Personal Development

Personal Development Archives

Personal Development | SUCCESS | What Achievers Read

<p>My wife, 2-year-old daughter and I have been traveling the world for over a year now. When most people find this out, they look surprised and try to figure out which question to ask first: <em>Why? Are you rich? How? With a little girl?</em></p>



<p>Sometimes, we opt for the
easy answer: vacation. The alternative usually
leads to a long conversation about why we’ve done what we’ve done, and trying
to convince them that we’re not completely nuts.&nbsp;</p>



<p>The fact is, we did it
because… well, we wanted to! The truth isn’t a whole lot more complicated than
that. </p>



<p>We’ve been to 11 different
countries in 13 months, and my <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/7-gigs-that-can-make-you-money-while-traveling/">remote
work</a> is what pays the bills.
Along the way, I’ve learned a lot about fear,
fortune, discipline, myself and my inner fire. Here are eight lessons, in
particular, that stand out: </p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">1. It’s only ever as scary as you make it.&nbsp;<strong></strong></h3>



<p>Before our one-year stint,
my wife and I had never traveled further than a five-day cruise to Mexico. For
the most part, we stayed within our hometown in Oregon, venturing out to nearby
states for a vacation every few months.&nbsp;</p>



<p>It wasn’t until we took an
unexpected trip to Australia that we discovered our passion for traveling and
desperately wanted to do more of it. But, of course, selling our house? Traveling
the world? Terrifying.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Until we did it. Then it
wasn’t scary at all. The only fear I’ve experienced related to traveling over
the last year was right before we actually left. Once we arrived in Italy—our
first destination—I was caught up in the thrill of conquering my fear and doing
something I’d never done before. <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/10-ways-to-cultivate-fearlessness/">Fear took a
back seat</a> to my inner fire and excitement.&nbsp;</p>



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-style-large">
<p><em>“We suffer more in imagination than reality.”</em></p>
<cite>Seneca</cite></blockquote>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">2. One day of misery is worth an entire month of thrilling
experience.&nbsp;<strong></strong></h3>



<p>People often ask us (with
a shocked expression on their face), “How do you travel with a kid?”</p>



<p>And part of me wants to
say, “Umm. Well, we get on a plane. And when we do, we make sure that our child
is with us.” Ha!</p>



<p>But I get what they’re saying. Traveling with a kid is difficult—no question about it. But isn’t one day (or rather, one eight-hour flight) of misery worth an entire month or year of thrilling experience? We think so.&nbsp;</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">3. Pain is a great motivator to change your life.&nbsp;<strong></strong></h3>



<p>When we sold our house and left for our adventure, it wasn’t <em>entirely</em> because we just wanted to. We didn’t wake up and think, “Hey! Wanna travel?”</p>



<p>No. The <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/rohn-the-4-powerful-ways-to-change-a-bad-habit/">primary
motivator</a> was intense frustration with our hometown, summer smoke from
Oregon fires and a discontent with seeing the same dang thing every day. We
were sick of it. And that frustration drove us to make the best decision of our
lives (so far!). If you harness your pain, it can be a great motivator to finally
change your life for the better.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">4. You’re more capable than you give yourself credit for.&nbsp;<strong></strong></h3>



<p>I know. Selling our house, traveling the world and living in a different Airbnb every month, working for clients in U.S. time zones, raising our daughter at the same time… It all seems a little risky, right?&nbsp;</p>



<p>What if something goes
wrong while we’re in another country? What if little Andie (my daughter) gets
sick? What if an Airbnb host bails on us? What if no one speaks English? What
if, what if, what if…</p>



<p>In Italy, an Airbnb host
tried to charge us $500 for damage that we didn’t cause. In Croatia, our
daughter got a terrible virus. And on a rocky boat ride to a Greek island,
Andie started a vomit chain reaction (ya know—the smell).&nbsp;</p>



