Nine Things Successful People Do Differently
by Heidi Grant Halvorson |
8:58 AM Friday February 25, 2011
Why have you been so successful in reaching some of your goals, but not others? If you aren't sure, you are far from alone in your confusion. It turns out that even brilliant, highly accomplished people are pretty lousy when it comes to understanding why they succeed or fail. The intuitive answer — that you are born predisposed to certain talents and lacking in others — is really just one small piece of the puzzle. In fact, decades of research on achievement suggests that successful people reach their goals not simply because of who they are, but more often because of what they do.
1. Get specific. When you set yourself a goal, try to be as specific as possible. "Lose 5 pounds" is a better goal than "lose some weight," because it gives you a clear idea of what success looks like. Knowing exactly what you want to achieve keeps you motivated until you get there. Also, think about the specific actions that need to be taken to reach your goal. Just promising you'll "eat less" or "sleep more" is too vague — be clear and precise. "I'll be in bed by 10pm on weeknights" leaves no room for doubt about what you need to do, and whether or not you've actually done it.
2. Seize the moment to act on your goals. Given how busy most of us are, and how many goals we are juggling at once, it's not surprising that we routinely miss opportunities to act on a goal because we simply fail to notice them. Did you really have no time to work out today? No chance at any point to return that phone call? Achieving your goal means grabbing hold of these opportunities before they slip through your fingers.
To seize the moment, decide when and where you will take each action you want to take, in advance. Again, be as specific as possible (e.g., "If it's Monday, Wednesday, or Friday, I'll work out for 30 minutes before work.") Studies show that this kind of planning will help your brain to detect and seize the opportunity when it arises, increasing your chances of success by roughly 300%.
3. Know exactly how far you have left to go. Achieving any goal also requires honest and regular monitoring of your progress — if not by others, then by you yourself. If you don't know how well you are doing, you can't adjust your behavior or your strategies accordingly. Check your progress frequently — weekly, or even daily, depending on the goal.
4. Be a realistic optimist. When you are setting a goal, by all means engage in lots of positive thinking about how likely you are to achieve it. Believing in your ability to succeed is enormously helpful for creating and sustaining your motivation. But whatever you do, don't underestimate how difficult it will be to reach your goal. Most goals worth achieving require time, planning, effort, and persistence. Studies show that thinking things will come to you easily and effortlessly leaves you ill-prepared for the journey ahead, and significantly increases the odds of failure.
5. Focus on getting better, rather than being good. Believing you have the ability to reach your goals is important, but so is believing you can get the ability. Many of us believe that our intelligence, our personality, and our physical aptitudes are fixed — that no matter what we do, we won't improve. As a result, we focus on goals that are all about proving ourselves, rather than developing and acquiring new skills.
Fortunately, decades of research suggest that the belief in fixed ability is completely wrong — abilities of all kinds are profoundly malleable. Embracing the fact that you can change will allow you to make better choices, and reach your fullest potential. People whose goals are about getting better, rather than being good, take difficulty in stride, and appreciate the journey as much as the destination.
6. Have grit. Grit is a willingness to commit to long-term goals, and to persist in the face of difficulty. Studies show that gritty people obtain more education in their lifetime, and earn higher college GPAs. Grit predicts which cadets will stick out their first grueling year at West Point. In fact, grit even predicts which round contestants will make it to at the Scripps National Spelling Bee.
The good news is, if you aren't particularly gritty now, there is something you can do about it. People who lack grit more often than not believe that they just don't have the innate abilities successful people have. If that describes your own thinking .... well, there's no way to put this nicely: you are wrong. As I mentioned earlier, effort, planning, persistence, and good strategies are what it really takes to succeed. Embracing this knowledge will not only help you see yourself and your goals more accurately, but also do wonders for your grit.
7. Build your willpower muscle. Your self-control "muscle" is just like the other muscles in your body — when it doesn't get much exercise, it becomes weaker over time. But when you give it regular workouts by putting it to good use, it will grow stronger and stronger, and better able to help you successfully reach your goals.
To build willpower, take on a challenge that requires you to do something you'd honestly rather not do. Give up high-fat snacks, do 100 sit-ups a day, stand up straight when you catch yourself slouching, try to learn a new skill. When you find yourself wanting to give in, give up, or just not bother — don't. Start with just one activity, and make a plan for how you will deal with troubles when they occur ("If I have a craving for a snack, I will eat one piece of fresh or three pieces of dried fruit.") It will be hard in the beginning, but it will get easier, and that's the whole point. As your strength grows, you can take on more challenges and step-up your self-control workout.
8. Don't tempt fate. No matter how strong your willpower muscle becomes, it's important to always respect the fact that it is limited, and if you overtax it you will temporarily run out of steam. Don't try to take on two challenging tasks at once, if you can help it (like quitting smoking and dieting at the same time). And don't put yourself in harm's way — many people are overly-confident in their ability to resist temptation, and as a result they put themselves in situations where temptations abound. Successful people know not to make reaching a goal harder than it already is.
