Are you wondering what habits will improve your life? What habits will make you successful? Search no more. 

Here's the ultimate list of positive habits to implement, and also negative habits to stop as fast as possible to unlock your full abilities and stop getting in your on way.

Success is hard enough to reach, it takes years of hard work, dedication and perseverance, and regular reassessments... And with all of that, you're not even guaranteed to succeed!

96% of people fail. In sport and in entrepreneurship, 96% of people who actively try fail. They never make it. They never reach recognition, and never achieve financial freedom.

That's a lot of broken dreams and disappointments. So let's not make it harder by getting in our own way.

How do we do that? How are we sabotaging ourselves? 

We are not rigorous enough, not selective enough with our daily habits. Too often, we act by default. We just do what our parents did, what our friends do, what we think we are supposed to do...

If we want to put all the chances on our side and not dabble with our success and our life, we need to dive deep into our habits.

That's why I have compiled not 10, 20 or even 50 habits, but 65 powerful habits to adopt in your life.

If you decide to implement them, you will not only perform more and reach success faster, but live a better, healthier and more satisfying life. Let's get started immediately!

Contents

What are the Success Mindset Habits

1. Set Big Goals that (Really) Excite You

If you dream small, you think small. Ad if you think small, you plan small and resonable actions. And you get? Oh surprise, small and resonable results. Average results. As a peak performer, ahtlete or entrepreneur, that's definitely not what you want. It's the most certain way to not use your full potential and to waste time.

Beyond that, success requires hard work, perseverance, and dedication over years. And if you only set small and reasonable goals, they will not create the internal drive necessary to overcome the roadblocks on your way. Your goals should be your North star that motivate you to push forward.

Your goals should be bold and audacious for you. Don't shoot for the stars "just because successful people do it this way". Find a goal, an objective, that really ignites something your chest and in your guts. A goal that connects deeply with your values.

Mastering this subtle process of selecting the right target for you will dictate how fast you will succeed and how motivated you're going to be on a daily basis.

Pro tip: You know your goals are bold and audacious enough when your family and friends think you're crazy, and are scared for you, when you share them.

2. Cultivate Your Ambition

Although ambition has a pretty bad press nowadays, and is publicly labelled with a negative connotation, it is the biggest inner drive of most successful people.

In fact, exceptional people have exceptional ambition. Their vision of themselves is beyond normal. They have a very strong idea of who they are, what level they want to reach in their life and in society... And they do not accept anything less. It's not something that is not negociable. It's an integral part of their personality.

How do you know of you have a real ambition? It's something that you cannot dissociate from yourself. You would rather die than renouncing to your ambition and living a normal life. It's also something you're ready to work very hard for, regardless how much time it takes to achieve it.

Ambitious people don't just claim it (to their friends or on social media), they are ready to build it. They work very hard, consistently, over years and decades, to achieve "their status", "their vision".

3. Don't be Afraid to Fail

While trying to achieve their goals, successful people have tried and failed way more than the average people at practicing the same tasks. The difference is: they persevered. They became better and kept practicing.

Michael Jordan failed at the 3-point shot more than any other recreational basketball player in the world... but he also succeed at the 3-point shot more than everybody else. It took 22 years and 37 movies to Leonardo DiCaprio to win an Oscar.

You can't let fear control your life. You just can't let fear limit yourself and your potential. The apprehension to fail and to be ridiculed only happens in your mind, it's not real.

You should have a way bigger hunger for the achievement of your goal. You should have a burning desire to leave your mark and to be recognized more than what could happen if you fail.

The right desire for you should be bigger, stronger than the fear of failure.

View failure as temporary. View failure as necessary. View failure as a simple step in the process to succeed. Be willing to fail if you want to ultimately win.

4. Don't Listen to the Naysayers

You're not on this world to please everybody. (Even if you wanted, you couldn't please everyone, by the way). You're on this world to use your full potential, reach your goals and leave your mark.

And during this process, some people, jealous, little-minded, will prefer that you "stay at your place", that you stay "who you are", "where you are", and that you don't make any noise. It makes life easier for them. Not for you, for them. 

Because if you actually reach your goals, your success and perseverance will remind them what they cannot do, or are not willing to do. And they absolutely don't want that. So they will criticize you and try to put you down to stop you.

If you want to succeed, you cannot spend any time, any energy, any attention on them, or on what they say. Just ignore them. Don't take it personally. Stay focused. Stay hungry. Success is the best revenge by the way.

5. Focus on Yourself, not on What Others are Doing

To stand out in your industry, you need to regularly break the rules. Most of the market spend their time copying each other and aim to create something 5% or 10% better than the competitors.

And from time to time, one company or one leader comes out and completely revolutionize the industry they are in. They set new standards for the next 10 years and become THE reference.

Think about Steve Jobs with the Airpod and most Apple products. Think about Georges Lucas with Star Wars. Think about Netflix with the movies industry. Think about Domino's Pizza. Think about Conor McGregor who changed the MMA world.

To achieve "out the box" results, you can't just look at what the competitors are doing "inside the box" and expect a mindblowing groundbreaking idea that will propel you at the cutting edge of your industry. Redirect your focus on you, your unique abilities. Focus on innovative ideas.

6. Stay Coachable. Don't fall into Thinking you "know it all" and don't need to learn new skills

One of the biggest flaws of the personal development culture is to tie up all your successes or failures to you, your value, your beliefs, your energy. And skills are too often forgotten.

Yet, for everything in life, we learned new skills. We learned how to tie our shoes, how to ride a bicycle, how to drive a car, how to cook a recipe. 

