you’re asking someone to buy a ticket, idea, or program, it’s not a skill that comes naturally to most people. But like any skill, it can be learned. With practice (and a little bravery), you will get better at selling. (more…)

Success Advice

2 Important Lessons We Can Learn About Goal Setting From Dominoes

Published

2 weeks ago

Nov 27, 2019

Tiffany Toombs

Image Credit: Rawpixel

The Domino Effect. It’s likely you’ve heard the term, but do you really understand the incredible implications for our life and success that we can learn by studying dominoes? (more…)