What assumptions are you making about what other successful people do to get where they are?

What are you telling yourself you have to do in order to be successful?

Have you checked that these assumptions are actually true?

When I first start coaching clients, many don't believe that doing less and slowing down will enable them to achieve the same results if not even better than when they are running around under immense pressure and stress. Nonetheless, by the time they come to see me they are willing to try anything because their health or relationships are usually suffering so much. They know that the way they are working now is not sustainable and they need to find a better way.

Fortunate for me, they are in a space where they are ready to question the assumptions they have made up until now about what is required for them to be successful. Because it is not until we are willing to question the assumptions that we are making that you are able to change!

One of the unique benefits of my work is that I'm lucky to be allowed into the secret thoughts and lives of successful people from all different walks of lives. As a result, I witness what successful people actually do that works for them as well as what zaps their energy and their time and keeps them stuck trying to push through the ceiling without making a dent. I see clear evidence of what creates success and what detracts from it.

Over the years we have been fed myths about what it takes to be successful, what really works in a practical sense to get better results in our work and lives. Today I want to debunk some of those myths so that you too can start creating balanced success.

 Five Dumbest Success Tips:

1.    Multitasking increases your effectiveness

      The only thing multitasking does is increase the pressure and stress you feel on a minute to minute basis. Your brain cannot focus on more than one thing in any given moment. It's a fact! So when you try to do so you put yourself in the position of doing everything less effectively and of teaching your brain that it's ok to be scattered. It does not save time and if anything it results in more errors and poorer concentration. Instead focus on only one thing at any time, giving it your full attention. The quality and quantity of work you achieve will improve and as a bonus you'll feel much better in the process.

2.    Time management creates more time

Often people get stuck in the "if only I manage my time better I will get more done" mindset when in fact they are being ridiculous about how many hours there are in any one day.  The problem more often stems from setting unrealistic expectations about what is achievable in any time frame and being stuck in the cycle of nothing they do ever being "enough". If this sounds like you, face the truth that there will only ever be so much you can do in one day. Shift your mindset from "how can I get more done" to what can I get rid of, how can I do less to get the same result, how can I take more breaks, and where can I say no more.

3.    Working crazy hours gets you to the top

Successful people delegate, outsource and lead great teams rather than get more done on their own. They are great influencers, negotiators and relationship builders. Working crazy hours does not get you to the top--what does is getting great results! What gets you to the top is your ability to lead, make tough decisions, cope with responsibility, build effective relationships and be willing to do the stuff that others are not willing to do. Focus on mastering the hard things that get you the best results with least effort rather than trying to climb the ladder by getting more done.

4.    The goal is financial freedom

This is a limitation on life. The goal is not financial freedom it is "Freedom" full stop. Freedom is so much more than a stunning home or a fast car. Freedom is about lifestyle and if you have to kill yourself from a health perspective in order to have your empire, you do not have freedom. If you are stressed out of your mind, lie awake worrying and can't be present in your life because of the consuming nature of your work, you are not free. If you don't have time for your loved ones, you miss your kids milestone moments and have no time for yourself, you do not know what freedom truly is. Forget financial freedom and focus on having real freedom in your life to thoroughly enjoy each day.

 5.    Success brings approval which brings love and happiness