25 Characteristics of Successful People

What makes one person more successful than another?  Is it education?  IQ?  Heredity?  Environment?  Luck?

These are certainly factors, but not the overriding ones.

No, the real difference between successful and unsuccessful people is in their thinking.  How they approach life.  How they approach problems.  How they deal with people.

Successful people embody right thinking, which, in turn, is reflected in their behavior.

A good way to become more successful in your own life is to study successful people and emulate their positive qualities.

Below are some of the important qualities and characteristics of truly successful people.  Not those who achieve temporary success through corruption or by walking over other people, but those who achieve life-long success through integrity, persistence, commitment, and hard work and who live rich, fulfilling, abundant lives.  Those who make the world a better place for one and all.

These are the qualities we all should strive to emulate in our lives.

Characteristics Of Successful People:

1. They are optimistic to a fault:  Successful people always see the glass as half full.  Failure is never an option for them.  In fact, thoughts of failure never even enter their mind.  They are totally fixed on their vision.  Problems are merely opportunities to learn and to refocus on their goals.  They are never discouraged by setbacks or obstacles.  They just keep marching forward, towards their goal.  They love the journey of life and never expect anything other than success.

2. They are confident:  Successful people have an inner confidence.  They know what they want in life and truly expect to get it.  There is no self-doubt, fear, anxiety, or worry.  Nor are they arrogant or egotistical.  They just believe in themselves and in their ability to overcome any obstacles put in their path.

3. They know who they are and what they want in life:  Successful people know exactly where they are going in life and have a clear plan on how to get there.  They maintain a clear vision of their life goals, which acts like an inner compass, keeping them ever on track no matter what problems they encounter.  They have a well defined value system and they will never comprise their principles for personal gain.

4. They are grateful for the blessings in their life:  Truly successful people understand that they’ve been blessed and they are genuinely grateful for what they have.  They appreciate and enjoy their blessings and love to share them with others.

5. They are humble:  Truly successful people are not arrogant.  They do not boast of how great they are or how smart they are.  Instead, they are grateful and humble.  They realize just how fortunate they are and they never take their success for granted.

6. They love people:  Successful people love and care about other people.  They are interested in their lives and their families.  They know the names of the spouses and children of the people they associate with, that they work with, and that work for them.  They go out of their way to help others to succeed.  They are true friends.

7. They are energetic:  Successful people are typically bundles of energy, always on the go.  They never seem to tire of work or of life.  Energy fuels their passion, their drive, and their enthusiasm.  They all go hand-in-hand.

8. They are early risers:  Successful people can’t wait to get up in the morning and look forward to each new day.  They love what they do and are often up before dawn.  Being an early riser gives them a big head start on their competition and allows them to accomplish much more each day than the average person.

9. They love life:  Successful people recognize that life is a journey, not a destination and they love every minute of the ride.  They remain curious their whole lives and treat life as one great adventure.  They try to learn something new every day and always try to leave the world a little better than they found it.  They are always willing to lend a helping hand to a fellow traveler.

10. They expect success:  Successful people never expect anything less than success.  They know that it isn’t always going to be easy and that there will be bumps along the way, but they never, ever lose hope, not even for a minute.  They believe in their dreams and expect to achieve them.  Faith with expectation.  That’s the true formula for success.

11. They are perceptive:  Successful people are incredibly perceptive, taking in everything around them.  They see details others miss.  They see and correct things well before they ever become major problems.  They see opportunities where others can’t.

12. They are generous:  Successful people eagerly share their blessings with their family, their friends, their church, their community, and with others who inspire them.  They recognize they have been blessed and are always looking for ways to give something back.

13. They are people of honesty and integrity:   One cannot be truly successful unless one is honest and acts with integrity.  Successful people always seek truth and wisdom and are never willing to compromise their principles or values to get ahead.  These are the people you are proud to call friends and that you can trust and rely on in any situation.

14. They are persistent:  Persistence is one of the greatest qualities of successful people.  The road to success is often filled with disappointment, setbacks, and even temporary failures.  However, successful people never give up on their vision.  They just keep marching forward, no matter what obstacles are put in their path, fully expecting to ultimately reach their goal.  Quitting is never an option.

15. They have an exceptional work ethic:  Successful people work much harder than the average person.  They know exactly what they want and are committed to do whatever it takes to reach their goal.   They are usually the first one to arrive in the morning and the last one to leave.  They want to be the best and are willing to put in the effort to become the best.

