I’ve been doing a bit of public speaking over the summer & the other day I noticed a number of recurrent themes.  Many are about success so I’ve gathered them together in a list that I’m sharing with you.  It isn’t exhaustive so please add your own top tips via the comments below.  Here we go:

1. Network, network, network – this is the big one in my book.  Make your network work for you & if you don’t have one, start building it today.  Pretty much everything good that’s happened in my life has come to me from my network.
2. Keep your eyes and ears open, opportunity is everywhere & if you aren’t paying attention, you won’t notice.
3. Try and learn something new every day.
4. Be gracious when things don’t go your way – no-one likes a brat.
5. Set some goals and get off your arse.
6. Keep your ego in check.
7. Let your people (if you have any) get on with things.
8. Be as generous as you can afford to be with your time, money, knowledge and experience.  Pay it forward & pay it back.  Karma matters.
9. Make use of your outside brain – or in old money – ask for help when you need it!
10. Manage your personal & professional cashflow proactively; it makes things a lot less stressful.
11. Give credit and praise where & when it’s due.
12. Keep space in your day for some physical exercise – it makes you feel so much better.  I wish I could run but I can’t so I swim instead.
13. Accept at least half of the random stuff that gets offered to or requested of you (I work on a higher ratio than that – probably about 70%).
14. Deal with any issues as soon as they arise – don’t let them fester & don’t be confrontational.
15. Appreciate what you already have – develop your own skills & promote from within whenever possible.
16. Be aware of how you spend your time.  You may choose not to do things differently, but understanding where your time goes gives you great insight.
17. Don’t believe your own hype.
18. Go with your gut & if it feels right, occasionally take a flier on someone.
19. Work hard – there are no shortcuts – no matter what all those books tell you.
20. Always take time to prepare; there’s nothing worse than people who aren’t prepared or who don’t have a plan.
21. Be grateful.
22. Be nice.  It takes you a long way.
23. Embrace your personal stories and those of your team.
24. Don’t waste stuff and stay scrappy.
25. Know where your values boundaries lie well in advance of when you need to – and I hope you never have to cross them.

PS I thought of something else that’s important – I always send a hand written thank you card when someone has helped me or done something really special.