But when it's about business & success, we suddenly think we are already all equipped to reach our goals. And when we don't reach them in few weeks or months, we begin to doubt ourselves, our identity, who we are as a person. It can lead to a lot of stress, headaches, depression, and ungoing cycles of uncertainty.

You should never doubt yourself and your value. What you should do actually is doubting your actual skills. You should focus your time and your energy on learning new ones, the ones your need in your field. This will relieve a lot of weight off your shoulders.

7. Upgrade your success routine and habits regularly

Everyday, you either improve or regress. You never stagnate. Because the world around you, the people, the society, the market never stagnates. They always move, evolve, go whether up or down.

Even if you already have success habits in place, you can always make them better, update them, refine them and make them even more your own.

If your morning routine is already excellent, work on your evening routine. If your work habits are your strenght, develop your health habits. Improve your fitness and flexibility levels. There is always room for improvement.

You can focus on the habits themselves, and on the general flow of your day and week. The goal is to create a seamless flow of high performance habits. To have them integrated in your lifestyle so well that you don't even notice it's "high performance" anymore... it's just your new standards.

8. Reach for excellence in everything you do

Speaking about standards... here is a very important one: Excellence. It's closely related to work ethic. And it will make a huge impact in your career and in your relationships.

Now, you can ask: "How do I reach excellence?" Very good question. 3 words: Immersion. Repetition. Consistency.

Excellence is achieved when you immerse youself completely into what you do. You're physically, mentally and emotionally present at what your do.

You're not thinking about "What I am order to eat this evening?" or "Hmm, I should I've answered her that it's not possible because...". No, you're fully implicated here and now, at your present task.

Then, when you can do that, practice over and over. Consistent repetition. But not with random repeated actions. With perfectly executed movements and actions. , each and every time you do.

Excellence is reached by repeating the same action, over and over again, with great execution, over a long period of time. This is why it's an habit for success.

9. Move on when something went wrong

To build a bright and successful future, you can't get stuck on your past. Written like that is seems obviously logical... Yet sometimes we catcht ourselves still thinking about a former business partner, an old coworker, a past lover with who things went wrong, an investment that "didn't go as expected", etc. and we don't feel good.

We may feel angry, sad, betrayed, frustrated. And those feelings don't help you to move forward. They make you stuck. Learn from those mistakes, but don't replay the scenes in your mind.

Turn the page. Set new goals. Spend the time you have to build the future that you want to live. A therapist or a coach may be helpful.

10. Don't get obsessed with a perfect life balance

The concept of a perfect balanced life has been very famous in personal development world for over 40 years.

It's the idea that your life can be represented as a pie chart of 8 or 10 areas (like career, hobbies, family, money, love, etc.) and that they should all be balanced, equal in your life for you to be happy, live in harmony and reach success...

Spoiler alert: That's absolutely not how incredibly successful people run their lives. Although that concept may sounds good, logical, and healthy, it's not used in the real world by those who have build real life success and real empires.

Actually, it's almost the complete opposite that is true. They focused on certain areas of their lives for over 30 years, with a magnificent obsession. They didn't stop what they were doing every weekend for "balance". And they are happier, more fulfilled, and more accomplished living that way.

Just build your life according to your values and to what really matters for you. Build your life in a way that you will have lived your dreams and will not have any regrets when you are on your deathbed.

Related : Elena Cardone is never neutral

11. Learn to say "No", don't be a pleaser, a YES man or woman

If you're not at the level of success that you should be, it's probably because you're a pleaser. You want people to like you, to appreciate you, to say nice things about you. You fear to be criticized.

You're always available, always smiling, always arranging your agenda to fit other people agendas. The harsh truth is that if you want to be liked by everyone, you're going to have a hard time.

Your life is going to be impossible, you're never going to have time for yourself and for building your success.

Always being a pleaser, always fitting the agenda of others means the death of your own agenda, and by extension the death of your goals. Because reaching high goals takes a lot of time and efforts. It may hurts, I know, but it's true.

Highly successful people have a lot of habits but being a pleaser is definitely not one of them.

You need to make your life and your success your N°1 priority, before the weekend hangout with your friends, before the family dinner, before the 8th or 9th "business opportunity" presentation of your cousin.

For "selfish" people it's not even a question, it's almost laughable, because it's automatic. But for pleasers, it may seem insurmountable. You may think it's part of who you are as a person, a part of your identity. Some people may even take pride in being a YES man or woman.

Just remember that you cannot be liked and be effective at the same time. And if you want to reach the level of success you deserve, you need to be effective every single day. Period.

12. Join a mastermind group or a club of like-minded people

Every single successful entrepreneur, self-made multi-millionaire, renowned CEO or COO is part of some sort of support structure. Even if they don't talk about it publicly, they belong to one or several organizations.

They are plenty of them nowadays. Some are more private than others. Some are more exclusive than others. Some have higher criterias to join than others, such as being a millionaire, or being the CEO or president of your organization and being under 45 years old.

13. Write down your goals and dreams

95% of people never write down their goals, objectives and dreams. And whithin the 5% remaining, most of them write them down only once a year, for the new year's resolutions.

On the other hand of the spectrum, self-made millionaires and self-made billionaires write down their goals every single day. Some even twice a day. That 365 or 730 times a year, compared to 0 or 1!

Do you see the massive difference in actions? That's why they have a massive difference in their results too. By the way, they made that habit non-negociable.

14. Have a clear roadmap for the next 12 months

Among all the goal setting techniques made available across the years, through books, audio programs, seminars and more... there is a very simple yet powerful one you can implement:

Set a clear goal for the same date next year.

It needs to be specific and precise. Too often we just wish about things without clearly defining what we really want. The problem with wishes is that they aren't measurable. So we never know if we have reached them or not!

