The Traits Of Successful People

By Nick James

Can it really be true that someone who earns 250,000 a year or someone who appears to have the perfect lifestyle, lots of free time, and is happy all the time is 10 times smarter than someone earning 25,000 ?

It just can't be. Over the last 20 years I have met numerous rich and famous people and believe me you are probably 10 times smarter than them !

Most of them have developed the traits by accident, they have learnt them from their parents, or have learnt them from other people. For some, being successful just comes naturally, they don't know how, it just happens, a bit like a talented singer or athlete.

For a small percentage of people this works well, but the ones who really perform well are those who have recognised their talents and work on them to put them to even better use.

Even a top athlete has to sometimes adjust his or her behaviour, like the pole vaulter who, every few times knocks the bar off, gets really angry with himself and starts to stomp around. He has to learn to put it behind him, become emotionally detached from what has happened and try to make changes so it doesn't happen again. Athletes take part in mental rehearsal where they see themselves successfully completing their sport.

Have you noticed how astronauts train and rehearse again and again, underwater, so that when they get into space (where often there are no second chances) performing the actual work becomes second nature because they have practised again and again.

Well, for you and I it's no different, we can learn the same skills that successful people use, in some ways learning from scratch is better because you can identify what steps you are taking when you attempt something, and when you are successful - do you know what to do ? Repeat the same steps again !

If you want to be the best in something, there's no point in re-inventing the wheel and trying loads of new things, find someone who is already doing what you want to do and COPY WHAT THEY DO. Find yourself a mentor, it could be someone down the street, or a famous person, read biographies and autobiographies, speak to or write to these people.

It is very rare that someone has "overnight success" Most people who are successful are already working very hard and are caught in the act of being successful. Some are in the right place at the right time, but that's usually because they are hanging around in the right places with the right people. It's the difference between the person who hopes he'll meet the big boss in the lift and the other who finds out when the boss will be there and plans to 'accidentally' bump into him. They have also usually paid the price in some way.

If you are not happy with your current situation, you must change something now, your fitness, the number of hours spent in front of the tv, the people you associate with, the books you read.

If you change nothing guess where you'll in a year's time ?

Same place.

In a nutshell, these seem to be some of the traits of successful people

They have a definite idea of what it is they want

They are only interested in things that help them achieve their goals

They have the ability to totally focus on one thing at a time

They have total persistence, they do 'whatever it takes'

They are prepared to quickly make changes and adjustments

They are prepared to fail again and again, they just get up, dust themselves down and carry on

They can solve problems with emotional detachment, and not dwell on them

They can hire 'experts' to help them

The first thing you need to do is to sit down and write down what it is you want, then work out what price you have to pay to get it. It may well be that when you see the sacrifices you have to make that your current life is not too bad after all, that means you are already successful !!

Nick James is a UK based direct marketer and product developer. During the last 5 years Nick has sold in excess of £1.6 Million Pounds worth of products and services online. Subscribe to his Free Tip Of The Week email at: http://www.Nick-James.com

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Successful People Know the Power of Passion

By Robin Buckley

Successful people know that passion is energy. It is what drives people to succeed. Without passion towards what you are doing, you do not have a why. When you do not have a why, the how is hard to find.

This energy is contagious. If you spend time with passionate people, it is bound to rub off on you. So if you have not yet found your passion, find people who have. You will soon see a change in your success. As you spend time with passionate, successful people, success skills will start to manifest in your live too.

Successful people understand that in order to achieve, they must love what they do. So find something that you love to do and you will be following your passion. Passion is the fastest way to massive success.

There is much heart and soul that goes into being successful in business. You need to ask yourself if these elements exist within you regarding the business you are choosing. Are the tasks involved in this business the kind of thing that you will find joy in completing? Will you be working with the type of people who inspire you? Is it a product that you believe in? Passion is essential to your success. When you do what you love to do, you can go beyond success; you can make a real difference in people’s lives. With your passion, you can inspire others to find their dreams too.

When you find your passion it will be like a mission. It is something that you know that you were meant to do. When you are following passion, the ups and downs of a business will not get in your way as your passion is stronger than the challenges of your business success or failure. This is one of the reasons you should follow your passion. It will guide you through the rough waters.

