Being a very observant person, I get to learn a lot about and/or from people I encounter in my day-to-day activities. Most successful people have a lot in common, they share some significant traits/habits that must have been one reason they are always admired.

One mistake we do frequently is to admire the result; we usually forget the process that gave birth to the results.

I've itemized some of the things I observed successful people do. I'll just share based on my interactions with some highly influential people within my network.

Please note that I said "successful" and not "wealthy". Success and wealth isn't synonymous; so I want to limit the scope of this discussion to my observation on people that have done well for themselves in the area of accomplishments of goals. I've rated accomplishments based on notability and it's perceived impact on the society.

Successful people are like sharp football strikers.

They don't usually take chances, they follow-through on their decisions and actions till success is attained.

They ask for help if they need to, they compromise if they need to, they synergize if they need to; they do whatever is required, just to get things done.

Most importantly, they are never shy of asking for favors. I'm amazed at how much they value relationships that they never put themselves in a situation whereby they will be too proud to request for favor or help.

Yes, they ask for help; but I don't mean they are abusive.

Successful people are big fish - they don't swim in shallow waters.

They live like they do not care about primary needs. Why? Is it because their belly will scratch the floor of the sea? Or is it that they don't want to live by eating small fish?

No food, no shelter, no basic amenities and you will wonder how they live above survival; even amidst complainers and mediocrity.

Sometimes, I used to wonder why the biggest ideas - innovations changing the world come from developed countries. Recently I've come to understand through experience that ideas that come to you when you are hungry is only going to get you food; maybe abundance of food, at the most. Lol

I've noticed that people that care less about basic things are the ones that produce basic things for others.

It's only natural for an hungry person to just look for bread. It's rare to find an hungry man building a bakery - starting a business to feed other people. Because not many people do that, that's what makes super successful people: they dare to do things others call "unthinkable".

Successful people are like a true advertisement - what you see is what you get!

They have clear principles that people around them know. They don't live in shadows. Expect no surprises from great men as to how they live their life. For instance from my sample population, I have a fair distribution of punctuality freaks and perpetual late-comers. Generally speaking, it's safe to say that punctuality isn't a determining factor for success.

But then, what I discovered is that great men are consistent in patterns, principles and habits. Ask anyone around them and you can be sure about what their reaction would be about a matter. Predictability isn't all that bad then; I think it enhances trust and reliability.

Successful people are like butterflies, they choose their own flowers.

They live life intentionally, not allowing life to toss them here and there; consciously, they choose the kind of life they want to live. I like the way @jabulaniapeh put it on his website "intentional excellence".

Until we become voluntarily/intentionally responsible for our life, we may not lead our best life. There's a clear difference between an intentional success and someone that got lucky. The difference may seem negligible at first, but with time, you get to see how serious intentions could power perpetual greatness. Success without serious intentions could just translate into a momentary "failure holiday" - "success that endures only for a short time" - failure is just around the corner.

Intentions actually aids acceptance of responsibility, which is the essence of any true success. Living life intentionally turns some pertinent questions of success into rhetoric. People need not ask: "why do you need to succeed?", "what does success mean to you?", etc. Answers to those questions are seen in intentions, backed up with actions.

Successful people are like Jackie Chan

What you see are men without any troubles; what they are, are masters of their own mess. Jackie Chan actually hurt a lot in his movies, but you won't notice until you watch the "behind the scenes".

Successful people have mastered the art of turning their mess into a message. From the outside, sometimes it seems like they live a perfect life. Being that, not all mess get written on the face, only people they share it with can relate with their pain. They have big troubles. They are the custodians of true inspirational stories. Pick a success story and dig into the process that brought it fought; dig deeper into the lifestyle of the brains behind the success - most of the time, what you see is imperfections making wonders.

Most successful people I have in my network don't have all their life straightened out. They have some troubles that you won't believe they should ever have.  You won't know they have troubles because they rarely complain about them; they also rarely give excuses. They just go ahead and deliver amazingly, sometimes hurting inside.

Successful people are like stewards;

They keep records of their accomplishments, successes and failures like they would give account to a boss.

Read the following text from a wikipedia page:

"Corn flakes, or cornflakes, are a popular breakfast cereal made by toasting flakes of corn. The cereal was first created by Dr. John Harvey Kellogg in 1894 as a food that he thought would be healthy for the patients of the Battle Creek Sanitarium in Michigan where he was superintendent."

You might think Dr. Kellogg was successful because he "discovered" cornflakes. He sure did; but his success would have been forgotten without proper records linking him to the discovery.

I can give a long list of similar notable "innovations" that didn't do well for whoever discovered them. "Garri", "kulikuli", "pounded yam", "gbegiri" are all super awesome delicacies that millions eat daily. But who discovered all these? We've got no record of them, so their success went missing.

Proper records not only link people to accomplishments, it also aids further discoveries.

Successful people are like cute pets (puppies?).

No matter how ugly, dirty or unkempt you are, your pets are never ashamed of you. Same way successful people are never ashamed to share who they are, what they do and their stories; even when success isn't assured.

For instance, it takes a great mindset to campaign, contest, in an election you are not likely to win. In a football match, it takes a great mindset to run after a ball you are not likely to catch. Same way it's hard to ask a very pretty or successful lady out; chances that she's going accept the proposal is just too slim.

Why engage in an activity when success isn't assured? Most people won't engage and that's what differentiates great men from mediocre.

There's an adage that says "if wishes were horses, beggars will ride on one". Here, if success is assured on every venture, everyone will engage, then everyone will be successful, then success will be meaningless.

Categories: business article

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