Successful ~vs~ Unsuccessful People

When it comes to successful people, they share a lot of the same traits and look at things very similarly. Emmitt Smith once said, “All men are created equal, some just work harder in preseason”. This is so true. One of the major differences between someone successful and someone who is unsuccessful is successful people have the discipline to not always do the easy things.

We are faced with hundreds of choices every day and it’s up to us and only us how we react. Many times, the easy thing to do is the negative reaction or behavior. Which direction will you choose to go?

Let’s break down four aspects of the picture above.

Successful people read every day and unsuccessful people watch TV every day.

Now don’t get me wrong, I love my TV, my sports, and my shows. This isn’t saying never watch TV. It’s just saying maybe instead of watching that 3rd episode of your Netflix show, hop on Google and search for a skill you’ve always wanted to learn. In my previous article, Are you investing in yourself?, I explained that you can learn anything just by searching the internet or watching YouTube videos.

Read at least one article or one chapter of a book every day on a topic that is going to help you grow personally or professionally. I’m pretty sure watching that 3rd episode of Real Housewives of New York isn’t going to do that.

Successful people compliment and unsuccessful people criticize.

I think this one speaks for itself. Really think about it. If you are criticizing, you are directly inputting negativity into your life. To look at it from the opposite side, would you rather be around someone always looking at the negative side of things or the positive? Dale Carnegie said, “Any fool can criticize, complain, and condemn—and most fools do. But it takes character and self-control to be understanding and forgiving.”

Instead of criticizing try complimenting someone. You will feel much better than the alternative. If you are only looking for the negative that’s all you’ll find. Try instead looking for something positive. It’s there, you just must look for it. Give compliments out as often as possible as it may be the only one that person gets that day, and it may turn their day around. But here’s the catch, it must be sincere. If you are faking it people will see right through it and it will have the opposite effect.

Successful people embrace change and unsuccessful fear change.

Let’s face it. The only thing constant is change. It’s going to happen and happen a lot. You are watched in the workplace and how you deal with change will say a lot about you and your character. Charles Swindoll said, “I’m convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it.” Keep this in mind.

In one of my previous articles, 5 ways to handle stress and negativity in the work place , I talked about focusing on only what you can control. The only things you can control are your attitude, effort, behavior, and actions. How you react to the negative situation will mean everything to your career

Successful people accept responsibility for their failures and unsuccessful people blame others for their failures.

If you aren’t familiar with the motivational speaker Eric Thomas I highly recommend you look him up. He said in one of his speeches…

“Why do you think you’re not progressing in life? Do you think it has to do with externalities like economic downturns, high unemployment rates, lack of relevant skills to get the job that you want or just the situation you are in? We sometimes tend to blame these externalities for our shortcomings in life. Regardless of whether these externalities had something to do with your failures, most of the cause was YOU – YOU who did not deliver, YOU who did not do the work, YOU who was slacking while others are working hard. You Owe You!

It is always useful to hold yourself accountable rather than blaming someone else for your inaction or mistakes. To put it bluntly, you owe it to yourself to be the best that you can be. And if or when you fail to meet the standard you put into yourself, you need to recognize it and be ready to change yourself to become a better person, become a better YOU!”

As a leader who regularly hires and promotes people, this is one of the traits I look for in every person I interview. Until you can look yourself in the mirror and take responsibility for your part in any situation you will never be successful.

In conclusion.

As I stated above, we have hundreds of choices every day. It would be impossible to fall on the “successful” side of the picture above 100% of the time but if we truly try to think before we react and consciously try to land on the successful vs unsuccessful side you will start to see a major positive change in your success in and out of work.

Thanks for reading…

Dale