If you want to learn how to succeed in life, then there’s a habit you need to develop starting today. And note I said “habit” which means you’ll need to put it into practice every day. This important habit is something you’d also want to employ if you wish to learn how to succeed in business too.

This habit can be easily understood through the following example…

Let’s say that you’ve decided to start a home based business. As any entrepreneur who has ever tried will tell you, starting a home business is never an easy thing to do. Getting your business up off the ground requires a healthy dose of focus, dollars, times and effort. There could be lengthy periods of time where you’re investing everything you’ve got into your business with very little, if anything, to show for it.

Sooner or later, however, the fruits of your labor will begin to show. Perhaps a small sale is made or you receive a phone call from a good, potential client. Whatever it might be, something happens which can be recognized as a positive step in the right direction.

What you need to do is celebrate and really appreciate every result you see regardless of how small or insignificant they may seem.

To the new entrepreneur inexperienced in how to start and grow a business, it’s easy to become disappointed over small, initial results. By nature, human beings are impatient. We want things to happen in short order.

But remember this; the big results you want are always a result of the small, initial results. To say it in a different way, you must walk before you can run.

Look at a farmer for example. Farming has got to be one of the most physically demanding jobs you’ll find anywhere. Farmers put in a whole bunch of effort gearing up to plant seeds at the begining of their growing season. And, after the seeds are planted, there is a tremendous amount of effort which goes into nurturing the seeds. Finally, after a great deal of effort, seedlings begin to sprout.

Now, do you think a farmer is disappointed to see the seedlings – a small result – or are they a welcome sight? You better believe the farmer is thrilled to see those plants spring up.

A farmer puts in tons effort to see those seedlings come up out of the ground but there is literally nothing he can do with them. He can’t rip them out of the ground and sell them at that point to make his effort worthwhile. The farmer can only continue with his long days of arduous work in order to get the young plants to a point to where they will reward his hard work.

What is the point of this story? What does this example of the farmer tell us? To sum it up in one word and it’s also that magic habit you need to adopt: appreciation.

Indeed, you really should learn to appreciate every triumph you experience in your business no matter how small it may seem. Every day get into the habit of recognizing at minimum one good thing to come about as a result of your hard work. Appreciation is so important to the success of your business. Because if you don’t learn to appreciate the small stuff then chances are good you’ll never see the big stuff.

Appreciation is a habit the author of this article, Daniel Herzner, would encourage all entrepreneurs to adopt and use daily. Learn more about the power of appreciation and 17 other success principles in his new self help book. You can get the book free but only for a limited time.