Everyone is looking for that one magic pill to take and instantly become successful. Here are some realities:
- It’s hard. You’re going to have to work at it.
- It’s fleeting. Never, never, never give up. Stick with it.
- It’s capricious. You have to be in the right place at the right time with the right people.
How does one get successful? You need to work at it — every day.
I’ve found six inter-related behaviors of highly successful clients I’ve tracked in my 11 years coaching:
1. They Self-Motivate
Get out there and make things happen. Most people expect their boss, their job, or their colleagues to somehow get them motivated (directly or indirectly) so they can perform their duties.
Successful people have an internal engine that revs them up in the morning and keeps them energized all day long. Or they leverage external motivators on a regular basis to keep them at a peak performing state.
Check Out: Five Ways To Make Your Commute Bearable
2. They Push Until It Hurts
Most (if not all) of us procrastinate in one form or another. We put things off, we extend deadlines, we miss delivery dates.
Successful people get things done, on time. They push themselves, their staff, and everyone around them to ensure agreed upon dates are met. Sometime it hurts, sometimes they work late, but in the end, the pushing delivers results.
Check Out: How To Eliminate Procrastination
3. They Partner & Connect
We tend to work with the same people and cocoon within our company. It’s safe, it’s easy, and it doesn’t over-extend our comfort zone into meeting new people. Hey, it’s worked so far, so what do you have to lose? A lot.
Successful people regularly extend themselves inside their company and outside into the marketplace. They reach out to connected individuals and influential executives to build solid relationships.
Check Out: Why Networking Is Dead – Part One & Why Networking Is Dead – Part Two
4. They Track
You go on your merry way each day getting your work done, taking on new projects and tasks, and never really step back and look at the big picture.
Successful people are not only working in their job, but they are also working on it — they step back and assess their progress regularly. They track themselves against their peers and clearly know what needs to be done to accelerate and excel.
Check Out: What Have You Done So Far?
5. They Relax
Business is cyclical — so is your career. It has it ups and downs — unfortunately, many people get too stressed out when things go wrong or not as planned. They then take it out on themselves and everyone around them.
Successful people take adversity in stride — they understand the peaks and valleys of the marketplace and office. Instead of devolving down into a funk, they use this opportunity to step back, reflect, and start anew.
Check Out: How To Be More Effective On The Job
6. They Are Positive & Confident
There are so many people in corporate and those who own their own businesses who wander through the day with a negative weight on their shoulders. In addition, they ensure everyone knows about it.
Successful people usually have a glass half-full point of view. They are the energizers, the brainstormers, and the people who hit the ground running every morning of every day. In addition, they project confidence (or at least try to) — they believe in their ability to make things happen, enact change and inspire people. Here’s a secret — they also have a lack of confidence — so they fake it (we all do).
Check Out: How To Be A Confident Executive & Be Like Jack LaLanne
POST YOUR QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS BELOW
P.S. Successful isn’t hard — it just takes planning. You and I can work on it together so you instantly get what I’m talking about - Let’s talk. I’ve worked with thousands of people who wanted to take assertive steps in this area — call or email me to schedule a complimentary session.
{ 11 comments… read them below or add one }
Great post! I recently had the honor of participating in UNCTAD’s EMPRETEC workshop and a lot of what you mention above appear in their core competencies list for success as an entrepreneur. Here’s that list, if you want to take a look at it: http://www.unctadxi.org/templates/Page____7407.aspx.
This is a great post there are things here that we all can work on.
The part we must have to follow in the above stated list is working hard on what we want to achieve
Roger Hamilton
I Like Your Article, I Want Share this quote with
“Would you like me to give you a formula for success? It’s quite simple, really.
Double your rate of failure. You are thinking of failure as the enemy of success.
But it isn’t at all. You can be discouraged by failure or you can learn from it,
So go ahead and make mistakes. Make all you can. Because remember that?s where you will find success.”
Hi, thanks for the great article. I would also be interesting to know how could a person who finds themself doing the things “non-successful” people do, transition themselves to doing what their “successful” peers do, all while keeping the same job/profession/etc..especially points 1, 2 and 3 in the article.
Great article, Rich, great mindset to remember. I’ll use it as my motivation warm-up in the morning for the next two weeks. …and, I absolutely love the Success photo! Thank you.
Paula – Looking forward to talking to you soon – I appreciate your fine comments! – Rich
sounds like everyone I know except they’re not rich. being rich is mostly being lucky.
Like it! I also notice that successful also speak a different language. I’ve meet some highly successful people lately and in being around them, they seem to speak differently about the situations. For example, instead of “problem” I hear “challenge”. Its a subtle difference but it makes a difference in how the “challenge” is approached.
Great article! I’m also enjoying reading the article links related to each topic.
This is a great post! These are vital keys to success. Especially having a positive attitude in whatever you’re trying to accomplish.