The Traits Of Success

14 Things Every Successful Person Has In Common (From Forbes Magazine)


1. They know when to stay and when to leave. Successful people know exactly when they should change employers, start a company or fold their company. They have good intuition and aren’t afraid to make hard choices, despite opposing forces.

2. They do more than what’s asked of them. They view their job descriptions as just the beginning of what they can do with their job. After they’ve completed their mandatory tasks, they will always ask to take on more projects that challenge them. They are even willing to take on the tedious work that no one else wants to do in order to be a team player.

3. They are willing to fail in order to eventually succeed. All successful people know that it doesn’t come easy and they are bound to fail more than they will succeed at anything. They are willing to learn from each failure, as it will help them make better decisions that lead to success later. While many people give up after failing at something, a successful person will persevere.


4. They know that they make their own luck. Luck is derived from hard work over time and positioning yourself for success. You won’t randomly get lucky and successful people know that. They will do at least one thing every single day to put themselves in a better position to get lucky and then use that luck to grow.

5. They set real goals that they can accomplish. Successful people wake up and they’ve already planned their day, while unsuccessful people are scrambling to figure out what they need to do next. Their goals are very focused, big yet obtainable and are aligned to their strengths. They know what they are capable of and will invest all of their efforts in it, avoiding their weaknesses.

6. They take accountability for themselves and their actions. They aren’t relying on other people in order to get the job done. Instead, they are looking inwards and are trying to find the solutions, while leveraging their current assets. If they make a mistake, they own up to it and immediately think of ways that they can improve next time, not making the same mistake twice.

7. They make change instead of being affected by it. Successful people aren’t waiting around to be affected by economic trends. They are the ones who are creating the trends and making things happen.

8. They are able to adjust to changes in the marketplace. Successful people are willing to reinvent themselves to stay relevant in the business world. They understand that if you stay stagnant and ignore trends, that you will be left behind. They are constantly coming up with new ideas, searching for the next big thing and getting new skills.

9. They can communicate their story effectively. If you walk up to a successful person and ask them what they do, they will able to tell you everything in a concise manner. They know who they are, what they do and can make you believe in them. They have strong posture and are very persuasive and confident.

10. They ask the right questions to the people who can deliver the right answers. Successful people know they need to solve problems by tapping their networks. They aren’t afraid of emailing or calling the best person who can answer their questions. They are always prepared with the right questions and are always willing to help the other person out in return.

11. They are life-long learners who push themselves out of their comfort zones. While most people think that when they graduate college, they are finished being a student, successful people remain students. They are constantly learning new things and have new experiences. They aren’t afraid to try new activities and to fail at them.

12. They know who they are and their place in the world. Successful people are confident and can lead themselves, as well as others. They have their own vision and mission and seek to bring it to life on a daily basis. They also know who they aren’t and don’t waste time on things that they aren’t good at or they aren’t satisfied with.

13. They are more excited about the journey than the pay out. Successful people ignore get rich quick schemes. They are more focused on building sustainable careers through hard work, risk taking and creativity. They enjoy the journey, despite the obstacles, because they are doing something that has meaning in their lives.

14. They create instead of just consume. While most people are busy reading emails, watching TV or listening to a podcast, successful people are creating new tools, presentations and coming up with ideas. They are the ones who are making things that other people need instead of being on the other end of the spectrum, consuming them.

Floyd,

I feel as if I have had a life time of restaurant jobs. It has not been a life time, but prisoners usually get paroled
in less time. I have actually lost jobs after a few years because I got so pissed off out performing people who
would then leave heaps of work to me. They got surprised if I said anything about them getting off their butts.
Lost as in I quit. And then I get more money working elsewhere. This has repeated itself a few times.

I am my own boss in this. I love it. I see echos in myself in all that this thread is about.

Dave

Find a universal definition for "success" and you may be on to something.

Otherwise, I think most of this is relatively generic stuff.

Great info, Floyd ... in fact, I just copied and pasted these into an email for my son ... he's going to devour them!! Especially loved this one: "They are more excited about the journey than the pay out." Coolness!!! Thanks!!

"Outstanding people have one thing in common: an absolute sense of mission." -- Zig Ziglar


I've photographed many public figures and / or CEO's and the one common thing I find about them is they try to do the most difficult task for that day at the start of the day.

