What are the secrets of success? What makes somebody more successful than you? How come others appear to work much less for greater results? What do they know that you don’t? You will be pleased to know that the secrets of success are not as secret as you may think- you can learn and apply them if you are willing to change your mindset and put in a little effort.

Here are six secrets of success you can act on today:

Your attitude is everything. To become successful you must first change your thoughts. Most people have a ‘failure’ mindset. If you are using language like ‘I can’t’, guess what- you won’t! Delete ‘I can’t’ from your vocabulary and believe in your ability to succeed. The only thing stopping you from achieving your dreams is you. Try a simple affirmation technique- say ‘I am successful’ out loud several times each day. You may feel silly but your subconscious mind will pick up on the message and work towards making it a reality.

Stay away from negative people. Look at the people you spend time with- do they spend their time moaning and complaining about life and how unfair everything is? If so, limit the time you spend in their company or you will be affected by their attitude. Look to spend time with people who are positive, encouraging and full of positive plans for their future. You will find yourself being influenced by them and your own thoughts and behavior should change as a result.

Get out of your comfort zone and challenge yourself. You may find it easier to stay in the same patterns of behavior, the same job and the same habits, but you will risk getting stuck in a rut. It’s a well known fact that if you continue to do what you’ve always done, you will get what you’ve always got. To achieve anything different you need to push yourself and make changes in your life.

Try doing this one step at a time on a small scale, for example trying new foods, buying an outfit you wouldn’t normally go for, or taking up a hobby that challenges you. Once you start making small changes you will find it easier to take on bigger challenges.

Write down your goals and formulate a plan. Goals are just dreams unless they are written down. If you don’t know what you want, you are not likely to achieve it. It is a bit like trying to drive without a destination. Working towards your goals one step at a time will focus your mind and allow you to measure your progress. It is a fact that most successful people regularly plan and write goals.

Take action. You won’t become successful just thinking about it, and written plans are nothing without action. Decide that you will do one thing each day, no matter how small, to move towards your goals. Set yourself daily or weekly tasks and tick them off as you complete them.

Be persistent and never give up. There will be times when you feel like you are getting nowhere and at times you will face seemingly insurmountable obstacles. You will even fail sometimes, but this is a natural process you will have to go through to achieve success. Learn from obstacles and failures, and decide how you will do things differently next time.

I have given you six secrets; as long as you apply them and are prepared to put in the work, there is no reason you should not expect success.