By: Mark Williams
“Success is stumbling from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm.” - Winston S. Churchill
Jeff was the coolest kid at my high school. He was popular with everyone, whether it was the geek crowd, the rebellious goths or the sporty jocks.
He was a good athlete, did well in academics and even had time to be part of the drama club.
Jeff never tried to impress anyone - he was naturally gifted and did things effortlessly.
Or so I thought…
You see, Jeff went to a different school during his elementary years before he moved to our town.
According to him, he was a complete mess back then.
“I was bad at sports, got picked on because I was shy and my grades were a disaster,” Jeff shared with us one time while we were working on a group science project.
The people listening (including me) couldn't believe it. How could someone so talented at a lot of things be anything less than perfect?
“Yeah, people used to tell me I had a lot of talent and potential… it sucked because I wasn't really using any of it,” he continued.
Jeff's dad is a college basketball coach, and over a couple of summers, he walked him through a bunch of drills and exercises until he got better at the game. He said, “My dad wouldn't tell me how talented I was like other people did. He would point out when I was making progress, though. I think that really helped me get into it, knowing that I was improving.”
A lot of people resent those who they see as talented. They think that just because someone is naturally good at something, that's ALL it takes.
Like in Jeff's case, none of us really think of the blood, sweat and tears involved.
Why bother with what goes behind the scenes when you can just look at the end result and brush it off as purely a matter of “talent”?
That's why I want to talk about what you REALLY need to be awesome at anything you do.
Sure, being naturally gifted can give anyone a boost, but that's not enough to take you all the way to the top.
Here are The 7 Most Important Qualities To Being Successful:
There is a big difference between the statements “I can't do it” and “I can't do it yet.”
The latter type of thinking is a far more powerful way to see the world. It's called adopting a Growth Mindset.
People who have this belief that they can grow and improve even if they hit the occasional roadblock to success.
This is also the mark of successful people. Accepting that setbacks are part of the process means you're willing to power through them.
To do that, take a step back and learn from your mistakes after you mess up.
No one ever got it right the first time, and for good reason.
Screwing up helps you focus and rethink your approach, then try again. This is a challenge that successful people take pleasure in.
The problem with those who don't have the Growth Mindset is that they're more interested in enforcing a high opinion of themselves and their raw talent.
This usually comes from a place of pride and fear.
To them, some people just have “it”, and others don't.
So, they think they'll always have an edge over those who aren't born with “it”.
But that's a false belief - people can always learn new things and get better at it.
You'll notice that these people tend to avoid challenges beyond their skill set. They'd rather not risk shattering the illusion of their effortless talent.
When they let this kind of thinking hold them back, they fail to grow into someone better.
Don't think you're so talented that you don't need to work hard or make mistakes like everyone else.
Remember, your skills can AND will evolve over time. But you need to put yourself through the learning process first.
Aside from learning from your mistakes, you should also be willing to learn from others and share the knowledge you have.
Create an atmosphere where you can have a back and forth exchange of insights and ideas with others in your field.
Only then will you really be able to expand your mind and hone your craft.
With everything we've talked about so far, you'd think I'm knocking on talented people.
Not at all.
Jeff was crazy talented, but as I found out, he also had to put in the work.
Otherwise, people would have kept telling him about his potential while he did nothing about it.
When you consider the big picture, EFFORT spells the difference between those who have amazing potential…
…and those who actually make use of it.
Angela Duckworth, the author of “Grit”, says that talent only accelerates the learning process.
To build and improve your skills, you need a good dose of grit in your life.
According to Duckworth, this is a combination of persisting with your goals AND being passionate about them.
This means working through those disappointing failures and staying on course even when you feel like dirt.
And it all boils down to the amount of effort you CHOOSE to put in - especially during times like these.
All the potential in the world won't mean much if you don't make a commitment to yourself to cultivate and refine the gifts you've been given.
To experience this for yourself I highly recommend that you follow this link…
Another quality of grit that Duckworth stresses is having a mission that's important to you and sticking to it.
If you want to stick to your goals and keep growing, you need a sense of purpose - and the passion to fuel it.
It's common to feel enthusiastic about a project or goal in the beginning. But like any other emotion, it comes and goes.
What's not so common is KEEPING AT IT even after those feelings of excitement have faded.
Think of your sticking to your end goal as being in a relationship with someone.
After you've gotten past the honeymoon phase, are you still willing to stick it out?
