8 basic qualities of successful people

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Once on a plane, a teenage girl asked businessman and millionaire Richard St. John, "What do you need to do to be successful in adulthood if you are not doing very well in school?" Richard thought about it, did not find an answer right away, and for 10 years he went into a full-scale study of success.

He spoke to hundreds of people who have achieved outstanding results, including Bill Gates, Richard Branson, Oprah Winfrey, Joanne Rowling. He asked all of them a single question: "What actually leads to success?" And that's what came of it.

Big Eight

After taking 500 interviews and spending 10 years on it, Richard identified 300 factors that contribute to success. And among them are eight essential basic qualities.

These eight qualities are like a magic pill. They are the foundation of success in any industry. And what about the 300 others? They help, but you can do without them. For example, communication skills are valuable. But many successful people, including well-known businessmen and scientists, do not have developed working and communication skills. However, this did not stop them because they have eight key qualities.

Passion

Everyone knows this: the guaranteed way to achieve success is to find your passion. Much more important is how to find it. Richard divides people into "strugglers" and "seekers." “Fighters” are those who are lucky: they have already met their passion and are now moving towards their goal. And the "seekers" are trying to find passion.

Robert Munsch said that he tried many professions before finding his passion: “I studied to be a priest, but nothing came of it. I worked as a sailor on a ship. The ship sank. I looked for myself in many ways, but in vain. However, I didn't give up. And suddenly I found something worthwhile for myself. " And it really is "something worthwhile." Having discovered a passion for writing books for children, Robert already has 40 million copies of his works sold in 20 countries around the world.

Take the advice of Erik Weihenmayer, the first blind person to climb Mount Everest: “Seek your passion. Look for her in dark alleys and in inaccessible places. She will bring you happiness."

Not workaholics, but "hard workers"

The second common quality of successful people is hard work. When Richard asked Martha Stewart what helped her achieve phenomenal success, she replied, “I've always worked hard. I just work, work and work all the time. Never trust that someone else will do your job for you. Labor is the entrance fee to the territory of success.

Labor has been the key to Google's success, according to Larry Page:

We started working on this search engine eight or nine years ago, when we were still at Stanford University. And they have always worked very hard on it, 24 hours a day. Inspiration alone is not enough for success. It's probably 10% inspiration and 90% work to sweat.

Ability to focus

All successful people know how to concentrate their attention and do their favorite thing for hours. Probably, many of you now grabbed your head and thought: “How? How is this possible? Especially in our world, where every third person suffers from attention deficit disorder?"

Richard is sure that in most cases, attention deficit disorder is a deficit of motivation and interest. If you can't help but be distracted from your work for a while, you probably don't really love it that much.

What to do? As Don Norman, author of The Design of Everyday Things, said: You never get done unless you focus on it properly.

When you collect the sun's rays in a beam with a magnifying glass, they will have enough energy to set something on fire. Use the same principle in your life. Focus all your energy on one thing, and this will help you achieve success.

Ability to overcome oneself

It is unlikely that you will find at least one successful person who is not tormented by self-doubt. Everybody thinks from time to time that what they are doing is worthless.

Richard believes that the secret is to always be on the line between self-confidence and doubt. It is this approach that allows you to create something grandiose. Doubt should be seen as a reason to get even better. “The trick to using this technique is to constantly balance between confidence and doubt. You can't stay on one side for too long,”writes Richard.

Teacher and tormentor

Of course, you need to have a mentor, or teacher, who will guide you in the right direction and support. But many outstanding people admit that they had not only teachers, but also tormentors. We offer you to find such people for yourself.

Tormentors can mock, ridicule, and even punish you. You may even hate them, but they should be a powerful incentive for you to move forward. Sometimes being angry and wanting to prove something to other people turns us on even more than anything else!

The great violinist James Ehnes says he owes his success to his tormentor teacher:

My teacher in New York was a real tormentor! He drove me so angry that I moved towards the goal like mad. I worked very hard, because I would die if someone thought that I was unable to succeed. I wanted to prove to the whole world that I can do more.

Success is not a one-way street. It's a lifelong road. And the eight qualities that unite successful people help not only achieve it, but also preserve it. I wish you success, no matter what you mean by it!

Based on the book by Richard St. John "The Big Eight".