... then the rest of the day is 'easy'.

#15: Marry rich

After reading all those points 95% get failure.
Except # 15 for short time.
Where is the art, Floyd?

A lot of those have been paraphrased (by Forbes article author?) for the times, but they're the basic leadership competencies we were studying and implementing back in the early/mid 70's. Been awhile, but I recall there were 16 of them back in the early 80's.

generally successful people have the work done for them. and they simply take credit. they aren't making the tools. they are directing the people to make tools for them, and then they claim it was their idea. the successful person is the one that gets along with everyone with a false smile on their face and people trust that person. that person then uses this and their ideas to get ahead.

many of the others are simply lucky or get lucky. we only hear about the success stories and not all the ones that failed at it. bill gates - he lucky with timing. facebook guy, the site was never designed well, was never designed to make money, but it apparently did, i consider that one luck. most inventions comes down to convincing people that its worth investing in.

most of these are generic ideas, a loser generally won't succeed. and others can look like a leader because they were born into money like trump for example.

one also has to define success. and what the levels are... or in this case, how this all relates to art.


---Mike Savad
MikeSavad.com

"...successful people have the work done for them. and they simply take credit. they aren't making the tools. they are directing the people to make tools for them, and then they claim it was their idea..."

That is a poor excuse of a "leader", and I've unfortunately worked for a couple of them during my career.



"...the successful person is the one that gets along with everyone with a false smile on their face and people trust that person..."

I would classify that type as a con artist, snake-oil salesman. We have examples of that type in the upper (and lower) echelons of some elected officials, unfortunately.

i've worked for quite a few. he had a smile on his face, he was trusting, he remembered everyone's name (i was there for 7 years and still couldn't do that). he was open to suggestions,open door, patted people on the back. made underlings feel important, he even bribed everyone by giving nice gifts at the holidays. but in the end, he took people's ideas and used it against them. took full credit for it. and gave you no leeway at all if you got in trouble, even minor. he used that job, left it when he felt threatened and used it to leap frog into the next one.

but how many successful people really make their own things? generally you can't be both, because while your making it, you have no time to get yourself up there.


---Mike Savad
MikeSavad.com

"...but how many successful people really make their own things? generally you can't be both, because while your making it, you have no time to get yourself up there."


Depends on the environment I think, and how the career path is setup and managed.

Well, I can say from my experience in the same corporate environment for 25 years is that most of the leaders never were doers, they just had their eye on the next rung of the ladder and worried more about appearances that would get them there rather than substance. Not all mind you, we did have one CEO that really cared about the company and was very productive during his climb from engineer to CEO, unfortunately cancer got him relatively young. People followed him because he was genuine, we knew he really believed what he said, however after he got an MBA he lost some of that. MBA's do not make good leaders that's for sure, nearly every person I've seen get one became a person I couldn't trust anymore.

Entreprenuership is a whole different thing though, success there probably does require many of the characteristics Floyd lists.

ROFLMAO!!

Ronald Walker started a thread Why Discussions? I seen the thread a lot of people really like those kinds of discussion but they are not really my thing. However, I will post here what I would have posted there had I chosen to partake. Why Discussions? Because they are hilariously funny and entertaining.

This thread is one that is touting the traits of success people, not according to me, but gleaned from sources with a bit more credibility then me and anyone else in here for that matter.

I have to admit that even for this crowd, I am amazed at how many people felt it necessary to log on and rain down all this negativity! And why? What does that accomplish? Nothing! And it does not escape notice that it is some of the same people that are always so negative all the time! So much for that trait of keeping a positive attitude! lol

I am glad to see that some people get it and understand the ideas and concepts and what it takes to be successful and how keeping a positive is so important and don't have to have it explained to them what it has to do with making and selling art.

"...traits of success people,...gleaned from sources with a bit more credibility then me and anyone else in here for that matter..."

What makes them (the sources) more credible then anyone else in here?

you can't believe everything you read online.


---Mike Savad
MikeSavad.com

also, reality is not negativity.