9. Focus on what you will do, not what you won't do. Do you want to successfully lose weight, quit smoking, or put a lid on your bad temper? Then plan how you will replace bad habits with good ones, rather than focusing only on the bad habits themselves. Research on thought suppression (e.g., "Don't think about white bears!") has shown that trying to avoid a thought makes it even more active in your mind. The same holds true when it comes to behavior — by trying not to engage in a bad habit, our habits get strengthened rather than broken.
If you want change your ways, ask yourself, What will I do instead? For example, if you are trying to gain control of your temper and stop flying off the handle, you might make a plan like "If I am starting to feel angry, then I will take three deep breaths to calm down." By using deep breathing as a replacement for giving in to your anger, your bad habit will get worn away over time until it disappears completely.
It is my hope that, after reading about the nine things successful people do differently, you have gained some insight into all the things you have been doing right all along. Even more important, I hope are able to identify the mistakes that have derailed you, and use that knowledge to your advantage from now on. Remember, you don't need to become a different person to become a more successful one. It's never what you are, but what you do.
Heidi Grant Halvorson, Ph.D. is a motivational psychologist, and author of the new book Succeed: How We Can Reach Our Goals (Hudson Street Press, 2011). She is also an expert blogger on motivation and leadership for Fast Company and Psychology Today. Her personal blog, The Science of Success, can be found at www.heidigranthalvorson.com. Follow her on Twitter @hghalvorson
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Mitch McCrimmon 5 months ago
Good points but I would suggest a 10th: Review and celebrate successes, even small ones. This is a discipline of regularly, say weekly, listing all the small steps you took that worked well or that you are pleased about. One problem with highly motivated people, in my experience, is that nothing they do is ever good enough, so they are always beating themselves for what they haven't managed to get done yet, while they are actually getting a lot more done than most people. To avoid getting discouraged, I think it helps to rigorously list all the positive steps you have taken. We need a sense of making progress, not just a feeling that there is so much more to do.
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Deep-thought 4 months ago in reply to Mitch McCrimmon
Success, however you define this term, is measured at a snapshot in time! That is normally 'now' yesterday is history and tomorrow is a mystery. Successfull people are without exception problem solvers. Really sucessful people are planners, problem solvers and have a talent to look beyond the horizon. They know they have something good and nobody else can see it yet.. but they can.. it might only be in their minds eye but they are going to make it tangible. Remember you can either catch the wind or blow your idea along using your own. If your ship hits the rocks, swim ashore, look for another treasure map and start digging again. Out of the numerous success stories I have studied Carnegie, Edison, George and Robert Stephenson, Parsons, Armstrong, Charles Goodyear and many many more the abiding quality they all had was indomitable self belief and vision. They could look into the future and see demand for their products and inventions because what they had was the future and a logical step, even if to start with they were the only ones to see it! Bill Gates created an operating program for a computer before the creation of a computer that it could run on. The most important ingredient they all needed was a 'turn on a dime' piece of good luck and without exception they all had one! Don't let your friends pull you back. Most people are selfish and are reluctant to congratulate others on their success. Don't look upon set backs as failures they provide valuable experience and insight that will help you in the future, as long as you learn from them. think of the first person to try and ride a bicycle. Why didn't they give up? What sort of determination must they have had? balance on you wheels somehow and do your best to keep the momentum going. As long as you start your enterprise and can take the knocks and tack your 'yacht' in your wind then you are on the journey of a lifetime. You might just amaze yourself as to where you can go and the experiences you can have. Look for the opportunity in the difficulty and not the other way around! Anyone brave enough to start such a journey is brave in my eyes. don't sell your soul for peace of mind. Be the person your heart tells you you can be! deep-thought@hotmail.co.uk
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Robert Lewis 4 months ago in reply to Deep-thought
A brilliant addition to the original blog. Your most catching phrase for me was,. "don't sell your soul for peace of mind." I think that is really deep, really relevant in today's world and worthy of more debate.
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Mark 2 months ago in reply to Robert Lewis
What is this "Soul' Crap? Not into moral superiority to feel good bro
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Computer Consultant. 2 months ago in reply to Deep-thought
Nice thoughts...but never let the truth ruin a good story...Bill Gates didn't invent or create an operating system...He purchased it and then convinced IBM to license it. His real vision was "A computer on every desktop".
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Oldtimer 2 months ago in reply to Computer Consultant.
Deep-Thought said "operating program" not "operating system". I believe he was referring to Gates' MIPS Basic which was written when the machine was essentially just a prototype. Microsoft was a successful company well before the PC-DOS phenomenon. I'm not a big MS fan, but there's no denying that Bill Gates is something special.
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Deep-thought 2 months ago in reply to Computer Consultant.