<p>But we figured it out. We lived through all of it. And we look back at those moments now and laugh. We are more capable than we originally thought we would be. When you have to figure it out, you just do.&nbsp;</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/8-Life-Lessons-I’ve-Learned-From-Traveling-the-World-With-My-Family.png" alt="traveling the world" class="wp-image-37571"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Courtesy of Michael Blankenship</figcaption></figure>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">5. One powerful decision permeates every part of your life.&nbsp;<strong></strong></h3>



<p>One of the most amazing things about our decision to travel is the impact it has had on the rest of our lives. I have a much better relationship with my wife and my daughter, we always have something to look forward to—and three months into traveling, I quit my job and went <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/why-you-should-join-the-youeconomy/">full time as a freelancer</a>. Suddenly, that decision was a lot less scary, too!</p>



<p>When you make one powerful
decision, there’s no stopping it; that decision will impact every other part of
your life and set off a chain reaction that helps you make other important
decisions.&nbsp;</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">6. In the end, we’re all the same.&nbsp;<strong></strong></h3>



<p>All humans are the same.&nbsp;We have so much in common.</p>



<p>I’ve realized this more
and more as we’ve traveled from country to country. Sure, there’s different
cultures and different ways of communicating, but at the end of the day, we’re
all just people who are trying to find a little bit of happiness.&nbsp;</p>



<p>There’s something
comforting about that, don’t you think?&nbsp;</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">7. Teamwork makes the dream work.&nbsp;<strong></strong></h3>



<p>There is an absolute 0% chance that I would be able to do all of this without my wife. She is the planner, the budgeter and the motivator. </p>



<p>Without her, I wouldn’t be
globetrotting and I wouldn’t be <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/31-things-that-happen-when-you-finally-decide-to-live-your-dreams/">living
the life of my dreams</a>. There’s no reason for you to do it alone, either
(whatever <em>it</em> is). Find a partner who complements you, team up, and do
something awesome.&nbsp;</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">8. Persistent change keeps you present.&nbsp;<strong></strong></h3>



<p>When you’re traveling the world, moving to a new country every month, there’s not much time to settle into a routine. Every month, I have to find a new place to work, we have to hunt down a grocery store and figure out public transportation.&nbsp;</p>



<p>That might seem overwhelming, but it’s actually a lot of fun—it’s one of our favorite things to do when we get to a new country. Because when you’re busy figuring things out and solving problems, you feel alive, your life has meaning. And bouncing from place to place leaves <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/change-humankinds-greatest-asset/">no time for being sedentary</a> or unsatisfied.</p>



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote">
<p><strong><em>Related: </em><a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/why-traveling-the-world-is-the-best-investment-in-yourself/">Why Traveling the World Is the Best Investment in Yourself</a></strong></p>
</blockquote>



<p class="has-small-font-size"><em>Photo by yousef alfuhigi / Unsplash</em></p>

We’ve been to 11 different countries in 13 months. Along the way, I’ve learned a lot about fear, fortune, myself and my inner fire.

We’ve been to 11 different countries in 13 months. Along the way, I’ve learned a lot about fear, fortune, myself and my inner fire. | SUCCESS

8 Life Lessons I’ve Learned From Traveling the World With My Family

Comment

Traveling the World: 8 Life Lessons Learned with Family

https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/8-Life-Lessons-I-Learned-Traveling-the-World-With-My-Family.jpg

Home

SUCCESS

https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/success_opengraph_image.png

Mike Blankenship has been a freelance writer for 7 years and worked with brands like ClickFunnels, Jeff Bullas, Neil Patel, and more. He's also the co-founder of The Tonic and Tools 4 REI.

https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Michael-Blankenship.jpg

