Fifty Habits of Highly Successful People

By Craig Harper at LifeHack.org

SO I THOUGHT that I might write a quick review of every self-help book ever written all right here in this one little article. 

Simple enough. I love the easy jobs. Surely it couldn’t be that hard, could it? I figured that maybe I could take the important lessons from every self-help book I’ve read and every life experience I’ve endured, condense all that into fifty key points and save everybody a whole bunch of reading time. 

Sure, global book sales in the self-help field might take a down-turn for a decade or so, but I’m willing to take that chance and put in a solid sixty minutes (or so) work for the good of humanity; my gift to mankind.

Selfless I know.

I thought that perhaps I could follow Stephen Covey’s lead (The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People) and come up with my own list of say… Fifty Habits (in truth, some of them are more qualities, than habits). 

It couldn’t be too difficult to distill all those millions of words, tens of thousands of books and that vast well of information, inspiration, wisdom and insight which has been collated over the centuries into one teensy-weensy article by the ex-fat kid (me).

Who else could be better qualified?

Don’t answer that.

Habits of successful people…

1. They look for and find opportunities where others see nothing.

2. They find a lesson while others only see a problem.

3. They are solution focused.

4. They consciously and methodically create their own success, while others hope success will find them.

5. They are fearful like everyone else, but they are not controlled or limited by fear.

6. They ask the right questions—the ones which put them in a productive, creative, positive mindset and emotional state.

7. They rarely complain (waste of energy). All complaining does is put the complainer in a negative and unproductive state.

8. They don’t blame (what’s the point?). They take complete responsibility for their actions and outcomes (or lack thereof).

9. While they are not necessarily more talented than the majority, they always find a way to maximize their potential. They get more out of themselves. They use what they have more effectively.

10. They are busy, productive and proactive. While most are laying on the couch, planning, over-thinking, sitting on their hands and generally going around in circles, they are out there getting the job done.

11. They align themselves with like-minded people. They understand the importance of being part of a team. They create win-win relationships.

Motivational quote: Martin Luther

“How soon ‘not now’ becomes ‘never’.” Martin Luther (1483-1546) German monk, Catholic priest, and leading figure in the Protestant Reformation. Born in Eisleben, Saxony.

The One Thing Successful People Don't Do (And 9 Famous Examples)

By David K. Williams in Forbes magazine

In the months leading up to the launch of my book, The 7 Non-Negotiables of Winning, I’ve talked a lot about winning—but I’ve talked a lot about failing, too. Learning how to fail productively—to “Fail Up”—is one of the greatest secrets to full-on success.

And in that vein, I was impressed with a recent article by business author Bernard Marr. He pointed out that there is one single thing that all “radically successful” people have in common: They have a ferocious drive and hunger for success that makes them never give up.

There are many varieties of success. Jobs and careers are one area, but success in family life, personal relationships, community and church work, philanthropy and sports or treasured hobbies are important success priorities as well.

One thing is certain: There is no clear and definitive path to success for anyone. The most successful people in any endeavor will tell you many stories of failure within their life journeys. Many (if not all) have experienced major failures, multiple times. But they never gave up.

As I have said many times, the greatest secret to success is learning how to “Fail Up.” It would even be fair to say that failure is the driver that makes truly successful people even more hungry and determined to achieve their success.

In his article, Marr presented a list of nine famous successful people whose failures helped to spur their success. I would like to share them with you, along with some of my own thoughts on each:

1. Henry Ford stands tall as a pioneer of modern business, yet this founder of the Ford Motor Company failed many times on his route to success. His first business attempt at building a motor car was shuttered after just a year and a half when stockholders lost confidence in his ability to succeed. He gathered more cash and re-started his effort, but a year later was forced out of his own company yet again. The entire motor industry had lost faith in Henry Ford, but he was not deterred. He found another investor to start the Ford Motor Company, and the rest is history.

A motivational success story

By David Bradshaw

THIS is the story of a horse trainer's son. The father would go from stable to stable, race track to race track, farm to farm and ranch to ranch in the course of his work.

As a result, the boy’s high school career was constantly interrupted. When he was a senior, he was asked to write a paper about what he wanted to be and do when he grew up.

He wrote about his dream in great detail. He drew a diagram of a 200-acre ranch showing the location of all the buildings, the stables and the track. Then he produced a detailed floor plan for a 4,000-square foot house that would sit on the 200-acre dream ranch.

Two days later he got his paper back. On the front page was a large red 'F' with a note that read, “See me after class”. The boy with the dream went to see the teacher after class and asked, “Why did I get an 'F'?”

The teacher said: “This is a completely unrealistic dream for a young boy like you. You have no money. You have no resources. You need a lot of money to own a horse ranch. You have to buy the land. You have to pay for the original breeding stock and later you’ll have to pay large stud fees. There’s no way you could ever do it.”

Then the teacher added, “If you rewrite this paper with a more realistic goal, I’ll reconsider your grade.”

The boy went home and thought about it long and hard.

Finally, after sitting with it for a week, he turned in the same paper, making no changes at all. He wrote in the margin: “You can keep your 'F' and I’ll keep my dream.”

The boy was Monty Roberts, creator of the “horse whispering” concept and author of several books on the subject. He was telling this story sitting in his 4,000-square foot house in the middle of his 200-acre horse ranch.

“Don’t let anyone steal your dreams,” he tells people.

“Follow your heart, no matter what.”