Everyone is born curious and unique with an innate capacity for innovation. But you can achieve innovation by doing what everyone is not willing to do.  A diligent attitude is going the extra mile and being deeply immersed in your work.  It is one of the 27 research-proven attitudes that allow innovators to succeed. Going the extra mile is creating your own luck. You can prepare yourself for the opportunity to become the right person in the right place at the right time. Ready to become diligent? Let’s begin!

Passion & Goal-Setting: Working diligently for the work that you are not passionate about can be difficult or boring. Your passion will help you immerse yourself in your work and put in the extra time to do what needs to be done. It will help you find a reason to stay with your work and make sacrifices that need to be made for the work. However, until you are good at something, it is hard to be passionate about or go after it. To be good at something, you need to find what you like to do. To find what you like, you need to find what you want in life (see “Build your passion). Find the reason for living or the purpose of your life. Give yourself time to find your life preferences and interests. Become active and energetic for them. Find time in your daily routine to practice goal-setting and goal-monitoring. Discover what you really want in life to go the extra mile for it:

• Set your goals for the purpose of your life, rather than those what others value.
• Set clear goals challenging yet realistic.
• Set short-term, mid-way, and long-term goals.
• Put your goals first as much and often as possible.
• Get an agenda and track your progress; hold yourself accountable.
• Share your goals with others.
• Ask friends and family to check in on your journey.

Form Productive Habits: You’ve set your goals, now let’s work on how to go the extra mile to reach the goals! A diligent attitude is necessary to achieve innovation, especially to be best at what you want. Don’t accept or excuse laziness or mediocre performance. You’re aiming high, don’t let yourself forget that! Keep an eye on what you want out of becoming a great innovator. Learn what it takes, and re-learn what you’ve forgotten. Find the beauty in thorough work and becoming an expert by forming productive habits as follow:

• Be detail-oriented, and always check your work twice.
• Pay attention to all details, even those not visible from the outside.
• Focus on what needs to be done; prioritize tasks and delegate responsibilities to focus energy on your priority.
• Isolate yourself from distractions.
• Use your most alert time of the day efficiently, and use the rest of the day on other things.
• Commit to finishing the task that you have started.
• Develop an organization system, and use it faithfully.
• Practice determination; don’t give up and just switch into another task for a while.
• Read stories about people who survived and thrived their adversities and failures.
• Stop wasting time blaming and complaining.
• Stop regretting things not in your power.
• Start feeling good about yourself and your progress.
• Believe it can get better, regardless of the current situation.
• Treat yourself when you reach short-term goals or milestones.
• Place things around you that help you visualize your dream becoming reality.
• Get out of your comfort zone and try new things; don’t be afraid of mistakes or failures.

Make the Change: Regularly self-assess to track where you are and where you want to be so that you can maintain the productive habits and keep yourself focused on your goals. Now let’s unlock the unlimited, remarkable power of your mind. Stop thinking that successful people are lucky but you are not, and make yourself believe that you will be lucky. Take pride in the fact that you can control your future if you put in the work now:

Immerse in your passion for at least ten years to master your craft. Practice, practice, and practice some more. Don’t expect great results early on. Instead, have the patience to wait for your passion to turn into what you want. This is no easy task, but will put you on your way to become a one-of-a-kind innovator. Be grateful for small rewards you receive on the way toward innovation. Appreciate what others have done, and express your gratitude to them. Having a diligent attitude is just one of the attitudes of successful innovators, but it is one that you can start on today! Make your own luck by becoming the right person ahead of time by going the extra mile for your passion! You’ll thank yourself for it!