Successful people aren’t just born that way or blessed with a ton of luck. They work on themselves continually throughout their lives to be the best they can. Success is not a gene. It is a combination of traits and behaviours that anyone can cultivate with some effort. If you want to create more success in your life, here are seven places you can start.
1. Master Persistence
When you are winning it is easy to keep pushing yourself. Unfortunately life doesn’t always go your way and its times like this that you really need to dig deep. Successful people master the art of persistence and can draw from within themselves the courage and strength to push on even through the toughest of times. In his masterpiece, Think and Grow Rich, Napoleon Hill gives a clear definition of persistence, “the quality is to the character of man what carbon is to steel”.
2. Have a Positive Outlook
Even when everything seems to be going wrong and the world is against them, successful people still see the glass as half full. This isn’t to say that you start behaving like you have the Pollyanna Syndrome when the chips are down. But, you do need to keep your focus on what is possible instead of getting caught up in the negativity and drama that can sometimes follow a set back or failure.
3. Be Open to Feedback
Criticism or negative feedback can sting even the strongest person. Successful people master identifying what is genuine feedback and what is just spiteful criticism or meanness. You don’t have to ask everyone in your life for feedback, this can be a recipe for disaster and result in your self esteem taking a beating. Take the time to find the few mentors or people in your life that are in a position to give constructive feedback and let everyday negativity sail in one ear and out the other.
4. Own Your Beliefs
Ever met someone who didn’t seem to have any conviction in what they were saying, or they changed their opinions to suit the people they were hanging around with? These people are probably not experiencing much success in their lives. A successful person doesn’t need someone else to believe in their ideas, opinions or dreams. They believe in them and that is all that matters.
5. Feel Confident
Confidence is a trait evident in almost all successful people. This characteristic is often misunderstood, with conceit and extreme extroversion being mistaken for it. Everyone feels some fear inside at most times, even those who appear to be blessed with great confidence. Successful people are those that feel comfortable with their knowledge and beliefs, are not afraid to ask questions or be wrong and are willing to learn.
6. Create Good Habits
Habits play an important role for most successful people. They recognise that life is essentially a series of behaviours repeated so they deliberately create systems and habits that will give them the best chance of success. You can create habits in any area of your life to give you an advantage. New behaviours don’t have to be difficult, sometimes implementing the simplest of habits, such as getting up an hour earlier, can have the biggest impact on your success.
7. Listen to Others
Successful people actually listen. They are not just waiting for others to take a breath or stop talking so they can butt in and say their piece. Successful people are genuinely interested in what others have to say. You can master this skill as well with a bit of conscious effort. Next time you are talking to someone, pay extra attention to what they are saying, even voicing back some of what they have said. Mastering this skill is one of the best strengths you can have when it comes to relationships with others.
Success rarely happens overnight for anyone. It’s usually the result of years of hard work under the surface or behind the scenes that lead to it. Successful people know this and put in the hard yards to become who they want to be and achieve what is most important to them in life. Work on mastering one of these traits at a time, then build on them with another. This will put you on the track to creating your own version of success.