Michael Blankenship

8 Successful People Who Proved Persistence Beats Perfection

Business &amp; Branding

Business &amp; Branding Archives

Stay ahead in business: strategies and insights for success

The internet is ablaze with <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/blog/use-this-5-second-life-hack-to-make-your-biggest-decisions">life hacks</a>, <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/blog/what-30-days-of-productivity-taught-me-about-finding-time">productivity tools</a> and <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/article/17-motivational-quotes-to-inspire-successful-habits">successful habits</a>. For the most part, those patterns—and the people they’re modeled after—are helpful. And yet, we all seem to have imperfections that just won’t budge.
<p class="rteindent1"><em>Related: </em><strong><a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/article/why-bad-habits-are-so-easy-to-make-and-so-hard-to-break">Why Bad Habits Are So Easy to Make and So Hard to Break</a></strong></p>
Although successful habits are all the rage, that list of to-do’s and to-don’ts is overwhelming. Worse, focusing too heavily on which behaviors to build and which to ditch can distract you from your mission, hampering future success.

Luckily, there is a quality far more influential than any productivity hack. What is it? <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/blog/overnight-success-is-a-myth-here-are-4-ways-to-persist">Persistence</a>.

To prove that persistence is more powerful than perfection, here are 14 of history’s greatest visionaries and their strange, inconsistent, sometimes adulterous, and often eccentric shortcomings—proving that perfection doesn’t determine success, but persistence very well might.
<h2><strong>1. Benjamin Franklin </strong></h2>
The world’s most influential advocate for self-improvement, Benjamin Franklin, was a womanizer. The <a href="https://articles.chicagotribune.com/1990-05-06/features/9002070774_1_poor-richard-lucy-mercer-franklin-delano-roosevelt"><em>Chicago Tribune</em></a> reports 11 women that Franklin “had,” concluding with, “And, of course, Deborah Read, his wife of 38 years.”

He even fathered a son, William, out of wedlock, right after marrying Deborah, once saying, “After three days, men grow weary of a wench.”

But his lust didn’t destroy Franklin’s impact. Why? Partly because he recognized his problem, admitting, “The hard-to-be-governed passion of my youth had hurried me frequently into intrigues… that fell in my way.”
<p class="rteindent1"><em>Related: </em><strong><a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/article/14-ways-to-improve-your-self-discipline">14 Ways to Improve Your Self-Discipline</a></strong></p>
For Franklin, trying to be perfect was more important than actually being perfect.
<h2><strong>2. Florence Nightingale </strong></h2>
Known for compassion, Florence Nightingale killed people with her ambition. In 1854 <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/victorians/nightingale_01.shtml">Nightingale was asked to lead</a> the management of a hospital in Scutari—a village in Asia. Unfortunately, Nightingale’s lack of knowledge about sanitary conditions made for a Scutari hospital ridden with typhus, typhoid, cholera and dysentery—causing the death rate at her hospital to skyrocket, with 10 times more soldiers dying from diseases than actual combat wounds.

At first Nightingale stubbornly attributed the high death count to inadequate nutrition and supplies. Years later, she accepted the painful truth that, due to her ignorance, many soldiers had died in Scutari.

Obviously that painful truth didn’t stop her from doing what she felt called to do: care for the wounded with passion and perseverance. Today that’s all she’s known for.
<h2><strong>3. Thomas Edison </strong></h2>
Despite his ingenuity, Thomas Edison was uncompromising to a fault. After getting word that teenagers were speeding up the cylinder phonograph—an on-demand music player he’d created—<a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1995/12/the-undiscovered-world-of-thomas-edison/305880/">Edison responded</a>: “This change of speed is far worse than any loss due to having dance records too slow…. I don’t want it and won’t have it.”

He then ordered his machinists to “make a governor for the motor” to ensure his eccentricities were obeyed.