Bringing passion to the work place will assist you in making better decisions, you get more things done in less time. You will want to contribute so much more, that will in turn bring you back more. People will see your passion and they will believe in you and your products and services. You will be trusted and supported by your customers and associates.

Once you have found your passion, you will want to cultivate it. When you start to turn up the heat on your passion, you are bringing more joy and with this you will accomplish success in business and more of your goals.

Your passion can be fueled by helping others to achieve the success that they desire as well. It has been said by the famous speaker, Zig Ziegler, "If you help enough people get what they want, you will get EVERYTHING you want". Your passion towards your business will also assist you in creating a great reputation, which will become invaluable in building a more successful operation.

Identify your passion and when you do take the steps to bring it into your life. With passion you can be the best at what you do, and through that you can achieve financial freedom. Once you become abundant, you will be able to assist the world in ways that will fulfill your purpose in life and bring to you all of the joy that life has, rich in successful achievement for all you do.

Robin Buckley

Robin Buckley, Life Style Mentor and Successful Entrepreneur, is helping many become the next success story. Whether you're looking to create an extra few thousand dollars per month, be an ex-corporate executive, or the next millionaire Mom, Robin can assist you to create a second stream of income and greater peace of mind. visit : Entrepreneur

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Executive Coaching Guru Tells You What It Takes to Succeed

By Bud Bilanich

As an executive coach, I’m often asked for my best thoughts on what it takes to become a career and life success. I always tell my executive coaching clients to think systematically, to break success down into some manageable components.

Here is a bullet point summary of what I tell my executive coaching clients on how to become a career and life success. Put these points to use and you will succeed, just like my executive coaching clients.

My experience as an executive coach as taught me the simple, time proven common sense techniques are best for achieving the success you want and deserve. Take a look at these common sense ideas that I share with all of my executive coaching clients.

Do it yourself. Realize that no one is going to do it for you – not even your executive coach. You have to take personal responsibility for your success. Adopt the motto, "If it’s to be, it’s up to me."

Become an optimist. Believe that things will turn out well. When they don’t, don’t sulk. Learn what you can from a problem or failure and use it to your advantage the next time.

Don’t procrastinate. Procrastination is usually tied to fear. In most cases, when you procrastinate, you are doing so because you are afraid of something. Identify those fears and then do something to overcome them. Action cures fear. Act – even when, especially when, you are afraid.

Surround yourself with positive people. Jettison the negative people in your life. If you can’t rid yourself of them completely, do your best to minimize the time you spend with them. Negative people are an energy black hole. They will suck you dry if you let them.

Find a mentor or executive coach, someone who will help you meet your career and life goals. Mentors and executive coaches, by nature, are positive people. They can help you find the lessons in problems and failures and use these lessons to move forward.

Be a brand. Create and nurture your personal brand. Make sure you stand for and are known for something. Make sure that everything you do is on brand.

Look good. Be well groomed and appropriate for every situation. Always dress one level up from what is expected. In this way, you will stand out from the crowd. A good executive coach can help you with this.

Have manners. Learn and use the basic rules of etiquette. This will distinguish you as a person who is in the know. Social faux pas might not ruin your career, but they certainly won’t help it.

Make people comfortable. The best etiquette advice I’ve ever received is simple. In any social situation, do what makes the other person or people comfortable.

Become an expert. Master your technical discipline, and then keep learning. Become a lifelong learner. The half-life of knowledge these days is rapidly diminishing. Staying in the same place is the same as going backwards.

Aim high. Set and achieve high goals year after year after year. Use the S.M.A.R.T. technique of goal setting.

Get organized. Learn to use time to your advantage. Organize not only your time but your life and workspace. Sweat the small stuff. Success is in execution. Execution is in the details.

Become an excellent conversationalist. You can do this by listening more than you speak. Pay attention to what other people are saying and respond appropriately.

Write clearly and simply. Short words and sentences are best. Never use two or three words to say what you can say in one. Write in the first person. Use the active voice.

Develop your presentation skills. Adopt this simple formula for your talks: Tell them what you will tell them. Tell them. Tell them what you told them. Write your closing first, your opening next. Then fill in the content.

Get to know yourself, as well or better than your executive coach knows you. Use this knowledge to better understand others.

Get to know others. Use your knowledge of others to build strong, mutually beneficial relationships with them.

