Successful entrepreneurs are all characterised by impressive achievements, incredible motivation towards achieving their goals, and seemingly boundless energy to get things done. We have all wondered at least once—what is the secret behind their success? Incidentally, interviews with such people show that their secrets are quite simple: their success is rooted in the ability to practice some healthy habits every day. We tell you all about the daily habits of successful entrepreneurs.

 

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• Be an early riser
  Author Rafael Badiag interviewed 21 billionaire businessmen from across the globe and documented his findings in his book The Billion Dollar Secret, and found that waking up early is one of the powerful habits that they all practice. 5:30 a.m. seems to be the preferred time to wake up for most entrepreneurs, as it gives them enough hours in the early morning to work out, meditate, spend time with their family and plan their day. However, none of them compromise on getting enough restful sleep: Bill Gates, Warren Buffett and Oprah Winfrey all prioritise getting seven to eight hours of peaceful sleep, and they accomplish this by going to bed early.
• Stick to a morning routine
  One of the habits of successful entrepreneurs is to have a fixed morning routine to kick-start their day. A study published in American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine in 2019 shows that a routine puts you in the right frame of mind to have a productive and successful day, allows you to save precious time and reduces stress by making you feel in control. The perfect morning routine can include meditation, exercise and a healthy breakfast. Ariana Huffington, co-founder and CEO of Huffington Post, is a vocal advocate of the benefits of meditation and intention-setting every morning. Upasana Kamineni Konidela, Managing Director of URLife, follows this morning routine for her everyday well-being and success.
• Break a sweat
  A study published in 2018 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences shows that even mild daily exercise of 10 minutes, such as yoga or tai chi, can improve memory and increase productivity. It is thus no wonder that exercising everyday is a habit of all entrepreneurs. Oprah Winfrey says in O, The Oprah Magazine that she walks 10,000 steps a day, while Radhika Agarwal, CEO of Shopclues, likes to go on a 40-minute long morning walk as it gives her some much needed down-time.
• Schedule your tasks wisely
  Successful people have mastered the art of prioritising high-value tasks. A study conducted by the Department of Psychology, NYU, USA, in 2018 shows that scheduling when and where you’ll do something makes it a lot more likely that the task will get done. Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos and Mark Cuban both have the common habit of scheduling all their heavy work early in the morning, when they feel the most energetic and focused. Pepsi CEO Indra Nooyi is at her office by 7 a.m. every day, as she finds mornings the most productive time. You might be tempted to start small, but scheduling your difficult tasks early in the day is important, so you can have complete mental clarity and lots of energy to go through them.
• Pick up a good book
  Reading is one of the positive habits inculcated by many successful entrepreneurs. When asked about his key to success, American business magnate and investor Warren Buffet famously said “Read 500 pages like this every day. That’s how knowledge works. It builds up like compound interest.” Books are a gateway to knowledge, and successful people read them to help grow their minds and improve their lives.
• Surround yourself with smart people
  Padmasree Warrior, ex-CEO of electronic automobile company NIO, USA, says that surrounding herself with people who are smarter than her keeps her from becoming arrogant about her own knowledge. “Hanging out with them keeps me humble,” she says in an interview with CNBC. Seeking out people who are willing to challenge and push you will help you develop your own potential. Smartness does not mean just book smarts: you can learn from various perspectives of experts in different fields. Liz Guthridge, CEO of Connect Consulting Group, says to Forbes that finding people outside one’s echo chamber is important to understand different experiences and change the way you think.
• Don’t be afraid to fail
  The fear of failing can often impede us from progress in our professional life. But every successful entrepreneur has reached their impressive heights after their fair share of setbacks. The late founder of Apple, Steve Jobs, is the perfect example of this: he dropped out of college, launched a business, was forced to leave it, then rejoined when the business was failing. Use your failures and mistakes as opportunities to learn and grow.
• Be receptive to feedback
  In a paper published in 2018 in Journal of Business Venturing it was seen that accepting feedback and allowing yourself to be coached by others is a key characteristic of all passionate entrepreneurs, as it allows them to grow and progress. Leena Nair, global CEO of Chanel, echoes these sentiments: “Treat comments and feedback as a gift. Embrace it. Don’t be afraid. Take it all in and simply say to yourself, ‘How can I make myself better?’”
• Take time to reflect
  Conscious self-reflection is extremely beneficial for improving productivity and the attainment of long-term goals. Research published in 2018 by Harvard Business School shows that employees who spent 15 minutes at the end of the day reflecting about lessons learned performed 23 per cent better after 10 days than those who did not. Hari Shetty, founder and CEO of Jifflenow, allocates 20 minutes every day to contemplate on his achievements and his upcoming goals. Scheduling time to contemplate on your work and goals will help you be more focused and mindful.