11 things you must give up to be successful

Sometimes, to become successful and get closer to the person we can become, we don’t need to add more things — we need to give up on some of them.

There are certain things that are universal, which will make you successful if you give up on them, even though each one of us could have a different definition of success.

You can give up on some of them today, while it might take a bit longer to give up on others. Below are 11 things you must give up to be successful:

1. Give up waiting for luck
Luck is junk food for the soul. You will never succeed because you get lucky. When you work hard and take action, you will find yourself lucky.

2. Give up your need to solve easy problems
When you start a business think about solving difficult problems. Most people want to tackle easy problems. As a result, they end up in a lot of competition. When you set out to solve a big problem, you will have less competition.

3. Avoid spending time with negative people
There is nothing to be gained from interacting with negative people. Be around people you can learn from. Be inspired by your friends.

4. Give up bad habits
We all have them. Successful people know how to get rid of bad habits. Create small deterrents to remove bad habits from your life. Introduce a small fine you have to pay to break bad habits. Beware of bad habits and eliminate them when you catch yourself.

5. Give up your need to make everyone happy
Trying to make everyone happy is a sign of weakness. You could have the best product in the world, and some customers will still be upset. You could have the greatest customer service, and some clients will be unhappy still. And, that’s OK.

6. Give up your desire for huge changes
Small incremental changes are more likely to help you succeed.

7. Give up being flawless
If you want to succeed, you cannot be driven by perfection. The desire for perfection kills success. Your actions should be about completion instead of perfection.

8. Give up your need for instant gratification
You must have the patience to succeed. If you study successful entrepreneurs, you will learn that everything takes longer than expected.

Prepare yourself mentally that to succeed will take time. Feel confident that as long as you make the right decisions and work hard, you will succeed. It might take longer than you hope, but you will get there.

9. Give up your desire to compare yourself to others
It is easy to hear news about another business and get frustrated. Startup X received $4 million venture investment. So, what? Why should you care? You shouldn’t. It doesn’t affect your business.

Ignore the noise. Most of what you hear isn’t true. Even if it is true, it doesn’t affect you. Stay focuses on building your own success. Forget about the noise.

10. Give up your fear of faking it
There are times when you will need to fake it to make it. I don’t mean that you should build your business on lies, but there are times when you will need to fake it.

You might not have an office, but you could pay for an executive office to get an impressive address. You might not have ten full-time employees, but you could have a team of 10 contractors.

11. Give up your fear of seeking out help
You can’t succeed alone. If you want to succeed, you must ask for help. Let me be clear, asking for help doesn’t mean asking others to do your push-ups for you.

Be confident about your need for asking for help. Reach out to entrepreneurs, practitioners, and people with the skills you need to succeed. Ask for help without being needy. Don’t nag people.