Like buildings, your business is built on foundations. If these are solid and continue to be solid, you can grow a phenomenal business. If they are not and always a bit shaky, you will never be able to build a sustainable and developing business that produces regular income and long-term wealth. I have been really trying to ascertain what attributes have made a difference in my life (and I am far from perfect as you know) and also what I see around me in my network of successful entrepreneurs. What makes them different? What makes them standout?

I believe there are four corners of personal, business and life success. They form the foundations for your life AND business. If you make these four your cornerstones and remind yourself of them every day you will make wise decisions, good choices, have high energy and be able to do all you set out to.

Here they are:

1) Personal responsibility. If you do not take FULL and COMPLETE personal responsibility for everything that you do (in the past, in the present and in the future) then you will always BLAME others for your failures, and fail to take action in the areas that will become great habits for your growth. You MUST absolutely MUST realise that YOU are the key to your own success – nobody else. You may need to forgive and let go, you may need to STOP unhealthy thought patterns about others. Don’t compare yourself to others – recognise you are responsible for yourself and yourself alone. Be excellent in who YOU are.

2) Focus. Follow One Course Until Successful. Don’t give up until you have achieved your goal. Perseverance and persistence are central to the behaviour and thinking of anyone who grew a successful business. This requires commitment and discipline. Saying NO to distractions and areas that draw you away from your core values.

3) Control. You need to learn to control your emotions primarily so that you can create control and balance in your business and also in your life. Don’t let your inner chimp ruin your life (For more on this read Steve Peter’s ‘The Chimp Paradox’). If you allow fear, worry, anxiety, excitement, passion or elation to be in control, you will not be able to make sensible decisions that rely on logic and sound principles. A good rule of thumb is to wait 24 hours before you buy anything that you REALLY want. So that you can sleep on it and think about whether this purchase is really right for you. If you make purchases based on emotion, you will find that you won’t have enough money to invest with and lengthen the time that you become financially free.

4) Vision. What is the vision – the REAL vision you want for your life? Do you really want financial freedom? Or do you really want just to spend, spend, spend? (The two are quite different). You may want an opulent lifestyle which is fine, but are you prepared to be frugal in the meantime, invest and wait, be patient before you achieve financial freedom? Are you really prepared to SLOG to make it happen, or do you ideally want an easy life? The two are not compatible. Your EGO is incompatible with your GROWTH. Your ego will tell you to do one thing, which may actually work against your long-term wellbeing.

To identify your values a book I recommend is ‘The Values Factor’ by John DiMartini. If you are interested in learning more about how your ego works against you, try ‘A New Earth’ by Eckhart Tolle.

I’d love to know what you make of these four foundations – do they ring true in your life?

What has helped you the most to get to where you are today?