We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit ~Aristotle

I often have clients, friends, and even family members ask me, “What is the secret to your success?”

They ask it just like that…

“What is the “secret” to your success?”

…As if success in any endeavor can be boiled down to one hidden trick and secret hack. (Read This: The Secret Ingredient for Success That Nobody Talks About)

My response, more or less, is always the same. I simply reply, “There isn’t one, it’s just about the habits that you cultivate in your life.”

Whether you like or believe this statement is irrelevant. It’s the truth.

Success in anything, whether it’s your physical fitness, your business, your relationships, or your creative pursuits, boils down to the habits that you have in your life.

If you cultivate the right habits, you will live an exceptional and full life. If you cultivate the wrong habits, your life will suck.

I don’t have all of the answers and I can’t definitively tell you which habits are the most important for you, but after building a multiple-six (almost seven) figure business in less than two years, I can confidently say that the habits I am about to share with you work.

To some of you, these habits might not make much sense. You might think that they aren’t really that important for achieving your financial or entrepreneurial goals. They are. I promise that if you commit to these habits for at least 18 months, I can guarantee that your business, hell every area of your life, will be radically transformed.

But it’s up to you to take the leap, to take charge, man up and go after what you want. None of these habits are easy. It will take hard work, it will take sacrifice, and it will take more than a little sweat.

But the rewards are worth it.

Let’s get it.

1. Build Testosterone and Lift Some Heavy Weights

If you have been reading this blog, or any other “manosphere” blog for an appreciable amount of time, this point should not come as a surprise to you.

I’m not saying that you need to bulk up like the late Rich Piana or that you need to have single digit body fat year round, but if you aren’t consistently training hard and lifting heavy ass weights, then you will not be able to truly live a great life.

This might sound like a bold statement, but I promise it’s true.

One of the biggest turning points for me came whenever I made the definite decision to reclaim my physical health. I went on a whole foods diet, started lifting weights four times a week, and supplementing to achieve optimal hormonal balance.

The changes that I experienced were almost unbelievable.

I had more energy, motivation, enthusiasm, mental clarity, and confidence in myself and my abilities. I was better in every area of my life. I felt like a real man.

There are certainly men throughout history who did great things without prioritizing their physical health, but they accomplished these great deeds in spite of their oversights, not because of them. If you want to be a great man in the modern world, then you must exercise, you must build a strong body, and you must lift som heavy weights.

Period.

2. Overcome a Fear First Thing in the Morning with a Cold Shower

I’ve taken cold showers for almost three years in a row and I can say without a shadow of a doubt that they are one of the single most important and beneficial habits that you can have in your life.

No matter what goal you are trying to achieve, cold showers will help you get there.

When I was just getting started with my business, things were hard. I had to do shit on a daily basis that I didn’t like and didn’t want to do. But the hardest part of my day was always the first 120 seconds of my shower.

For two whole minutes each and every morning, I would turn the water to a bone chilling temperature and stand under the faucet as mother nature dished out her punishment. Those two minutes felt like an eternity.

But they also did something magical.

In the same way that productivity experts suggest that you “Eat that Frog!” or do the hardest thing first, when you start your day by doing something as physically and mentally challenging as taking a cold shower, the rest of your tasks become infinitely easier.

When you have already braved the cold, that conference call, webinar, or piece of content that you have to create seems a lot less scary. When you’ve already exposed your body to the elements, the rest of your daily “Stresses” become much easier to handle.

3. Take Ownership of Your Life

While this might not be a “Habit” in the traditional sense of the word, it is one of the most powerful tactics that I have found for accelerating every facet of your life.

When you are someone who regularly complains and whines about things, you subconsciously create a losing mentality. You view everything in a negative light, small issues become big problems, and you are sending out a very clear and obvious signal that you are an unappreciative ass hole who doesn’t deserve to achieve success.

This sounds harsh, I know. But it’s true. If you are reading this article right now, then you have no reason to complain. You have access to the internet which means you likely have access to clean water, healthy foods, paved roads, and a phone or computer that costs more than many people will earn in their entire lifetime.

Remind me again who gave you the right to complain?

Tony Robbins regularly states that “The antitdote to fear is gratitude. When you are greatful for what you have, fear simply cannot exist”. And it’s true. When you eradicate complaining from your life, when you stop bitching about things that simply don’t matter, and when you start to appreciate the abundance that you have, something magical starts to happen.

You stop seeing problems and start seeing opportunities. You stop feeling sorry for yourself and start taking responsibility for yourself. You stop becoming a social liability (seriously, no one worth your time enjoys being around a complainer) and start becoming an asset.

When you stop complaining you start living.

4. Go to Bed 90 Minutes Earlier than You Do Right Now  

The science is in, sleep deprivation is killing our society. Studies have shown that sleep deprivation can increase your risk of diabetes, heart disease, obesity, and certain types of cancer. Not to mention the fact that regular sleep deprivation reduces motor function, strength, and mental performance.

But there’s a problem.

Most of us can’t just sleep in an extra 60-90 minutes every day and the rest of you shouldn’t want to. There’s something magical about the early morning hours and nothing will get your ass into gear quicker than developing a powerful 5 a.m. morning routine.

So what are we supposed to do? Sleeping late will detriment your goals and ambitions but not sleeping enough will (quite literally) kill you. The solution?

Go to bed earlier.

Instead of staying up late binging on Netflix or wasting your time on social media, get to sleep 60-90 minutes earlier every night. You can start off small by going to bed just 15 minutes earlier each week until your body adjusts to the new schedule.

The extra sleep will improve your mood, make you stronger, keep you sharper, and help you live longer.

The fact that you are still waking up early will help you stay productive, focused, and on track towards your biggest goals.

Win/win/win.

5. Practice Intentional Focus for 30 Minutes a Day

“Where focus goes, energy flows.”

Do you remember when you first learned how to ride a bike? One of the first things that you were told was to keep your eyes where you want to go. If you’re riding your bike and you start staring at the tree on the side of you road, you are going to move towards it, plain and simple.

Life is a lot like riding a bike.

When you focus on a goal or outcome, you naturally start to move towards its achievement. This works for the good and bad. If you are constantly focused on the things that you don’t want in your life you will actually end up attracting those things into your life.

Conversely, if you are focused on the things that you do want, if you are focused on your dreams, your goals, and your vision, you will start to move towards it.

Each and every day, I want you to commit to spending 30 minutes in intentional focus. I don’t care how you focus on your vision, but it’s imperative that you do focus on your vision. (Read This: 9 Reasons Why You Must Become More Disciplined)

You can write down your goals, visualize your future self, repeat affirmations about your goals or whatever the heck else you want to do as long as you spend time each day thinking and focusing on what you want out of life.

This might sound simple and it might sound woo woo, but I promise you that it will transform your business in ways you can’t imagine.

Before we move forward, I need to leave you with a disclaimer.

The real world does not work like the Secret. If you think that sitting on your ass and wishfully thinking about a new Ferrari will magically make a marvelously designed Italian supercar in your driveway, then you aren’t just lazy, you’re foolish.

Focus is important, but action is more important.

Let’s Get Down to Business

Life cannot be compartmentalized. What you do in one area will affect every other area. Even though you might not understand how these five habits will help you accelerate your business or career, I can promise you that they will.

Now it’s up to you. It’s up to you to go out and take action. To implement these habits and pursue your dreams.

It’s up to you to become the man you were born to be.

And it all starts now.

About the Author

Andrew Ferebee is the founder and CEO of Knowledge for Men, a 3X Amazon Best Selling author, and a high performance men’s coach and business consultant.

You can find out more about Andrew and his mission at knowledgeformen.com