Define your goal, it can be personal or professional, and then reverse engineer it to turn it into a clear roadmap. So your 12-months goal now translates in quartely targets, in monthly targets and in weekly targets. It immediately seems way more doable!

And what do you do with these weekly targets? You put them in your to-do list. So you can act on them, and make them happen immediately, instead of just whishing and hoping.

15. Take the time to celebrate your small wins and victories

High achievers have a tendency to rarely honor their small successes. They set a goal, work hard for weeks or months to achieve it... and when they finally win, they take a deep breath for 10 sec., smile for another 10 sec. and immediately set another goal!

That's not a healthy behavior on the long run. Remember, success is a marathon, not a sprint. Becoming successful is one thing, but staying successful is the name of the game. After few years, depression and chronic low mood can come up, while you achieved a lot!

Why? Because you forgot a add gratitude to your success recipe.

A very easy way to do it is to take a recovery day after a big victory and to acknowledge your efforts. Share your victory with the people you love. Honoring each big or small success is key to taste life and stay in the game longer.

Because only few people reach success, but even fewer stay at their level of success over time. Don't be a shooting star, plan to stay, celebrate all your victories.

What are the Business & Productivity Habits

16. Plan your work day in advance

"If you don't plan your work, you're planning to fail". I'm sure you have already read that before in a book or at least as an Instagram quote. Well, it's true.

To accomplish more, you need to squeeze every amount of fuel and focus you have and direct them to the best tasks. Why? Because you only have 24H a day, just like everyone else, from mediocer people to billionaires.

Become a strategic thinker and not just "hustler" or a "grinder". Think in advance, a day or a week before, where you're going to concentrate your focus and energy. 

You need to have the big picture in mind, the long term goal, and then transcribe your 1 year vision in little chunks of actions. So you don't run all over the place just being busy, and tired, but you actually "move the needle".

17. Write-down your tasks and ideas (don't keep them in your mind)

Don't keep everything in your head. Your mind is made to think, to generate ideas, not to retain ideas and stuff to do. When your mind is cluttered by all the tasks you need to do, you don't have clarity. And without clarity, you can't get started and act. Clarity is power. Power is in the action.

Make the habit to write down what you need to do, your tasks and your ideas. With a pen and paper. Or use a productivity app. Just be careful to not juggle with 3 different apps and to get stuck on planning instead or real productivity.

18. Be really productive, not just "busy"

All entrepreneurs, at some point in their careers, are guilty of confusing busyness and productivity. It's okay, everybody had it. The thing is to acknowledge it asap and to pivot. 

Although it's draining energetically to run in every direction and to "do a lot", in a way it's comforting, because it takes your focus away from the real issues in your business. 

Because in a thriving business, with a team of competent people, where things are running smoothly, nobody is drowning under a giant amount of tasks... and it's very uncomfortable to confront that fact.

It means that, if you're busy all the time, something is going wrong in the way you operate. You can begin by asking yourself these questions to skim the fat of your do-to list:

If it still important, remember that you can always delegate.

19. Effectively prioritize the things on your to-do list

An additional way to be far more productive is to have a clear hierarchy for your tasks. It will help you check them off in the right order and feel more relaxed.

20. Automate or delegate the recurring low value tasks

Whether your want to build a massive multi-million dollar company or enjoy the 4-hour workweek like Tim Ferris, automating and delegating the recurring tasks are key. From your emails to your groceries shopping, almost everything can be delegated or automated.

Understand this, it's very important : It's not because you can do it that you should do it. Hire virtual assistants, employees, build a team to help you. That freshly saved time will make your life smoother & easier.

21. Stop checking your emails 5X a day

It's the most famous technology addiction that workers, employees, managers, CEOs face since the internet exists. I don't have to tell you that it's not necessary nor that it's not healthy. You probably already know it.

But it's an addiction, a way to cope with stress, anxiety, to keep your mind busy. It's giving you the illusion that you're "moving the needle", that you're getting things done, when actually you should do something else.

22. Maintain a clean & organized workplace

Messy workplace equals messy mindspace. Your disorganized environment is cluttering your precious brain energy. All the "stuff" on you desk, the pens, sheets and folders are stealing your focus and concentration from you.

Successful CEOs work on almost empty giant desks. You often see it in movies. Because thinking cleary is their main task. You want to work on 1 project/task at a time, and tidy up everyday.

There are some exceptions to that rule, like scientists. or lawyers. They thrive in their "organized chaos" with moutains of docs everywhere.

For your own situation, learn to do the distinction between thriving in chaos and just "being comfortable" in chaos.

23. Take mini-breaks during work

Simple actions like this one are really too often overlooked. But, you know, success isn’t reached by one single big action. Actually, success is the accumulation of dozens and hundreds well-made actions, aligned with a vision.

And taking small 5-10 min. breaks every 45 to 60 min. of work is one of these aligned actions. Why?

Because if you want to stay productive from morning to evening, it means that your brain has to stay clear and energised all day long, not exhausted after 3 hours. It means you need to work smarter, not harder.

So, commit to take mini-breaks during the day. Allow your brain to breathe and your mind to declutter. Then, notice the difference of productivity during the next days. You’ll be surprised of how much more you can produce, in less time, with more focus and stay in your flow much longer.

24. Dress for Success, Always

You heard that we judge a book at his cover? Well it's true. This one is well-known classic... but knowing the theory without applying it doesn't make a difference! 

I say that because I learned it the hard way when I was at a business event in Las Vegas in summer 2015. I was 24, young and naive. It was crazy hot, so I thought the full suit & tie wasn't necessary... Wrong! In the room, more than 600 people were present, with every man in suit & tie, and every woman in cocktail dress or business suit.

Since that event, I'm always in 2 or 3-piece suit.