Today’s startup culture celebrates pivots and adaptation. Evidently, Edison lacked these characteristics. What mitigated its absence, though, was his grit. Instead of submitting to the crowd’s wishes, Edison knew what he wanted and didn’t sway from his vision, making him a force to be reckoned with in the world of achievement.
<p class="rteindent1"><em>Related: </em> <strong><a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/blog/the-key-to-adaptability">The Key to Adaptability</a>&nbsp;</strong></p>

<h2><strong>4. Henry Ford </strong></h2>
Henry Ford was a <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/blog/how-to-survive-a-micromanaging-boss">micro-manager</a>. “No one ever told him what to do,” reported one <a href="https://www.autofocus.ca/media-browser/henry-ford-the-good-the-bad-and-the-just-plain-weird">source</a>, “at least not without expecting a fight on his hands.”

As a result, “Workers disliked the monotonous, mind-numbing repetition of their tasks, made worse by the fact that Ford believed that total discipline was necessary to prevent chaos. Employees received a 15-minute lunch as their only break, and they were not allowed to talk, sing, whistle, sit down or lean on machinery. Even smiling was discouraged.”

Obviously such management qualifies as a leadership disaster, if not abuse. Surprisingly Ford’s bad habit didn’t rob him of success. His determination and tenacity at the front of a new industry ultimately outweighed the emotional atmosphere his heavy hand created.
<h2><strong>5. Albert Einstein </strong></h2>
Albert Einstein struggled with <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/blog/the-secret-to-maintaining-meaningful-relationships">family relationships</a>. Ten years into his first marriage to Mileva Maric, he had an affair with his cousin, Elsa. At first Maric resisted divorce, which is when Einstein <a href="https://www.livescience.com/46061-einstein-chaotic-love-life.html">responded</a> with a list of to-dos, hoping to force her hand:

“You will make sure, that my clothes and laundry are kept in good order; that I will receive my three meals regularly in my room; that my bedroom and study are kept neat, and especially that my desk is left for my use only.”

Eventually he divorced Maric and married Elsa. But the affairs didn’t cease. Once to a young man, he <a href="https://www.biography.com/news/einstein-love-life-wives-affairs-letters">wrote</a>, “What I admire in your father is that, for his whole life, he stayed with only one woman. This is a project in which I grossly failed, twice.”

Einstein’s scientific discipline didn’t leak into his relationships. His lack of relational discipline also didn’t dampen his ultimate love affair with the theory of relativity.
<h2><strong>6. Helen Keller </strong></h2>
Helen Keller threw tyrannical fits in her early years. Common with deaf and blind children, the frustration to communicate plagued her.

One source <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/books/first/h/herrmann-keller.html">reports</a>: “She smashed dishes and lamps, plunged her hands into people’s plates. On one occasion she dashed into the parlor in her red flannel underwear and pinched her Grandma Adams, chasing her from the room.”

Keller’s seemingly uncontrollable behavior weighed heavily upon the family. Most family members felt she should be <a href="https://www.biography.com/people/helen-keller-9361967">institutionalized</a>. But that same frustration, by the age of 24, created a deaf and blind woman capable of touch-lip reading, braille, speech, typing and finger-spelling.

In the end, Keller’s temper transformed into determination, making her, as we know, one of the most influential, generous and empathetic women the world has ever known.
<p class="rteindent1"><em>Related: </em><strong><a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/article/rohn-the-one-thing-that-determines-how-successful-you-can-be">The One Thing That Determines How Successful You Can Be</a></strong></p>

<h2><strong>7. Walt Disney </strong></h2>
Synonymous with wholesome family entertainment, Walt Disney smoked like a chimney. One year, in hopes of offsetting the habit, Disney’s daughters bought him filtered <a href="https://www.mouseplanet.com/10628/Walts_Smoking_and_Infamous_Cough">cigarettes as a Christmas gift</a>. Disney promised to use them and then proceeded to break off the filters when the girls weren’t around. His defense? “I didn’t tell her how I would use them,” he said.

