What Makes a Person Likely to Succeed?

What makes a person likely to succeed? What is your own definition of success? Many believe that success is subjective. It greatly varies from one person to another.

When do we feel successful? What do you need to possess or to develop to be successful? The answers come from looking at those who have become successful in their own field of expertise.

Here are some key actions and attributes of successful leaders that shows that they are most likely to succeed:

1. Make Decisions

You should have a clear picture of what you want to achieve in life. Determine your own definition of success. In the case of a better career opportunity, you have to know when to stay and when to leave. Whether it’s changing employers or starting up your own company, you shouldn’t be afraid to make hard choices, regardless of opposing forces.

2. Set goals

Stay awake, plan, and set realistic goals and timelines. The keyword here is realistic. Even if you have a great vision, and your plan sounds amazing to others, if it is not realistic, then nothing will happen. You need to know your capabilities and skill sets and the goal should be focused, attainable, and aligned to your strengths.

3. Innovate

Successful people are life-long students. What does this mean? It is only telling you to learn more. Don’t be comfortable with what you already know instead, step outside of your comfort zone to learn new skills and expand your horizon. If you want to succeed in life, then you have to be flexible. Constantly look to gain knowledge and new experiences. Don’t be afraid to try new activities and to fail at them as these will help you understand new perspectives.

4. Be responsible

Take accountability of yourself and your own actions. Don’t rely on other people to get the job done. Instead, you do it on your own or with the team. If you make a mistake, own up to it and make sure you learn from it. Think of ways to improve to ensure not making the same mistake twice.

5. Move forward

Successful people don’t just stay in one corner and wait to be affected by the trends happening around. Instead, they create the trends and make sure things happen. They don’t rely on other people in order to do the job. What they do instead is they look inwards and try to find solutions, while maximising their current assets. They do not recoil from uncomfortable situations and challenges, because it gives them even more resolve to succeed and makes them more passionate to reach their goals.

6. Stay positive

A positive attitude will always bring better results rather than a negative one, regardless of what those results look like to you personally. A positive attitude is definitely one attribute that makes a person likely to succeed. Stop worrying about what others would think. Your happiness is yours. It does not belong to, or should depend on, other people. Avoid pessimism! When you have unshakeable trust in yourself and in what you can bring to the table, you are already one step closer to success.

7. Communicate

You need other people for you to succeed. Remember that you work in a team and need to be able to communicate effectively. If you are a good communicator, you’re also a good listener. When open communication is present, trust and respect follow. Don’t be afraid of using your networks to seek help and ask questions. This will help you learn more and broaden your horizons.

8. Be upright

One of the golden rules in life is: Honesty is the best policy. This will never ever get old. Integrity creates character and defines who you are as a person. Integrity means to do what is always right in all circumstances, whether or not anyone is watching. It takes courage to do the right thing, whatever the consequences. Building a reputation of integrity takes years, but it only takes one slip or poor judgement to lose it. Success comes and goes, but integrity is forever.

9. Be compassionate

While we know that the real world is a jungle where only the fittest survive, that should not make you less human. You can’t work alone to be successful. Whether you like it or not, you have to meet, work with, and collaborate with people. When you are compassionate, you are committed to act and to work in solving the problem. If you embrace your compassion, it’s going to be a win-win for you. It will help you to be successful, it will help solve problems, and it will create opportunities for others, and it will never be lonely at the top.

Let’s ask the question again, “what makes a person likely to succeed?”

“Success means doing the best we can with what we have. Success is the doing, not the getting; in the trying, not the triumph. Success is a personal standard, reaching for the highest that is in us, becoming all that we can be.”

– Zig Ziglar, American author, Salesman, Motivational speaker

Send Leadership Coach Carrie Benedet a message today so I can help you find your success.