25. Actively listen to people when they talk

Whether is in real life, on Zoom or on the phone, you should always give all your focus and attention to your interlocutor and receive what they are saying with an open mind.

A very common bad habit is thinking about what you're going to answer them, instead of letting them finish their phrases and express their idea completely.

Also, don't interrupt them every 10 sec. Interrupting people when they talk is rude, shows no business etiquette and can create tensions and frictions very fast.

It's not because "everybody does it" that you should do it too. Get a competitive edge. Show more respect and genuine attention to the person you're talking too.

26. Speak out for yourself, don't hope or expect people to do it for you

This one is very challenging. You may think it's easier for extraverts compared to introverts, but it's not. Being extraverted or introverted is about your capacity to meet strangers and create contact with people, being surrounded by people, expressing your energy in public.

Speaking out for yourself is about expressing your value and demanding what you deserve related to your perceived value. It's about your self-worth, your self-esteem. It's about being honest to yourself and asking to the world to be honest towards you.

Not convinced? 95% of all self-made millionaires and self-made billionaires are introverts. Only a little minority is extraverted. Yet, they all became super successful and made a lot of money because they had a super high self-esteem.

I know it's scary to do it at first. I know it's very intimidating and unatural to ask for the raise you deserve or to reclaim justice for yourself when you never done it before.

"But Emmanuel, I don't want to do it... I think it's just not who I am." No, not true. It's how you behaved until now. Different. And you can change it if you want to.

It's an habit to develop, just like any other habit. It's a muscle to build. You may just start at level zero, but you can improve. You can do it. This habit alone will change your life for the better.

What are the Leadership Habits

27. Devote yourself to learn leadership and to become a better leader

The very first step in leadership is to realize that leadership is a skill. It's something that you have to learn, become better at, change, refine. It's not something that you get automatically granted with when you get the promotion to a leadership role. 

Being a "leader" by your position in the corporate world is one thing. But genuinely being a good leader and working to improve as a leader is a completely different game. 

Forget the "I am the leader, I'm the boss now, so do what I say because I said so".

You aren't born with the ability to lead. Just like sprinting, practicing martial arts or playing the piano, some people are naturally better than others at leadership. Everybody starts at a different level.

But nobody is good at every aspect of leadership intuitively. That's why you need to learn it like any other skill.

28. Leave your ego at the door

Ego makes you want to win, makes you want to perform better than others, makes you want to be proud of your achievements, makes you want to be number 1.

And those are all good things. That's what makes you a leader. But your ego can also make you want to be always under the spotlights, always being recognized, always being the savior of the situation. And that can hurt your team badly. If you are always recognized, that means that they are never recognized. Make your subordinates shine. Make a habit of recognizing them.

Leadership is not about being under the spotlights all the time, or about being right all the time. It's about helping your team to win. Yes, I know, if you don't get the credit for the victory, it's not rewarding. You don't get the immediate gratification that maybe you should have.

But it's rewarding on the long term. Because your team feels empowered and performs way better, they can now help you achieve a bigger, more rewarding victory. It's all about delayed gratification.

29. Understand that leadership is not about you, but about your people

Leadership is almost never about you as the star of the show, but rather about empowering your team and making them win, and making them the stars. So they will perform better, help you win, and they will progressively become leaders too.

How do you actually do that? Very simple. Genuinely care about them and their performance. Talk about them, not you. Ask them pertinent questions.

How do they feel about their job? How do they feel about their workflow? Ask them how you can help them perform better. Build real trust and real relationships.

But do not do it with a big fake smile on your face, just because that's what you're supposed to do as "a good leader". Take it very seriously, or your people won't follow you for long. Connect with them. Again, it's not about you, it's about them.

30. Communicate the goals clearly and often

If you do not translate your directives in a way that your people can understand them and apply, they cannot execute their tasks. That's the biggest failure in leadership. 

Understand that what is clear in your head isn't necessarily crystal clear in your team heads. You need to adapt your explanations, you need to help your people to make theirs your message.

Move from your perspective to their perspective. Put yourself in their shoes. Explain how your goal is affecting them at their position and how they can contribute to it specifically. Adapt your message to them. Show your people you're supporting them.

Now, it's not because you've shared your vision and the goals for the next 12 months once that you're done. Nothing can be further from the truth.

Everybody need to be crystal clear about what they have to do and why they do it. You need to reiterate it again, and again, and again. It's a powerful habit that improves team cohesion.

By the way, don't worry about bothering them or annoying them. You need to constantly motivate your team, just like a basketball or a football coach does his speech before every match.

The players don't get pissed off by it. They need it. They need direction and encouragement. It helps them win. Do the same. Help your team win.

31. Get everyone on the same page

Everybody, from the CEO to the guy answering the calls to the social media manager, need to move as a single unit of determined humans, aggressively pushing the company forward. And that can only happen if everybody moves in the same direction, towards the same target.

The vision is clear, the strategies are clear, the actions to implement the strategies are clear. Everybody can focus on action, instead of being stuck on hesitation.

Want to build a winning team? Build a team where everybody gets aligned behind the same leadership principles. Where all the members are genuinely helping the other team members win at their tasks.

32. Lead people by example

Telling people what they should do without doing it yourself first is the fastest way to destroy your leadership authority, trust and the results produced by your people.

Think of the people who inspire you and ask yourself what makes you feel inspired by them. You will probably notice that they motivate you and show you what is possible for you because they are the perfect example of what they preach.

By acting like a role model, they give you the inner inspiration to become like them.

Think about how you want your people to feel when they follow you. If you want them to follow what you teach, then embody this and lead them by showing the example. Showing is always more powerful than telling.

