When it comes to consistent selling achievement, success truly lies in your daily routine. In fact, there’s no better method for calculating one’s probability for success than by observing what he or she does with regularity during the hours of each day. What would we discover if we observed you?

What daily and weekly activities define your life? If you recorded your top five daily and weekly habits on a piece of paper and then handed that piece of paper to someone you’ve never met, would that person deduce that you are successful based on your habits? If you’re not sure then it’s probably time to change your regular routine.

If you are serious about achieving selling success each day – which will lead to big success over the long haul – make the following four habits part of your daily routine:

HABIT #1: GIVE MORE THAN YOU RECEIVE. Nearly three thousand years ago King Solomon wrote, “One man gives freely, yet grows all the richer; another withholds what he should give, and only suffers want.” The proverb is still true today. The truest and most fulfilling way of living is by giving more than you receive every day. And as someone once said, “Those who give cheerfully, give twice – once to others, once to themselves.” To be successful every day you must be in the habit of giving.

HABIT #2: LOOK FOR LESSONS EVERYWHERE. Henry Adams wisely noted, “They know enough who know how to learn.” To reach your potential, you must learn, stretch, and grow every day. And the lessons are all around you: in the people that cross your path, in the places you visit, and in your everyday circumstances. Get in the habit of embarking on each day with a spirit of teachability. Regularly ask yourself: What can I learn from this person, place, or circumstance? Then put the valuable lessons you discover into practice right away.

HABIT #3: PRACTICE WHAT YOU PREACH. There is no substitute for integrity. It is the foundation of true success in any endeavor and the brickwork for significance in every relationship. General Robert E. Lee was once offered a generous $10,000 a year salary to act as the supposed head of an insurance company after the Civil War. His response was indicative of the expectations he placed on himself and those who served under him. He replied, “Excuse me, sir; I cannot consent to receive pay for services I do not render.” If you desire daily success and lasting significance in your life, you must be in the habit of speaking and acting with integrity every day. Remember that, as Martin Luther King Jr. said, “The time is always right to do what is right.”

HABIT #4: VALUE PEOPLE OVER EVERYTHING. Theodore Roosevelt said, “The most important single ingredient in the formula of success is knowing how to get along with people.” In your professional life, how you interact with people – not policies, procedures or positions – will be the greatest determinant of your success. In your personal life, your relationships will either move you closer to your dreams or keep you from them. And at the end of your life, the legacy you leave will not be in the money you made nor in the things you owned but rather in the people you touched. If you desire to make a difference with your life, get in the habit of valuing people through your actions and words everyday. Invest in someone else’s potential; tell your family and close friends you love them regularly; spend time with loved ones; and always recognize those who have touched your life and contributed to your success.

German religious writer Thomas à Kempis noted, “One habit overcomes another.” Receive those words as encouragement as you take steps to implement purposeful habits in your life and remove the habits that hinder you being a selling success every day.

Last week President Bush made a statement that left many who were listening to his speech surprised. But his words, and subsequent actions, mark one of the most important characteristics of every leader worth following: The willingness to go first.

In light of recent intel that Iraq may possess a lethal strain of the smallpox virus – one that would kill one of every three it infects – the President announced that as a precaution he was ordering all military personnel on the front lines of the War on Terror – five hundred thousand soldiers – to receive a smallpox vaccination. Then he said something that left many surprised and even startled. Knowing that the smallpox vaccine has been shown to be lethal to three of every one million who receive it, the President announced with assurance that he too would be receiving a vaccination. Believing that he could not ask his followers to do something that he was not willing to do himself, President Bush illustrated that the foundation of leadership is not constructed upon position, but upon integrity and trust: Two traits essential to leaving a worthwhile legacy.

It’s nearly Christmas, that time of year when most over the age of 10 find their highest fulfillment by investing in others. Have you ever wondered why most people revert back to thinking of themselves so soon after the season is over? After all, isn’t giving the perfect gift to someone much more exciting and satisfying than receiving a gift? Giving is better than receiving, right? We still believe that don’t we? So, do we really need an official “giving” holiday to be people of generosity and selflessness – to be known as people who invest in others for a living? Of course not. But sometimes a little reminder can put the “p” back in proper perspective. And in sales, if you don’t have a giving perspective, you’ll get nothing from your customers.

Consider giving to those on and off the job – beyond the dates of the Christmas season – in the following three ways:

1. GIVE OF YOUR TIME. Never underestimate the value others place on your time. Don’t ever give someone the impression that you have something more important to do than spend time with him or her. If you thought it important enough to begin a conversation, make it just as important to end it properly and in a way that honors the other individual. If you thought it important to spend time with a person, don’t be careless when leaving them.

2. GIVE OF YOUR MONEY. This doesn’t mean handouts. It means investing more than your time in the people that matter most. It means that when you know of a financial need and have the means to help meet it, you do so.

3. GIVE OF YOUR RESOURCES. This goes beyond giving time and money. This means giving to others in a way that only you can. Maybe someone needs help moving a bed to a new house and you own a truck. Maybe a client has a daughter who needs help with algebra and you’re a whiz at math. Maybe a potential client loves the local football team and you have tickets to the upcoming game. It’s okay if it’s fun for you too. In fact, the more you give for a living, at home and at work, the more you will find that it satisfies your heart. And that’s where designer living begins – in the heart.