I think originality is overrated in the daily routine of any successful person. While your vision and mission are unique to you and your organisation, the mechanics of turning ambition into achievement is often an offshoot of what already exists. Solomon, the wise king said, “There is nothing new under the sun.” In fact, trying to reinvent is likely the fastest route to burnout and mediocrity.
The most successful people in the world are not magical beings. They are simply people who have installed the right rituals. And the best part is that rituals are not copyrighted. You can copy them and use them for your benefit.
I once spent two nights staying alone with a mentor and I saw how his use of time during the day and especially at night made him very effective. I copied the use of the night. You don’t need to create how to do certain things from scratch, you just need to learn how other people do it and practice it wisely. You can become a strategic thief of effectiveness.
When we fall into the trap of believing we must juggle everything at once, the result is we do many things poorly and nothing exceptionally.
Stop trying to be a multitasking hero. The power of focus is in singularity. A focused attention is a powerful irresistible force that can be used to accomplish great amounts of work per time.
You can practice Time Blocking like Elon Musk. Allocate bulk time or certain days to aspects of your work. You can block Tuesday afternoons for “Mentorship and Team Development”, Wednesday for “Sales and Outreach,” and other times for other things. By stealing this ritual, you move from reactive to proactive, ensuring your most important roles get your deepest focus.
Movement is critical to any progress but unchecked momentum can lead you in the wrong direction. People who do very well don’t just charge ahead blindly; they regularly stop to check their progress via compass.
Build intentional pauses to reflect into your life. Create a time to assess progress on your goals. This ritual ensures you stay on the right path, and not just moving fast.
Effectiveness is a measure of what you take on and what you have the courage to turn down. Distraction is the killer of great work. “The difference between successful people and really successful people is that really successful people say no to almost everything.” They guard their time and focus with ferocious intensity. Make saying “No” your default answer to anything that does not align with your priorities.
Steal this ritual of intentional refusal, and you will find your capacity for what truly matters expands exponentially.
People think they need to overhaul your entire life at once in order to make progress. The most effective people identify and master one habit that makes everything else easier.
Athletes that perform very well know that physical energy is the foundation of mental and emotional performance, so they prioritize non-negotiable sleep and morning routines. This “habit” creates a ripple effect of discipline and success throughout their day.
Identify the one habit that would have the greatest positive ripple effect on your life. Instituting a morning ritual of 30 minutes of prayer exercise, meditation, or reading before you check your phone or planning your day the night before so you wake up with purpose, not panic can prove to be a great foundation on which other success can spring from.
Ideas are worthless unless they are executed and released into the world. The hardest lesson I have learnt is that being perfect is the enemy of progress.
Seth Godin champions the concept of “Shipping”; the act of consistently finishing and releasing your work. It is not about a one-time masterpiece; it is about the practice of creating, completing, and contributing to it, day after day. What is important is that you build a bias for action and completion by killing procrastination, creating momentum, and making impact.
The above rituals are not secrets. They are blueprints used by other successful people and left in the open. You can follow them to greater effectiveness.
When you admire people, don’t just admire their results, seek for their practices they employ. The rituals behind the results are what you seek to make your life better. Steal one ritual this week. Practice it, adapt it, and make it your own. Then steal another. The life, career, business, and ministry you want are not built on original ideas alone. They are built on stolen rituals, diligently applied.
In our latest book, The Rule of Repetition, you can learn a definitive guide to achieve your own success from whatever you admire in another successful person. You can purchase your copy from the link below:
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