Many of you will be familiar with the great list post: 19 Hard Things You Need To Do To Be Successful.

It did the rounds on the internet last year and I have to say I really like it as it identifies many common negative patterns. I posted it up on my wall and it has been very useful to read this as a daily reminder to push through these limiting patterns or beliefs.

However, the father of autosuggestion, Emilé Coué, and the proponents of NLP tell us that a more effective way to prime the subconscious would be to use the first person tense in an affirmative manner.

As such, I have rewritten this post in the first person affirmative tense. You can download the file as a PDF here or you can read it below:

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19 Hard Things I Do To Be Successful

I do the hard things.

1. I make the call I’m afraid to make.
2. I get up earlier than I want to get up.
3. I give more than I get in return right away.
4. I care more about others than they care about me.
5. I fight when I am already injured, bloody, and sore.
6. I feel unsure and insecure when playing it safe seems smarter.
7. I lead when no one else is following me yet.
8. I invest in myself even though no one else is.
9. I look like a fool while I’m looking for answers I don’t have.
10. I grind out the details when it’s easier to shrug them off.
11. I deliver results when making excuses is an option.
12. I search for my own explanations even when I’m told to accept the “facts.”
13. I make mistakes and look like an idiot.
14. I try and fail and try again.
15. I run faster even though I’m out of breath.
16. I am kind to people who have been cruel to me.
17. I meet deadlines that are unreasonable and deliver results that are unparalleled.
18. I am accountable for my actions even when things go wrong.
19. I keep moving towards where I want to be no matter what’s in front of me.

I do the hard things. The things that no one else is doing. The things that scare me. The things that make me wonder how much longer I can hold on.

Those are the things that define me. Those are the things that make the difference between living a life of mediocrity or outrageous success.

The hard things are the easiest things to avoid. To excuse away. To pretend like they don’t apply to me.

The simple truth about how ordinary people accomplish outrageous feats of success is that we do the hard things that smarter, wealthier, more qualified people don’t have the courage — or desperation — to do.

I do the hard things. I might be surprised at how amazing I really am.

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To download the file as a PDF, click here.