“Leaders are not born, they are molded by a remarkably similar, simple, and dynamic set of habits.” –Napoleon Hill

I believe that one of the most powerful forces in the world is habit. Did you know that it’s estimated that 95% of the things we do, we have done before? Think about it. How much consideration do you give about the way you drive home, the places where you eat, or what grocery stores you shop at? When you really ponder it, you’ll find that most of what you do in a day is done out of habit. We tend to do things because we’ve done them before and know it’s a logical and comfortable action for us to take.

This is a powerful observation. It means that if we do things out of habit, then by developing different habits we can change our personal characteristics and traits at will. When you do something repetitively, that action becomes an ingrained part of who you are. People often say they are a procrastinator, that they are shy or even that they are outgoing. These are not things you are, but rather habits you’ve allowed yourself to become associated with.

“Men’s natures are alike; it is their habits that separate them.” –Confucius

If habits are learned behavior, then it stands to reason that if you want to change something about yourself, you only need to create a new habit that will lead you to the desired change. Someone who wants to become a better chef might develop a habit of cooking a new meal once a week. A person looking to become more educated in a certain subject might make a practice of studying that topic every day for 30 minutes. Over the course of time, the person will get closer to their goals and these actions will develop into habits that will continue until other habits replace them.

Of course, this sounds simple on paper (and it really is), but many times we end up getting in the way of ourselves. We’ve developed so many bad habits over the years that it can feel like a monumental task to make any real changes. This is where willpower is just not enough. You need more than a desire to change to create a difference. You need steps that will help you take action every day.

“Successful people are simply those with success habits.” –Brian Tracy

Success is not an elusive dream or goal. It’s created by taking small daily strides towards your goal. It’s achieved by creating habits that will lead you closer and closer to your desired success.

How do you create new habits?

To start, it’s always easier to tackle one habit at a time. I know we all want to have everything fixed “right now”, but when it comes to long-term change, slower is always better. Personally, I tackle my habit changes with a simple, easy method. Every six weeks, I write down six things I really want to focus on and change. Then I prioritize them. Over the course of the six weeks, I tackle a new habit each week, starting with the habit with the highest priority. I tend to put the most difficult habit first so I have the entire six weeks to focus on it. At the end of the six weeks, I start again. Sometimes I may not be satisfied with a previous result, and the habit ends up on the cycle again until I’ve mastered it. If you start to feel discouraged about how far you may need to go, remember – “Rome wasn’t built in a day.” It’s really the baby steps that take you where you want to be.

Don’t worry if you temporarily fall off track. Devote every Monday as a “restart” day, just in case. That way if you do let your behavior slip, you can always renew your commitment to your new habits on Monday.

Create a method of accountability. Let your inner circle know what your intentions are and ask them for help in keeping you focused on your goal. Having an accountability buddy gives you an outside motivator and helps considerably when you’re feeling like giving up or straying from the path. If you feel yourself slipping or losing motivation, call on your inner circle for help.

Make a 30 day challenge with yourself. It’s been proven that most habits are deeply formed after 21 days. Use this knowledge to your advantage and make a pact with yourself to just get through the 30 days. In most cases, you’ll find you’ve deeply rooted a new habit for yourself. This will put you on the track for a long-term change.

Thought to Ponder:

What habits do you want to create? Do you need to blog every day for a month? Exercise for 30 minutes three times a week for a month? Try a new productivity system? Think about your goals, and then consider what habits you currently have that get in the way of reaching them. Work on developing new habits that will get you there faster. As a final thought, keep in mind this quote from Charles C. Noble, “First we make our habits, then our habits make us.”

How are your habits defining you?

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“All great deeds and all great thoughts have a ridiculous beginning.” –Albert Camus

Today’s topic was inspired by this post on Julien Smith’s blog by Chris Brogan the other day. While the entire post is quite profound, what stuck out to me was the bit about starting the day. It encouraged me to contemplate how our entire day often hinges around what we do in the morning. When you really think about, it how our early hours pass set a tone for the entire day. That got me to wondering – if a few hours of the day are often responsible for how well the rest of your day goes, doesn’t it make sense to pay a little more attention to how you spend them? So, how are you spending yours? Is there room for improvement? If so, why not try one of these tips for starting the day for success?

Successful Habits
Your mood changes significantly based on how your body feels. Keep things at full speed with these tips.

• Drink 8oz of water as one of the first things you do when you wake up. Keep yourself hydrated throughout the day by drinking a glass of water every hour to 90 minutes.
• Take a 10-20 minute break from whatever you’re doing every 90 minutes to keep your mind focused and clear.
• Instead of waking up slowly, get up and do some stretches or light aerobic activity such as jumping jacks or jogging in place to set your metabolism to high speed for the day.
• Start off with a healthy, mood satisfying breakfast and follow it up with small meals or snacks every 3 or so hours all day.

