What is it that makes people successful and I mean really successful compared to you or me? Are they smarter or do they work harder? Are they risk takers or have powerful and influential friends?
The financial newspaper Investors Business Daily (IBD) asked these same questions a few years ago and started a multi-year search for the answer. They studied industry leaders, investors and entrepreneurs to understand the traits they all had in common that contributed to their success. Reproduced here is their list of 10 Secrets to Success along with my commentary on each no-so-secret, ‘secret’.
I decided to reproduce the list here and comment on each of the traits in hopes of motivating you and myself in the process. It’s time for me to take my own advice and start on the path to my dreams. I hope to motivate you, by using myself as an example.
I originally came across this list when I was staring at some papers on a refrigerator owned by someone who was very successful – both personally and financially. My family and I had just spent the night as a guest in a great house in the suburbs of Boston. We were living life large as we played pool in the rec room, drank wine from the wine cellar, and enjoyed a dip in the hot tub. The problem was, neither of the couples in the house owned the property or the life we were pretending to have. You see, my friends were house sitting for the original owner and they had invited us to stay for the weekend.
It wasn’t until the morning after our little ‘party’ that I noticed something taped to the refrigerator – something that impacts me each time I read it. It was the IBD 10 Secrets to Success. Once my head cleared, I quickly copied them down and read them over and over again. After our vacation I made copies and posted them in my home office and inside a journal I decided to keep.
The problem was, after a couple of months I forgot about the secrets and they fell by the wayside. And so did my actions towards my goals. At the time the articles 7 Ways to Grow the Action Habit or How To Motivate Yourself – Self Motivation didn’t exist and I lost my motivation. Well, I re-discovered the list and want to share it with you now. I hope you take these not-so-secret, secrets to heart and realize your dreams – whatever they may be.
1. How You Think is Everything.
Always be positive. Think Success, not Failure. Beware of a negative environment.
This trait has to be one of the most important in the entire list. Your belief that you can accomplish your goals has to be unwavering. The moment you say to yourself “I can’t…”, then you won’t. I was always given the advice “never say I can’t” and I’d like to strike those words from the dictionary.
I’ve found that from time-to-time my attitude waivers. A mentor of mine once said “it’s ok to visit pity city, but you can’t stay and there comes a time when you need to leave”. Positive things happen to positive people.
2. Decide upon Your True Dreams and Goals: Write down your specific goals and develop a plan to reach them.
Write down my dreams and goals? Develop a plan to reach them? You mean like a project plan? Yes, that’s exactly what this means. You may have heard the old adage: A New Years resolution that isn’t written down is just a dream, and dreams are not goals.
Goals are those concrete, measurable stepping stones of achievement that track your progress towards your dreams. My goal is to start a second career as a freelance writer – what are your goals?
3. Take Action. Goals are nothing without action.
Be like Nike and “Just do it”. I took action by reaching out and started writing. Every day I try to take some action towards my goals. It may be small, but it’s still an action. Have you taken action towards your goals?
4. Never Stop Learning: Go back to school or read books. Get training & acquire skills.
Becoming a life long learner would benefit us all and is something we should instill in our kids. It’s funny that once you’re out of school you realize how enjoyable learning can be. What have you learned today?
5. Be Persistent and Work Hard: Success is a marathon, not a sprint. Never give up.
I think every story of success I read entails long hard hours of work. There is no getting around this and there is no free lunch. But, if you’re working towards something that you’re passionate about, something you love – then is it really work?
6. Learn to Analyze Details: Get all the facts, all the input. Learn from your mistakes.
I think you have to strike a balance between getting all the facts and making a decision with incomplete data – both are traits of successful people. Spend time gathering details, but don’t catch ‘analysis paralysis’.
7. Focus Your Time And Money: Don’t let other people or things distract you.
Remain laser focused on your goals and surround yourself with positive people that believe in you. Don’t be distracted by the naysayer’s or tasks that are not helping you achieve your goals.
8. Don’t Be Afraid To Innovate: Be different. Following the herd is a sure way to mediocrity.
Follow through on that break-out idea you have. Ask yourself “What would I do if I wasn’t afraid?”