33. Keep your people accountable

This is the pinnacle of corporate leadership. To manage the employees.

"How do I get my people to do what they are supposed to do?" Holding people accountable is the key to delegation and team work. But only if it's done properly...

The easiest and surest way to have people do what they are supposed to do, is that they genuinely want to do the tasks. That's why having the good people at the good place in the company is key. It makes everything easier and smoother.

34. Take extreme ownership for everything (especially when things go wrong)

Taking the responsability for things that happen around you, even when you're not directly responsible, is something very hard to do.

It's not obvious at first sight, but it's a very important factor that differentiates great successful people from average people. And it's taking place everyday, in big and scary situations and also in "normal" day-to-day situations.

Taking responsability of the situation, for everyone else, when you're not concerned or affected yourself, is a pillar characteristic of a hero, a true hero. He or she steps up and takes the burden of responsability for others around.

And he or she is ready to put their reputation, their career, their financial situation and their physical integrity in the balance for others.

Commit to develop that next level of responsability. Taking responsability for yourself, taking responsability for your actions, taking responsability for others and their own safety and their own wellbeing. That's what exceptional leaders do. And that's why is a common trait of superheroes in movies.

What are the Physical Health Habits

35. Sleep 8 to 9 hours per night

For high performers, hustlers, grinders, entrepreneurs, sleep is usually viewed as a low-priority, even a secondary thing. You believe that you've got to work, work work. Move faster. Be more productive. And if you're not, you're basically a loser and you will never make it...

Nothing can be further from the truth. Sleep is the most essential basic human need just after breathing. Our quality of sleep affects every facet of our lives, from learning ability to mood, productivity, energy, attention, emotions, hormone regulation, anxiety, longevity, blood pressure and even immune system.

The amount of time that you sleep is important (8 to 9 hours) but also the quality of your sleep. Sleep in a cool room, with aeration. Get your phone or any electronic device out your bedroom.

36. Take power naps

World top athletes take power naps. High performers who wake up at 5am take power naps. High performers who wake up at 7am take power naps. Why? So they can continue to perform during the entire afternoon and evening with energy and mental sharpness.

Now, I know what you're going to say... "But Emmanuel, I DON'T HAVE TIME!". Ok, let me be straightforward. 30-40 min. of sleep during the day is not the issue. It should not make a difference in your work day. How productive you are during the afternoon and evening is the issue.

The good question to ask yourself is how productive and mentally sharp you are during the afternoon and evening. You need to have a clear mind to take the best decisions possible. Naps refill you with fresh energy and help you clear your mind. Do power naps.

37. Go to bed before midnight

Between 10pm and midnight, your brain is secreting growth hormone that helps you fall asleep, rejuvenate fully, maintain your bones and muscles, and have a deep night's sleep.

It is not worth it to spend your evening watching TV or a show on your favorite streaming platform, just for the sake of relaxing yourself if it takes on your precious sleep time.

Did you know that you can't catch up with sleep? Yes, that's right. If for a long period of time, you have been used to sleep late and/or too little, the only way to catch up with your lack of sleep is to sleep more now by adding some hours to your night's sleep, plus some naps in the afternoons.

Sleep is serious because it is the number one way your body can rejuvenate itself. This should be your number one health habits, your primary duty if your want to live long and healthy.

38. No work in the bedroom

Bedroom is the only room where you sleep. Why do you sleep? To recover your body, your brain and your mind. To recover, you need to be relaxed. And you can't get a decent level of relaxation if you're working non-stop, especially just before sleeping.

You want to sleep better? Allow your brain to relax. Get the work out of the bedroom.

39. Cut off smoking

No addiction will make you rich. Let's put it this way: What is the cost of you not stopping smoking now and continuing for years? How will your life be?

Unhealthy. You might develop some disease like a cancer. This might keep you stuck in the same limiting patterns and far away from the level of performance you dreamed about.

You know, the cold truth is, no drugs or addictions will make you escape from yourself and avoid the emotional discomfort you are facing in your life. Smoking is just a way to hide the real emotional blocks. Treat them to access a greater level of health and success.

40. Cut off drinking alcohol

“Your business is the reflection of who you are.”

Being aware of your own subconscious limiting patterns and getting rid of them is your job to do and is the first and most important one.

Drinking on a regular basis diminishes your ability to think, focus and have a clear vision of your goals and where you are now in life. Alcohol annihilates your brain capacities and therefore closes the door to see clearly what is holding you back.

Simply said, every addiction is a way to escape your reality, escape your feelings and emotions, and avoid facing what is going on wrong in your business or personal life.

Of course, you can like drinking champagne, or a good glass of red wine to celebrate your wins, but the damaging effects it has on your brain will stay the same. And staying mentally alert doesn't include any alcohol consumption. At all.

41. Start fitness/weight training 3X a week

As a former natural bodybuilder and NASM certified personal trainer, this is my N°1 priority. In fact, if you want to do one thing to improve your health, your sleep, your mind power and your focus... And your quality of life in general, strength training should also be your N°1 priority.

In fitness, you have training styles that you can choose from: bodybuilding, powerlifting, crossfit, bodyweight training like calisthenics. You can try them all to find what suits you best. It's also possible that you will transition from one training style to another along the years.

The different exercises (squat, benchpress, pullups, rowing, muscle-ups) and techniques (slow and controlled movements vs. explosive movements) are going to make you more aware of your own body and help you discover your natural abilities.

You don't even need a gym membership! I've trained at home for many years. A pullup bar, a pair of dumbells and a gym mattress is all you need to get started!

42. Practice stretching exercises

Not only your brain needs to relax, but your body, muscles and joints need to relax too. Stretching is the fastest, free, and easily available way to relax everything at once. Regular stretching keeps your muscles long and lean, and your joints flexible.

