I have spent decades obtaining “formal education”. No doubt, all these years of intense studying and training amount to something great. Consequently, the time devoted to acquiring education has certainly contributed to defining the person I am today. Nonetheless, at no point in my life has there been more insightful learning than my time spent actually performing work side by side with successful business people. In my opinion, nothing beats hands-on experience and learning from the best in the field. This has provided me with the opportunity to closely study their habits. Today I will share my 10 inspirational habits drawn from studying and observing these uniquely gifted achievers. After all, we all need a bit of inspiration from time to time.
1. They Look for and Opportunities opportunities every time.
Successful people look for opportunities every time
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Successful individuals look for and find opportunities in every situation that they are presented with. They develop a curious and positive mindset that seeks to find solutions to everyday problems that other people view as obstacles. In most instances they take enormous risks. Some of the world’s self-made billionaires have humble upbringings and others have no college education. Despite all that, they are able to take advantage of opportunities presented to them and turn them into thriving corporations.
From humble beginnings to billions
Ralph Lauren was not born with a silver spoon. In fact, there was a time when this iconic designer couldn’t afford clothes. According to an interview he had with fellow billionaire Oprah Winfrey in 2002 he said, “As a kid, l was always into clothes but l didn’t have money to buy them”. Fast forward to today, he is wortUS$6.3 billion according to Forbes.
2. They Seek For Lessons In Most Situations
successful people seek for lessons in most situations
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As the adage goes, “There’s a lesson in everything, you just have to find it”. Arguably, when most people are faced with challenges they try to avoid the situation. Whereas, the opposite is true for successful individuals. When things go wrong, they find lessons instead of seeing problems, unlike the vast majority of ordinary people.
Iconic Innovative Companies
Even the most iconic companies have faced times of adversity. Where most individuals would see a problem, the great minds of the founders of these companies overcame huge obstacles and overturned unpleasant situations to win. Here are some examples:
- Apple Inc. – Steve Jobs was brought back to resurrect the Company in 1997. The innovation of one of the greatest products in history “iPhone. iPad & iMac” are some of Apple’s renowned inventions
- Netflix – Hastings & Randolph (CEO & Co-Founders) got their start in the 1990’s competing with blockbuster video. However, around the 2007 Netflix transformed itself when they unveiled a streaming service. This has seen the company reign supreme. These days it seems like whatever they touch turns into gold “the Netflix effect”
3. They Align Themselves With Like-Minded People
successful people align themselves with like-minded individuals
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The famous wise words from Jim Rohn echo in our ears that say, “You are the average of five people you spend the most time with”. Therefore, with that profound thought the highly successful individuals align themselves with like-minded people for the following reasons: They;
- understand the importance of being part of a team.
- know that no one man is an island.
- know that a positive and winners’ mentality is infectious.
- aim to create win-win relationships amongst other things.
The Fast Track To Success In Business
In business, the fast track to success is through business networking, and in my opinion, professional business clubs are the answer. This is because people will do most of their business with people they know and trust. You have vast options available to you from exclusive private business clubs like Club Of United Business (CUB) in Australia, to some of the world’s popular ones like Business Networking International (BNI) and Women In Business to name a few. All these clubs have a core aim to bring like-minded entrepreneurs and business leaders together. Business networking presents the following benefits to its members:
- Provides you with professional connections
- Establishes trust
- Provide new opportunities
- Increased knowledge and word of mouth advertising amongst other valuable benefits.
4. Successful People Understand The Power Of Leverage
successful people understand the power of leverage
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The simple concept of “leverage” has the power to get you more opportunities in life. For example, through leverage, you can obtain more time, greater wealth, and even greater business and professional success. Most people believe hard work makes you rich, while highly successful individuals know that leverage creates wealth. It’s all about finding the right people who possess the right skills to be able to help execute your vision. No one person has the ability to create a billion dollar corporation on their own. Therefore, they do what you do best and get others to do the rest.
Famous words of a Founder & Billionaire On hiring Tips
At a global world forum, Jack Ma famously said if you hire smarter people than you, the company will grow and you will be happy. As a founder, you don’t necessarily need to have formal education to run a successful business. What’s required from you is to find the right MBA graduates to build the vision. Your role is to be the creative thinker that provides the blue-print.
Nationality: China
Founded: Alibaba
5. They Understand That Nothing In Life Is Guaranteed & “Job-Security” Does Not Really Exist.
successful people understand that nothing in life is guaranteed (not even *job-security)
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The average person believes having a job gives them financial security. Well, to a certain extent, it does as traditionally the education system has rightfully groomed most of us to be great employees. However, the reality is that no job can promise you any form of “security or guarantee”. With that thought in mind highly successful individuals know there’s no such thing as “job- security”. Therefore, they approach situations with a plan B or C in play in case plan A does not come to fruition.
