During a workshop today, someone said that they used to wonder why some people seemed to have big success while he was just struggling to get by. What is it about some people that makes it seem like success follows them? In the whole of society, you always see people that always rise to the top. Some of these people even make it look easy! Today’s article is discussing a few of the key attributes that the top performers incorporate into their lives that make success a habit.
Eighty Twenty Rule
In almost every industry you’ll hear about the 80/20 rule (or the Pareto Principle). In simple terms, it means that 80% of the work gets done by 20% of the people. Now for those that are literal, this isn’t an exact ratio, but it does signify that the minority is able to be more productive than the majority. Another axiom to describe this rule is, if you want something done quickly give it to someone who is busy. The reasons these sayings are common place is because in a general sense they are true. So, what can you do to be part of the 20%?
Desire
At the top of my list of attributes that make people the most successful is sheer desire. You have to WANT to be successful. Sure, we all wish for more money, a bigger house, nicer car, better vacations, but do you WANT them? Life has a way of testing our desire. We’ll face trials along the way. With our a true desire to be at the top, to achieve your pinnacle of success, these trials will cause you to quit. Desire comes from within, and drives you to perform. Desire is what will motivate you on those cold winter mornings to get out of bed and get it done. Desire is what drives you forget about making excuses and get results. Do you desire to be the best?
Persistence
Persistence is so important to success that Napoleon Hill dedicated an entire chapter of the bestselling book Think and Grow Rich. Unless you are already in the top 20%, it is unlikely you have a clear roadmap for getting there. This doesn’t mean that you can’t be the top 20%, but it means there will be struggles along the way. Being persistent means, you won’t quit at the first sign of adversity, or even quit at the second or thousandth sign of adversity. You will do what it takes to overcome the challenges to see your desire become a reality. Persistence is getting up when life knocks you down. In most cases persistence is the difference between success and failure. Think of it this way, the opposite of persistence is quitting. How will you ever achiever your true desires if you quit?
Continuous Improvement
One statistic that I’ve heard thrown around a lot lately is that successful people read twenty-four self-help books a year. This means that to be successful, you must constantly be trying to get better. The secret isn’t in reading the books, the secret is learning and implementing a new skill or technique. We, as humans, learn by doing. We must practice what we learn, practice our trade, and perfect our skills. Often times we do this through coaches and mentors. To achieve high levels of success requires constant growth, and to maintain it requires even more. I have seen individuals, companies and teams reach the peak of success only to stop doing what got them – continually improving. It is tempting to reach the top and be satisfied, but the hard truth is without continuous improvement it’ll be a short-lived reign, and soon you’ll be wondering what happened. Some of the best advice I received was to make a habit of spending one hour a day focusing on improving my career. Do you have a habit of continuous improvement?
This Week’s Challenge
This week’s challenge starts a 100-day challenge. To begin, I want you to find your true desire and then, spend the next 100 days committed to getting better at your true desire. Decide that nothing is going to get in your way, and be persistent in the face of obstacles. Trust me one of those obstacles will be time. Dedicate one hour a day (even weekends) to learning something new and incorporating it in your daily routine. If you learn something you already incorporated, find a way to do it better. Believe me in 100 days you’ll be on your way to being in the 20%!
If you would like to discuss more ways to help your business grow or if you feel you have a specific problem that needs to be addressed, please reach out to me.