7 powerful habits every entrepreneur should try at least once

If you want to predict where you will be ten years from now, look at what you do every day. Humans are habit-forming creatures, so you can safely assume you’ll be doing more or less the same things unless you intentionally make a change. If you don’t like the forecast, make changes now. Small course corrections can dramatically change your flight trajectory, and you won’t notice them at first.

Here are seven powerful habits worth trying at least once, and how to build them in less than 30 days.

Wake up at 5 am

Before sunrise is a wonderful time. Everything is quiet, no one is fighting for your attention and you can do the things you need space to think about. Making the most of those early hours can set you up for an amazing day where you’ll feel like you’ve won by noon.

Create a habit, starting gradually or right away. Start gradually by waking up 15 minutes earlier each day and adjusting your bedtime accordingly. Your body will adjust and soon the 5am start will be normal. Dive right in by setting an alarm for 5am, ready for tomorrow. You may feel terrible the first few mornings, then you’ll know what to expect and so will your body clock.

Making bold requests

Huge wins go to people who ask, no exceptions. Stop believing you’re waiting to be discovered. It’s a myth. Instead of hoping to get selected, ask those who can help. Email an author that inspires you, sign up for a new challenge, ask for a big cheese call. You may be surprised who will grant your wish.

Turn making bold requests into a habit by making one request per day. To be rejected, send an email, call or ask a question. There’s no pressure to do so, you just build the skill of brash confidence and see what happens.

Meditation

There are many surprising benefits of meditation, and one of them is reprogramming your brain so you can concentrate better. Focus is the superpower of entrepreneurs, so improving your ability to concentrate is never a bad thing.

The practice of meditation does not have to take hours every day. Starting with ten minutes can make a big difference, and you’ll probably catch up on those ten minutes later when you’re less distracted by your work project. Make it a habit by setting a daily reminder for the same time every morning or by downloading a meditation app to be your guide.

Thank you

If you are in the habit of giving thanks, you are in the habit of receiving. But so many people don’t. Thank your team every time they do a good job. Thank your parents for raising you. Thank everyone who opened the door, added courage or put in a kind word.

No one is really self-sufficient, they all got there being lifted by others. Remember who these others are and make sure they know you are grateful. Make saying thanks a habit, starting today. Say thank you more often than usual and have suppliers on standby when it’s appropriate to send a card or box of chocolates.

Working days without meetings

I guarantee you can get more done on a day off from meetings than on a day where you work back-to-back. Space gives you time to think, breathe and imagine a better future for your company. This means you can dive into work and projects without looking at your watch. You can go down the rabbit hole of ideas that can move the needle significantly.

Developing this habit starts with choosing a day. One day, next week, where you’re not going to make any appointments or phone calls. Once that goes well, repeat for the next week, then make it a recurring event. You will soon wonder what you were doing without that day off from meetings.

Reaching journalists

Here’s the secret of journalists: they like it when you make it easy for them. If you hit their inbox with the right ideas they want to write about, they’ll likely work with you. Here’s another secret: they often use the same sources over and over again. This means that once you are on their radar, you can maintain your position relatively easily.

The habit of creating is reaching out to journalists. Every time you read an article about something related to your industry, make a note of who wrote it. Email them and introduce yourself in future pieces. Tell them why you liked what they wrote. Be useful and give some ideas. Keep a record and watch until they ask you for quotes and put your ideas in their words.

Collecting customer feedback

When large companies fail, it is often because they lose touch with their customers. Although they would not start out that way, they grew and grew distant over time from the people of the land they served. Decisions were made in glass offices instead of coffee shops. Customer service was outsourced instead of under the care of the owner. There was a separation.

Create a habit of collecting customer feedback and doing something about it. Make sure feedback paths are in place, reviewed, and answered. Make it a habit to keep it going even as your business grows. The best companies want to hear from their customers and continue to do so. Let yours be one of them.

Getting up early, making bold requests, meditating, and giving thanks can make for tremendous success. Follow them by arranging non-meeting workdays, contacting journalists, and gathering customer feedback, and you’ll become an unstoppable force. Imagine a future entrepreneur who deliberately made each of them a habit.