Rich vs Poor Mindset
No one else explains this concept better than Robert Kiyosaki. His inspirational book Rich Dad, Poor Dad remains a “must-read” motivational book of all times. It teaches us all the importance of mastering the mind.
Related: 12 Daily Habits Of Highly Successful People That Will Set You Up For Life
6. Successful People Seek Investment Opportunities
successful people always seek for investment opportunities
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This habit is all about thinking outside the square at all times. In other words, you can say they constantly want more, do more, research, and execute to the best of their abilities. At any given moment they are never far away from thinking about bettering their financial situation through acquiring more investments. This is so because they understand the value of ‘compounding’. Therefore, they do not think like the average person who wants to spend their money, instead, they think about how to invest their money.
The World’s Richest Men
Elon Musk – now the world’s richest man alive in 2021 worth approximately US$177.2 billion according to Forbes. He has diversified his wealth portfolio and is reportedly to have some of the following investment and companies:
- Tesla, Inc. – an American electric vehicle and clean energy company
- SpaceX – an Aerospace manufacturer
- The Boring Company – an American infrastructure and tunnel construction service
- Co-founder of Neuralink – Neurotechnology company
- Co-founder of OpenAI – an Artificial Intelligence (AI) research laboratory
- Tesla Tequila – Alcoholic tequila drink retailing for US$250 per bottle and is currently sold out.
- Cypro-currency – recently reported that Tesla invested 1.5 Billion into Bitcoin market.
7. Successful People Maximise Their Potential
successful people maximise their potential
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Successful people are not necessarily more talented than the majority, yet they always find a way to maximize their potential. They get more out of themselves because they use what they have more effectively. To put it in other words they “invest in themselves”. No matter their level of success, there is always something new for them to learn. Be it a new skill, language, or sport, they pour a significant amount of their resource into self improvement.
World’s Leading Women
Oprah Winfrey – from rural Mississippi to one of the world’s female billionaires and speaks highly about looking after your interests first. She is an inspirational figure who believes in self-investment and aligning your skills with your purpose.
8. Successful People Are Solution Focused
Successful people are solution focused
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Where the average person will see a situation as overly complicated, looking and finding obstacles is not viewed the same way with a billionaire mindset. They are solutions focused, work effortlessly to find the answers to the world’s problems and complaints. They get their satisfaction in finding solutions and being more efficient.
African Billionaire, Founder and Philanthropist
Strive Masiyiwa is an iconic leader and world-renowned visionary, founder of Econet Wireless Zimbabwe. He was focused on solving communication issues in the African continent and has managed to do more than just that. He is a driven individual who empowers the continent and its people.
9. Successful People Have Clarity & Certainty
successful people have clarity & certainty
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Behind any successful person running a profitable empire and you will find someone who has figured things out. A trait that most of them have in common is “clarity and certainty” mainly because they have mastered the art of taking responsibility and accountability for their own actions. They have “clarity and certainty” about what they want (and don’t want) for their life. They actually visualize and plan ahead of time both in their personal and business future. A sharp contrast to most people who are merely spectators of life and allow others to determine their future plans.
10. Successful People Find Good In People
successful People find Good In others
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Most successful people view most situations in an optimistic and hopeful manner. Rather than assume the worst and focus on the negative, they do the opposite. They choose to find the good in everything around them from their staff, and partners to day-to-day situations as compared to looking for faults, problems, or stumbling blocks. Adopting a growth mindset allows them to reach greater heights of success and achievement. Most often they have a down-to-earth approach which allows them to interact and communicate freely with everyone from janitors to other executives.
From humble beginnings to billionaire & still dines with his staff
Amancio Ortega, founder of fashion retailer Zara and a fiercely private Spanish billionaire behind Inditex. Born in 1936 to a humble family of a railroad worker. He has an estimated net worth of US$72 billion (November 2020), according to Bloomberg.
Ortega still makes a point that he has lunch every day with his employees in the Zara headquarters – Business Insider. By so doing he gets all the issues from first hand source.
Bring It All Together
Here you have my 10 habits of highly successful people. Now that we know what makes them so great, you too can learn these habits and shift towards being achievers in our ways. What habits do you find most applicable to your situation? Share your thoughts in the comment section below and as always, l value your feedback. Till next time stay curious?
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