This is a long list of success traits. Some of them may not resonate with you, some are essentials, some are compulsory, and you may not agree with some.
The key is to learn what works for you and customize these characteristics, attitudes, and habits into your own.
While not all successful people possess all these traits at the same time, you have to find out what you think is most right to you and implement it. You may not agree to some traits in this list, and it is alright because not everyone is the same in this world.
Model and find out what will work out for you. If you have been adopting these traits, great, continue and keep pursuing your dreams until you succeed.
Successful people dare to dream. Steve Jobs wants to make a dent in the universe, Richard Branson wants to build a remarkable airline company and Michael Jordan wants to be the best in basketball. What are your dreams?
Do you know that successful people keep thinking about their dreams and their goals? On the other hand, unsuccessful people spend time thinking about what to eat or what to do over the weekend. If you are serious about what you want in life, think about them and put them in your mind constantly.
Great people talk about their dreams. Look at Bill Gates and Steve Jobs. They both are not afraid to talk about their dreams and discuss with others how they can make it a reality. And they talk about it every moment.
Don’t be afraid to share your vision and your dream with others. Great people believe in their dreams and themselves. It takes courage to share your dreams with others. When you share, you are putting yourself on the line and creating more accountability for what you said.
Why do you think most people prefer to work for extraordinary companies like Apple and Google? It is because these great companies have great visions that inspire people. Thus, enlarge your vision and inspire others to join you with your vision.
You cannot succeed along in this world. Steve Jobs started with Steve Wozniak, Warren Buffett has Benjamin Graham as his mentor and Walk Disney has Roy Disney by his side. What about you? Who do you have? Start to assemble your dream team today.
People will tell you it is too hard; it is impossible and some will laugh and tease you and your dreams. You just need to ignore them. People tell Arnold Schwarzenegger it is impossible to make it big in the bodybuilding career. He ignored them and went ahead. The rest is history.
There will be roadblocks and obstacles on your way to reaching what you want in life. However, don’t give up and find ways to solve the problems. Successful people are successful because they choose to move on instead of letting the obstacles stop them.
Sometimes you have to listen to your heart and follow your intuition. Stop listening to what others have to tell you. Like what Les Brown often said, “Never let someone’s opinion of you becomes your reality.” This is your life, and you get to choose how you want to live. Take the responsibility and live life on your own terms.
If you want to be successful, you have to choose a different path. Extraordinary people dare to go against the crowd and do what is considered ‘out of the norm.’ As a result, they become special, unique and live an extraordinary life.
Do you know that successful people are proactive? They are the one who go on and make things happen instead of waiting for things to happen. This is how Richard Branson started his Virgin Airlines. So stop waiting for luck or opportunity to fall to you. Get your butt off and start working on your dreams.
Take massive and consistent action. You are what you do, not what you say you will do. Successful people are always on the move. They do something each day to move forward and they work harder, work more and work longer than most ordinary people. Thus, commit to take consistent action each day from now on.
When you face a problem or obstacle in your journey, don’t give up or quit, instead, look for ways to overcome it. Like what Michael Jordan said, when you hit a wall, climb over it, dig a tunnel, walk across, whatever you do, find a way to overcome it. There are solutions to every problem. When there is a will, there is a way.
What are you good at? You have to understand your talent and grow with your talent. There is no way you can be successful if you are doing something that you are not good in. It is true that you can learn, but with talent, you will learn and grow faster. Hence, discover your strengths and know where to focus your energy.
Are you passionate about your work and what you do in life? Success will come only when you live your life with passion. Without passion, you will give up faster than you imagine. Most people are not doing anything about their dreams because they don’t have the drive and the motivation for it. This is simply because they are not passionate about what they want.
If you want things to change, you must first change. And for you to change, you must take full responsibility for it. If you are working in a boring job, you can change. If you are not producing the result you want in life, change. If you are broke today, you can change. However, you need to first take the responsibility and understand that you are the one who create your life.
One of the reasons great people are able to create amazing result in life is because they are always curious to improve and find ways to do things better. They commit to innovation and improvement. Look at all the big companies out there; they are constantly innovating to create more value to their customers. You have to do the same.
This is a very powerful success trait remarkable people adhere to – they will never play the blame game. When you blame, you are giving away the power to control. Think about it, if you blame the economy, what can you do? Nothing, you become powerless. But if you take responsibility, you can improve on your side to change the situation. So stop blaming and start taking responsibility and improve.
How do you spend your time on the weekend and at night? Do you know that successful people work when others are enjoying? Arnold Schwarzenegger once said that when others were having fun partying at night, he was working out in the gym. Bill Gates has a great quote, “I never took a day off in my twenties. Not one. And I’m still fanatical, but now I’m a little less fanatical.”
Do you treat your work as your play? Do you love what you do? Extraordinary people are able to work longer and have all the motivation to work on their dreams because they treat what they do as their play. They have fun working and they enjoy doing it. This is why they are successful. What about you?
