Ever wonder why getting ahead can sometimes seem like a major struggle? The truth is: If you want to be successful, you need to be highly disciplined. We've polled countless executives and entrepreneurs about the things they're doing every day which help them succeed (both personally and professionally), and typically they credit simple daily routines which have been proven over time to give them that stand out quality. Check out the daily habits high-achieving individuals obtain to help them get ahead in business and life below.

1.    Start the day off early (be an early riser)

One of the most common habits of successful people is that they get out of bed early. It provides them a sense of confidence to plan things so that they can easily accomplish their daily tasks as they make use of the little extra time by planning and prioritising the activities of the entire day.

2.    Meditate

Meditation has many physical and mental benefits, everything from relieving stress, controlling anxiety, lowering blood pressure, to elevating creativity levels, boosting self-awareness and improving sleep etc. Many people, who achieve success, have discovered uncountable benefits of meditation. For example, entrepreneurs around the world often choose to meditate every day as it improves their memory, along with  many other benefits associated with the factors that come with being a successful person in life and in business.

3.    Be organised

Organisation is one of the most frequently acknowledged habits of individuals who live a successful life. Planning, as well as setting priorities and goals, are all part of this type of organisation. As we said in point one, those who get up early have that extra time to list their tasks for the day and list them based on priority. Also, Sunday is a great day for organisation - according to Twitter co-founder and former CEO Jack Dorsey, Sunday is an important day for “getting ready for the rest of the week”, so why not start allocating Sunday as an organisation day to know what you have planned and need to do in the upcoming week?

In fact, Jack Dorsey allocates every day of the week to different objectives. He famously said: "all my days are themed. Monday is management. Tuesday is product, engineering, and design. Wednesday is marketing, growth, and communications. Thursday is partnership and developers. Friday is company and culture. On the days beginning with T, I start at Twitter in the morning, then go to Square in the afternoon. Sundays are for strategy. Saturday is a day off."

4.    Stay focussed

Focused thinking is the greatest altered state of mind because it allows the brain to concentrate at its best by removing all forms of distraction. Successful people have a regular habit of focused thinking throughout the day, during which they think about all the essential aspects of their health, business, relationship, friendships etc. This level of thinking allows them to analyse everything in a better way and come up with better strategies to accomplish their personal and business goals.

5.    Exercise regularly

Working out regularly has many benefits, everything from improving brain health, boosting memory, enhancing concentration and focus etc. By integrating fitness into their daily life, successful people put their health and wellbeing forward as a priority. Not only that, but fitness holds foundation teachings of wanting  to achieve more and working hard at hitting milestone - great teachings to take into the business world too.

6.    Network with other successful people

Surrounding yourself with successful individuals has a huge impact on your success because they act as a form of motivation. That’s why successful people prefer to develop relationships among positive and motivated people, so that they can have the company of the right people. Successful people try their best to limit their exposure among negative people because they understand that it can create a negative impact on what can be achieved.

7.    Work towards objectives

Planning tasks, realising the vision and setting the direction(s) is a positive habit all successful people have as it increases the dedication put into the work. Successful people don’t waste their time fulfilling the dreams of others. They make their own goals and work hard to achieve them because if they spend time living the dream of others, then they can’t achieve what they have planned to achieve in their own lives. Setting short-term and long-term goals are positive ways successful people choose to help them work towards their goals/objectives - are you doing the same? If not, do something about it NOW.

8.    Sleep

Did you know having enough sleep is essential for being successful in life and in business? It not only sharpens the brain but also helps to stay alert throughout the day. However, it's important to understand that getting enough sleep isn’t only about the total hours of sleep, it's also about getting good quality sleep on a regular schedule so you feel rested when you wake up.

9.    Maintain daily tasks

Getting tasks done on time is important to become successful, that’s why most successful people have a habit of keeping their activities recorded in a specific journal or online portal so that they can track their daily achievements. It helps them stay in touch with all of their essential tasks that are extremely necessary to get done, and it's always good to have a visual of what you've achieved in a day, week, month, year etc.

10.    Have multiple sources of income

Those who are successful work towards creating multiple income streams because they know that relying completely on a single source can never provide them with financial stability. The successful people you know will have anything from three to seven (or more) income streams to ensure they're financially sound at all times, no matter if there is a market crash, recession etc.

11.    Stick to routines

Successful people not only invest time in creating daily routines but they also give equal importance when it comes to following these routines. They know that these routines will not only structure their day-to-day lives but also save their time and make them more efficient than ever before.

