14 Top Traits of Successful People
What are the traits of successful people, and what can you learn from them? Follow their steps by adopting these 14 qualities, and unleash your full potential for success!
Ever wondered what sets apart highly successful people from…well, you? There are quite a few things that prosperous individuals do differently than most people, like habits or mindset, but what sets them apart the most are certain traits they all share and that seem to be the key to achieving great things.
Keep reading to find the 14 top traits of successful people and start implementing them in your life!
Being Curious
Curiosity is one of the traits of highly successful people. While most people tend to accept things as they are, curious individuals are constantly asking the why and how behind things, gaining more knowledge and understanding on a daily basis.
Asking questions also means that they’re open to learning and finding out new answers, wondering, asking, and analyzing before making a decision, instead of jumping into the action without thought.
Willingness to Take Risks
Most of us don’t like taking risks. We don’t gamble with anything, even less with our money, and would rather stay in our comfort zone than take risky actions that could potentially place us on the path to success but that could also make us lose big time.
The thing is, some goals are only attainable if you take some risks and go for them, and successful people know this and are willing to go all in to pursue their objectives. In their minds, the potential gain is greater than the loss, so it’s worth taking a chance. This doesn’t mean, however, taking all kinds of risks all the time; successful people have the ability to recognize opportunities and know when the risk is worth it and when it isn’t.
Viewing Failures as a Learning Opportunity
If you thought successful people didn’t make mistakes or experience defeats…think again. They do make mistakes; they did when they were starting out and they likely still do to this day. The difference with most people, however, is that a very successful person doesn’t let failures define them, or stop them from continuing trying.
Instead, they see failures as learning opportunities to become better, stronger, and to avoid being in the same position again. Setbacks may even be opportunities to change the course of action and obtain better results; it’s all about perspective and prosperous people know it through experience, as did Einstein.
This goes hand in hand with owning your mistakes – as well as learning from them. You won’t, ever, see a successful person blaming others for something they did or making excuses, because there’s no growth in that. And this leads to the next trait….
Being Focused
One of the common traits of successful people is being focused. This trait is fundamental, especially in a distracting world like the one we live in. Successful people know what they want, they know what they have to do to get it and focus on that until they achieve it. They devote themselves to the task and don’t get distracted from their goal.
Precisely that is one of the main reasons why they are, indeed, successful. Instead of procrastinating or multi-tasking, they have the willpower to stay focused on their major goals and work toward achieving them. That is why time tactics are vital for very successful people.
Having Discipline
Discipline, like focus, is one of the essential traits of a successful entrepreneur. When you know what needs to be done in order to achieve your dreams, you simply have to do it and keep at it until you make progress and eventually reach your objectives.
Removing distractions and focusing is the first step, but discipline and constancy are the traits that will help you keep at it until the end. This may imply making short-term sacrifices in favor of long-term benefits, but successful people know what their aim is and are willing to make it a priority.
Reading
It’s not a secret that the most wealthy and successful people in the world spend a great part of their day (every day) reading. It’s one of the easiest billionaire habits that you can copy too!
Warren Buffett, for instance, reportedly spends 6 hours a day reading, and Bill Gates believes that this practice is fundamental for development in business and in life.
While reading half of your day when you have a full-time job may not be possible, and Buffett’s advice of reading at least 500 pages every day is probably impractical for most, setting apart 10 minutes of your day to reading is a great way to start, and can make a difference.
Here are some book recommendations by Warren Buffet and Bill Gates; if you have little time to read, however, focus on books related to your business and goals that can help you attain them.
Willing to Go the Extra Mile
Success isn’t achieved overnight, nor while you do zapping on the couch. It requires hard work, and one of the most important traits of a successful leader or person is that they’re willing to go the extra mile and do a little more than everyone else.
They don’t find excuses for skipping a day’s work and they don’t complain; they do what needs to be done and then a little bit more, aiming for nothing less than greatness.
Being Self-Reliant
Other successful people traits include knowing they can count on themselves, and they don’t depend on anyone to achieve their goals.
While they’re often supported by others who also believe in their dream and work toward reaching it, prosperous individuals know they can rely on themselves regardless of anything else. This also means being responsible for their actions and decisions and standing by them, even if they’re hard.
Being Passionate
Being passionate about what they do is one of the most important successful personality traits a person can have, and it’s linked to many other traits we’ve already covered.
Practicing discipline or undistracted focus when you’re not passionate about what you do has a short life; contrarily, when you’re deeply invested in your venture you’ll keep at it even when things get hard or seem impossible.
Passion is what’s going to keep you going when you feel tired, frustrated or like giving up, so being emotionally engaged with the journey is key to being successful.
Being Flexible
One of the personality traits of successful people is that they’re adaptable when faced with challenging and unexpected situations. While focusing on your goal and the path you set yourself to achieve it, sometimes changes are necessary in order to get to your desired destination, and it’s important to be flexible and willing to find new resources and take new directions to achieve that goal.
Most times, success is achieved by taking different actions than the ones you initially intended to, and prosperous individuals know this and are ready to make the change if necessary.
Having a Growth Mindset
People who achieve big things are constantly learning, eager to benefit from new knowledge and the good habits and qualities of other people, and they will probably never try to make you believe they know it all.
They don’t and they admit it; that’s what makes them so receptive and knowledgeable in the first place, and it’s one of the key character traits of successful people.
Besides being willing to learn, successful people are always looking toward the future and the different ways they can grow their business and make it bigger and better, instead of acquiescing in what they already have when they know there’s more potential.
Having a growth mindset helps you plan your road to success and be in the right mental space to believe it possible and work toward achieving it. Hint: you will have way more chances of achieving your goals if you have a growth mindset than if you don’t.
Resting
This trait may seem completely out of tune with every other trait, but it is just as important. While working around the clock may seem the path to success, being burned out has catastrophic effects, not only for your business but also for your health (and you want to live your best life, right?) and it’s incredibly counterproductive. Successful women share this habit as well.
Resting the amount of time your body needs to refuel and recover is key to being more productive and focused. Successful people know this and allow for some time away to get much-needed sleep and to disconnect from work, so they can be fresh and energized (and have new and better ideas) when they go back to the office.
Being Action Oriented
Successful people don’t wait around for the perfect time or conditions to take the first step or think about doing something without ever taking action. Those who succeed are doers, they plan their route and they take action; they go for it.
They are willing to make mistakes and learn from them, and maybe even change their planned course of action if the results are not what they expected. What’s more important, they don’t procrastinate; even if they’re not sure if they’re making the right choice or going the right way, they take action.
Being Patient
You will succeed if you persevere said Helen Keller, and being patient and knowing that great achievements do not happen overnight is essential to avoid frustrations that could cost you your dreams.
Know that good things take their sweet time to come into your life, and be patient. Trying to rush your results will only cause them to be short-lived or make you fail countless times along the way as you take short-term actions for long-term results.
