7 success mantras from the world’s most successful people

It is no secret that we all look up to highly successful people for guidance and inspiration. Fascinated by their journey, we want to know more about their life, struggles, successes and failures, and the success mantras they follow. It motivates us to dream big and take risks in life.

Successful personalities such as Elon Musk, Jack Ma, Richard Branson, Steve Jobs, Oprah Winfrey and Warren Buffett all follow a certain philosophy that is critical to their success. For example, Branson is an early riser, Buffett is an avid reader, and Musk isn’t afraid of failure. Whatever success mantras or philosophies they follow, they provide them with constant inspiration and motivation to push the limits and achieve success.

If you are among those looking for such inspiration, here are seven success mantras from successful personalities that can help shape your views and propel you towards success.

Make time for self-care

The World Health Organisation (WHO) defines self-care as “the ability of individuals, families and communities to promote health, prevent disease, maintain health, and to cope with illness and disability with or without the support of a healthcare provider.” When you practice self-care, you build resilience and become more positive, which helps you see things in a new light. Renowned talk show host and billionaire philanthropist Oprah Winfrey credits this habit as one of her success mantras. In a Stanford Graduate School of Business’ View from The Top series video, she spoke about the importance of taking care of yourself. She said, “I consider it a compliment when people say ‘I am full of myself’ because when you are full, you are overflowing…I have so much to offer and give.” She further states, “I am not afraid of honouring myself. It’s miraculous when you think about it.”

Rise early

Many people dread rising early. But for some of the most successful entrepreneurs in the world, waking up early is the secret to their success. Billionaire entrepreneurs such as Tim Cook and Richard Branson are early risers. Leadership expert and best-seller author Robin Sharma, too, swears by this habit. Sharma writes in an article on his website, “How can you break free of ‘the addiction to distraction’ so your days become wildly productive? And so you create a life you adore? One of the absolute best ways I know of is learning how to wake up early. Get this one habit right and you’ll achieve more in one day than most people get done in one month.”

Read more

Some of the world’s best minds are voracious readers. This includes billionaires Warren Buffett, Bill Gates and Mark Cuban. In his blog, Cuban writes, “I read more than 3 hours almost every day.” Buffett takes it up a notch. In HBO’s documentary, Becoming Warren Buffett, the entrepreneur said, “I still probably spend five or six hours a day reading.” He further states, “I like to sit and think. I spend a lot of time doing that and sometimes it is pretty unproductive, but I find it enjoyable to think about business or investment problems.” Gates echoes the same sentiment. In an interview with The New York Times, he said that he reads close to 50 books a year. “It’s one of the chief ways that I learn, and has been since I was a kid.”

Embrace failure

No one likes to fail. But that doesn’t mean you should stop taking risks altogether. Failure teaches you important lessons that contribute towards your growth. Elon Musk, the founder of SpaceX and CEO of Tesla, once said, “There’s a silly notion that failure’s not an option at NASA. A failure is an option here. If things are not failing, you are not innovating enough.” No matter what you do, there is always a chance of falling short of your target or not reaching the desired outcome. But that doesn’t mean you should stop pursuing your goals. Success is often the result of past failures. So, keep this success mantra in mind, the next you suffer a setback. Remember that failure is not the end of the road.

Success is about confidence

American industrialist Henry Ford once said, “Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t–you’re right.” Achieving success is all about confidence. You need to believe that you have what it takes to accomplish your goals. Such belief comes from being positive and being prepared for the challenges that come your way. When you are sure about yourself and your abilities in a realistic, secure manner, you trust that the decisions you make will take you closer to your goals. In a commencement speech to graduating students at Stanford University, Apple co-founder Steve Jobs said, “You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future.”

Be proactive

Another success mantra that can be highly beneficial for you is choosing to be proactive. When you are proactive, you use whatever resources you have to find a solution to a problem, rather than complaining about it or waiting for others to solve it for you. In his book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change, author Stephen R. Covey talks about the importance of this attribute. He writes, “The proactive approach to a mistake is to acknowledge it instantly, correct and learn from it.” By choosing to use this success mantra, you won’t sit with a problem but look for solutions.

Have patience

Patience is crucial if you want to achieve success in life. Because you will come across situations that will frustrate you, make you feel like you don’t belong, and hurt your self-confidence. But with patience, you will be able to keep yourself calm long enough to make informed decisions, thus paving a path to success. In an interview at the World Economic Forum in Davos, billionaire Jack Ma had said, “If you want to be successful tomorrow, it’s impossible. If you want to be successful a year later, it’s impossible. But if you want to win 10 years later, you have a chance.”