What does Bill Gates, J.K. Rowling, and Anna Wintour all have in common? Well, they are successful in what they do. I did some research and the Merriam-Webster website defines success as the fact of getting or achieving wealth, respect or fame.

Before reading this, my personal definition of success was "to be happy and feel like I have reached my goals in what I do." So, how do you define happy? Merriam-Webster defines happy as the feeling pleasure and enjoyment because of your life, situation, etc.

I wondered, how would a successful person define success? According to Business Insider, billionaire Richard Branson believes success is about engagement. "My definition of success?" he asked himself on Virgin's blog. "The more you're actively and practically engaged, the more successful you will feel." Winston Churchill, British politician, thought success is being relentless. He quoted that success is "going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm." I did some research and found dozens of tips and habits of highly successful people, and I mean Oprah Winfrey successful. Out of the 30-plus tips I read, I narrowed it down to 10 habits that would be do-able for myself based on my situation. For the rest of 2015, I am going to follow the following 10 habits of successful people and see how I feel starting off the new year similar to the masters of success themselves.

1. Get up Early.

Robert Iger is known for waking up at 4:30a.m. every morning. After sleeping in until noon today, I know that I have a brutal few weeks ahead of me. According to multiple sources, we are sharpest within the first two and a half to four hours after waking. Why not be productive when you have zero distractions? I mean, everyone will be sleeping. My alarm is officially set for 6am and I am ready to see how this will make me feel.

2. Stay Active

Exercising daily paired with eating healthy is always fit in successful peoples busy schedules. To further this habit, I am also going to get moving in the morning. According to my research, doing this will make me ready to tackle any problem that comes my way and I will also have less excuses to skip my workout. Fun fact: Anna Wintour, EIC of Vogue, plays a committed one hour of tennis every. single. day.

3. Embrace JOMO

This will most likely be the easiest habit for me to commit to. Randi Zuckerberg says "people should be focusing on JOMO (the joy of missing out) — the mantra that “there is nowhere I’d rather be than exactly where I am.” Quit focusing on others and focus on yourself and your happiness. If you are content reading your book on a friday night, don't feel bad when you see that your friends are bar hopping or doing something else. Embrace you, do you, be you. Got it!

4. Practice Stillness

I have heard this again and again. Successful people, and happy people practice meditation. Even Oprah makes an effort to sit for twenty minutes, twice a day, in complete stillness. Yogis best kept knowledge is now being used globally. Sitting for a period of time "helps reduce stress, increase productivity, facility creativity and maintain a general well-being". This is what I expect will be the hardest habit for me to follow because I love to be constantly moving and on the go.

5. Don't Multi-Task

I am the queen of multi-tasking. I can be running on the treadmill, listening to music, reading my accounting textbook and have the TV on in the background. Why not workout, study, and keep track of the game? Timothy Ferries, American author, entrepreneur, investor, and public speaker instructs to not multi-task. "It may be tempting to maximize your weekend productivity by running on the treadmill while calling your mother and trolling your newsfeed, but successful people know that this just reduces efficiency and effectiveness." So, for habit #5 that I will be following, I am going to make an effort to be present for each activity. "Ferris recommends a maximum of two goals or tasks per day to ensure productivity and accomplishments align." This does not mean I will not still be listening to my Spotify while running.

6. Keep a Daily To-Do List

This is something I already do but don't always follow. According to research, I must achieve small goals in order to get to my main objective. "81% of people create daily to-do lists compared to 19 percent of poor people." Remember, my definition of success is not to be wealthy but to be happy, but I still think this is a valuable statistic. I will start my success week with creating two to three small goals for the next day and make sure I actually complete them.

7. Read, read, read!

"Mark Cuban insists on reading 3 hours a day, while Bill Gates reads for 1 hour as part of his bedtime routine. J.K Rowling, the first ever billionaire author, read ‘absolutely anything’ as a child." Another reading benefit? "Reading helps you learn from the mistakes and successes of others. Instead of just diving in; relying on your guts and motivation to lead you, reading gives you a mental map to bypass rookie mistakes people make in life." Three hours a day is a bit much in my opinion, unless that includes studies, I am going to make an effort to read forty five minutes, which should be easy, if I am cutting out my technology. When I say I am "going to bed" this nightly routine usually includes, at a minimum, thirty minutes of zombie scrolling through my news feed until I realize nothing too exciting is going to be posted at midnight. Reading for forty five minutes should be a breeze, especially since I have about five books itching to be read on my night stand.

8. Limit Social Media to Twice a Day

Another tough one. I am at fault for avoiding social interaction by staring at my phone while in an elevator or in line for food. Looking at other people being social online just is so much easier than small talk. No more! "Tim Ferris is famous for suggesting this in his book, The 4-Hour Work Week. Reading and answering emails doesn’t make you productive. If anything, you’re just being responsive." This is so true. I am impressed when people can respond to my email in seconds but responding in seconds or before the deadline are both effective. As long as you are productive and respond in a timely matter, you're good. "To minimize distractions, Ferris recommends checking email twice a day: 11 AM and 4PM, or after you’ve completed at least one critical item in your to-do list, and once more before the end of your workday." For me, I am going to limit checking my social media and emails to 11 a.m. and 7 p.m. Wish me luck.

9. Make Time for Hobbies

Okay. This one will be fun. Warren Buffet, if you don't know him I recommend looking him up, suggests that to be successful you must make time for hobbies. In his spare time he plays the ukulele. I will not be doing this, but I will spend more time running, blogging, and maybe even relearn how to play the piano after spending hours of my childhood spacing out at lessons. "Even solo hobbies — knitting like Meryl Streep or oil painting like George W. Bush — can aid success through fostering creativity and relieving stress." Note taken.

10. Take Time To Reflect

Last but not least, I am going to reflect on each of my days and see what went right, and what can be improved on. Bill Gates works 16-hour days Monday to Friday but takes time off on the weekends to reflect and make strategies for the rest of the week. "Laura Vanderkam, author of “What the Most Successful People Do on the Weekend,” says successful people know that weekends are actually the secret weapon in professional success: “You need to hit Monday ready to go.” Bill Gates said, “It’s fine to celebrate success but it is more important to heed the lessons of failure.” Author of “The Happiness Project,” Gretchen Rubin, suggests starting a “one sentence journal” to encourage daily reflection. The weekends no more are going to be my time to sleep in until noon, I am going to make them productive, maybe even more productive, than my week days.

Photo via http://www.thequotepedia.com/

In summary, for the rest of the year (and hopefully the habits will stick) I will be:

1. Wake up at 6am

2. Exercise and eat healthy daily

3. Embrace JOMO

4. Mediate for 20 minutes, twice a day

5. Quit multi-tasking

6. Make a to-do list with two to three attainable goals

7. Read 45 minutes/ day

8. Only check social media at 11 a.m. and 7 p.m.

9. Make time for hobbies; I plan to work on my blog

10. Reflect every night

Wish me luck. Check out my reflection article after the New Year to see how I did and how much more successful I feel.

Habits were found from the following websites:

http://www.lifehack.org/articles/productivity/12-w...

http://www.levo.com/articles/lifestyle/20-producti...

http://www.keepinspiring.me/10-habits-of-ultra-suc...

http://www.keepinspiring.me/10-habits-of-ultra-successful-people-the-secret-sauce-to-success/#ixzz3uoszOQWB