Do you make the conscious decision to stay the course in spite of the disillusionment?
When you in the morning, do you think of ways - big and small - to enrich your relationship and make it thrive?
Are you so in love with your goals that you're downright obsessed?
If you base your actions on your loyalty to your goals, then you're on the right track.
If not, try to remember why you have those goals in the first place.
What made you fall in love with them, and why do care so much?
Once you've reacquainted yourself with your core reasons, you'll be focused and stay true to your mission.
There's a study that came out in the late 80s called “The Mundanity of Excellence” which documented the performance of Olympic Swimmers.
The author observed how one of the athletes was able to go from minor leagues all the way to Olympic-level competitions in just three years.
He showed that through a number of measurable factors, the concept of excellence could be actually be quantified.
And he points out that these factors that make up an extraordinary performance are, well, pretty ordinary.
The truth is that there's really nothing amazing about the habits needed to be awesome at something. Take the following for instance:
- Waking up early in the morning to get a good start
- Taking an invigorating shower to wake your senses
- Meditating and/or reading something motivational or inspirational
- Having a healthy and filling breakfast to fuel your day
- Showing up for work or training
- Practicing through drills, exercises and other repetitive motions, both physical and mental
- Researching topics related to your field and exchanging ideas with your peers
- And so on…
So you can see that each of those “little” things isn't exactly exciting. But all of them play an important part in your grand plan nonetheless.
When you have an overall result in mind, like making a million dollars in a year or being a world-class athlete, it's the smaller sub-goals that will make it happen.
If you care enough about being excellent, you should create a solid framework of smaller objectives to support your vision.
Otherwise, you'll be lost and aimless, wondering why you haven't done something amazing with your life.
Once you've got your priorities sorted out, success will be the sum of those smaller goals you put together.
So I recommend you check out this short video which explains everything.
Successful people focus on the parts of their game that need work.
If a basketball player isn't doing too well with rebounds or shooting accurately, then they'll have to do those drills to rectify that.
When you hit a particular wall in your performance or career, make a game out of getting around it. Focus your energy on that specific wall.
Again, the key to success is pretty boring.
Most of the time, it's simply prioritizing certain areas, then letting other people tell you where you did it wrong.
Like I said before, getting other people's insights is crucial, and in this case, it'll help you overcome your weaknesses.
Then all that's left to do is keep practicing the same thing until you've completely ironed out the kinks.
Pretty soon, you won't be even thinking about that problem you were having before. Getting it right becomes second nature.
Going through the grind of mastering something isn't cool or glamorous. But it's the complete opposite when you finally get your act together.
Here's an important thing about excellence that people often miss: it's contagious.
You know what they say about birds of the same feather, right?
If you surround yourself with negative, miserable folks who put successful people down just to feel better about themselves…
… what kind of effect would it have on YOUR thinking?
Would it help you make things happen, or make it a hundred times harder?
The kind of attitude and perspective you have will either lift up your dreams - or poison them.
That's why you need to be part of a winning, supportive culture that celebrates excellence, not despises it.
A group of people will always have a common set of values and principles. If you're part of that circle, it will rub off you no matter what.
So if you tend to be around people that scoff at personal growth, don't try to change how they think.
You can be that person who was brave enough to stick out like a sore thumb, but not in condescending or “Hey look at me now” kind of way.
The result of your hard work will speak for itself.
There's no need to rub it in anyone's face. Who knows, you might just make a believer out of the Negative Nancy's in your life.
Heck, you could even tell them how you pulled it off when they ask you.
Wouldn't that be great, to be the one that lifts them up?
But that's the thing about life - when you send a certain message to the world, expect to get a certain kind of response.
Discover the messages you need to be sending to experience unlimited success
How to create more opportunities in your life
What if there was a way to consciously send the RIGHT message to the world?
What if you could be at the perfect “frequency” so people will pick up on your signal and respond in a hugely positive way?
Imagine your boss wanting to give you a promotion - and a fat raise to go along with it…
…or a prospective investor willing to fund your million-dollar idea…
…or even your future romantic partner begging to take you out on a date.
To do all that and MORE, all it takes is to reprogram your signal so everyone gets your message loud and clear.
After that, they'll WANT to give you all those incredible opportunities left and right like crazy!
at all boils down to a single trait that people knew next to nothing about - until now.
A study at the Carnegie Institute of Technology discovered that this quality accounted for 85% of a person's financial success.
And no, it has nothing to do with talent or technical skill…
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