Everyone wants to be a success! But the fact is that only a few ever make it to the ranks of being really successful. It is true that all of us have different definitions of success, but only a few have achieved or come close to realizing their dreams.
What makes high achievers tick?
High achievers and successful people seem to have a long string of hits with the occasional misses, but by and large, they seem to lead charmed lives. True, these individuals work very hard, but so do a lot of other people. What differentiates them from the rest? What makes them tick?
After spending over 20 years reading many autobiographies and studying the lives of very successful people, and breaking down their essence of thoughts, I find that they all share pretty similar traits, and set of values. True, many have certain idiosyncrasies, but their success can be attributed to a similar mindset - a set of philosophies and principals. It is interesting to note that this mindset can also be replicated.
Some of these shared traits are intuitively obvious and expected, but research also throws up some unexpected findings.
The expected traits of high achievers are as follows.
High achievers and very successful people display an uncommon ability to try very very hard for what they believe in. What many see of these folks are the results of many years of not just pure hard work. Many do not see the ugly side of what they went through to get to where they are today. The media has made them darlings and the envy of many. However, what many people do not see is that they literally had to pay for their initial success with their blood, tears, and sweat. High achievers see hard work as a given, and their work ethic can seem intimidating to others.
High achievers have boundless energy. They have a hundred and one things to do and they still manage to keep on top of all the various activities going on at the same time. They are very disciplined and organized in their own sort of way. They keep tabs on what needs to be done and are often religious in following up on the significant things that may impact their overall plan. They tend to keep themselves in peak form most of the time and strive for greater things.
High achievers hate losing! They want to out-sell, out-perform, and out-maneuver their competitors. Many of their colleagues and subordinates find it difficult to keep up with them as they can be very demanding on work performance. High achievers are not only competitive in business but invariably also in the sports they participate in, whether it is in golf, tennis, triathlon, etc.
Many high achievers may not possess high IQ, but they are intelligent in their own ways. They are able to find profitable niches in the myriad of business opportunities out in the world today. Often, they are able to find gems where others see mud. They are innovative and able to think out of the box so as to create something out of nothing.
Invariably, the most successful people usually believe in honesty in their business dealings, and emphasize integrity in their daily lives. They are sometimes troubled by the many tough decisions that they have to take but are guided by their conscience. Many times, they operate in environments that are difficult to differentiate between right and wrong. Some of them run very successful businesses in corrupt regimes. They know that there is no such thing as black and white in business. If they are whiter than white, their businesses will not be able to survive. They often have to trade-off; however, they are very clear that they will not execute ventures that totally compromise their inner values.
High achievers and very successful people have strong social skills and are able to relate to the different segments of the people that they encounter every day. They are usually excellent communicators with an uncanny ability to sell ideas, products, and concepts to their partners, customers, and other colleagues. In fact, it is such strong leadership and charisma that enables them to thrive throughout their careers. They are yet still humble and willing to having more talented people help them run their business. They are also willing to learn and be coached by more successful individuals, always seeking to learn from the best.
Some rather surprising discoveries
On the other hand, some of the following traits are not so obvious and quite unexpected
- Focus on Chosen career/ field
Most high achievers and the very successful do not make their money off speculative investments. Many people think their fortunes are found in real estate deals and the stock market, but this is far from the truth. True, there are property billionaires and great investors, but their success is mainly derived from cold hard analysis and relentless execution rather than a lucky toss of the coin and speculation.
Most high achievers are strong believers in their core business or expertise and excel in their chosen field. They are invariably passionate people focused on their chosen field. They may be very busy and tired at times, but you can always see the sparkle in their eyes. They all have a vision for what they want in life and devote most of their time towards that vision. They know that the money will eventually come when they follow this strategy.
- Trusting, sometimes too much
All very successful people have been conned before and been cheated on at some point of their lives. In fact, quite a few of them are willing to share the not so illustrious aspects of their careers. Bad joint venture partners, loans that went unpaid, bad investments due to mismanagement, and many other countless 'unfortunate' encounters.
It seems unlikely that such brilliant business people can be fooled, but such is the reality, and they invariably learn from painful real-life experiences. They can be too trusting at times, especially in the initial phase of their careers, but soon learn to discern the good from the bad in dealing with people and situations.
They are brave souls who are willing to take risks. Such moral courage to make a difference in their lives has served them well. They dare to stake a portion of their net worth, time, and energy to realize their vision and gut feel. They realize that things do not happen by chance and one has to push the boundaries in order to succeed. The outside world thinks that whatever they touch will turn to gold, but that is far from the truth. They do make mistakes and apply a whole new total mentality when things are not going well.
They try to make things right by making apt changes and if things are still not right, they rationalize and see if the opportunity is real. In other words, they do not let pride get the better of them. They will withdraw and fight another day if the racehorse they are betting on turns out to be a donkey.
Most high achievers and very successful people can certainly lead a far more extravagant lifestyle but have chosen not to. They can afford far bigger cars than what their income indicates, but they do not splurge. This does not mean they are scrooges. They do appreciate the finer things in life, but they strike a balance in their lifestyle and are unwilling to overpay for things.
They have a positive mindset. They think about success and not a failure and look upon occasional failures as temporary setbacks. They deal with it.
Note that they are able to do so, as they do not bet the house away. Sure they take risks, however, they always do their sums and calculate the extent of the downside. Such risk management enables them to thrive. There is an old saying "There are old soldiers and there are brave soldiers, but old and brave soldiers are a rather rare sight."
This statement perhaps sums the need for risk management in their thinking process. Even more important is the fact that they believe their fate is in their own hands. The harder they work, the luckier they become.
Above everything else, they are leaders in their fields.
I take a keen interest in personal development and helping people make the most out of life. I believe in life-long learning and self-improvement to keep being relevant, meaningful, and contributing to society. I have spent many years studying the traits and values of successful people and applying this in my job as a successful fund manager and in my personal life.
To learn more about how to get the most out of life, please visit my website at [http://www.assetmanagementadvisory.com]