12.    Practice self-care

A healthy body = a healthy mind. Highly successful individuals know that they must eat a well-balanced diet so that they remain fit and energetic and accomplish whatever they want. A well-balanced diet provides important vitamins, minerals, and nutrients to keep the body and mind strong and healthy. Eating well can also help ward off numerous diseases and health complications, to avoid any sickness days, as well as help maintain a healthy body weight, provide energy, allow better sleep, and improve brain function. Everything a successful person needs.

13.    Start with the end in mind

Those who are successful in life and in business never create goals without keeping the end in mind, because they believe that it’s necessary to keep the bigger picture a focus while creating any goals - whether they are short-term or long-term. Why? Because it provides them with a clear vision regarding their destination. It gives them something to work towards with more motivation.

14.    Take risks

It is essential, in order to be successful, to take calculated risks on a regular basis. If you are too scared to try new things, then accomplishing great things, in life or in business, can just be a dream for you. Yes, risks can be uncomfortable, but they're truly the factor that differentiate people from being successful and unsuccessful.

15.    Embrace failure and learn from it or start again

Those who are successful never live in the past. They try new things, take risks, make mistakes, and they learn from them. After all, every moment in life or in business has a lesson to be learnt - it's up to us to find what those lessons are and take action (where necessary). This attitude of embracing failure, learning from it and/or starting again is something that is not common among other people because there is a fear associated with failure, which keeps people from experimenting with new things.

16.    Start with the small meaningful tasks first each day

Successful people choose to handle all of their daily tasks by categorising them based on size and priority. When they start their day and get some of their more meaningful tasks done first, they obtain an extra sense of motivation and an increase level of self-confidence to handle the bigger and more complex tasks effortlessly.

17.    Take instant action

Planning the day-to-day tasks and setting priorities is great, but they become useless if appropriate action isn't taken at the right time or they come up with excuses for not acting on the situation. Successful people don’t take too much time making decisions as compared to other people because they know that it’s one of the key elements that help towards their success - taking immediate action is a must quality for those wanting to be successful.

18.    Have confidence in their abilities

Having a positive mental attitude is essential to being successful, and one of the best to obtain this mindset is having confidence in your abilities. It not only helps to improve your performance but also enables you to feel more relaxed in any setting. Successful people believe in their abilities way before they get successful - it's this level of confidence that helps them get bigger targets and achieve grander goals, with ease.

19.    Manage their emotions

Managing emotions is a form of mental strength all successful people have, it plays a major role in self-improvement and helps them transform the challenges of life and business into opportunities so that you can enjoy great satisfaction from overcoming and learning from these events. Successful people have the ability to identify what influences their emotions, their behaviours and their thoughts during the day, and they take action were necessary.

20.    Pay attention to the small details

Paying attention to the finer details can make things so much better in terms of accuracy, time, and quality. Unfortunately, too many people ignore this and it costs them time and money. This is a habit all successful people obtain because they understand the importance in holds in terms of the level of success they achieve. After all, they don’t want to repeat tasks over and over again and waste their valuable time and money.

21.    Practice self-control

Self-control has the power to improve a person's focus and decision-making capabilities, and that's why successful people practice self-control on a daily basis. It has a huge impact on success, which successful people know very well. These people spend limited time on the things that are tempting but do not contribute positively to their level of success in life and/or in business.

22.    Execute good communication skills

Excellent communication skill is undoubtedly a major skill in all highly successful people around the world. Executing quality communications skills on a daily basis helps these people attract paying customers, build positive rapports with influential people/industry leaders, propose deals and much more.

23.    Sit outside their comfort zone

It is an unfortunate reality that many people love to live inside their comfort zone, which results in them missing out on many opportunities on a regular, if not daily basis. But, successful people choose to challenge themselves to reach the peak of their performance and deliver their very best, each and every day.

24.    See the importance of regular feedback

Feedback received in life and in business can be positive or negative, but how someone chooses to react to them defines their potential for success. Those who are successful are open to constructive criticism because it provides a unique opportunity to make improvements, whereas unsuccessful people choose to react negatively to this feedback and fail to realise the opportunities it gives them due to their initial response of having their feelings hurt.

25.    Visualise success

Actually visualising goals being achieved and levels of success being achieved gives a person the power and courage to tackle any tasks head on. Successful people visualise success long before achieving it. Why? Because it increases positive thoughts and helps them optimise their performance to get to the very top. This is, without a doubt, an essential habit you need in order to be successful.

In conclusion...

There are main factors that come with being a successful person. It is up to you now to learn these essential habits and practice them on a daily basis. You're not going to be able to achieve it overnight, but get to work on it now and see the difference it makes in as little as a few days. You'll notice subtle and effective improvements, we promise. Get started ASAP.