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“Do the one thing you think you cannot do. Fail at it. Try again. Do better the second time. The only people who never tumble are those who never mount the high wire. This is your moment. Own it.”

Oprah Winfrey

So what do the likes of Oprah Winfrey, Hillary Clinton, Mark Zuckerberg, Bill Gates, Edmund Hillary, Steve Jobs, Richie McCaw, and Richard Branson all have in common? You guessed it, this group of individuals are highly successful at what they do.

Influential, motivating, inspiring, encouraging are all words that come to mind, but the question is how do they do it? What makes these people stand out from the rest? Is it inherent or something that can be learned over time? There are a number of habits that these successful people adopt along the way.

Commit and Persist

Successful people will set a goal, once the goal has been firmly cemented they’ll commit to it 100 percent to achieve their desired outcome. Roadblocks may be faced, challenging obstacles may be met, but successful people will address these hurdles without adversity. Successful people will go around them, go over them, or just simply charge through them. If you adopt this habit it will certainly steer you in the right direction. The SMART model may be indeed the answer to helping you clarify your goals more precisely. Specific, Measureable, Attainable, Realistic, Time-Related.

Hard Yakka

Taking responsibility and becoming the master of your own destiny is an integral part to becoming a highly successful person. You won’t hear excuses, instead a strong will to push forward.

You’ll never hear the words ‘lazy’ and ‘successful’ in the same sentence. Courageous, charismatic, audacious you will.  

Success doesn’t just land on your doorstep on some idyllic sunny day, the road to success acquires hard work and determination. Late nights, early starts, are all part in parcel. Successful people will always strive for more and continue furthering their education. For example reading books, trade magazines, attending conferences, and partaking in short courses. There is a wealth of knowledge out there, you’ve just got to grab it by the jugular.  

Positive Influence

Surround yourself with positive influences in your life, the old proverb “birds of the feather will flock together”, stands true. Behaviours of others is infectious, if you want to strive for victory ensure you are surrounded by the right people. If the problem is mingling with likeminded people, then read autobiographies, any of the people mentioned in the second paragraph would be a good start.

Have Confidence

Believe in yourself and define your goal destination, confidence will be the key to conquering your goals. Don’t let the little voice in your head prevail, because it will if you let it. The question is, do people inherently have self-confidence and are more successful, or do successful people become more self-confident as time progresses?  This could be a bit of the ‘chicken-or-the-egg’ scenario, but one thing for certain, is that self-confident people are more successful in all areas of life; successful people will have a higher level of self-confidence.  Stepping out of your comfort zone, reaching new highs, achieving results through positive thinking patterns are all binding opportunities to your successful funnel.

A lil’ bit of ‘R n R’

We won’t delve into this too much, but having a healthy outlook on life will help immensely. To ensure the sluggish attitude does not rear its ugly head, fuel yourself with energy to achieve your desired results. Energy may consist of eating right, exercising, and getting the proper rest required to function at a higher level. This in turn will help you accomplish your dream result. But (there’s always a but) highly successful people will need time out. Discharge yourself from your daily routine to recharge, reset, and refuel. 

You’re only human

As a society we tend to see risk taking negatively. Risk taking can often be regarded as dangerous or unwise. Successful people aren’t afraid to take risks. A mistake can be seen as a learning opportunity, an advantage in some respects. Taking calculated but daring risks shows confidence and will help you stand out. As Ariana Huffington says, “Failure is not the opposite of success but a stepping stone to success”. In the face of failure, successful confident people will quickly recover their sense of efficacy.

Focus on one or two habits at a time, then change your believe structure and actions so they’re more aligned with those of a successful person. By changing a few patterns with how you go about your daily activities, will help you lay the foundation to accomplish greater things. Your potential is unlimited, no need to be confined to the four walls you’re surrounded by.