9. Deal And Communicate With People Effectively: No person is an island. Learn to understand and motivate others.
Successful people develop and nurture a network and they only do that by treating people openly, fairly and many times firmly. There is nothing wrong about being firm – just don’t cross the a-hole line. How do you deal with people?
10. Be Honest And Dependable: Take responsibility, otherwise numbers 1 – 9 won’t matter.
Enough said.
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Thanks for sharing this list!
I would also point out that it’s very important to begin with a clear definition of what “success” means to you. Otherwise, you run the risk of ending up being an unsuccessful success.
-Patrick
How you think is definitely everything. I wrote about it in Work in Progress:
“One of the biggest things that held me back in life was my limiting belief about what was possible. I was always talking about how I couldn’t do this or how I couldn’t be that. Is it really surprising to see that what I believed actually came true?
We all need to start seeing the world from a different perspective. That comes from going out everyday and keeping our eyes open to all the possibilities. It comes from learning new and exciting things that force us to stretch our minds and move outside our comfort zones.”
I am so happy you found this list. Thanks for the profound wisdom! All the best in 08, Brad
The common thread I share with you is that I too am starting a second career as a freelance writer. And its time for me also to wake up and turn my dreams into clear goals. So it felt really nice to reaaffirm whats important through this post. Of all, I think three secrets are the most important -
Secret 1, Secret 3 and Secret 5.
I try to take at least a small step each day come what may.
Thanks for the article, again.
I agree with you that the first secret has got to be the most important. This is a topic that really interests me. I am becoming more and more convinced that we are surely only limited by our own thoughts. I have just started writing myself and it is sometimes hard to stay positive. You have a nice blog and it looks like you have created some good readership. Any tips for for someone just starting out?
Great motivation article,
Thank you
To your advance success,
Tracy Ho
I’m going to take these into account for sure
Great article! I also just wrote about the Key and Secrets to success. Richard St. John made a great presentation Secrets to Success in 8 Words and 3 minutes.
Watch the video http://afrison.com/secrets-of-success-in-8-words-and-3-minutes/540/
That sums up pretty much with your article.
I think it’s also important to get over fear of success itself. For many, their deepest fear is not that they are inadequate, it’s that they are powerful beyond measure.
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Or you could just read “Think and Grow Rich” by Napoleon Hill. It’s an almost 80 years old book now, and it covers everything in your list in detail, and more. Cheers
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My weakness is #6. I am never quite sure where to go find “the details”. And, even when I get them, I’m not well-suited temporarily to long deliberations. Thus, I often end up “winging it”…which sometimes works…but I often regret that I didn’t spend a little more time on my decision.
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I really enjoy recieving articles from this site by rss feed. Thanks for offering that option. Please keep up the good work of coming up with helful, interesting articles.I also have a goal of starting a career as a freelance writer, and I know it can be tough to find the time and energy to write when there are so many other things that have to be done on a daily basis. Good luck to you–stay motivated.
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#11: Dare to Suck
You’ll find this list in various forms, but the entry I never see is Dare To Suck. That is, you must realize, come to terms with, and find a way to turn into a positive, the reality that any long-term skill worth acquiring–whether it’s playing an instrument, writing, or making fine furniture–entails a long, exhausting period of not being very good at it. In other words, if all you have in mind is the endpoint at which the world acclaims your skill, then you’ll never make it through the wilderness of mediocrity because IT’S NOT WORTH IT. Long-term, hard-work, persistence goals only pay off in retrospect, if the endpoint is all you care about. You have to find a way to enjoy the journey.
This sounds more negative than it is. It’s just a reminder (direly needed in an achievement-oriented culture) that being an exemplary practitioner is not the only reason for doing something. There is value in dicking around and hanging it out there. But you need to find that value for yourself. It’s the only way you’ll get through.
I agree. Most people are far to risk-averse when it comes to trying new things and chasing opportunities.
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Thank you a lot for your tips! I am really inpired.
It will help me a lot with my future career!
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