Do you expect things will get better and your future is bright? If you are not positive about the future, you will never be successful. Think about it, would you still go ahead and build your business if you think that the economy is bad and it will be worse? Elon Musk, Larry Page, Mark Zuckerberg and the rest are extremely positive about the future. They expect good things to happen.
Will Smith says, “The first step is you have to say that you can.” Nobody will believe in you if you don’t believe in yourself. Trust in your own ability and your dreams. For things to happen, you must first choose to believe in them. When you believe in something, you will do it with your full commitment.
Successful people always think possibilities. They believe that everything is possible as long as they dare to dream and act on it. They may not know how to do it yet, but they are willing to commit to find a way to do it, simply because they know there is a possibility.
Extraordinary people are not afraid of change. In fact, they welcome change. This is why they always learn and improve constantly. On the other hand, unsuccessful people are afraid of change and they shun it. You don’t have to be afraid to change. The only way to grow and improve is for you to get out of your comfort zone and welcome change.
If you want to build a long-term business and career, you have to be honest and consider integrity in your journey. Warren Buffett says, “It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you’ll do things differently.”
Are you decisive in what you do? People who achieve remarkable results are decisive and they do not hesitate on the decisions they have made. Unsuccessful people are always doubtful. They fear to make decision and they always stuck when the moment comes. If you are having hard time deciding what to eat, think about when it comes to making million dollars decision.
One factor that allows successful people to able to move forward each day is that they know how to manage their feelings and emotions. They have the discipline to work even when they don’t feel like it. Ordinary people choose to follow their feelings and let their emotions control their lives. Learn to control your emotions and be the master from now on.
Successful people are willing to do whatever it takes to achieve their dreams because they have a strong burning desire for what they want. Conversely, ordinary people choose to do what is convenient and when things get difficult, they choose to give up and quit. Develop a burning desire for your goals if you want to achieve them.
Are you willing to wake up earlier, work harder and stay later than most people? Are you seriously committed to your dreams and determined to achieve your goals? Make sure you put in 100% commitment and are willing to do whatever it takes to achieve your goals. Don’t just say that you want it, prove to yourself by doing it.
If you want to stay motivated, always remember your why. Remember the purpose why you want to achieve what you want in life will give you the drive to take action. And your reason must be strong and emotional. Successful people have strong and compelling reasons, which is why they are so relentless in accomplishing what they want.
Stop giving lousy excuses. The moment you caught yourself giving excuses like “I don’t have the time”, “I don’t know how”, or “Something happened so I can’t make it” sort of excuses, shout cancel and find a way to overcome whatever is stopping you. For all the excuses you make, someone out there is facing the same situation and makes it work. Think about it.
I have always said that a winner will never quit and a quitter will never win. The moment you fail is the moment you quit or give up. As long as you don’t give up, you will never fail. Thomas Edison failed more than 10,000 times, but he never gives up and keeps trying. You have to treat what you want like Thomas Edison. Don’t give up.
Have you ever asked yourself are you really serious with what you want? Are you serious with your dreams and your goals? If you are absolutely serious about them, are you working on them each day? If you are not doing anything to achieve them, you are not serious with them.
Regardless of whether you win or you lose, you must learn to enjoy the journey. You cannot win all the time. The most important key is to enjoy and live the moment. As they say, “Success is a journey, not a destination”, it is who you become along the journey that counts. So enjoy the process and have fun.
The only way to keep growing is to keep challenging yourself. There is no way you can stay stagnant in today’s world. If you don’t challenge and grow, others will overtake you and put you out of the game. It is either you are growing or you are dying. So choose to constantly challenge what you do and keep improving at it.
Successful people leverage on other people’s resources. Elon Musk built businesses because he wants to get more things done though the effort of a team. If you are trying to do everything all by yourself, you will never produce great results in life. There’s only so much you can do by yourself. Think creatively and leverage on other people’s resources.
How much do you think you know about your work and your industry? Do you read and keep yourself updated? Successful people always keep themselves updated. They know the ins and outs of their industry and they know their work like the back of their palm. You have to be the same. Always improve and stay updated.
If you want to win the competition, this is what you can do; under promise and over deliver. When you over-deliver, you will surprise your customers and your audience. People will trust you and believe in you when you do more than expected. All the great businesses out there are thriving because they deliver tremendous values to their die-hard fans.
When it comes to becoming the best in what you do and commanding top dollars, you must network and get to know others. Learn from both who are inside and outside of your industry. There is a saying, “It is not what you know, it is who you know.” You don’t have to be the smartest in the field, you just need to know who can help and solve your problem.
Why do you think extraordinary people build businesses? So that they can delegate and outsource the work that they either feel it is not important or don’t feel like doing. When you outsource and delegate, you, lighten your workload and you can then focus on doing your most important work.
