Clifton Kopp
Generally speaking, you donโt become a success in life by chance.
For the vast majority of us, we have to put the work in.
This means that we need to cultivate the traits in life that promote success and, well, getting shit done.
Nobody wants to settle for being average; for being another cog in the system, living an unremarkable life.
So if you want to avoid this and achieve great things in life, itโs time you start taking a deeper look at your qualities and habits, making the adjustments where necessary.
In this article, Iโll take you through the unique personality traits of a successful person.
Once you get a better picture of things, you can start moving forward with greater clarity.
Letโs get to it!
1) Resilience
Most people who fail allow that to be a permanent reflection of their worth.
They become self-defeatist and too jaded, too meek to get up and try again.
This is not the case with the successful person.
The successful person has a firm understanding that failure is a legitimate part of life, of growing and becoming a better, more complete person.
There are few things more human than failing.
Itโs ultimately how you bounce back from setbacks that will define you as a person.
You seeโฆ when you have a successful mindset, you tend to view coming up short as a learning opportunity to get betterโand not much else.
You tend to have persistence and determination.
Take it from Michael Jordan, arguably the greatest basketball player to ever live, and who also was cut from his high school varsity team: โI’ve missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times I’ve been trusted to take the game-winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.โ
Touche, MJ.
2) Self-discipline
You wonโt often see a successful person lying in bed, suffering from a hangover on a Wednesday morning, with cheesy Dorito crumbs on their chest.
Sure, they let their guard down at the appropriate times, but generally, a successful person has a routine, they have structureโand most of all, they have self-discipline.
They have the discipline to sacrifice things like instant gratification or short-term pleasures to achieve something far greater.
They consistently have their eyes on the prize, and slowly chip away at it.
Their daily actions are almost always aligned with long-term goalsโฆ and they rarely allow themselves to stray from that path.
3) Optimism
As mentioned, when an unsuccessful person comes up short, they can become unreasonably hard on themselves.
These ruminations can be so intense, that they become demotivated and give up entirely.
Itโs a shameโฆ and a stark contrast from the successful person.
For every obstacle, the successful person tends to hone in on the positive, rather than dwell on everything else.
They perpetually see the glass as half full and act accordingly.
They believe in themselves, and their ability to change, to be betterโa sentiment that often inspires those around them.
4) Adaptability
If you get excessively stuck in your ways, this can be a major hindrance to success.
The world is a constantly changing place.
There are few things more certain in the universe than change.
Successful people know that to genuinely stand out from the rest, they have to adapt and embrace change.
Think of the greatest, most innovative companies in the world currently.
Have a few in mind?
Iโll bet that the company youโre thinking of didnโt reach such groundbreaking heights by playing it safe and stubbornly sticking to established ways.
Chances are, they are flexible and adjust their strategies based on new environments, and fresh ways of thinking.
The fact is that by not adapting, you sacrifice new and efficient ways of doing things, which means youโll be left behind in lifeโwhether youโre a multinational company or an individual.
And nobody wants to be left behind.
5) Passion
When a successful person decides to pursue a task, they tend to dive head first into it.
They donโt dilly dally, act hesitant, and sort of half-assedly do the job, delegating to others.
They get excited. They get passionate.
Whether theyโre running their own company or sweeping floors, a person who has a successful mentality will accomplish their work with enthusiasm and zest, not bitterness, resentment, or laziness.
When youโre passionate about something, trust me, people take notice.
Passion also tends to fuel things like persistence, curiosity, and creativityโmore key attributes to becoming successful in this world.
6) Vision
I know many people who have lofty goals in life.
But these so-called โgoalsโ become ideas that end up floating around in the back of their head, or are reduced to a topic of barroom chatter, never genuinely materializing.
These people sort of expect things to land in their laps, without taking, or even brainstorming, the necessary, requisite steps and initiative to get there.
Successful people understand that to achieve anything of value in the world, they have to have a concrete vision, and a plan to get there.
They not only have clear, long-term goalsโฆ but more importantly, theyโre able to outline the steps needed to achieve them.
See the difference?
7) Confidence
Successful people also often have a high degree of self-assuredness.
By confidence, I donโt mean that you need to morph into Dwayne โThe Rockโ Johnson overnight.
By confidence, I mean you have a high level of self-belief and trust in your ability to accomplish things, your ability to make decisions, and so on.
Many can stick out their chest and fake confidence; but true, genuine confidence comes from deep within.
True confidence separates successful people from everyone else.
True confidence motivates you to take risks and seize opportunities, while everyone else just looks on.
8) Emotional intelligence
Hereโs the thing: successful people understand people.
Whether we like it or not, we canโt be solitary in our quest to genuinely go places in life.
When it comes to success, learning how to deal with people efficiently is non-negotiable.
Remember, no man or woman is an island.
Successful people know this and thus make it a point to develop their emotional intelligence.
Theyโre generally able to manage their emotions well, staying calm and composed in stressful situations; while also navigating interactions, social and professional, with depth and charisma.
Final words
If you want to be more successful than the average person, you have to pay attention to your qualities, your behaviors, and your day-to-day habits.
As you may have gathered, these things add up.
So start taking things one step at a time.
Rome wasnโt built in a dayโฆ and you will not become a success overnight.
But if you remain dedicated, youโll get there sooner than later.
Remember, true success is always within your grasp if you want it to be. You got this.