Sadly, lung cancer took Disney’s life at age 65. But his <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/blog/how-to-properly-focus-your-ambition">ambitious spirit</a> allowed him to accomplish more in 65 years than most do in a lifetime. Today Disney’s brand, founded on Walt’s determination, is still the pinnacle of family entertainment, despite his dirty lungs.
<h2><strong>8. Elon Musk </strong></h2>
Known for his optimistic outlook, <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/article/elon-musk-wants-to-save-the-world-at-what-cost">Elon Musk</a> is a pessimist. In a <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/electric-car-pioneer-elon-musk-charges-head-on-at-detroit-1421033527?autologin=y">2015 interview</a>, he said: “I have OCD on product-related issues. I always see what’s wrong…. I never see what’s right. It’s not a recipe for happiness.”

Fortunately for the world, Musk’s negative attitude hasn’t undermined his advances. In fact, his critical spirit is exactly what makes his inventions outstanding. It turns out that Musk’s obsession for the perfect product fuels, rather than squelches, his commitment to the future.
<p class="rteindent1"><em>Related:<strong> </strong></em><a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/article/11-elon-musk-quotes-that-will-inspire-you-to-dream-bigger"><strong>11 Elon Musk Quotes That Will Inspire You to Dream Bigger</strong></a></p>

<h3><strong>What’s better than your worst? </strong></h3>
What each of these visionaries lacked in character they made up for in persistence. As Steve Jobs famously said, “I’m convinced that about half of what separates the successful entrepreneurs from the non-successful ones is pure perseverance.”

Although we all have shortcomings, how we persist despite our fumbles is far more powerful than the damage they actually do. In other words, it’s not <em>if </em>we have imperfections that determines our fruition, but whether we’re able to move forward despite them.
<p class="rteindent1"><em>Related: </em><a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/blog/how-to-turn-your-weaknesses-into-strengths"><strong>How to Turn Your Weaknesses Into Strengths</strong></a></p>
To illustrate that persistence is far more powerful than perfection, <a href="https://venngage.com/">Venngage</a>&nbsp;created this awesome infographic with 14 of the world’s greatest visionaries and their biggest imperfections.
<p class="rtecenter"><img alt="" class="media-image attr__typeof__foaf:Image img__fid__38116 img__view_mode__full" src="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/wp-content/uploads/legacy/sites/default/files/ImperfectionsofGreatestVisionaries_0.jpg" style="width: 100%;" typeof="foaf:Image"></p>

The imperfections of the world’s greatest visionaries

The imperfections of the world’s greatest visionaries | SUCCESS

Persistence Beats Perfection: 8 Success Stories

https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/wp-content/uploads/legacy/sites/default/files/main/articles/infographic_faultsofvisionaries.jpg

22 Entrepreneurs Reveal Their Worst Habit

Everyone has bad habits. Even those who’ve risen to entrepreneurial greatness.
<blockquote>
<p class="rteindent1"><em>Related:</em> <strong><a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/article/7-breakthrough-steps-to-shed-negative-habits">7 Breakthrough Steps to Shed Negative Habits</a></strong></p>
</blockquote>
Steve Jobs <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/steve-jobs-on-the-night-shift-at-atari-2014-8" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">had poor hygiene</a>, Walt Disney <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/news/stubbed-out-walt-disney-s-chain-smoking-habit-that-new-film-saving-mr-banks-hides-from-view-8947924.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">smoked three packs a day</a> and Michael Bloomberg <a href="https://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2009/09/mayor_bloomberg_has_a_tortured.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">has a sodium addiction</a>. But more iconic than their flaws is the success that ensued despite their insufficiencies. What could have been their undoing was, instead, their humanizing characteristic.

And that’s the case with our flaws.

The worst thing any of us can do is <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/blog/9-reasons-perfectionism-is-a-bad-thing">hide our imperfections</a>. No matter how glaring, strange or destructive, our shortcomings flourish in the dark, but atrophy in the light.

