9 Traits of Successful People

Success leaves clues. The late Dr Myles Munroe once said:

“People generally fall into one of three groups:

The few who make things happen.

The many who watch things happen

The overwhelming majority who have no notion of what happens.

Every person is either a creator of fact or a creature of circumstance. He either puts color into his environment, or, like a chameleon, takes color from his environment.”

Successful people share the following traits:

1. They Are Confident

Confidence comes from believing in yourself. Successful people believe in their abilities, or skills to accomplish their goals. Their confidence grows through taking action. They don’t sit and watch the game from the sidelines. They get into the game and give it their all. They make things happen.

2. They Know What They Want

Successful people are very clear about what they want. This enables them to say No yo anything that stands in the way of them getting want they want. When you know what you want, it’s easy to say No.

3. They Have a Plan

A plan indicates that there is a vision to be attained. You can’t have a plan without a vision. Successful people have a clear vision of where they are going in life and a plan of how to get there.

4. They Are Passionate About Their Dreams

Passion builds momentum. Passion is what pushes successful people to take action. Behind all of this, you will find that successful people have deep desires. If not many, then at least one. This desire is what drives their passion.

5. They Know When to Ask for Help

They don’t pretend to know it all. Steve Jobs is credited with turning the fortune of Apple and building it into the iconic brand we know today. However, when you look behind the scenes, it’s obvious that he did not accomplish this single-handedly. He had teams of people working with and for him.

Working with others, hiring staff, asking for advice from family members, or feedback from customers are all ways of asking for help. Successful people do this all the time.

6. They Communicate

Successful are able to relate their vision in a way that causes other people to want to come onboard with them. By communicating well, they build good relationships. All this contributes to success.

7. They Collaborate with other Successful People

The lockdown forced a lot of people to collaborate with others just so their businesses could survive. I’ve noticed it on the Medium platform too. Big names co-host webinars, they share their expertise thus reaching wider audiences. It makes one understand why they are successful.

Growth is a sign of success. Successful people continue to grow because they collaborate with others and share their knowledge.

8. They Don’t Give Up Easily

They shut out the voices of naysayers. Their patience enables them to ride the storms on their way to fulfilling their dreams. One such successful person was Thomas Edison. He was known as America’s greatest inventor. Some of his inventions include electric power generation, mass communication, sound recording, and motion pictures.

Your greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time.

― Thomas Edison

9. They Learn From Mistakes

Successful people own their mistakes. More than that they do a self-audit to find out what went wrong, where and why. This enables to learn from their errors. They either avoid making the same mistake or change how they do something in order to get a different result. They also learn from the mistakes of others.

How to Develop Success Traits

1. Grow in self-confidence by getting good at least one thing you enjoy doing. Don’t try to do too much at once. Take note of what works and what doesn’t. As you document your journey, a success pattern will emerge. Use that as a template which you can replicate in other areas of your life.
2. Get clear about what success means for you. What does it look or feel like? Choose one person who is living the life you would like to live and copy them.
3. If you fail to plan, you plan to fail. Always have a plan. It is the roadmap to your desired future.
4. Let passion be your driver.
5. Asking for help is a sign of wisdom. Pretending to know everything is a sign of pride. Pride comes before a fall. Sometimes it is better to look stupid by asking questions and getting your facts correct before taking action.
6. The words you speak will either make you or break you. They’ll either create opportunities for you, or hinder you. Choose your words carefully. Think before you speak.
7. No man is an island so enhance the power of collaboration. One wise book says this — Two is better than one. Another proverb says — If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go with someone else
8. Give yourself time to grow and learn in whatever area you are developing. Recognise that things take time so don’t give up easily. Long hours, sleepless nights, tight budgets may be your normal for a long time until you have your breakthrough.
9. Don’t be embarrassed by your mistakes. Learn from them instead. Take it one step further and read about how people who failed recovered from setbacks. Use the strategies that you can easily apply to your circumstances to improve your outcomes.

Finally

Incorporate traits found in successful people into your own behaviour until they become natural to you. Before long you will start to experience your own version of success.

There are no overnight successes. Many successful people agree on this one thing — It can take years to become an overnight success.