10 Core Philosophies of Highly Successful People
Posted on May 24, 2015 by Bonnie Marano, One of Thousands of Executive Coaches on Noomii.
Change what you believe and you will watch yourself achieve, succeed, and excel! Originally posted at BASEcoaching.net
Your thoughts affect your behaviors, and your behaviors govern your success. Some beliefs inhibit growth, while others facilitate it. The good news is that YOU are the one in control of your thoughts and beliefs, and subsequently your success. Successful people understand this and adopt their beliefs accordingly. Consider living by the following principles and you will see the positive change you are seeking begin to manifest in your life.
1. Where there’s a will there’s a way. Belief is an essential first step to achieving success. If you don’t believe something is possible, you will never really be willing to work for it. You will automatically create a self-fulfilling prophecy and set yourself up for failure. If, however, you come from a place of conviction and believe that there is, in fact, a way for you to achieve your goals, you will be much more likely to find success and not let temporary failures derail you.
2. You don’t have to be great to start, but you have to start to be great. Successful people firmly believe that the right time to start is right now. They don’t make excuses, justifications, and rationalizations for procrastination. Circumstances are rarely ideal or perfect, but that shouldn’t stop you from taking action. It is never the wrong time to take the first step. It’s true that the first step is the hardest, especially when you might not be able to see the whole staircase, but sometimes all it takes is that one small initiative to get your momentum going.
3. Baby steps count, as long as you are moving forward. Minor advancements over time lead to major improvements. Indeed, this is often the only way to achieve substantial results. When you try to change too much too fast, it can be problematic. You may burn yourself out or have a difficult time getting the buy-in you need from others. Success takes patience, grit, and perseverance, but every step you take toward achieving your goals is an important one!
3. You can have anything you want in life…you just can’t have everything you want. At least not all at once. Excelling at something requires a degree of focus and priority that is difficult to achieve if you are spreading yourself too thin. Decide what is most important to you and give it your best effort. It is difficult to be successful at anything by giving less than that. Successful people know how to decide what should take precedence and what can be left on the back burner.
5. Failure is a temporary detour, not a dead end. Mistakes allow for insight. That is how we learn to find our way. Sometimes figuring out what doesn’t work is just as important as figuring out what does. The road to success is paved with challenges and setbacks, but successful people are resilient people. They don’t let anything hold them back from achieving what they set out to do. They either figure out a way to overcome their obstacles or they adjust their course and set new goals based on their results.
6. Good things come to those who wait. It’s worth stating again that success typically requires a certain degree of patience and stamina. In today’s world of instant gratification, this is a tough pill to swallow for many people. If you have a low frustration tolerance, you will need to work on that if you are going to excel at your goals. Successful people have endurance and fortitude. They don’t give up when things don’t happen overnight because they realize that this is rarely the way change happens. If you can learn to appreciate the journey as much as the destination, it will take you far.
7. It’s not about you. Successful people don’t take things personally. They give others the benefit of the doubt. When someone mistreats them, they have little trouble, in the words of Taylor Swift, shaking it off. They accept the fact that humans are flawed. Successful people believe that most people most of the time are doing the best they can. If someone’s behavior would indicate otherwise, there’s a good chance it has little to nothing to do with you. After all, only hurt people hurt people. Try turning your pain or anger into compassion and it will serve you well.
8. Forgive and forget. Many people don’t understand that forgiveness is not really for the other person as much as it is for yourself. Forgiveness is about moving on, releasing yourself from negativity, and reclaiming your power. Successful people don’t waste their precious time holding grudges because they recognize that nothing good or productive ever comes of this. If you’ve been holding onto bitterness and resentment, acknowledge how you feel and then take the necessary steps to start letting go.
9. Strive to be your best…not THE best. While being the leading expert in your field is something you may crave, it’s important to realize that it is possible to be highly successful and excel at what you do without achieving such a lofty status. The goal should be to be your best self, whatever that means for you. If the rest of the world gives you recognition for that, well, that’s great, but truly successful people don’t require the approval of others. Your personal happiness is the only barometer of your success that has any real value.
10. All we are is dust in the wind. This might sound like a dark way of thinking, but if you find yourself perseverating on your faults and missteps, remembering this can actually release you from those negative thought patterns. Nothing lasts forever. Pain, embarrassment, shame, anger, and sadness are all temporary states of mind that you can take active steps to change. Rather than living with regrets, successful people reframe mistakes as learning experiences. Life is too short to worry about the past. You can’t change the past, but the future is yours for the taking! You only live once…don’t let that thought sober you. Let it set you free. Don’t be afraid to take chances and make the most of it!
Imagine the ways you can enrich your life by embracing some (or ALL!) of these beliefs. Changing your mind can change your life. It may take some practice at first, but the more you incorporate these thoughts into your daily life, the more they truly become a part of who you are. A new mindset will bring new results. Change what you believe and you will watch yourself achieve, succeed, and excel!