One of the keys to success is to be able to bounce back from your mistakes and failures. Steve Jobs was fired from Apple and he bounced back higher after that. Walt Disney was fired by a newspaper editor saying he has no imagination, but that did not deter him from chasing his dream. You have to be the same. Learn from your failures and mistakes.
When it comes to taking risk, many people will avoid it because they think that taking risk is dangerous. Well, great people don’t really take risk, they take calculated risk. Meaning to say, they will consider all the possibilities and their probabilities of success before they jump in. They calculate their success and if they have nothing to lose, they will go for it.
What makes your business or you different than the rest? Do you have a competitive advantage that can differentiate you from your competitors? If you are doing the same thing like what most people do out there, you will be out of your business soon. Success comes when you get yourself out of the ordinary, becoming unique and special. Find your competitive edge.
While not all successful people give credits and praise others, those are not our role models. If you want people to work for you and appreciate what you do, you must appreciate them first. Always remember the golden rule of life, do what you want others do unto you.
Seriously, if you don’t promote yourself, your products or your services, nobody else would. This is not about being bragging or over selling, it is about self promotion because if you don’t do it, your customers will go to your competitors who can sell. However, make sure you promote from your heart.
Technology has become a very important part of our life, not only in business. Well, if you look at all the big businesses today, they all are into social media and they embrace the technology into their daily business operation. The reason is simple, if they did not keep themselves updated with technology, they will soon be out of business.
Do you believe in your work and your products and services? If you don’t believe in what you do, you will never do a great work because when you doubt yourself, it is when you lose. On the other hand, when you absolutely believe in what you do, you will tap into your full potential and make things happen.
Negotiation is important. We have seen how leaders around the world possess persuasive negotiation skills that make their dreams come true. In today’s world, working hard is not the only key that you need. You need other skills like knowing how to negotiate to success.
Communication is important because it is what connects us all together. Regardless of whether you are introvert or extrovert, communication is what you need. If you cannot communicate well with others, nobody will help you and understand your requirement. Thus, nobody can help you on your journey to making your dreams a reality.
You have to work harder and work longer if you want to make a dent in the universe; this is true especially in the early phase. Most ordinary people don’t work on the weekend, which is why they are just ordinary. Well, there is nothing about being ordinary, but if you choose to be extraordinary, you have to do the “extra” to reach your dreams and your goals.
Most successful people choose to wake up and start their day early. While some successful people work best at night, but the majority of them are early risers. Morning is the best time because you are fresh, your willpower is the strongest, and there will be less distraction. When you start your morning right, your whole day will be productive.
Great people read almost every day. Robin Sharma sums it well; he said, “Ordinary people have big TVs, extraordinary people have big libraries.” Make it a habit of reading for at least 30 minutes each day. The books you read, and the knowledge you gain will change your life completely.
Studies have shown that people who exercise more are able to produce more and thus, accomplish more in life. The reason is simple, when you are healthy and energetic; you are more productive and able to do more. You have better discipline and habit because you developed it through exercising. So make it your priority to exercise today.
People who achieve remarkable feat are all about principles while unsuccessful people are all about their feelings. Ordinary people let their feelings and emotions control them. Successful people choose to work on their dreams regardless of whether they feel like doing it or not. Think about it.
Jack Ma once told the press that whenever he faced a problem that he can’t solve, he will walk away from the situation and take a nap. And after that, he will feel better, and the solution will come. Sometimes you have to learn to walk away from the situation to clear your mind and to see the big picture clearer.
Do you know that successful people work almost all the time? Even when they are having holidays or at home, they can’t help but think about their work and their dreams constantly. They work relentlessly, and they treat their work as their play. When your work becomes your play, your work will become part of your life. And success will be near.
Regardless of what you do, you must make sure you make progress each day. You can slow down and take a rest, but no matter how, make sure you do something every day so that you will continue to move forward and keep the momentum going. This is one of the best traits of successful people you must adopt.
There is no point to work 24 hours on things that don’t matter. Learn to prioritize and work on your most important tasks that will give you the most result. When it comes to getting things done, apply the 80/20 Pareto rules into your tasks. Focus on doing the most important thing first.
Do you know you need to do today, later, tomorrow and the day after? Extraordinary people plan their day, and they know what they need to do at every moment. They know that if they fail to plan, they will plan to fail. It is true that we cannot predict the future and what will happen, but having a plan is always better than having no plan at all.
Rest and taking breaks are important parts of life because these activities restore our energy. Success is a journey and not a destination. It takes time to build a great business, as the saying goes, “Rome was not built in a day.” Therefore, make sure you recharge and replenish your energy each day so that you can go farther.
This is a long list post. However, I may not have covered everything here. I may miss out some important and interesting traits of successful people.
Thus, let me know if you have anything to add in. By the way, which trait do you like the most? And which do you think has the most impact in life? Share your thoughts with me in the comment section below.
If you like what you read, remember to share to inspire your friends too.
Cheers,
Shawn Lim
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