---Mike Savad
MikeSavad.com

Don't waste your breath Mike, these ultra-positive types have to label reality as negativity or their bubble might burst. The list is full of great stuff, but if you believe all successful people have even half of those traits you're fooling yourself. Most "successful" actually have just one trait in common, they've mastered the art of programming other people.

what i'd like to see is the list of people that followed the guides, the lists, etc, and still failed.

generally the masters have:

1. money, an endless supply of it.
2. they can manipulate
3. seem innocent so people trust them.

but it depends on what is success - are we talking about a CEO? or just someone that sells their product? someone can get famous from their product?

for the most part - luck and timing - was left off the list. you can have all the traits, but if you don't have a bit of each you may not go as far. you'll just be a blip in history because the timing was wrong.


---Mike Savad
MikeSavad.com

"What makes them (the sources) more credible then anyone else in here?"
(Really? You think you or any one in here is are as credibility as Fobes magazine? Wow! I sand corrected!)

"you can't believe everything you read online. ' (You do realize that it was not me that came up those traits, don't you?)

"also, reality is not negativity. " (It is when it becomes your only reality)

"Most "successful" actually have just one trait in common, they've mastered the art of programming other people."
(So brain washing others is the real key to success?)

"for the most part - luck and timing - was left off the list" (since when has luck or timing been personality traits? duh!?)

Like I said, hilariously funny stuff!! lol

I didn't say brain washing Floyd.

"How to Win Friends and Influence People" by Dale Carnegie. It's right there in the title. A whole chapter of "Think and Grow Rich" is about how Napoleon Hill programmed his son. I really like Scott Adams theories on this, he's the first motivation speaker I've read and listened to that I feel I can trust because he's actually telling it like it is rather than selling you. Well, I'm sure there is some selling involved, but at least my BS meter isn't going off like crazy when I read or listen to him. It's not about bad or good, or morality or anything like that, it just is.

Just because I'm skeptical about all this self help motivational junk doesn't mean I haven't read or listened to any of it, in fact I have read and listened to a lot of it, that's precisely why I'm skeptical.

Being unimpressed and being negative are not the same thing.

It's not uncommon for a successful businessman to be a failure of a father.
It's not uncommon for a successful father to make minimum wage.
It's not uncommon for a hero to see himself as a nobody.
It's not uncommon for an overly-confident person to be a jerk.

Success at anything requires a balancing of priorities, and an act of letting other things suffer as a result of your decisions.

I'm never going to be an astronaut, but I have ran my own structural design business for the past 8 years.
However, I'm most proud of the relationship I have with my children.

Again, define success...

"(Really? You think you or any one in here is are as credibility as Fobes magazine? Wow! I sand corrected!)"


Absolutely. I don't know about anyone else (I don't speak for other people), but yes, I do. Here's a suggestion: quit thinking you know how others in this forum think and feel. Unless you personally know them, there is no way you "know" what they might be thinking, or anything about their credibility. Do not ever assume you know anything about me, or question my credibility. You don't know where I've been, or what I've accomplished, so quit assuming.

On a side note, does someone occasionally assist you when you post ? Just wondering.

realize that even very successful people, sharing to places like fobes - or forbes as they like calling it, that they may leave out a few steps. either out of pride, or because they forgot about the little people. that stepping stone if you will. the brother in law that got them the job. the friend of a friend of a friend they got introduced too that had the big gallery and their work happen to sell well there. the timing of an event where they happen to be there. etc

when the magazine asked for a list of success, they listed the things they were, and it wasn't a lie, but it wasn't accurate either.

a poor example because its from a movie is bubba gump shrimp. they were the only ones out there while the storm raged. they became very successful because of that. now if you asked them after they were successful how they did it, they would make a list - determination, and all the stuff above. its not that its a bad or inaccurate list, its usually that one step of luck or timing - that is always left out.

you seem to think that all you need is determination and you'll become a success but that's not true.

edison worked his staff hard, he took in people like tesla (who also fit the list well), and never paid him for his work. edison "invented" the light bulb. but that's not true, it was already invented, he invented the filament, however that's not true, he had a staff that tested out thousands of things, and he told everyone he was the inventor. in otherwords he had to convince the public it was him. many of the other inventions were made by his staff and not him. all he did was put his name on it.

bill gates had the right timing. trump was born into money from my understanding. and so on.

you can giggle all you want, but if you only read the end story you won't get the whole story. the parts they glazed over.


how did they get into the large gallery?
how did they really get to the top?

and so on - that's the part you have to read about. and not the quick list format, because many people try doing that list and totally fail at it.