Stretching doesn't relax just after a sport workout. It also helps to relax your busy mind if you breathe deeply. If you sit in a chair all day, your back, neck and legs will thank you after a deep 60 min. stretching session.

Begin with 30 min. sessions. I personally stretch for 60 min. everyday. You don't have to stretch your entire body at once. You can do half of the body per session. Hold each position for 30 sec. to 1 min.

Don't bounce, because it can cause injuries. Breathe deeply and calmly. Close your eyes if you want for a deeper relaxation.

Stretching just before going to bed is a great way to relax and one of the best thing you can do for your sleep.

43. Get a deep tissue massage or a trigger point massage

You body is a complex machine of 206 bones, joints, and 650+ muscles and tendons. That powerful machine allows you to run, jump, lift weight, hike, or sit at a desk for 8 hours straight.

It works perfectly for years and years, taking all kinds of tensions, without complaining and without external signs of fatigue or dysfunction.

Yet (yes, there is always a yet), under the surface, underneath your skin, tensions accumulated. It may be a tight neck, stiff shoulders, or your lower back that hurts after sitting for a 2-hour drive. It can also be that you don't breathe as deeply as you used to.

Let me tell you that those things are not "normal" and that you can have your healthy & vibrant body back. You want to perform better and faster? You want a wider range of motion in your movements? You want to "be more in your body" and feel more relaxed? You can.

Help your body to eliminate the chronic tensions it accumulated. Massages, especially deep tissue massages or trigger point massages, can really help you release the tensions that you struggle to eliminate with frequent stretching.

If you're particularly stressed and tensed, a deep massage of the rib cage can feel lifechanging, no kidding.

44. Get a chiropractic adjustment

Who doesn't like a nice crack? I personally love the "pops" and "cracks" during a chiropractic adjustment. It's the next step after stretching, to help your body get rid of all the stress that you have accumulated for years without even knowing it.

It's going to help you put your joints and bones back at the right place and release compressed nerves. It can also help you release blocked emotions and traumas. It can be a part of the solution for chronic fatigue. 

For example, from my own experience, a blocked vertebra in your neck can creates headaches, fatigue, and diminish your strengh in your shoulders and arms, which is not cool for your fitness performance.

What is generally recommended is to get a chiropractic adjustment every year, and at least every 6 months if you practice a sport.

45. Eat real meals with real organic food (don't only rely on supplements to get energy)

Shakers and vitamin pills will only gets you so far. We have so much fancy and quick solutions at our disposal that we tend to forget the basics of nutrition, which are real food, like organic meat, fish, eggs, greens, fruits and nuts.

Supplements come after. The are, like the word indicates, additional. They are not, by any means, a replacement for bad food habits. This is key. Think about filling your fridge and freezer with a lot of organic quality food before buying another extra "secret magic potion".

46. Drink a gallon of water

Did you know that 75% of Americans are chronically dehydrated?

Your body is constituted of more than 70% of water. You muscles, your brain, your vital organs, everything in your body need water. The more you drink water, the more you help your body to filter, regenerate and stay healthy.

I personally drink a gallon of water every day and it's one of my key factor to performance. In fact, when I'm tired or not performing at my peak level, I check my habits list tracker to see if I have drinked enough water during the 2 or 3 previous days. And everytime the answer is no.

So I get back on track and drink my gallon daily, and I perform way better!

47. Breathe deeply

While we breathe without even thinking about it all day long, breathing deeply and consciously can help you to reduce anxiety, depression, and to manage stress better. It also helps to improve your focus, and prepares for a deeper and better sleep.

There are many types of breathing techniques, used in meditation, yoga and qigong.

48. Practice qigong, yoga or meditation 

These practices provide you with the invaluable benefits of helping your life force energy circulate better within your body. It's called Qi, Chi or Prana in different traditions.

It calms your overthinking brain, brings you back into the present moment and connects you to your body and emotions.

Throughout the day, your brain is so overstimulated by the outer environment that it needs a break to relax and recharge. Did you know that these practices help your brain to relax into alpha waves?

It helps you to get grounded adn to de-stress. You can now address your issues of the day through a different lens, with more distance, with a broader perspective.

By incorporating some of these relaxation practices, your enable your right brain - your most intuitive and creative side - to lights up and find new solutions.

I know... you might think "Relaxing… I don't have time for this!". But give it a try. You might be very surprised about how easily you will reach new creative solutions to your problems without forcing.

I practice Qigong for more than 10 years now, and it's one of my top 5 health practice.

What are the Emotional & Mental Health Habits

49. Reduce or quit social media

Social media has became the new great addiction of our modern age. First, don't feel down about yourself if you struggle with social media addiction... These apps are designed to be addictive. 

Notifications, likes & shares release dopamine in our brains. It becomes an addictive behaviour to check our profiles and feeds, just like alcohol, drugs, porn and gambling.

The problem are not the apps by themselves, but when they take away our focus from our activities and the people around us. Social media doesn't replace real life experiences and relationships. 

We consciously don't want to spend 2, 3, 4 hours of our days scrolling endlessly on apps, jumping from one to another, looking at photos & status updates. But it's an automatic behaviour that is running, just like a computer program. We only realize that we have been trapped in that loop 20 min. later.

Who controls who? You or the app? Choose what gets your attention during your day. Just set healthy boundaries: Your life first. Your work first. Your love life first. Your friends and family first. Social media after.

50. Reduce or quit video games

First, you need to understand why you're enjoying playing video games in the first place:

Now, to quit video games addiction (yes, it can be a real addiction), you need to find these stimulations (through stress management techniques, uplifting social circle, personal improvement, map of progression, life purpose) IRL, in the real physical world.

