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The Best Do It Differently

Researching the question “what do the most successful people do differently?” yields numerous results on how the most successful people rise to the top. Although these articles are interesting to read, and they give insight to how the common person could improve, they sometimes feel out of reach for people. How could I ever achieve the status of these leaders and successful people? This question is valid, but I think sometimes we forget to see an image of ourselves in all of these successful people. Successful people know, do, and realize all of these basic fundamentals:

  1. Success is Relative: The success that one person achieves is very different from the success another person reaches. When we consider our own success, we have to consider it with where we’re at in life, who we’re around, and the skills we have. Only then can we realize our own success. 
  2. Take Chances: One of the greatest differences between the most successful people and the average person is that very successful people take chances. The chances they take sometimes lead them to failure, but said failure often opens a door to success. We cannot succeed without taking a few chances even if they cause us some concern and worry. 
  3. Reflect Consistently: The most successful people reflect constantly about their product, their work, and their leadership. When these people are consumed in their work, they focus their time on thinking about how the pieces fit together to make it better. They problem solve. They think with no box. The thinking, however, doesn’t stop at work; successful people make connections to all parts of their lives, and they see potential success in the details of their daily lives. 
  4. Balance: We forget about balance, especially when we consider the most successful people. But, in order to be successful, one has to allow the mind and the body to rest and explore areas of life that fill them up. If a person doesn’t feel satisfied in other areas of life, then he or she has a small chance of reaching big goals. The balance is fine, but it’s one that the most successful people do routinely. 
  5. Create: Successful people don’t wait for things to happen for them; they focus on taking action. In other words, they create the opportunities for themselves because they know that if they wait around, then someone else will take the opportunity. They take on leadership roles, ask for help, seek advice, and live a life of creating and doing. 
  6. Say No Often: Our world sends us messages that being busy with many projects will lead to success and achievement; however, the most successful people often say no to a lot of projects, so they can say yes to the most important ones. A successful person understands the importance of a concentrated effort on a few important projects. 

Becoming a successful person is relative; it’s relative to what we believe success is and how we want to live it out. As we continue our work and our lives, we should consider what the most successful people do, and we should try to live those out on a daily basis. Although it’s important to emulate great leaders and successful people, we cannot simply rely on research to tell us what the most successful people have in common; we must take action and experience it ourselves. 

What are the characteristics of successful people?