5 more traits of successful people and how to apply them in your life
This is part two in a two part series on 10 traits of successful people and how to apply them in your life. Click here to read part one.
#6 – They are always willing to go the extra mile.
Successful people know the value of hard work. For the most part, nothing worth having is handed to you on a silver platter; you usually need to work for it. Sometimes, this means going the extra mile; going above and beyond the expected.
In this day and age, few are willing to do more work than absolutely necessary. Going the extra mile is a surefire way to set yourself apart from the masses and get noticed in your niche or cause, whatever that might be.
Ways to step out and go the extra mile:
- Offer certain things for free. (Read more?)
- Offer more of your time or resources, and expect nothing in return.
- When you see a need that you can fill, fill it. It might be an elderly lady struggling to load her groceries into her car, or a friend’s child struggling to learn a subject you excelled at. Acts of kindness done with no expectancy of repayment have a tendency to repay the giver anyway.
When a person puts in that extra mile with no hidden agenda, it shows a strength of character (see #10) not commonly found in people today. So many are only willing to do as much as is needed to get what they want, but that mentality never leads to true success.
As Napoleon Hill once said, “You can start right where you stand and apply the habit of going the extra mile by rendering more service and better service than you are now being paid for.” That’s what it means to go the extra mile.
#7 – They have control of their emotions and body.
Successful people understand that nobody can make them feel or do anything – they assume responsibility (see #4) for their emotions and their actions and do something about them.
They are able to control certain things that many “out of control” people cannot, like their anger or their desire to eat, for example. It is imperative that you have a firm grasp on your emotions and your actions – if you don’t, someone else will.
Ways to take back the controls to your emotions and body:
- When you feel your grip on your emotions slipping, take a quick mental time out. In many cases, it’s often a good idea to remove yourself from the situation that is causing you to lose control over your emotions and body; (i.e., leave the junk food isle, politely excuse yourself from the presence of someone who making you angry, etc.)
- If you can’t remove yourself from the situation, breathe. Do something to sidetrack (“interrupt”) your thought pattern. Send a quick prayer for the strength to get through whatever it is that you’re fighting; cravings, angry, envy, depression, whatever it is—Do whatever it is you need to do take back the controls of your emotions and body.
#8 – They have a positive mental attitude.
Successful people realize the power of attitude and how much of an impact it can have on everything they do—and this is why they chose to be positive instead of negative. This has nothing to do with having an unrealistic grasp on life, but rather, balance between acknowledging the realities of a situation and focusing on positives.
Read more: 5 ways to approach life more positively
#9 – They are constantly expanding their knowledge and willing to be taught.
Regardless of how much they already know, how much they already make, or how successful they are, successful people are always willing to learn more.
You don’t know everything, and you never will. However, being willing and wanting to further in knowledge and skill will keep you sharp and at the top of your game.
Ways to expand your knowledge:
- Read good books. (Or listen to them on audio CD while you’re driving or doing something else – a great way to turn unproductive time into productive time.)
- Attend seminars that will be beneficial to your personal growth and/or the growth of your business venture(s).
- Surround yourself with people who are more successful than you and know more than you do.
- Be open to good instruction and see it for what it is: valuable knowledge you can gain. Don’t let pride get in the way of furthering your development, even if this means being taught by someone younger or acknowledging the fact that you learned something from someone you may not like.
#10 – They have a strength of character.
Successful people have a strength of character that is, most unfortunately, lacking in today’s society. Why is having a strength in character so important to true success? In the words of Elmer G. Letterman, “Personality can open doors, but only character can keep them open.” And that’s just one of the many reasons.
Everything we face in life is character building, but the choices we make determine whether we build up good character traits or bad ones. As an example, eating that second piece of cake (even though you know you shouldn’t) is a choice that builds up self-indulgence and tears down self-control—but abstaining from that second piece of cake is a choice that will build up self-control and tear down self-indulgence.
It is in your day-to-day choices that your character is built.
You may be thinking, “But how does that even apply to the grand scheme of things when it comes to me being successful?” The answer is simple: Every single choice you make in life, no matter how small or how big, adds on top of each other, creating a snowball effect. This will either work for you (positive character building) or against you (negative character building)—so make it work for you.
Your character is the foundation upon which everything else stands. Given the choice, if you were to build a house you planned to live in for the rest of your life, would you choose to build it upon a foundation of sand or rock? In the same way, success in any area of your life is, in many ways, dependent upon the foundation you build it on.
This trait may be last—but in many ways, it is the most important.
This is part two of a two part series. You can read the first part here.