Positive Influencers
A positive attitude is created with a diet of positive influencers. In other words, feeding our mind the good stuff. Here are a few tips on how start the day off with the right inspirational tone:

• If you’re religious, start the day with a devotional passage. Ponder the things you’ve read and how they can influence your decisions throughout the rest of the day.
• Read a favorite inspirational book for 20 minutes each morning.
• Instead of getting your daily dose of news from the traditional media, try out Happy News instead for a refreshing change. Unlike most news sites, every news story is reported from a positive angle.
• Have an attitude of gratitude! Amazing things happen when you come from a place of appreciation and thankfulness. Start the day off in this blissful state by writing in a gratitude journal each morning.
• Meditate or take 30 minutes in silence to contemplate your life and what you appreciate about it.

Keeping It Productive
Nothing kills a great mood faster than feeling frazzled and unaccomplished. Successful people know that things only get done when you know what needs to be done and have the tools to do them. Use these tips to streamline your productivity:

• At some point during your morning, write down the three or four most important things you MUST get done for that day — and do them!
• Limit the time you spend checking email and social media sites in the morning. Even better, go mobile and do them before you even get to your desk.
• Always know what’s next. Needlessly wasted time most often occurs between tasks. You can get back more time in the day if you know exactly what you need to be doing next. Then, when you’ve finished a task, you can jump straight into the next one without wasting thinking time.
• Start the day with by doing something that upon completion will leaving you feeling accomplished. Even if you do get called away by unexpected meetings or phone calls, you’ll at least have done something that made you feel productive.

Today, I leave you with this final thought…
“Every day is a new beginning. Treat it that way. Stay away from what might have been, and look at what can be.” –Marsha Petrie Sue

What do you do to have a killer start to the day?

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In life, I’ve found that real failure is failing to take action and then follow it through to the end. There are a myriad of reasons why people “fail.” The problem with trying to achieve success is that we don’t always make the way easy on ourselves. We have ideas, find ourselves completely inspired and sometimes even do something about it. So why is it that there are more people out there with half-started or never-ventured-into projects than there are successes? While fear and uncertainty play a huge part in the situation, I’ve been pondering other elements that may also be contributing factors.

As humans, we gravitate towards things that “feel” good. I think the point where we start to lose interest or traction comes when the project or idea starts to lose this “feel good” sensation. Reality may set it in, and you may realize that this is going to be harder than you thought it would be. I’ve found that the only thing that carries a person through these uninspired moments is passion and belief that what you are doing will make a difference. If a person is driven to create change, nothing can stop them.

So why is it that so many people’s “passions” are still laying around unfinished? Perhaps the answer lies in the fact these weren’t their real passions. It could be that the goal wasn’t altruistic enough. It’s also possible that they didn’t have the support team they needed to keep them focused and motivated. Maybe there wasn’t a clear plan of action to see them through to the finish line.

So the question remains – What does it take to keep a person motivated and on track towards success?

It’s my personal belief that it’s an amalgamation of three things. A person needs a strong passion and belief that what they are doing is going to make a difference. They also need a strong support team and a clear plan of action. Why do I believe this? Let me explain:

Passion/Belief
There was a study done by MIT on how money motivates us. Surprisingly it found that money as motivator, when coupled with cognitive tasks, was actually an impediment. As long as a person’s basic financial needs are being taken care of, the three things that motivate people are autonomy, mastery and purpose. Purpose translates to passion – creating something which will fill the needs of another person or group. When you believe in your project or idea, it gives you the fuel you need to push past barriers and obstacles. However, even with a wholehearted purpose, you can’t do it alone.

Support Team
Having a group of people who are your biggest fans plays a vital role in your success. This is your support team. These are the people who believe in you and your goal. They are the ones who will help cheer you along and help pick you up when you’ve had a bad day or are feeling uncertain about your next move. Even more important than having a support group, however, is making sure you’re not surrounding yourself with naysayers. Instead, you need to surround yourself with people who believe in you and what you’re doing. I strongly believe that this is where a lot people fall off the wagon, especially in self-employed projects. At the very least, you need an accountability buddy who knows how to motivate you and keep you focused.

Clear Plan of Action
The third key to success is having a clear plan of action. As a person of passion and purpose, you should already know what your goal is. How you’re going to get there, however, may be a different story. There are some people who forge ahead without a clue as to how they are going to reach their goal. They may eventually get there, but they are forgetting a basic principle: the shortest path between two points is a
straight line. Any deviation from the straight line adds unnecessary time to reaching your goal. This is where a clear plan of action comes in. Now, in some cases, you may not know all the specific actions you need to take to achieve a goal. Start with milestones or targets instead. For instance, “In two weeks, I plan to have my blog ready for posting.” “In the next month, I want to have 50 e-mail signups.” Once your targets are clear, research and learn what it will take to reach those milestones. When you’re done with your research, create your plans of action. Using your support team and passion as fuel, you’ll be unstoppable. Success is inevitable.

