Overnight success- think again - qualities you need to suceed

Posted on July 23, 2017 by Sarah Jones, One of Thousands of Life Coaches on Noomii.

In this day and age, with celebrity news, YouTube adverts, Instagram images… it’s easy to think that success often happens ‘overnight’. However sometimes ‘overnight’ has meant several years of hard work, and what we see is the end result.

Especially if you are reaching for a different way of life, or goal – rather than just the next step forward. This is where breaking down goals into manageable chunks is important because you can take a step-wise approach, rather than facing a huge mountain of a goal!

So back to ‘overnight success’ let’s look at some famous successful people, and what it took them to succeed:

Sly Stallone was sleeping in his car and even had to sell his dog when he got his first substantial movie part. He bought the dog back by the way!

Seuss’ first children’s book, And to Think That I Saw it on Mulberry Street, was rejected by 27 publishers. The 28th publisher sold six million copies of the book.

Bill Gates dropped out of Harvard and started a business called Traf-O-Data which failed, but the rest is history.

Oprah Winfrey is one the richest and most successful women in the world but had many career setbacks and was fired from one TV presenting job as she was told she was unfit for TV.

Sidney Poitier won an Oscar and became a very respected actor but was once told to stop wasting his time in acting and go and wash dishes.

Harrison Ford was told by many famous executives that he didn’t have what it took to make it in films.

And these are just a few examples, and I’m sure if you look at your life to-date you can see the twists and turns that’s taken you to where you are now.

I’ll cover just a couple of traits or characteristics that successful people demonstrate:

Resilience

This means adapting to setbacks, rolling with the punches and course correcting rather than being completely put off but setbacks. In fact setbacks can be positive experiences if you choose to see them that way – great opportunities learn, reflect on what you want, and recalibrate how you get there.

Perseverance/persistence

Pay off…again in similar vein to resilience it’s about keep keeping on. Not be put off by difficult situations, or giving up because it’s hard work, or too hard. Keeping a picture of the end in mind will help. Keep going until you hit on an idea or thought that’s going to work.

Managing negative mind chatter

Our minds can go into overdrive with negative thoughts and patterns that can run riot in our minds. There are many tools and techniques where you can re-train your brain and create new neural pathways that are geared for success

Self-awareness

Many successful people are self-aware. They are aware of their strengths and weaknesses and don’t overestimate themselves. Yes confidence is important but not when it tips into arrogance. This means you can seek help where you need it, and aware where you really add value. Successful people also tend to use techniques to help develop and maintain self-awareness such as meditation, quiet time and solitude, keeping a journal and practising gratitude.

Avoiding procrastination

It takes work. By all means outsource tasks where you can, especially if it’s not your core skill set – but really no-one is going to do this for you – if you want something, you have to put the effort in. Otherwise, you’re kinda daydreaming.

So I’ve just covered a few aspects of what contributes towards success, there are many more. However, a lot of it is mindset….