The more time you spend leveling up your character in the game, the less time you have to level up yourself in your real life. Make your real life as satisfying as in the video game. How? Begin by developping all the other habits in this list.

51. Reduce or quit TV

TV is the N°1 distraction on the world. Unlimited entertainment and distractions. Dis-traction. Meaning to take you away from your traction = your focus and your goals.

There is a reason why a television program is called a "program". It's because it's made to "program" you in a certain way. What do I mean? It's designed to instill certain thoughts and feelings in your brain and body. You are programmed into thinking and feeling something specific. 

That this certain individual or this group of people is bad, or that this other individual or group of people is awesome and that you should support them. You are given a certain viewpoint about the world, and what you should think about what's is happening. It's "done-for-you" thinking.

And I don't even talk about TV commercials... every 15 min. in the US... always faster, louder, more stupid and shocking to pick your attention. Buy. It's awesome. Buy now. You need it. Now.

You can use these hours of your life in a way more productive and fulfilling manner.

52. Reduce or quit watching news

PTSD is not just a symptom that veterans have developed after war. You can actually find different levels of PTSD. And watching the news can cause a form of it. You start to develop a post-traumatic stress syndrome as soon as your brain is confronted to a very stressful event.

In the news, you are very often confronted to terrible events (murders, riots, pandemics, natural catastrophies, etc.), that your brain records as a shock and an attack. Its coping mechanism is to switch to survival mode and make you feel stressed so that you can feel in danger enough to save yourself from this situation.

Moreover, these tragic images that you’ll see on TV will very often resurface as flashes and reminiscences, when you expect it the less during your day, because your brain has been in shock.

To tie it up to business and your success, you already experience enough distractions and stress that you don’t need and don’t have to put other purposeless stressors on yourself.

My question for you: What does it cost you, in your personal life, and in your success journey, to feed your brain with violent stressors on a daily basis?

53. Switch off your phone

Have you already tried to count how many times you stop what you're doing to turn your head to check your notifications? Well… Studies have shown that on average we can check our phone 96 times a day, just to check the… notifications. (sic)

And every time you allow yourself to shift your focus to your phone, you distract yourself and lose the initial concentration and focused energy on your project.

The thing is that… let’s say you need 20 minutes to get in the flow state and every 10 minutes, you interrupt the process to check your phone.

First, you never get to ever reach your state of flow once in the day. Second, you are never focused on your projects and you can never be present, efficient, and productive in your work.

So, when you decide to work, switch off your phone (not even on an airplane so you are not tempted to switch off the airplane mode) and put it away from you. And see your productivity skyrockets significantly!

54. Begin a Dopamine detox

Dopamine is the hormone released by your brain when you are seeing, watching, eating, doing something that brings you satisfaction.

Now, with the hundreds of notifications a day from social media, our brain has assimilated the comforting “ping” sounds as being very satisfying and almost reassuring.

They act like a reward for the brain. It means something cool is happening in your life. But being constantly distracted by instant gratifying outer sources disturbs the brain.

Simply said, you are not designed to receive a surge of dopamine every 10 minutes until you develop a real addiction to it and can’t live without them anymore.

So, why not stopping for 3 to 7 days to expose yourself to these stimulations? And see how your brain and body behave without these stressors, constant stimulations, without this incessant influx of dopamine.

You might feel much calmer, serene and present. It's going to unleash your ability to focus and be really productive... It’s worth trying!

55. Don't watch screens before going to bed

Insomnia has become a global health issue in the developped countries, just like obesity. One of the biggest factor responsible for that is too much time in front of screens.

Your brain needs time to go from a hyper-stimulated state to a calm, relaxing, and sleepy state. The more you expose yourself during the day to brain-over-stimulating activities (like working on the screens, for instance), the more you will need time to relax your brain and prepare it to fall asleep.

The ideal would be to stop looking at any screen 2 hours before you go to bed so that you have time to breathe, stretch your body, relax, read a book under a soft light, and listen to relaxing music to help your brainwaves to reach the alpha state.

At first, it might feel boring to not go on the screens before going to bed. But over several days, you will notice that by adopting this new night sleep routine, you will gain mental clarity, productivity, focus, calm, and presence.

56. Spend time in nature to reduce stress and anxiety

You are a human. Humans have lived for thousands and thousands of years outside, under the sky, under de sun, feeling the fresh air, looking far away.

And somehow, we think we can feel good and perform well in closed environments, under artificial lights, in front of screens for hours, almost non-stop, and keep going for days, and weeks, and months.

That's lunacy, (and science prooves the benefits of taking time off  in nature, so you can be reassured).

No, a 7th coffee won't give you the same fresh mind, the same mental clarity and the same well-being as a 30 min. walk in forest or at the beach. Maybe you can't do that everyday, but maybe you can do it once a week.

Spending time in nature is just the most natural way to reduce anxiety, feel calm and relaxed. Your brain needs it. Your eyes need it. Your mind needs it. Spending time in nature can help relieve your from stress and anxiety, improve your mood, and help your breathe deeper and calmly.

Regarless of what you want to call it – mindfulness in nature, forest bathing, ecotherapy, , green time or the wilderness cure – you, as a human, will immensely benefit to go back to nature and to allow yourself to relax.

57. Don't eat sugary or fatty foods to compensate bad emotions

You can’t allow yourself to spend more time thinking about food, and even less being controlled by food.

First, your brain can only focus on one thing at a time. When you think about the cake you ate, what you will eat at lunch or what kind of pizza you will order, you are not focusing on what will make you more successful.

Secondly, when your brain and your emotional reactions are obsessively turned towards food, something is wrong.

