I
found that this article by Jeff Haden is intriguingly nice. Even
though the title is like a pocket guide of something that you will pass by in the bookstore front self, the content is quite
thoughtful. Hope you enjoy
How
to Know You Will Be Extraordinarily Successful
It's not that hard to be successful. But it is hard to be extraordinarily successful. Yet we all hope
to achieve exceptional success (something we all define differently -- and should define
differently.)
Unfortunately, there is no magic bullet. There is no
one-size-fits-all prescription. But there are certain qualities that incredibly
successful people share.... especially those who also make a significant impact
on the lives of other people.
See how many apply to you:
1.
You find happiness in the success of others.
Great business teams win
because their most talented members are willing to sacrifice to make others
happy. Great teams are made up of employees who help each other, know their
roles, set aside personal goals, and value team success over everything else.
Where does that attitude
come from?
You.
Every successful person
answers the question, "Can you make the choice that your happiness will
come from the success of others?" with a resounding "Yes!"
2.
You relentlessly seek new experiences.
Novelty seeking--getting
bored easily and throwing yourself into new pursuits or activities--is often
linked to gambling, drug abuse, attention deficit disorder, and leaping out of perfectly good
airplanes without a parachute.
But according to Dr. Robert
Cloninger, "Novelty seeking is one of the traits that keeps you
healthy and happy and fosters personality growth as you age.... If you combine
adventurousness and curiosity with persistence and a sense that it's not all
about you, then you get the creativity that benefits society as a whole."
As Cloninger says, "To
succeed, you want to be able to regulate your impulses while also having the
imagination to see what the future would be like if you tried something
new."
Sounds like every
successful person I know.
So go ahead. Embrace your
inner novelty seeker. You'll be healthier, you'll have more friends, and you'll
be generally more satisfied with life.
3.
You don't think work/life balance, you just think life.
Symbolic work/life
boundaries are almost impossible to maintain. Why? You are your business. Your business is your life,
just like your life is your business--which is also true for family, friends,
and interests -- so there is no separation because all those things make you
who you are.
Incredibly successful
people find ways to include family instead of ways to exclude work. They find
ways to include interests, hobbies, passions, and personal values in their
daily business lives.
If you can't, you're not
living -- you're just working.
4.
You're incredibly empathetic.
Unless you create something
entirely new--which is really hard to do--your business or profession is based
on fulfilling an existing need or solving a problem. It's impossible to
identify a need or a problem without the ability to put yourself in another
person's shoes. That's the mark of a successful businessperson.
But exceptionally
successful leaders go a step further, regularly putting themselves in the shoes
of their employees. (Here's what that looks
like in practice.). Success isn't a line trending upwards. Success
is a circle, because no matter how high your business--and your ego--soars,
success still comes back to your employees.
5.
You have something to prove -- to yourself.
Many people have a burning
desire to prove other people wrong. That's a great motivator.
Incredibly successful
people are driven by something deeper and more personal. True drive,
commitment, and dedication spring from a desire to prove something to the
most important person of all.
You.
6.
You ignore the 40-hour workweek hype.
Studies show that working
more than 40 hours a week decreases productivity.
OK...
Successful people work
smarter, sure, but they also outwork their competition. (Every successful
entrepreneur I know who reads those stories probably thinks, "Cool.
Hopefully my competitors will believe that crap.")
The author Richard North
Patterson tells a great story about Robert Kennedy. Kennedy was seeking to
indict Teamsters head Jimmy Hoffa (who some still believe is hanging out in
Argentina with Elvis and Jim Morrison). One night, Kennedy worked on the Hoffa
case until about 2 a.m. On his way home, he passed the Teamsters building
and saw the lights were still on in Hoffa's office, so he turned around and
went back to work.
There will always be people
who are smarter and more talented than we are. Successful people simply want it
more. They're ruthless--especially with themselves.
In short, they work smarter...
and they also work harder.
That's the real secret of their success.
7.
You see money as a responsibility, not a reward.
Many entrepreneurial
cautionary tales involve buying 17 cars, loading up on pricey antiques,
importing Christmas trees, and spending $40,000 a year for a personal masseuse.
(Wait -- maybe that's just Adelphia founder John
Rigas.)
Successful people don't see
money solely as a personal reward; they see money as a way to grow a business,
reward and develop employees, give back to the community... in short, not just
to make their own lives better but to improve the lives of other people, too.
And most importantly, they
do so without fanfare, because the true reward is always in the act, not the
recognition.
8.
You don't think you're special.
In a world of social media,
everyone can be their own PR agent. It's incredibly easy for anyone to blow
their own horn and bask in the glow of their insight and accomplishments.
Truly successful people
don't. They accept their success is based on ambition, persistence, and
execution... but they also recognize that key mentors, remarkable employees,
and a huge dose of luck also played a part.
Exceptionally successful
people reap the rewards of humility, asking questions, seeking advice, and
especially recognizing and praising others because...
9.
You realize that success is fleeting, but dignity and respect last
forever.
Providing employees with
higher pay, better benefits, and greater opportunities is certainly important.
But no level of pay and benefits can overcome damage to self-esteem and
self-worth. (Here's a heartbreaking
story that illustrates the point.)
The most important thing
successful people provide their employees, customers, vendors -- everyone they
meet -- is dignity.
And so should you...
because when you do, everything else follows.
by Jeff Haden
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/how-know-you-extraordinarily-successful-jeff-haden
