Revealed: The 5 Habits of The Top 1 % of Successful People

The end of the year is in sight, which leaves recruiters with a crucial choice to make. Do you:  

1. Accept that the high-flying goals you had for this year are no longer realistic, and push them over to next year; or 

2. Put your foot on the accelerator and chase your goals like crazy?  

This may seem a leading question: after all, the answer is supremely obvious as to which one you should do. But, many of us tend to slow down as the end of the year starts to loom, putting our big goals off until the New Year (and thereby starting the next year on a note of failure and self-doubt.) 

We’ve written before about how much can be accomplished in 90 days, and how this short-term goal setting can produce extraordinary results. You can read that article here.  

In this article, we’re going to talk about a radical change you can make that lasts much longer than 90 days, and which can transform your career beyond recognition, driving you towards that success you’ve always craved.  

We’re going to talk about building successful habits.  

And where better to look for inspiration on setting positive habits than to the world’s 1%? According to extensive research by Tom Corley, the top performers in business and entertainment have been shown to share an extraordinary number of habits which they put down to helping them reach success. 

1. Read every day. 

No-one has time to read these days, right? Wrong. Wildly successful people never stop learning, and are shown to spend an average 30 minutes a day reading in order to expand their knowledge and keep a sharp mind.  

For a recruiter, spending 30 minutes a day reading might be something specifically job-related, like poring over the latest recruitment industry magazine or scanning the business pages for new leads or economic news that might impact your sector. It might also be general, such as reading biographies about successful people, or buying bestselling business books to improve your sales pitch or productivity.  

2. Goal-set like your life depends on it.  

Because the quality of your life does depend on how well you set and chase goals. Successful people are habitual goal setters, and they regularly refer to and make decisions based on their short and long-term plans.  

They even plan for the next day the night before, which is a great habit to get into. When you set out clear goals, you’ll find that it’s easier to make yourself approach tricky calls or stay in the office late to finish off your pitch prep, only because you start filtering all your actions through your goals and know why this task matters within the bigger picture.  

When goal setting, be sure to aim high, write your goals down, break your goals down into their smallest possible parts, and celebrate the wins when you reach them! 

3. Stick to an exercise regimen. 

It can be hard as a busy recruiter to feel like you have the time for physical training. Yet regular exercise is a habit shared by the overwhelming amount of highly successful people, and the positive effects of exercise on motivation, stress relief, and clarity of thinking are enormous. 

So find a form of exercise that you enjoy, and schedule 30 minutes a day to get your blood and endorphins flowing. Stick to your exercise regimen just like you would always turn up for a meeting with a client, and you’ll soon see it’s a habit that not only pays tremendous dividends to health and drive, but that you’ll start feeling ‘off’ if you don’t do it! 

4. Cultivate the right kinds of relationships. 

When it comes to the relationships that they choose to foster time and energy on, successful people are very good at surrounding themselves with inspirational, brilliant people, and weeding out the influences that are detrimental or toxic. The more positive, admirable people you spend time with, the more you will get into the habit of being positive and acting in your own admirable ways. 

An excellent way to build strong, inspirational relationships in your career is to find yourself a mentor, or start attending business breakfast events. Also, this particular habit of shaping the company you keep doesn’t just finish the second you walk out the office door either: have a think about your personal relationships- do you spend time with people that make you want to be better, and who are great role models? 

5. Spend time thinking (and get up earlier to do it.) 

Again, you probably think you don’t have time for just sitting around thinking, but this is something that successful people do for 15-30 minutes a day. This is when their fresh ideas come to the fore, and they ask themselves questions about where they could improve. Is this something you could set aside time for on the commute to work, or perhaps get up 30 minutes earlier?  

If that thought fills you with dread, you might need to change your sleeping habits, as successful people tend to get up several hours before they need to start work, partly so they can fit in time to think and exercise. Find out when your most productive thinking time happens, and make room for the habit of scheduling ‘thinking time’ every day. 

These habits are all shared by the majority of successful people. How many do you already do, and which ones can you start today?  

Until next time, 

Cheryl