16. They often have a coach or mentor:  Successful people tend to have a coach or mentor to guide them on their journey.  While this isn’t necessary for success, it sure speeds up the process.  Having access to someone who has already done what you want to do is a tremendous benefit.  Successful people recognize this and will seek out an experienced expert to guide them to their goal.

17. They surround themselves with good people:  Successful people surround themselves with positive, like-minded, can-do people.  They carefully select their friends, business associates and employees to synergize with themselves.  This multiplies their enthusiasm, their passion, their energy, and their results.  They become unstoppable.

18. They are committed:  Successful people are committed to their work, their family, their faith, their beliefs and principles, and to their country.  They know what is important in life and are committed to make the world a better place for one and all.

19. They are passionate and enthusiastic:  Successful people love what they are doing and they love the journey of life.  They look forward to each new day and can’t wait to get going each morning.  They are cheerleaders for everyone around them.

20. They are mentally tough:  Successful people know what they want and are committed to achieving their goals.  They never allow themselves to be swayed by critics or outside negative forces.  They consider setbacks and failures to be only temporary obstacles and never allow such things to dampen their passion or enthusiasm.  They expect success and never, ever doubt that they will achieve it.  They have a tenacious mindset.

21. They are decisive:  Successful people get the best information available, seek the advice of people they trust, check their instincts, weight all of the facts, and then make quick decisions.  And they stick to them.  They don’t flip-flop and they don’t waffle.  They decide on a course of action and then immediately start implementing it.  These are not rash, impulsive decisions.  Instead, they are informed, calculated decisions.  And if new, better information becomes available, successful people are never hesitant to modify their decision and change course.  Their focus is on reaching their goal, not in proving that they were right.

22. They get help when they need it:  Successful people know that they can’t know everything and do everything themselves.  Thus, they select a team of highly competent advisors to guide and council them on subjects where they lack expertise.  Such areas would include, among others, accounting, investing and finance, health and fitness, and other specialized areas relating to their careers and businesses.  King Solomon put it well in Proverbs 15:22 when he said, “Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed (NIV).”

23. They are innovative:  Successful people are always looking for new and creative ways to do things and to make things better.  They are never satisfied with the status quo.  They realize that growth is essential for every person and organization and believe that innovation is one of the quickest and best ways to get to the next level.

24. They are motivated:  Successful people are highly motivated and self-starting.  They don’t need anyone to push or prod them into action.  They can’t wait to get up every morning and get started in a new day, moving ever forward towards their goals.

25. They are leaders:  Successful people have a vision of what they want in life and where they are going.  And they are able to communicate that vision to others to gain their support.  They lead through example and show respect to everyone around them, no matter what their position in life.  People love being part of their team.

Action Plan:

By emulating the characteristics of successful people, you can become more successful yourself.  Here is your Cerebral Advantage Action Plan on how to do just that.

Step 1:  Make a commitment to improve.  Make a formal decision.  Write it down and sign it.  This now becomes a formal contract with yourself to adopt the characteristics of successful people so that you too can be more successful. Self contracts are powerful. You can learn more about them here

Step 2:  Identify one of the above characteristics that you currently lack or are deficient in and that you think will help you become more successful.

Step 3:  Implement the characteristic into your life for a period of two months.  Focus on the characteristic every day.  The general consensus is that it takes between 21 and 66 days to form a new habit, so two months is a reasonable timeframe for making this characteristic an integral part of your life.

Step 4:  Repeat for additional characteristics from the list, implementing each one for a period of two months.

Step 5:  Monitor your progress.  As you move on to new characteristics, make sure you continue to practice the ones you’ve already learned.  If you find yourself getting away from any of them, go through another implementation period until they are relearned.  This should only take a week or two, since you’ve already laid a strong foundation for them.

Step 6:  Identify some successful people that you admire and learn more about them, especially about their thinking and the qualities and characteristics that made them successful.  Add those qualities and characteristics to the above list.

Summing Up:

Remember, it’s really one’s thinking that determines whether or not he or she will be successful.    Get your thinking right and success will surely follow.

And emulating the qualities and characteristics of successful people is a great way to get your thinking right and to accelerate your pathway to success.

Get started today!
 
Think Right. Live Well.
 

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