It’s no secret that the demands of running a successful company require hard work, business acumen, and tenacity. But what about the intangible factors? Are there certain traits or habits that successful people possess? Experts say YES! Successful people, as a whole, seem to have that something that inspires them to take the first bold leap of faith or keep trekking on when the odds are no longer in their favor.
What are these traits and habits, you wonder? How can you mirror these qualities in your own life? Lets take a look as we go through the details.
1. They are not Afraid to Take Risks or Fail.
It may surprise you to learn that risk-taking is one of the most important habits of successful people. Doesn’t that put their dreams in jeopardy? Yes – it does. But there’s no reward without risk.
When you take a risk, you have to deviate from the well-worn familiar path – but sometimes that’s where the greatest journey begins. When you step out of your comfort zone, you’re forced to push your limits and find innovative ways to succeed.
Successful people are willing to take risks to get ahead. However, the trick is remembering that not every risk pans out. Failure is part of life. Just don’t let it discourage you. Instead, use it as a learning experience. Figure out what went wrong and avoid making that error again next time.
2. They’re nice to people:
It’s all well and good being good at your job, but at the end of the day, it’s your overall attitude that will take you places. Everyone has worked with their ‘head’ – fantastic at their job, but overall a smug, self-important, and mean person. It may seem like this type of person always has the luck – but remaining a genuinely nice person, working in a team, and encouraging others’ success alongside yours will always work in your favor. People will remember you for this.
3. They don’t work in their comfort zone.
What is your comfort zone? Your comfort zone is defined as “A psychological state in which a person feels familiar, at ease, in control, and experiences low anxiety.” When you get outside of your comfort zone, it doesn’t mean that you should strive for a constant state of anxiety and stress. It simply means that, in order to grow, you should try new things and expand your horizons.
The reason we are comfortable in our comfort zone is because we are not taking risks when we are in this state. When we live in our comfort zones, we are living life like hamsters on a wheel, going around and around in a constant cycle, but going nowhere in our lives.
Famous motivational speaker, Les Brown, said it best with, “If you put yourself in a position where you have to stretch outside your comfort zone, then you are forced to expand your consciousness.
4. They Act Analytically
Critical analysis is man’s true best friend. Say what you want about the thumb separating beast from man, knowing where to put it has always been a vital facet of our journey from ape-hood. Successful people apply that same problem-solving aptitude to the issues they encounter daily and that’s why they are bound to find results.
When confronted with a hurdle, they wouldn’t just run at it blindly. Most times they sit back and take the time to work out the height of the problem they face, and which foot they should be jumping off. Planning is instrumental in the story of all success. Making it a habit is a huge step in realising that success for yourself.
5. They Set Personal Goals and Chase Them
An absolute staple in the skillset of successful people is the ability to turn dreams into reality. Taking a concept from its home, inside your head, and chipping away at every little bit of it, until you have a tangible, existent, object is an unparalleled joy.
Essential in this process is the setting of clear personal goals. Maybe you need a notebook, or a planner, or a whiteboard. But put your goals down somewhere you can see them, it’ll remind you to work towards them and lets you know that through the simple act of putting pen to paper you are have already started to turn thoughts into reality.
6. They Read More
Your brain is a muscle, use it or lose it. While getting sucked into a good book is an excellent way to lose an afternoon, and definitely has its benefits, self-help, non-fiction and improvement tomes are really where you’ll make swole brain gains.
In an interview with CNBC, investor Warren Buffett revealed that he starts every morning pouring over newspapers, estimating he spends at least 80 per cent of his day reading. “Read 500 pages like this every day. That’s how knowledge works. It builds up, like compound interest. All of you can do it, but I guarantee not many of you will do it,” he said.
Maybe start making stops at your local library an essential part of your week. However you find getting books to you works best, but never forget how hungry your brain is for more info, it literally wants to do nothing else but learn, let it play every now and then.
7. They Spend 5-20mins of Self-Focused Thinking a day
Taking a little break from the intense over-sensory world we live in is an essential habit in almost every success guide we came across. Creating a calm space where you can engage in the kind of deep thought that is necessary to make a real change to yourself will pay off tenfold in a year.
LinkedIn CEO Jeff Weiner regularly tweets about his love of meditation, suggesting the practice allows him to strategise and work proactively. “Part of the key to time management is carving out time to think, as opposed to constantly reacting,” Weiner said in an interview with The Wall Street Journal.
While brushing this aside to make time for others may feel more ‘productive’ in the short term, it’s a quick road to burnout. In life, much like on aeroplanes, you need to help yourself before you’re able to help anyone else.
8. They Organize Lessons Learned for Future Application
You read a wonderful book and highlight tons of passages. You’re excited to apply what you just learned. Then a few days (or weeks) pass and you forget the quotes, insights and ideas you just learned.
Fret not, because Ryan Holiday, author of The Obstacle is the Way, and Robert Green, author of The 48 Laws of Power, have a great method for organizing and retaining information.
There’s not enough space to explain it, so just click here for a full explanation. If their paper and shoe-box method seems tedious, you can create a digital commonplace book using Evernote, IFTTT and other apps.
9. They Always Train the Muse
What separates professionals from wannabes? Pros work, even when they don’t feel like it.
E.B. White, author of Charlotte’s Web, famously said, “A writer who waits for ideal conditions under which to work will die without putting a word on paper.” That applies to us all, whatever your occupation is.
Next time you don’t feel like working, keep calm and use the Force. And by that, I mean, force yourself to work for just 15 minutes then see what happens. Usually, those 15 minutes will be enough to give you some momentum.
If that doesn’t work, spend 30 minutes breaking down the task into its basic components, and then do the items one at a time until you finish the whole task.
10. They Love To Donate
Successful people allot time to give back to their community by working with charities, volunteering and donating. Tom Corley, author of Wealthy Habits: The Daily Success Habits of Wealthy Individuals, states that 73% of the 233 wealthy people he studied for 5 years volunteer 5+ hours a month. Bill Gates, Oprah Winfrey, Mark Zuckerberg, all donate to different causes.
Not rich? No problem. Volunteer at your local soup kitchen, help at the nursing home, or teach kids to read. Many times, your time and the pleasure of your company is enough
Pro Tip: Don’t fear failure. Know that it will happen but that you can use it as a learning experience to make your next attempt even better.
