Top Ten Characteristics of Successful People

Top Ten Characteristics of Successful People

Typically, the final judgment of a person's successfulness in life rests in the hands of others. While every person may see things differently, there are ten fundamental elements that remain constant regardless of the goal in question, or its cultural context. Regardless of whether you want a promotion, or need to boost business productivity, the expression of these elements must be clear and direct.

1. Have a Sense of Obligation and Commitment to Others. When a promise is made, it is absolutely vital to do everything possible to keep it. Individuals that maintain a high level of truthfulness and honor their commitments are able to motivate others, as well as ensure that their own work is done with a high level of quality.

2. A Will to Take the Initiative. When a successful person sees a task that needs to be done, or a problem that needs to be solved, he/she does not hesitate to take useful action. That said, in a group or team setting, a successful person also makes sure that planned actions will be aligned with the highest good of the community or business.

3. Don't Be Afraid to Think of Unconventional Answers. When problems come up, obvious answers may not work. It always helps to try to find ideas or concepts that are original and creative. Typically, these ideas will solve the problem at hand, as well as enable a higher level of functioning for everyone concerned.

4. Be Able to Logically Assess Creative Thoughts. Not every creative idea is an ideal tool for solving a given problem. Therefore, it is very important to be able to assess the idea for fitness prior to committing time, labor, and money into developing it.

5. Have, or Develop the Skills Required to Bring Creative Ideas to Their Fullest Potential. Education and experience are vital when it comes to ensuring that a creative idea manifests into something that will advance your goals, as well as those of society. This is one of the main reasons why college graduates have a higher rate of success than high school dropouts. When natural abilities are honed with a solid education, there is no limit to what can be achieved.

6. Organize Activities and Tools in Order to Prevent Obstacles to Success. Once you commit to a project or task, it is necessary to create a plan for achieving your objective. This includes making sure that you have all of the tools and materials on hand. Regardless of whether you need to rearrange your desk, or create a filing system, it should be done before you start working toward the actual goal.

7. Develop and Maintain Priorities That Bring the Most Benefit to All. Through history, leaders and individuals are judged by whether or not they have created a beneficial effect. Unfortunately, this cannot always be known until action is taken, and the effects weighed by society. For example, when we look back on the lifetime of individuals like Gandhi or Harriet Tubman, we see individuals that were able to achieve their goals. Since these goals are considered valuable to society, these Individuals are considered highly successful. On the other hand, individuals like Hitler were just as capable of achieving goals. Nevertheless, the negative impact on society makes Hitler a failure.

8. Build and Maintain Good Relationships With Individuals of Diverse Personality Types. When you are able to work with others despite personal differences, everyone will have a better chance of working for the highest good. Today, the most successful people in the world are able to network with people from diverse cultures and backgrounds in a way that ensures high levels of productivity and positive outcomes.

9. Remain Firm and Clear Without Being Aggressive. Remaining calm and precise will do far more to advance a goal than losing control of your emotions. Regardless of whether a person has a habit of using threatening behavior, or emotional ploys, these actions are considered a sign of weakness. While these actions may have an effect in the short term, they will only backfire in the long run. In every case, composure and a willingness to look for mutually satisfying answers will gain respect and ensure that everyone works to achieve the goal.

10. Be Ready and Willing to Win. Almost everyone has to start at an entry level job, or in a company where there may not be much opportunity for advancement. At the beginner level, you will always be well served by keeping focused on advancing your career. This means actively looking for advancement opportunities, as well as developing skills and experience that will help you move to the next level. Once you see an opportunity, it is vital to step forward and claim it for yourself.

11. Use ? Task2Announce (T2A) enables you to effectively manage individual and team tasks. "Assign a Task and Forget It" - Task2Announce sends out task notifications via email and proactively follows-up (over and over again) with the task recipient until the task is 100% complete. As tasks are updated and/or completed, T2A sends you notifications and scheduled reports. Reports give overall completion statistics for Projects (Tasks that are grouped together), Individuals (a person's performance level), Overdue Tasks, etc.

Resources:

Heckman, James, J, The Effects of Cognitive and Non-Cognitive Abilities on Labor Market Outcomes and Social Behavior, July 2006, Journal of Labor Economics, Vol. 24 Number 3, 411-482

Hogan, Robert, What We Know About Leadership, 2005, the Educational Publishing Foundation, 1 - 14 (Originally in Review of General Psychology, June 2004.

McClelland, David C, Characteristics of Successful Entrepreneurs, 1987, Journal of Creative Behavior, Vol 21 Number 3, 219-33

Sternberg, Robert J, Teaching for Successful Intelligence: Principles, Procedures, and Practices, Journal of Education of the Gifted, Winter 2003, Vol 27 Number 2-3, 207-228

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