So in the spirit of transparency, here are 22 entrepreneurs owing up to their worst habit.
<h2><strong>1. I do too much at once.</strong></h2>
“I continually try to do too much at once. Before, I would take on any idea or project that I liked. Now, I <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/article/4-steps-to-mastering-the-art-of-focus">focus more</a>. I still get caught up in doing too many things, but I catch myself before I go too far down that route. It’s my biggest weakness.”
<p class="rteright"><em>—</em><em>Neil Patel, f</em><em>ounder of </em><a href="https://neilpatel.com/blog/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>Neil Patel</em></a></p>

<h2><strong>2. I start my day with email.</strong></h2>
“Checking my email first thing in the morning. It puts me in a responsive start, and focused on everyone’s to-do list except my own.”
<p class="rteright"><em>—Brian D. Evans, </em><em>founder of </em><a href="https://www.influencive.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>Influencive</em></a></p>

<h2><strong>3. I’m not always present.</strong></h2>
“Not being present. As a hustler—constantly finding possibilities and taking action—I move fast and get things done. But strengths, when overused, can become weaknesses, and too often this causes me to miss the present moment and the people right in front of me, including <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/blog/8-reasons-self-care-isnt-selfish">prioritizing my own health</a>.”
<p align="right"><em>—Carla Taylor, founder and chief happiness officer of </em><a href="https://ideavize.space/about/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>Ideavize</em></a></p>

<h2><strong>4. I power through work.</strong></h2>
“Marathoning through the work day. I’ve read the research and know how important it is to <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/article/4-ways-to-spend-more-time-outside">get outside</a>, take a break and then come back to work, but I have this mighty urge to power through, especially when the weather is gloomy. Also, gigantic cups of coffee at 4 p.m.”
<p align="right"><em>—Michaela Alexis, </em><em>president of </em><em>Grade A Digital</em></p>

<h2><strong>5. I procrastinate.</strong></h2>
“In a word: <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/blog/the-3-types-of-procrastination-and-how-to-beat-it">procrastination</a>. <em>I’ll just do that tomorrow</em> is the bane of my professional existence. Likewise, so is social media. It’s so easy to tell myself, <em>This is work. This is personal branding. This is promotion</em>. Really, it’s just nonsense that doesn’t get me any closer to nailing down the stuff that matters.”
<p align="right"><em>—Aaron Orendorff, founder of </em><a href="https://iconicontent.com/blog/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>iconiContent</em></a></p>

<h2><strong>6. I work when I don’t need to.</strong></h2>
“Working when I don’t need to. This sometimes makes it so that I’m working hours that aren’t productive. I think many of us assume that the number of hours we work is equivalent to our production, but this is not true. In fact, I would say <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/article/18-scientific-reasons-the-workweek-should-be-shorter">the less we work, the more we get done.</a>”
<p align="right"><em>—Scott Oldford, </em><em>founder of </em><a href="https://goinfinitus.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>INFINITUS</em></a></p>

<h2><strong>7. I get distracted with metrics. </strong></h2>
“Despite over a decade of research to the contrary, I still cannot help but distract myself with vanity metrics here and there. I waste way too much time checking daily downloads of my podcast when that number is completely irrelevant to the long-term success of the show.”
<p align="right"><em>—Jordan Harbinger,</em><em> host of <a href="https://www.jordanharbinger.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">The Jordan Harbinger Show</a></em></p>

<h2><strong>8. I get lost in email.</strong></h2>
“The first thing I do every morning when I wake up is check my email. I could get lost in it for 15 to 20 minutes before I do things that are super important for the business.”
<p align="right"><em>—Nathan Chan, CEO of </em><a href="https://foundrmag.com/blog/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>Foundr Magazine</em></a></p>