---Mike Savad
MikeSavad.com

@Joe "Again, define success..."

You have to define that for yourself. About ten minutes on Google will tell you what the people that came up with those traits used as the definition of success.

There is another thread going right not dealing with being happiness. Would you really let anyone define success or happiness for you? I wouldn't. Not in a million years.

@DK "they've mastered the art of programming other people." You did say that and that is a very good definition of brain washing.

Let me remind you all once again, I did not compile that list nor do the research. I have no ownership to it and couldn't care less if you want to crap all over it. But for goodness sake at least use good logic and common sense.

Inheriting money is not a personality trait and what one did with the money is going to weigh in very heavy on determine success or not.

Bubba Gump analogy is loony-toones they way you take it out of context. The entire story is not but an example of applying many of the very same traits listed above. lol

Luck is not a personality trait. I don't know of anyone that has reached success at any level where a little or maybe a lot of luck did not take place.

Listen to any pro athlete and ALL of them are going to tell you that it took a lot of luck to get to where they are. But most people will also tell you that to a great degree you make your own luck.

Gary Player, one of the all time great professional golfers is very famous for telling people that the harder he worked the luckier he got.

I have had a great deal of luck myself, but I have also applied many of the same traits above to capitalize on any opportunities that those lucky breaks presented.


Same thing with timing, that is not a personality trait. That actually goes to being a bit lucky.

@Greg, I will assume anything I like. You may not like it, but that is what everyone in here does. The assume things based on what others post here. Lord know you do enough of that all the time. Good for goose, good for the gander.

Here is an interesting exercise for all you Negative Nellies. Go read all of the responses in here and come back and quote the ones that actually directly addressed any of the "traits" in any of the lists.

The only people that addressed the actual traits, did so in a positive way.

your not understanding though - the traits are not relevant. success doesn't come in the form of a list. everyone has those traits, even people that fail. luck is not a trait, but it does fall into the success category which is what i thought this thread was about. anyone can make a list, and they could have gotten it from any where themselves. lists like that is just click bait anyway.

you can follow everything on those traits lists and fail. or none of those things and still be successful.

there was no negative replies in this. there just weren't any that supported the list. you have to define negative and positive here though. you seem to think that positive things support your ideas or the list. negative ones i guess are the opposite. but they are not negative. they are realistic. interesting how you only attacked the gump analogy and not the ones placed in the real world.

traits only go so far.


---Mike Savad
MikeSavad.com

I think some people get addicted to this self-help stuff but never actually do anything. Like the 90% of people who watch cooking shows but never cook anything.

Just do it.

"I think some people get addicted to this self-help stuff but never actually do anything. Like the 90% of people who watch cooking shows but never cook anything."

Now that I agree with 100%. People read all of everything they can get their hands of but lack the basic understanding of how to apply it to what they are doing. So they never accomplish a thing, never actually get into the kitchen.

As for looking at what other's have said are the traits of successful people, I don't really see that as the same kind or if it actually is any kind of self-help. Every one has to decide that form them selves.

People in here are always asking others for help on to sell on FAA. Is that self-help? I am not saying it is or is not. Just asking that question. Again, that for each person to decide for themselves.


The thing is, that list is what it is. It is raw data gathered by respected people, at least respected by the people that paid them to gather it so they can publish it.

Why would anyone go off on a tangent all all of sudden start trashing Gates, or Edison or anyone else.

The list is benign. If you compiled a list of the worlds best golfers, it would be a list of golfers that have compiled a great record and achieved a lever of excellence. You can say you don't agree with the Ben Hogan being on the list, but you can not deny he is on the list.

The list is just the opinion of the people that compiled it. Forbes or any of the other sources of the lists I used, are not going to publish just anyone that comes up with a list.

If you don't think one or any of the traits on the list belongs there, then address that. Not attack Edison or Gates. Attack the trait and tell us why.

