9 things you should give up to be successful in business

What to give up to be successful

Sometimes on the journey towards success, you can get stuck believing you need to do more and be more. In fact, often what holds you back are the things you’re doing which sabotage your success. Instead of looking at what else you can do or what else you can add, consider what things or what negative influences you may need to give up. Here are 9 things you should give up to be successful.

1. Your comfort zone

Your comfort zone is named that way for a reason. It’s comfortable and easy, but not much growth happens there.

To be successful, you need to learn to step out of your comfort zone on a regular basis. Success comes in many forms, but a big part of any type of success is stretching yourself, being open to growth and personal development.

Get comfortable being uncomfortable and practice being out of your comfort zone.

Get comfortable being uncomfortable and practice being out of your comfort zone. Share on X

2. Trying to please everyone

No matter how hard you try, you’ll never please everyone. Not everyone will like you, not everyone will agree with you or value the same things you do.

If you want to be successful, you need to be ok with not being able to please everyone.

Be true to yourself and your values. Stick to what you believe in and be passionate about it. The goal in business is to attract the types of customers who know, like and trust you and who believe in the same things as you.

3. An unhealthy lifestyle

Successful people know the importance of taking care of their body. You only get one and you have to live in it for your entire life.

Success takes hard work, commitment, energy and dedication. A healthy body means a healthy mind. A healthy mind is sharp, focused, more creative and able to make better decisions.

Start with small changes and make the commitment to a healthier lifestyle. Your body, your business and your loved ones will thank you.

4. Your fixed mindset

People with a fixed mindset believe their talents and intelligence are fixed. They believe their results and success are limited based on what they’re born with. They believe this can’t be changed regardless of how much work they put in.

Talent alone doesn’t determine success, in fact Angela Duckworth‘s research into Grit, concluded talent has little to do with success. According to Duckworth, talent multiplied by hard work equals skill. Skill multiplied by hard work equals success. Talent is just a small part of the equation and hard work is twice as important as both talent and skill.

Talent alone doesn't determine success. Share on X

5. Playing small

Playing small will only ever lead to small results. To be successful, you have to aim high and be willing to set seemingly impossible goals.

Most people have no idea what they’re truly capable of. You have to believe in big dreams and huge goals if you are to succeed at the highest level.

Your results are only limited by your drive and ambition so break down your self imposed barriers and aim for the highest heights. Demand more of yourself in every situation because you’re capable of so much more than you believe.

You're capable of so much more than you believe. Share on X

6. Making excuses

If you want to be successful, it’s time to give up the excuses. It’s time to take personal responsibility for what you do and what you don’t do. Be accountable for your actions.

Excuses limit your potential and stop you from reaching your goals.

Successful people know they’re responsible for every aspect of their lives, every decision and action. They take ownership, they don’t blame others and if they make mistakes they fix them and learn from them.

7. Believing there is a magic bullet

There is no quick path to success. Say it to yourself a thousand times. Success takes time and an incredible amount of hard work.

It’s easy to see others creating success and wonder how they did it. You see the results, but what you don’t see is the years and perhaps decades of hard work they’ve put in to get there. You don’t see the hours of focus being invested each day.

Give up the idea of a magic bullet once and for all and get used to the idea of working hard for what you want. Small continual improvements every day will compound quickly and help you create the success you want.

Give up the idea of a magic bullet once and for all. Share on X

8. Your perfectionism

It’s great to have high standards and to strive to do your best work. Expecting perfection however is not reasonable and it’s completely unrealistic.

Nothing will ever be perfect, no matter how hard you try. Trying to strive for perfection will not only be futile, it will lead to frustration and keep you from focusing on what you need to do to keep moving forward.

Expecting perfection is not reasonable and it's completely unrealistic. Share on X

9. People who don’t support you

Having a strong network of people who support you is so important. Surround yourself with people who believe in you, who lift you up and challenge you in a positive way. Being a business owner is tough at the best of times, but when you have people around you putting you down or making you question your every move, you’ll be on a slippery slope to disaster.

If you want to be successful, you need to get rid of people who are going to make your job harder and instead focus on those who will push you forward in the right direction.