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We've all heard of "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People," but what are the behaviors that the most successful people have in common?
We covet the success of CEOs and entrepreneurs, from Steve Jobs and Sheryl Sandberg to Beyoncé and Jay Z. Some people seem to have it all, as if everything they touch turns to gold. Think back to all the people you’ve met who have been highly successful in life: What do they all have in common? You might say their success is due partly to education, age, timing, or luck. In reality, people who are successful in both business and life all adhere to these seven key practices:
Successful people realize that their mentality can affect all aspects of their life, including success. Researchers have found that positive thinking opens people up to developing new skills, which can have a compounding effect among happy people who repeat this process. For example, if you start a habit of running for enjoyment and then do well in a marathon, you’ll take that happiness to fuel learning how to rock climb (and then take that success to move on to something else, and so on). Positive thinking can also have numerous health benefits: People who practice positive thinking have been shown to have increased life spans, lower rates of depression, greater resistance to colds and disease, and better coping skills during stressful periods.
In the hit TV show Scandal, professional reputation-repairer Olivia Pope always asks her clients one initial question: “What do you want out of this?” Pope starts with their end goal in mind, and then works backward. Likewise, successful people take ownership in their own future by picturing what their intended outcome is first, and then working toward that. Instead of concentrating on hitting your sales goal for the month, for example, focus on becoming the top earner on your team.
People like Steve Jobs didn’t become wildly successful by playing it safe. Successful people know that taking risks—within certain boundaries—is absolutely necessary. They know failure is a viable option, and that they can learn and grow from their mistakes. And finally, they know that if you always reach for the easy, low-hanging fruit, you’ll never succeed in climbing to get the larger prize on top.
Most successful people surround themselves with mentors and positive influencers who help keep them focused. They recognize that they can benefit from the wisdom and overall “aura” of other successful people who forged their own way through the trenches of life. If you work on building and maintaining connections with professionals you admire, it will increase the likelihood that they will invest in you in return.
You can’t be completely successful without working well with others. Successful people show respect to others by listening and responding to ideas and criticism, and finding solutions that work for (almost) everyone. They don’t get too caught up in life or work drama that can bog them down, and they don’t take things too personally. Through contributing to the success of the team, they realize they’re contributing to their own success.
Everyone knows the saying ‘time is money.’ Highly successful people realize that their time is worth something, and that prioritization is important. That may mean they value their time enough to pay someone to do something for them, so that they can devote their time to something else.
You’ll notice that highly successful people love to read, and crave learning more. They are always absorbing more information they can apply to their lives and careers. This knowledge helps them constantly adapt and evolve.
What do you think makes a person successful?