It is not a normal behavior to be obsessively attracted by sugary and fatty foods more than healthy protein and vegetables. This, my friend, is a sign that you are emotionally dependent on food. You are emotionally attached to food, which means that you are not in control, but that food controls your behaviors.

Moreover, if you knew that the less you eat sugary and unhealthy fatty foods, the more you’ll make money because you’ll be fully in control of your brain and body capacities, what decision would you make right now?

Related : The more sugar you eat, the less money you make

58. Have a container for expressing your emotions

Whatever it is that you have to express, whether it's your rage, your anger, your frustration, or even your sadness, it's crucial to have a container to release it in healthy conditions.

Martial arts, weightlifting, running… use these physical activities to burn off all your heavy emotions during the session and come back serene.

After 1H30 of intense physical training, you are going to find yourself much more in peace, much more grounded, and aligned. It's going to make you able to fully focus on what is really important.

You need this container otherwise, you’ll keep your emotions inside, and with time, they could create recurring thought patterns and even illnesses in your body.

On the other hand, if you choose to express them without a container, you could unfortunately damage your relationships by not expressing your anger at the right time and in the right place.

59. Stop spending time with and talking to your frienemies

Your what? Your frienemies. A portmanteau of "friend" and "enemy". People who pretend to be your friend, to like you, to appreciate you... but only in disguise. They don't support you or your goals. They use passive-aggressive behaviors to control you.

How to know if your friends are real friends or frienemies? Very simple: How do you feel after spending 1 or 2 hours with them? Inspired, confident, energized? Great! Keep seing them.

Feel a little down? Depreciated? Upset? Less certain about your goals and your abilities? You feel like your energy has been completety sucked up? Well... These are not healthy relationships for you. When thinking about them, you feel about revenge? They are definitely to put in the frienemies box.

Why spending time with toxic and kind of hostile people? Because you don't know any better? Because it's "normal"? It's just "part of life"? No. It is not.

You have 100% control over what is happening in your life. You have the freedom to choose. If it's not healthy for you, you have the right to stop it. Period. Work on your self-esteem and uplevel your circle of influence. You deserve it.

What are the Personal Relationships Habits

60. Have quality time with the key people in your life

Time runs. We only realize it when we wish to have more of time to our disposal. Good memories and great experiences make our lives full.

There are not a lot of people who truly love you for who you are. There are not a lot of people who really and genuinely support your growth, your goals and your dreams.

Spend quality time with them. Build memories with them. You need family time. You need couple time. You need kiss time. Enjoy!

61. Have quality conversations with the key people in your life

Do you often have real deep quality conversations with your friends, teammate, and people that support and inspire you?

If not, take the time for it. You need to be very selective about your surroundings and carefully choose to spend your valuable time with people who are worth it: people who really inspire you or/and people who really care about you, your dreams, and your success.

During these precious moments with them, don’t waste your time talking about banalities, but rather speak about a topic you would love to receive insights on or you are really passionate about.

When you talk about your dreams and projects with someone at your level, ideas fuse and your passion gets more intense. Cultivate that habit often. In fact, it should a daily habit to have inspiring conversations.

Make a list of these inspiring people in your surroundings and plan for the next quality conversation you’ll have with them.

62. Make other people feel valued and loved

Your love partner, your family members, your close friends, your coworkers, everybody want to feel good about themselves, want to be appreciated and feel unique. Because they are unique, and I assume, good people. But nearly no one notice it, say it, acknowledge it.

That's where you're coming, asking genuine questions, taking time to listen to their answers, and being present. It will help you build stronger lasting relationships.

63. Laugh together

It's THE fastest and easiest way to bond and connect together. Non-only it's very good for you in term of your health (laughing has tremendous health benefits), but it also creates a very specific connection between the two persons.

Warning: You shouldn't have to try hard to laugh. If you do, it's going to break all the magic. The best laughing is spontaneous. It's in the situation, right now.

Claire and I, we laugh together something like 20 times a day, no kidding.

By the way, when you are with the wrong person, laughing is hard. Like HARD. Trying to find something comical to say without offending the person is a real work.

It feels like it's never landing properly... But when you are with the right person, it's the most natural, evident and spontaneous thing in the world!

64. Do activities with your partner

Life is short enough to dismiss the precious time you could spend with your loved one. So why would you not block some time to focus at 100% on your work, and when it's done, when you're proud of yourself, share this energy with your partner?

Remember that the first relationship to carefully nurture is the one with your partner. Because this is the person who will always be there for you, supporting you, and taking care of you even in the hardest times.

So like anything you do in life and business, first, block a non-negotiable time in your calendar to spend with your partner. Then, brainstorm together and choose an activity you would do or try together.

Or if you are more adventurous you can go and surprise her or him! She or he will like it! She might even find you more incredible and attentionate for this. You will win precious points! 😉

65. Set healthy boundaries to protect your energy

Your energy is very precious. This is what allows you to achieve your dreams and goals. You can’t mess with it. Because if money is a renewable resource, your time and energy aren’t. You have a certain amount of energy at your disposal every single day, and that's it.

Because it's precious, you need to protect it. You need specific time alone, doing the activities that are important for you.

To wrap it up

That's a long list. There are plenty of habits and changes to implement. The good news is, you don't have to implement them all at once. Actually, it would me a mistake.

Work on your life, one foundation at a time. Pick 3 to 5 habits for now, and focus on them for the next 30 days.

How would it impact your business, your health, your life, your relationships? How would they make you feel? The answers to these questions should be your focus, your motivation, your fuel.

Now, to commit, select the 3 to 5 habits you choose to focus on for the next 30 days. And, if this article inspired you to take action on your dreams & goals, share it with a friend.