5 Good Habits For Success In 2019

I’m the cofounder of Budibase - a super speedy web app builder for makers.

Over the last 15 years working on small to large (£15m+) projects, I’ve often considered what is success, and what are the good habits for success in 2019.

I’ve poured my thoughts on to this page to help others in a similar position, develop successful habits.

I hope you enjoy it.

Success is personal. It takes hard work and discipline, but most of all, it takes hunger. The hunger to go further and push harder.

It also takes time.

“If you really look closely, most overnight successes took a long time.” Steve Jobs

The journey to success is a tenacious one. Sometimes you feel on top, strong, confident, and other times you feel overwhelmed, small, an imposter.

“Success is walking from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm.” Winston Churchill

Fear is common, it’s natural. You’re injecting your soul into your project with no guaranteed return. I don’t care if your John Fucking Rambo, that’s going to frighten you.

But, fear in an aberrant way is good because it makes the ‘winning moments’ incredibly thrilling and completely worth the drudgery.

“Don’t let the fear of losing be greater than the excitement of winning.” Robert Kiyosaki

The feeling of success is beautiful. It’s like a drug. For the classical thinkers it’s approval, conclusiveness, validation; for romantic thinkers it’s uplifting, enlightening, empowering.

As Makers, if you want to build something big which brings what you define as success, you need to put in place healthy habits. These habits will create an environment which encourages success to manifest.

If you have little time, here is the TL;DR version:

1. Create A Structure
2. Build Relationships
3. Focus On Your Health
4. Celebrate The Smallest Of Wins
5. Learn From Failure

1. Create A Structure

Structure is important. It provides order and organisation.

It allows you the time to work with focus and without distractions.

Structuring work time allows my mind to shift gears easier. During ‘work time’ I feel focused and motivated, and my work is efficient.

More importantly, it provides you with a defined time to relax. Tech makers and entrepreneurs are some of the hardest workers in the world, where sadly burnout is all too common. Finding a time to relax is essential.

Having a structure in place makes life easier for those around us. Which brings me to my next habit.

2. Build Relationships

Your success is important but it most not negatively affect others.

You’re family, friends care for you. They’re your biggest fans. They’re the people who don’t understand what you do but will create a Product Hunt profile and upvote your project at the drop of a hat.

It’s very important to build on the relationships you have, and just as important to create new relationships. Explain your project or product to everyone who is willing to listen. Take note of their questions and be patient. Building new relationships can benefit you and allow your product to travel through word of mouth - often undervalued and understated. You can also inspire others with your story.

“Success isn’t just about what you accomplish in your life; it’s about what you inspire others to do.”

• Unknown

It’s important to remove the negative relationships in your life. If people are bringing you down, drop them.

3. Focus On Your Health

Eating healthy/healthier.

Exercise regurley.

Meditate and practice mindfulness. You need to learn to switch off.

I’ll be the first to admit, for me this was the hardest habit to practice. I could never switch off. I was close to burnout. So I began practicing meditation and focusing strictly on habit number one above. Once I felt I could control my mind, I was in a better position to exercise, eat healthy, and succeed.

4. Celebrate The Smallest Wins

Your journey to success may be long. It’s important to pat yourself on the back. Breaking your success down into milestones, encourages you to taste success over time. This makes the journey easier.

How you celebrate is down to you. Go to a concert, have a nice meal, spend time with your family. Do whatever makes you happy. Morale is important, it’s important to keep your spirits high. Milestones are to you, what energy gels are to a seasoned marathon runner. They will break your focus, but they give you the energy to reach that end goal quicker.

Celebrating when your winning is important, but what happens when you are failing?

Habit 5 has the answer.

5. Learn From Failure

_“Would you like me to give you a formula for success? It’s quite simple, really: Double your rate of failure. You are thinking of failure as the enemy of success. But it isn’t at all. You can be discouraged by failure or you can learn from it, so go ahead and make mistakes. Make all you can. Because remember that’s where you will find success.” - Thomas J. Watson

Failure is often seen as the opposite of success, but I feel failure is a crucial element of success in most cases. I prefer to believe the opposite of success is doing nothing after you’ve failed.

If you choose to give up, that is your decision. Defined success never comes to people who give up.

If you decide to learn from your failure, and try again, you are in a better position to succeed.

“I failed my way to success.” - Thomas Edison

I hope these habits help you on your journey.

I reflect on these habits often as they allow me to measure my progress and understand ways to improve.

This list is not for everyone; Classical thinkers will rebuke at the unquantified, un-mechanical nature of the above. For those who do see the value in developing the habits above, I wish you luck on your journey.

As Makers, hackers, developers, startups in this wild barbaric environment filled with VCs and cash cows, we need the momentum to outsmart and outrun our competition. If you are yet to source your next adventure, now is the perfect time to master the habits above.

If you have any queries, please feel free to reach out. At Budibase , we’re always happy to listen.

Stay strong,

JJ from Budibase

Build your next web app 70% faster, and with total flexibility.