3 Powerful Habits to Set You Up For BIG Success in 2014

The good news about being a biz owner is you get to set your own schedule.

And the bad news? You get to set your own schedule. (And we haven't even talked about how that looks when you work out of your home and all the distractions THAT brings.)

If you're like most entrepreneurs, no one taught you what successful habits you should be incorporating into the day-to-day running of your biz. Instead, you brought whatever working habits you learned at either your last place of employment or maybe even from school. And while those habits may have served you at that time, you may be finding they're now holding you back from growing your biz.

So I want to share 3 powerful habits you can start doing right now to grow a successful, profitable biz, without making yourself crazy.

Habit 1 -- Start your day with a positive, grounding ritual. I don't know any super-successful entrepreneur who jumps out of bed and immediately checks email. Everyone I know has some sort of ritual -- it could be meditation or jou
aling or visualizing or some inspirational reading. But whatever it is, the point is to start your day powerfully and at peace.

Then you can check email.

Look, I get it if you're squirming right now. I was a massive check-my-email-first-thing-in-the-mo
ing too. But for a year now, I've instead started my day with meditation and maybe some jou
aling, and I have to tell you, it's really helped me stay centered and grounded no matter what goes on around me. I tend to get more done, be less frazzled, and be a lot more focused. And you MUST do this before you check email and start your day -- the moment you jump into your day thinking you'll get "back" to meditating -- it never happens.

Habit 2 -- Take the time to plan your day (and maybe your week) in advance. Now there are lots and lots of resources and systems out there to help you structure your day, and it really doesn't matter what system you use, just as long as you do SOMETHING. For myself, I take time usually on Friday (but sometimes on Sunday) to plan my week out and at least get the big rocks scheduled. And then each morning I revisit that schedule, and based on what I've gotten done (or not gotten done), I then plan out what I need to do that day.

I'm certainly no expert at this and I also most-definitely could have a better system, but the point is it does work for me. The days I don't revisit my schedule and plan my day are typically my least-productive days, so it's definitely worth it to take 5 minutes and put together my day's to-do list.

Habit 3 -- Take the time to check in with your biz and your goals at least once a quarter. It's not enough to put together your marketing plan and figure out your goals in January and then never look at them again. You need to go back and revisit your goals and your plan (and also check back in that you're still connected to your vision and mission). Are you on track? Have you gotten off track? Are you on a different path than you intended, but you're finding you like that path better? Whatever it is, this is important step to make sure you stay clear, connected and focused on your biz (which makes it a lot easier to reach your goals).