Give. Build relationships by giving with no expectation of return. When you help others because you want to, not because you believe they will do something for you, you’ll find that you will be repaid many times over. Giving of yourself, especially your time, is a great way to build strong, lasting relationships.

Use conflict as a means to improve relationships. When you find yourself in a conflict situation, focus on where you agree, not disagree, with the other person. This will help you develop creative solutions to your differences, and improve the relationship.

There is one last point I’d like to make here, and I make it over and over again with my executive coaching clients. You need to use this information. Hopefully, you have some more knowledge about becoming a success in your life and career after reading these quick points. But, as the U.S. Steel pencils used to say, "Knowing is not enough." You have to use this knowledge if you’re going to become a career and life success.

Remember, success is a journey, not a destination. Good luck in your journey. You have my best wishes for your continued success.

Bud Bilanich, The Common Sense Guy, is an executive coach, motivational speaker, author and blogger. He is the Official Executive Coaching Guide at SelfGrowth.com. Dr. Bilanich is Harvard educated but has a no nonsense approach to his work to goes back to his childhood in the steel country of Western Pennsylvania. http://www.budbilanich.com/.

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How To Learn From Successful People

By Enrique Villalobos

Here's a quick "True" or "False" quiz:

1) Successful people have all been "blessed" with exceptional talents or skills.

2) Successful people are highly educated people with college degrees.

3) Successful people inherit their success.

4) Successful people get where they are by being dishonest.

If you answered "true" to all of the above, you failed the quiz. What's more, you are most likely undermining your own potential for success.

In order to unravel the "mysterious" secrets of success, it is necessary to discard several unfortunate misconceptions. First of all, success does not require superior talents or skills.

It does require certain attributes or traits that are not inborn but learned. For example, successful people are typically goal-oriented, highly motivated, flexible, determined, confident, and self-disciplined.

Secondly, many of the most successful people in the world never attended college. In fact, many never even finished high school. Thomas Alva Edison- whose many inventions include the electric light bulb, the phonograph, and the motion picture camera- had only a few months of formal education. Largely self-taught, Edison learned and developed the attributes common to successful people. He once said that "genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration". Insert the word "success" in place of "genius", and the statement is just as true.

A third misconception is that most successful people started out with unfair advantages. The thinking here is that successful people never get where they are by starting "from scratch". These people must have inherited financial advantages or influential contacts. The truth is, a great many success stories are "rags to riches". Many of the most successful people in the United States started with nothing and earned their measure of success through hard work.

Finally, most successful people do not get where they are by cheating. Dishonesty is not a prerequisite to success.

Once these misconceptions have been discarded, it should begin to come clear that success is not typically a result of circumstances or aptitude. It is most often a result of "success-oriented behavior" involving certain characteristics or attributes that anyone can learn and develop.

Rather than being secret, the way to success is open to anyone who has a goal and who develops the thinking, attitudes and behaviors common to all successful people.
In order to be successful, you must have a goal- some point you wan to reach. That's the first and most important requirement for success. Simply put, you can't be a winner if there's nothing to win.

Both short- and long-term goals are essential elements in providing a sense of direction and purpose. Without a specific, clearly defined goal, you're like a traveler who has no destination. You have no idea of where you're going or why. You don't know how to use your time and resources to their fullest advantage. On the other hand, goal-oriented people know exactly where they are headed and why. They plan their journey carefully, keeping in mind all the detours they may face along the way, and never lose sight of their destination- their goal.

Once you have set your goal(s) you must have the drive or motivation to reach it regardless of the obstacles in your way.

Successful are all highly motivated people who press forward until their goals are reached. That doesn't mean that in order to achieve your goals you must exclude everything else from your life. You'll still need to socialize and relax, but you must set priorities. Consider how much time you spend each day in unnecessary pastimes that do little more than sap your energy. If you use that time instead to focus on and work toward a specific goal, you'll increase your chances for success dramatically. The bottom line is, in order to be successful, you must want to reach your goal more than anything else.

Enrique Villalobos is the owner of MakingExtraMoneyAtHome.com, which provides free articles and resources about working from home. Visit it now and download the ebooks "Dotcomology: The Science of Making Money Online" and "Easy Automated Income" for FREE!

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