Mike, the Bubba Gump thing was good entertainment but as stated, luck, fictional or real, is not a trait. But it was funny that you tried to make in one using Bubba Bump lol

technically gump had perseverance or just not the intelligence or experience to head in - and that's a trait. however that's an example of dumb luck. if you were to look at his life down the line, and forbes came to him and said - what traits to you have that owe to your success. and he would mumble out a bunch of stuff and they would make a list. but they wouldn't ask the entire story. so while he might have a list, he would have the back story that showed that it didn't matter what traits he had, it was down to dumb luck.

and there are many stories like that. little inventions, foods, etc that are based on timing and luck more than anything else. and while one could say they make their own luck and that's a trait some how, usually luck finds them.

kind of like how home depot does great during storm season and the ceo gets a big bonus. but the following year there are no storms, and he's no long the genius.

i'm not attacking gates or edison other than they have those traits. but they had timing, luck or a staff to support them. the trait list is far too generic.


---Mike Savad
MikeSavad.com

"I will assume anything I like..."


Go for it Floyd! :)

Speaking about "success" in sales. Anyone see this blip on their news feed?

http://leemoranyahoo.tumblr.com/post/130547376352/sales-staff-forced-to-belly-crawl-around-lake




Would Forbes list items #2 and #3 cover this situation?

Gee, but we are not negative here are we?

I won't even waste my time opening that thread just form the title of in the url.


Mike.... ahhh... here's the thing.... Okay, never mind.... I, by the power invested in me, here by anoint you the Mayor of Gump Land! Anything you say goes in Gump Land!

Like I said a laugh a minute.

whatever floyd...

see i don't get the point of this thread. you open a thread talking about success - but its not your list, its someone else's, which kind of is an oxymoron right there. we discuss the list in a normal manner, but every time someone had something to say you pointed out it wasn't your list but someone else's, and argued with people that had a different view point. then laughed and called us all negative.

yet your not discussing anything at all, you just keep pointing out its not your list. so what is the point of this thread?


---Mike Savad
MikeSavad.com

Mike, I think we have a clear picture of who is attempting to help and who always stomps in to criticize anybody and everybody who isn't Mike. You are, without question, the most negative individual on this board -- and have been since your arrival.


Dan Turner
Dan Turner's Seven Keys to Selling Art Online

OK, enough people.

Talk about the list and how it might actually help someone, or don't.....

For me, the original words except for the fear of failure are pretty accurate.

I might add that successful people strive to do the best job and be the best at it whatever they do. They may never achieve being the best at anything but they usually are VERY good at whatever they do. I have been laid off a time or three and even picked up a job waiting tables to make sure I could pay my bills. While I was a laid off pilot that once flew supersonic bombers I was serving tables and by god I was going to do it well. The people I worked with didn't know anything of my background but they knew I busted my but in the restaurant. That butt busting and attention to detail gave me twice the average money most servers made.

Having been in the military for a while I had my share of back stabbing leaders. They were the guys that were all about CYA but they never achieved as much as the good leaders that excelled by taking care of their people and leading them.

"29 famous people who failed before they succeeded


Rejection can feel genuinely devastating. But before you retreat into your tear-stained hovel to plot a new, anonymous life as a subsistence farmer in rural Australia (not that there's anything wrong with that!), consider this: Some of the world's most successful people have failed — sometimes more than once."


http://www.businessinsider.com/successful-people-who-failed-at-first-2015-7

Dan! lol

Thank you for that JC! It was about the list as far as I was concerned.

And I too thought that fear of failure was sort of odd and out of place.

It kind of flies in the face of the idea of staying positive and a few of the other traits.

"...the guys that were all about CYA, but they never achieved as much as the good leaders that excelled by taking care of their people and leading them."


Well said, JC. Bravo Zulu!

This is a little old but it's also from Forbes. So when we speak of success, do we mean wealth?

http://www.newsmax.com/Finance/StreetTalk/CEO-pay-performance-Cooper/2014/06/18/id/577788/

Here's another article from Forbes that tells you what kind of "traits" lead to success.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/jeffbercovici/2011/06/14/why-some-psychopaths-make-great-ceos/

Here's another one..

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/mar/21/top-10-psychopathic-professions-ceo-lawyer-then-me/

Wow!

This is incredible! This may be the only place in the world where one tries to spread a little positive thinking and encouragement and the majority of the people that participate run out and try to dig up as much negative bull shit as they can!

Is there any wonder that three out of five threads opened here are people whining and blaming others for their failures?

Good luck what that....