After much contemplation, this is my theory of what lays the groundwork for success. It’s the three essential keys that have worked for me, and I’ve seen it work for other people as well. If you’ve fallen off the wagon or run into a rut working on your project, what element are you missing that would keep you focused and set you back on track?

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I’ve been thinking a lot about affiliate marketing lately, more than likely due to the fact I’m in the middle of developing a few digital products at the moment. Since my focus is on these products, my mind wanders as to how I can help potential affiliates sell and market these products more efficiently. Naturally, my mind wanders to successful examples that I’ve been exposed to.

If you’ve been following my blog, you’ll know that I also own a hobby & gaming retail store. Retail and online marketing exhibit many parallels, especially in our particular industry.There’s a very unique relationship you have with game publishers. Most large publishers publish products that create recurring revenue streams. There’s a lot in the way of upsell and continual product support because they are always adding expansions and new related products. These types of publishers understand affiliate marketing. They know that a good relationship between retailer and publisher means more product revenue for them through the relationship the retailer develops with the customer. They understand that by giving the retailer tools and support, that retailer will have an easier time actually selling the product.

I bring this up because there is one company in particular that really “gets” this. They understand affiliate marketing at it’s core, and they how to support their retailers. There’s a huge potential of reward in employing these techniques, and I highly encourage you to evaluate your own strategies after reading this. I know they work. With their support, we’ve created a loyal, tight-knit community that’s always excited about their product. As a product developer or publisher, what more could you want?

Case Study: Wizards of the Coast
Background Info: Wizards of the Coast carries two main product lines – the classic Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game and a trading card game called Magic: the Gathering. For this case study, I’m going to focus on our experience with the trading card game.

Their Secrets to Success

Promotions & Giveaways
Wizards created an event called Friday Night Magic that allows player to participate in a tournament each week. They know that if players are playing the game, they are more likely to buy the product to improve their skills and their chances at winning in the game. To help spur interest in playing on a specific night each week, the company offers special one-of-a-kind promos that you can only receive by winning in the tournaments or by chance through door prizes. On months where the promo is something of value, there’s a noticeable difference in attendance.

They also send out promotional freebies to be distributed as stores see fit. In our store, we use them as giveaways for free tournaments to entice more attendance. Customers can only get these freebies by winning, so it creates a sense of scarcity and respect to those who have them.

Takeaway: People love freebies, and often it can be the deciding purchase factor. How can you support your affiliates with an awesome giveaway or promotion for a specific action?

Promotional materials
If you want something to sell, you need to provide the materials to sell it. Wizards provides full color brochures, posters, art, online banners and other materials to get the word out. They’ve even sent us digital cameras, giant banners and other fun stuff to create excitement about upcoming products. They know if we have the tools to get our customers excited about an upcoming release, we’re more likely to sell it.

Takeaway: If want your product launches to be a success, provide your affiliates with plenty of promotional and marketing tools. Give them banner ads, sales copy and newsletter copy examples. Create web art that they can use to customize their announcements or messages for their readers or customers. The more time you spend teaching your affiliates how to promote your product, the more money you’ll both make.

Specific Schedule of Releases
People like to be in the know. They like to be able to be prepared, and they like the anticipation of an upcoming event or product. Wizards knows this and has their product releases scheduled up to a year in advance. When we host a launch event, we can start the buzz for the next release during the event. It allows for optimal ramp up time to gauge and generate interest.

Takeaway: If you’re creating a series of products, give a specific release time table. Let your affiliates generate the buzz for you. Create countdown giveaways to help generate excitement.

Spotlight Successful Affiliates
I like to think we’re attracted to what works well. I want to know what actions others are taking that are working for them, and I like to know where I shouldn’t waste my time. Wizards has started a new retailer program where they spotlight one retailer per month and do an in-depth Q&A. This is awesome for a variety of reasons. If you’re the retailer being promoted, you’re getting some extra promotion for free. As a peer, you get an inside look at some different techniques that may or may not work.

Takeaway: Do you have a few affiliates that seem to consistently perform above average? Reward their hard work with a little fame and glory. It will help your other affiliates learn some new strategies, and you’ll create a deeper rapport with your better-producing affiliates.

Your Affiliates Want To Help
The best thing Wizards has done over the past year is perform in-depth surveys across the board. They’ve done one-on-one interviews with retailers and customers alike. Even better, they’ve actually implemented a lot of the feedback they’ve received. The result: our last product release had slightly less participation, yet generated nearly double the amount of sales. The product basically sold itself.

Takeaway: Your affiliates are listening and gleaning feedback from their customers on a daily basis. Do you have a method or a way to retrieve that valuable information? If you do, are you sitting on it or are you tweaking your product to increase conversions and word of mouth sales?

As you can see, there’s a lot of information to take away here. If you’re an affiliate, I’d be interested in hearing if you’ve found a product or service that offers this level of support. If you’re the product developer or publisher, how could you implement some of these strategies to better serve your affiliates?

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