<h2><strong>9. I’m addicted to TV.</strong></h2>
“<a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/blog/5-ways-i-became-more-productive-without-tv">My addiction to TV</a>. Once I end work and finish all of my responsibilities, I lie in bed and watch TV. It’s the best way for me to shut down my brain and to stop thinking about work. But sometimes it gets deadly. Like when I start the first episode to a new TV series. Then I might end up wasting a whole weekend glued in front of the show as opposed to going out into society and conversing with my friends and associates.”
<p align="right"><em>—Leonard Kim, </em><em>managing partner of </em><a href="https://influencetree.com/about/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>Influencetree</em></a></p>

<h2><strong>10. I isolate myself.</strong></h2>
“Not paying attention to the people around me. Most of the time I like to be alone and isolate myself in my room or somewhere far away from everyone else so I can work. It’s almost as if I’m obsessed, which is good and bad. But when it hurts people, it’s bad.”
<p align="right"><em>—Ulyses Osuna, </em><em>founder of </em><a href="https://influencerpress.com/about/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>Influencer Press</em></a></p>

<h2><strong>11. I say yes too much.</strong></h2>
“<a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/article/learn-how-to-say-no-at-work">I say <em>yes</em> to too many things.</a> I love ideas, and I love vision, and I get excited about strategy. It’s really easy for me to get excited and say <em>yes</em> to anything that seems cool to me. Also, I really love to serve people, and sometimes subconsciously you feel it if you don’t say <em>yes</em> to certain things, you’re not serving that person well.”
<p align="right"><em>—Trevor Mauch, </em><em>CEO of </em><a href="https://oncarrot.com/about/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>Carrot</em></a></p>

<h2><strong>12. I choose busywork. </strong></h2>
“Procrastinating bigger projects for the smaller, easier tasks. For example, if I have writing to do, I’ll try to complete all of my other tasks before tackling the writing project.”
<p align="right"><em>—Benji Hyam, </em><em>co-founder of </em><a href="https://growandconvert.com/about/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>Grow and Convert</em></a></p>

<h2><strong>13. I wake up to my phone.</strong></h2>
“I check my phone the second my eyes open in the morning. It’s a terrible habit I’ve been trying to crack, but I have clients in Australia and Israel that have likely been emailing me while I was sleeping and I want to see if there’s anything urgent. It’s still not <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/article/how-to-start-your-mornings-right">the best way to wake up</a>, though.”
<p align="right"><em>—William Harris, CEO of</em> <a href="https://elumynt.com/blog/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>Elumynt</em></a></p>

<h2><strong>14. I get sidetracked.</strong></h2>
“Getting sidetracked by checking our KPI’s all day long. Like every 15 minutes. It’s almost a subconscious twitch.”
<p align="right"><em>—Matthew Spurr, COO and co-founder of </em><a href="https://blog.quuu.co/www.quuu.co/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>Quuu</em></a></p>

<h2><strong>15. I second-guess things.  </strong></h2>
“Second-guessing. Being an entrepreneur requires you to make 100 decisions each day (or was it 150?). And constantly going backwards to re-analyze previous decisions only wastes time and increases <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/article/5-simple-habits-to-manage-your-anxiety">mental anxiety</a> that blocks you from focusing on what matters: bringing in the next client or launching the next campaign.”
<p align="right"><em>—Brad Smith, founder of </em><a href="https://getcodeless.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>Codeless</em></a></p>

<h2><strong>16. I’m addicted to gaming.</strong></h2>
<em>“</em>Gaming. I’m a gaming addict, and in a world of high-stake deadlines, when push comes to shove, it’s my sleep and fitness schedules that get eaten into for that extra three hours of <em>Witcher 3 </em>or<em> League of Legends</em>. It’s not sustainable, but I have yet to kick it.”
<p align="right"><em>—Jacob McMillen, copywriter and content strategist at </em><a href="https://jacobmcmillen.com/about/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>JacobMcMillen</em></a></p>

