Our Co-Founder Dani Kagan Shares Her Healthy Habits For Entrepreneurial Success

Samantha Schleese

by Samantha Schleese

Published: March 14, 2020

Recently, City MOGULS co-founder Dani Kagan had the opportunity to share her career and entrepreneurial journey as part of TWL Law's Woman In Focus article series. Given that the tips were so great, we thought we should share them here too.

So, here are Dani’s best success habits (professionally and personally) that have led to rapid growth over her career. And, if you’re interested, you can check out the original here!

SUCCESS HABIT #1: NETWORKING & RELATIONSHIPS

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There’s one thing that ties all of my experiences together: networking. This ever so simple skill, which for many can be daunting, lies at the core of my career path, allowing me to open new windows that I didn’t even know I wanted to open. Had I not met the people that I did at these jobs, and MAINTAINED GREAT RELATIONSHIPS, I would not have all of the support systems I currently have in place helping my companies grow and flourish.

Getting out of the house and going to an event where you might not know very many people seems, honestly, annoying. BUT, the silver lining is that you could meet someone who could help you (or you could help them!) down the road. It’s never a waste, because you always learn something, or meet someone. GET. OUT. THERE.

SUCCESS HABIT #2: SLEEP

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I definitely do not do this every single night, but about four nights a week I do a quick 10-minute stretch and then roll out my back and leg muscles (or use my Theragun, which has been life changing, so highly recommend). We do a lot of sitting each day and it’s important to loosen all the leg muscles before sleep and it really relaxes the body and mind. We also outlined super sleep hygiene tips you should check out here.

I’ve coerced my husband into joining me in this new habit: every night before we go to sleep, we tell each other three things we are grateful for from the day. Having any kind of daily gratitude practice, whether it’s writing in a journal, meditating, expressing gratitude to a colleague, can improve your physical health, quality of sleep, cardiovascular function and of course promotes optimism.

SUCCESS HABIT #3: THE POWER OF NO

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I used to say yes to absolutely everything – and to be honest, I think at the start of your career (or when changing careers), you sometimes have to in order to gain new experiences and learn as much as possible. However, you also have to understand that point in your career (and life generally) when you are not only allowed to say no, but you SHOULD be saying no.

When you say no, you leave room for so much yes. “No, I don’t want to go to that third cousin’s engagement party,” because I’m saying yes to that workout I’ve been neglecting for three weeks instead. “No, I don’t need to go out for dinner with that old friend who never makes an effort to see me,” because instead I’m saying yes to lunch with my real friend who supports me so much and we rarely get one-on-one time. “No, I don’t want to be taking random gigs to help pay my bills,” because I’m going to invest time into my business as I’m more passionate about seeing that succeed and I see more long-term potential there.

Say no, so you can say YES.

SUCCESS HABIT #4: NEVER STOP LEARNING

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I’m a big believer that people who continue to take classes, listen to podcasts, read interesting things, LISTEN to other people, are more open minded and therefore have a more holistic and empathetic worldview that makes them GREAT leaders.

SUCCESS HABIT #5: DON’T TAKE EVERYTHING SO SERIOUSLY

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Seriously, it’s just life. Smile more. Laugh more. It releases great endorphins. Something bad happened recently? Can you overcome it? Have you already overcome it? Great, move on. And don’t forget to smile about the fact that at the end of the day, you and everyone around you are human fucking beings.

BONUS TIP: WATER

It’s simple. Drink. More. Water.

I’m always open to connecting with awesome people so feel free to reach out to me directly at dani@citymoguls.com.

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