1. Be Humble
I know for a fact that I’m not the best writer, or person for that matter. I don’t like to admit it, but there are two things I know about myself: 1) My writing will never be as great as some of my favorite authors and 2) I am good at some things and bad at others; there’s no point in pretending otherwise. Therefore, if you want to succeed in life, always be humble. While it may seem like the perfect way to get ahead would be to claim how great you are and not admit your mistakes (this is called bragging), just don’t do it! You’ll find that those who brag about how “perfect” they are usually aren’t as good as they think they are. As a young college student with dreams of succeeding later on in life, this is an important lesson to learn now so you won’t look foolish later on! If you’re humble now, people will respect you more and help you out along the way. It really is better than being cocky and hating yourself forever because everyone hates your guts for being such a jerk. I am not interested in business success. I am interested in helping people. While it is nice to be successful, if you are only in it for the money and don’t care much for yourself or other people, you won’t truly succeed (see what I did there?).
2. Be Kind to People
This may seem like a no-brainer, but being kind to others is one of the most important things you can do in life. If everyone was kinder, there would be less wars and violence in the world! It’s that simple! Always be kind to others because they will remember that forever. You may find that when you’re at your lowest point in life, someone will take time out of their day to show kindness towards you; this can make all the difference! I know for a fact how true this statement is because someone once took time out of their day to help me during my darkest hour; who knows where I’d be today if it weren’t for them? Always strive to be better than who you were yesterday by being kinder than yesterday. It really pays off! Don’t let chances pass by when there are opportunities opening up before your very eyes – while doing something small today might not seem like much at the time, sometimes little actions lead down big paths later on. When an opportunity presents itself before your eyes ask yourself: “Is this worth my kindness?” We all have options every single second of every single day; use kindness as one way of choosing wisely. You never know what someone is going through at the moment, so think before you act.
3. Always Care for Yourself
One of my favorite quotes by Zig Ziglar is “You can have everything in life you want if you will just help enough other people get what they want.” I believe that if everyone was selfless and cared more about others than they did themselves, the world would be a much better place! If you don’t care for yourself first, no one else will! As cliche as it sounds, taking care of yourself is important before helping others. You may not realize it now, but there’s a good chance your future success depends on how well you take care of yourself now! I promise it does; don’t believe me? Try not sleeping or eating for a week and see how well your future holds up then! When times are tough – say when things aren’t going your way with whatever project or event you’re working on – take time to rest or eat something healthy to help boost your energy levels back up again so that when an opportunity comes along later on in life (like an internship), you’ll be ready to jump all over it. I believe that life success is all about how hard you work and how much you care about yourself and others, so these lessons I’ve learned throughout life are really what have shaped my success!
4. Be Yourself
This one is pretty self-explanatory, but it’s also very important. We often think we need to be someone else in order to succeed in life, but that’s just not the case! So what if you’re not a top athlete or you’re not super smart? You could still be successful by being the best at something else! Don’t let your weaknesses hold you back from becoming someone great; accept them and turn them into strengths (this is called turning disadvantages into advantages). For example: If you aren’t good at drawing but like doing art other ways (such as sculpting), practice your sculpting skills until they get really great; then use your skills to help make better cartoons for your writing.
To become successful in life, be humble, kind to others, take care of yourself and be yourself. I don’t know about you but I can hardly wait to get started on my next venture!