<h2><strong>17. I multitask. </strong></h2>
“The worst habit I have developed over the years is doing multiple things at the same time. It doesn’t only kill productivity, but creates chaos, slows down the process, produces mediocre results and eventually <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/blog/stressed-5-simple-ways-to-prevent-burnout">leads to burnout</a>.”
<p align="right"><em>—Tomas Laurinavicius, </em><em>lifestyle entrepreneur and blogger at </em><a href="https://tomaslau.com/about/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>Tomas Laurinavicius</em></a></p>

<h2><strong>18. I get distracted by emails.</strong></h2>
“Definitely email. Every time I get an email, I completely forget what I was doing or working on and <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/article/how-to-eliminate-distractions">immediately get distracted</a>. Rather than setting a dedicated time to answer emails each day, I lose focus and jump from one thing to the next.”
<p align="right"><em>—Talia Wolf, founder and chief optimizer at </em><a href="https://Getuplift.co" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>Getuplift</em></a></p>

<h2><strong>19. I am never satisfied.</strong></h2>
<strong>“</strong>My bad habit is being so passionate about reaching a project’s full potential that I keep on optimizing. I am learning to be satisfied with 95 percent instead of 150 percent.”
<p align="right"><em>—<a href="https://about.me/johannes.ceh" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Johannes Ceh</a>, value enhancer at Strength and Balance</em></p>

<h2><strong>20. I forget to be grateful.</strong></h2>
“Not recording all of the beautiful things about life in <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/blog/what-i-learned-from-keeping-a-gratitude-journal">a gratitude journal</a>. It’s easy for me to get so caught up in everything happening that I lose track of the good in life, and ultimately, my emotional well-being. But if I record all of the wonderful things, I quickly realize I have no reason to complain.”
<p align="right"><em>—Jeremy Miller, chief marketing officer of </em><a href="https://inspiredbluemedia.com/about/jrmillergroup.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>JR Miller Group</em></a></p>

<h2><strong>21. </strong><strong>I work while I watch TV.</strong></h2>
“Working and watching TV. During the NFL Season, I have a bad habit of working in front of the TV while the games are on. We’ve all heard of fake news. This is what I call fake work. I’m not actually working, though I have my laptop in front of me. It’s a pointless activity.”
<p align="right"><em>—Ross Simmonds, </em><em>founder of </em><em>GetCrate</em> <em>and </em><a href="https://hustleandgrind.co/about/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>Hustle &amp; Grind</em></a></p>

<h2><strong>22. I always have Gmail open.</strong></h2>
“Many productivity sites tell you not to check email first thing in the morning. The thought is by checking your email, you allow other people’s priorities to come before your own. Maybe it’s because I have connections all over the world, but personally, I can’t help myself from opening a Gmail tab.”
<p align="right"><em>—Jason Quey, founder of </em><em>The Storyteller Marketing</em></p>
From the ambitious to the wealthy, bad habits abound. Surprisingly, the answer isn’t quitting, but admitting. Because if others can’t relate to you, then you can’t motivate, lead or inspire them. Ironically, freedom is born from sharing your worst, not from <em>hiding it. </em>

In the dark, your worst flourishes. But in the light, it transforms from a deficit into a benefit. People follow and connect when you show them <em>you, </em>and all of your accompanying dysfunction. Only then can you create a better business and brighter future that's more <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/blog/relishing-an-imperfect-life">satisfyingly imperfect</a> than any of us could have expected.
<blockquote>
<p class="rteindent1"><em>Related: </em><strong><a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/article/13-daily-habits-of-highly-successful-people">13 Daily Habits of Highly Successful People</a></strong></p>
</blockquote>

Don’t let bad habits get in the way of your dreams.

Don’t let your imperfections stop you from achieving your dreams. | SUCCESS

22 Entrepreneurs Reveal Their Worst Habit | SUCCESS

https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/entrepreneursrevealtheirworsthabit.jpg

Michael Blankenship

Latest Articles

8 Life Lessons I’ve Learned From Traveling the World With My Family

8 Successful People Who Proved Persistence Beats Perfection

22 Entrepreneurs Reveal Their Worst Habit