5 Defining Characteristics of Extremely Successful People
We are lucky to live in a time with great people who are always on a mission to change the world. Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, and Bill Gates are incredibly successful individuals not just because of the wealth they created for themselves, but for the services they created which have helped empower billions of people every day. Truth is, they are just ordinary people like us, but they all do possess defining characteristics that have helped push them towards becoming the successful leaders that they are.
These characteristics are not along the lines of superhero strength or brilliant brain power. The characteristics that extremely successful people have are simply human characteristics that we all can learn from and put into practice in our own lives. Here are some of those qualities and characteristics that help shape the lives of hugely successful people.
1. Extreme Ambition
We all have ambition in our lives, but that ambition is of no comparison to the extreme amounts of ambition that ultra-successful people possess. If you want to seek out a similar level of success that the big boys have, then you will have to be extremely ambitious in your cause to remain motivated to work patiently towards your goal.
The journey towards success is never short and easy. It is indeed an extended test of your ability and strengths. It isn’t only about getting your way and fighting for a win every day. It is also about having the ability to navigate through the tough times. Having a clear and solid cause and being ambitious towards that cause is crucial to your success.
Being ambitious to your cause has been mentioned a few times already. Your cause should be something incredible, like a mission statement. Your cause should not only be centered around profit and expansion. An example would be to run a business that offers affordable wireless internet to the masses, in the hopes of uplifting the community.
2. Truly Confident
A big part of why so many business owners fail to improve their businesses is due to fear. There are so many long-standing businesses that are operating the exact same way they have been operating since the 90’s. This is because the owners are afraid of change. Change is inevitable and it is a part of life. Get over this fear so you can find new exciting ways to improve your business.
Doubt is another major sin that business owners are guilty of. Doubting yourself only restricts your true potential. Nothing ever works out the way you think it will. In fact, things can work out way better than you can ever imagine if you eliminate doubt and take a chance. It is the risks you take in life that pays off the most.
Extremely successful people are always confident as they believe in themselves and their ideas. They are also brave enough to take the step towards achieving their goals. Being confident and courageous is the kind of mentality that makes the world work. If we all lived in fear, then we as humans would not have achieved anything. Believe in yourself and go out there and make it work!
3. Focused on Goals
A truly successful person is goal driven. They have big dreams just like everyone else, but they create small short term and long term goals in order to make these dreams a reality. Successful people constantly focus on achieving these goals as they know that each goal accomplished means one step closer to the ultimate goal.
That being said, successful people also understand that the future is always uncertain. There will be plenty of unforeseen or uncalculated circumstances that can push their goals off course. The ability to adapt and be patient during these times is a quality of a truly successful person.
In some instances, if you are faced with difficulties related to your goal, try to be flexible by seeking out other options to make things work out. Don’t force something to work if it just isn’t managing to work out. This can cause yourself and your employees to become frustrated.
4. Curious About Opportunities
Throughout the existence of humankind, we have continuously been pushed by society to accept ideologies. However, there has always been people who have refused to stick to social convention. Most of these people are those genuinely successful people who question everything because of their curiosity towards learning how things work.
In most cases, they will find the answer that they want, but when they don’t, then they will let their curiosity drive them towards finding an alternative, if not a better solution. People such as Nikola Tesla opposed social convention with his powerful inventions inspired by his curiosity to improve mankind’s existence. Most of which were not appreciated at the time. However, his inventions are still ahead of its time even today.
It can be challenging to go against so many people. Especially the ones that are close to you. However, a curious mind is part of the reason why so many successful people are able to make innovative breakthroughs. Our curiosity is the thing that will lead us forward toward creating new opportunities for our future. Don’t let anyone stop you by dismissing your curious nature.
5. Calm Under Pressure
Being calm under pressure is difficult to attain, especially within a busy and frantic work environment. A little stress never hurt anyone, in fact, it only makes you stronger. However, if the stress levels are extreme, it can cause you to make mistakes and break under pressure. This is most evident in people who become all hyped up and aggravated during stressful times.
Successful people are usually calm during stressful conditions. They have conditioned themselves to approach these intense situations with a positive attitude. In most cases, successful people would have actually accepted such situations to arise. They indeed plan for such situations ahead of time and eventually embrace it when it comes along.
These simple characteristics are too often overlooked in our daily lives. It’s most likely because we get too involved in what we do and forget to look at the big picture. It’s also because of the constant influence around us that pushes us towards social convention. Focus on creating solid goals in your life and make a push.
