16 Traits of Highly Successful People


Success is a wonderful term that we all want to be associated with. There are so many books on success and when you boil it down it comes to a few items that are needed to succeed. The 10X Rule by Grant Cardone is a wonderful motivational book and if you are hesitating to take action this is the book to read. There is a chapter where he mentions about 30 traits of success. I have selected 16 traits which I found useful. Here they are with my take on each.
Have a Can-Do Attitude – You can only succeed if you believe you can. All successful people believe they can succeed and it is inevitable they do most of the time.
Believe that you will figure it out – There are multiple problems that need to be solved. In fact the more successful you are the more problems you will have to solve. However for every problem there is a solution and successful people always find the solution.
Focus on opportunity– Where normal people look at the problem the successful person look at the opportunity. Successful people understand the bigger the problem the bigger the opportunity.
Love Challenges – All successful people love challenges. The great the challenge the more joy they get by completing that task. Treat challenges like writing an exam and ensure you give your best to get the most out of yourself. Also take help when required.
Persist until successful – There is no successful person ever that succeeded without facing obstacles and persisting. The great Calvin Coolidge quote explains this “Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not: nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not: the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent.”
Take Risks– All successful people take calculated risks and that’s the way they achieve massive success. One thing to note is they also protect their downside when they take the risk. For example Richard Branson said “It is only by being bold that you get anywhere. If you are a risk-taker, then the art is to protect the downside. The brave may not live forever – But the cautious do not live at all.”
Act unreasonable – This quote from Shakespeare addresses that “The reasonable man adapts himself to the world: the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man.”
Take Action – We all get great ideas but successful people take massive action once they get the idea and this is where the successful person and others part company.
Be totally committed – Once they set their targets successful people are totally committed to their vision and they never leave the sight of their summit. Keep moving one step closer to your dreams.
Focus on now – A lot of people look into the past whereas all successful people look only on the present and what can be done. If they have some time they look to creating the future they want.
Be Courageous – You need courage to take the road less travelled. You need to have high amounts of courage to go for big dreams and goals. “Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts. Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm.” – Winston Churchill
Embrace Change – You need to welcome change because in the world we live in where we are experiencing turbulence in the economy and with the advent or explosion of new technologies it is imperative to embrace change. Make sure you are prepared for the winds of change.
Be goal oriented – All successful people have goals towards which they are working towards always. There are a few who say write your goals daily and it increases your motivation levels.
Be learning – Of course all successful people are on the path of continuous learning. There are so many ways to be trend savvy through blogs, books and podcasts. Everything that we need to learn is available in an easy format for us to digest.
Be disciplined – All successful people are highly disciplined. They never allow indiscipline to enter their lives. They are committed to their long term vision and they take care of themselves well. They have the discipline to persist when the going gets tough.
Be uncomfortable – As a lot of authors say your biggest enemy is your comfort zone. Of course we all like our comfort zones but there is no growth without some level of discomfort. The more times you move towards discomfort the greater the chances for your success.
If we adopt these 16 traits we can get the most out of life. Success has been studied and we all have access to information on what makes someone successful. In fact most of the things mentioned here we may already know but a reminder does help.
The views expressed here are my own and do not represent my organization.

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