Business Building Action from Terry Brock
What does it take to be successful today? There are certain principles that have worked through the centuries for entrepreneurs and people who want to get ahead and be successful. As you study these and look at people who are successful you can see certain traits that emerge over and over.
Here are 7 that continue to emerge when you look at people who succeed no matter what:
1. They are always learning. I’ve had the opportunity to visit 37 countries around the world and see very successful people in many walks of life. I noticed those who are most successful are constantly learning. Most of them are great readers, however, some learn best from listening to quality audio, and others are constantly going to seminars and enhancing their education. Even though they know a lot and have studied a lot, they’re always open to learning something which can help them in their business and their life.
2. They are relentless in the pursuit of excellence. Let’s face it, sometimes life is tough. Sometimes you get knocked down. Sometimes you skin your knee and even bleed. Those who are successful understand this is just part of the way things work on this planet. They don’t like the pain anymore than anyone else. However, they are willing to be relentless and keep going no matter what happens to them. They learn from mistakes so they don’t have to repeat them. They get up and go after it again relentlessly. Make this a part of your life to always learn from mistakes and stop beating your head against the same wall. I like to call this “Smart Persistence” in that you are persistent, but you don’t keep repeating the same dumb mistakes over and over.
3. They provide enormous value for others. Life is ironic in that the way you get ahead is by focusing on others rather than yourself. We are all born to exist in our own shell where we breathe only for ourselves, we sleep only for ourselves, we have an internal communication with our self, and it is natural to focus on yourself. However, those who are successful make it a point to think of the needs of others and always wonder how they can help those other people. It is one of the ironies of life that as you focus on others, you help yourself more. Find ways that you can add value to others and help them. This is the key for you to achieving what you want for yourself.
4. Successful people are physically fit. Although there are a few exceptions, generally people who are successful are aware that they have to maintain their physical health. They know that the body they have is the house they will live in for this life. Ultimately you have to be responsible for your health. This means you have to be smart about what you put into your body, how you exercise, how you maintain stress levels that are appropriate, how are you sleep, and other variables that are part of the health equation. Get the professional help you need, and relentlessly practice healthy living. If your body (the “house” where you live) falls apart, you will not be fully successful. You don’t want to be the richest person in the graveyard.
5. Successful people learn from their setbacks. Part of the formula for living is that you’re going to have setbacks from time to time. Successful people learn from these setbacks. I like the way my friend, Willie Jolley says it,” a setback is just a set up for a comeback.” Look at each setback that you face (and you will have them in life) and view a setback as part of going to school in this game of life.
6. Successful people help others. There are multiple reasons for doing this. First of all you’re helping another person to overcome their challenge and this is part of all of us on the planet voluntarily helping each other. I’m a strong believer in the free market and living your life your way. I have found that you achieve the goals you want by helping others to achieve their goals. Often the payback to you doesn’t come from the person who you helped. Somehow the Karma of life smiles knowing that you will help someone else and the payback to you will come from an unknown source in the future. This is uncanny, but many people see it happen over and over. As you exercise your “helping others muscle,” you perfect those skills that are important for your own success in life.
7. Successful people embrace “New.” In contrast, we see the people who are not successful are longing for some imagined period of bliss in the past. The reality is that this time in the past also had its challenges. However, the human mind tends to forget about the disadvantages of the past and instead only remember what they perceive as good. The best way to live life is to have a fresh, youthful vision for new opportunities surrounded by new challenges. This is the way life works. Make it your practice to embrace new and keep learning with a childlike sense of wonder.
So there you have it. Make it your goal in life to embrace these principles of successful people. Keep learning and keep growing so that you embrace new opportunities as they become available to you.
Please share this with your community. This is a message that the world needs to hear particularly at this moment in time. Please share this on your social media networks and help others others be successful in their own life.