Oldtimer is correct. It is important to have attention to detail and to read what is actually said. I said program not system.... I deal in recorded facts.
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Sharmabinay4 2 months ago in reply to Computer Consultant.
I think person didn't think about vision first, they think about mission.
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Base Board 2 months ago in reply to Deep-thought
Chemistry. Everyone on the planet is a slave to chemistry and how it affects the human condition. Aside from all the external issues of pollution and processed food, we have an engine, the body, and it is still a mystery. People react to situations, good or bad, fight or flight and a million other words of description. The point is that words dont capture the reality of the chemistry of the human body. Why does one feel good, or bad, chemistry, or the effect of the release of endorphins, and other chemicals in our body can enhance or tear down a good idea, or a good day. Some consume little bottles of chemicals, a 5 hour jolt, or soda with sugar or fast food with even more sugar. I think that many good ideas and thoughts find their way to the human garbage disposal wrapped in these chemicals.
People do drugs of all kinds in search of a HIGH. The most powerful drug is the one that we create internally and it is natural. We seek for that high by adding chemicals to the mix that have a down side far worse than anyone wants to discuss.
I wished I understood this subject better, and could offer more but I am sure that the people in this discussion can add more to the concept and thoughts.
You are what you eat, breathe and consume. Business, ideas, projects are done better when humans are clear, have the ability to focus and have the power to nurture that internal chemical that can push us to a good natural high and achieve more than we might even imagine we could.
Better living thought chemistry, I heard that someone in the past. So far, it has not worked out. A few hundred years ago the Oxygen environment that our ancestors lived in was amazingly rich, many times greater than we have today. Imagine with our technology that we have, what we could do if we just had real oxygen to breathe, I wonder what marvels would be on our doorstep for tomorrow. Humans need air, water, food and shelter. We have pretty much messed up the first three and the banking system is trying hard to mess up the fourth one. I am not a tree hugger per se, but maybe a few more trees and a walk in the park could do more good than a bag of fries.
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Tmal 1 month ago in reply to Base Board
The better our nutrition is the better our thoughts are.
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isnextmktg 3 weeks ago in reply to Base Board
I can agree with this to an extent as I'm a firm believer of "premium fuel in, premium results out" when it comes to physical performance however; if you look at some of the most successful and driven people in the world, they are constantly pumping their bodies full of garbage.
The mental aspect of one's game - as far as I'm concerned - is influenced by chemistry but not driven by it.
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Lloyd2410 3 months ago in reply to Deep-thought
I really enjoyed reading your piece which contains some warm and wise insights about success and is very encouraging for anyone who has ideas of who they can be and what they can achieve in their lives.
From my experience of having a small consulting business, persistence and determination are incredibly important when you feel like giving up because it's just too hard and you need to pay the rent this week!! If we remember that one piece of luck such as meeting the right person could be just around the corner and only one minute away....keep up your deep thoughts and excellent writing, cheers from Brisbane, Australia.
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Syeda Arooj 3 months ago in reply to Lloyd2410
Yeah precisely, SELF-ESTEEM is very significant.
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capasa 6 days ago in reply to Lloyd2410
indeed, luck could be around the corner, but ... success is when luck is meeting preparation.
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R Branch 3 months ago in reply to Deep-thought
Excellent addition to the article. I love your mention of self-belief and vision. The key is to not get discouraged.
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Rohit Khandelwal 4 months ago in reply to Deep-thought
Brilliantly articulated, shows your clarity of thought on the subject.
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Dianna Howell 1 week ago in reply to Deep-thought
I believe in the process but always keeping the big picture goal in focus. Then each step of the way when you are making decisions they are focused not just on the immediate results but on your long term goal.
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Sharmabinay4 2 months ago in reply to Deep-thought
really nice thought
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Deep-thought 3 months ago in reply to Mitch McCrimmon
"ONE > TWO!"
Are you sick of looking forward whilst always just behind?
Never having quite enough no matter how hard you try?
Still chasing that extra second that's so impossible to find?
Why look outside for answers it's there inside your mind!
It will be your time to shine if you grab it from within
Have belief in yourself and confidence will help you win!
One thinks I will but two never seems to know
One is always focussed but two just lets it go
You must find another second to make another second
Find that second from within and exchange it for a win
So go chase the wind through your hair
Show the whole world, feel the glare, earn their stares
It’s not beyond any of us to make it
If we can just reach deep inside and take it!
Yes you can it’s not about them
it’s about you believe in yourself!
deep-thought@hotmail.co.uk
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Mila Araujo 5 months ago in reply to Mitch McCrimmon
I agree, except I think this is something one can do on a daily basis. Every day take a moment to reflect upon what worked & what didn't. Knowing daily where you are at.
I think this is a great practice. Even the smallest success builds into the big picture. Daily reflection allows for the opportunity to see your success every day and to plan what you can do tomorrow..
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prabhusathya 5 months ago in reply to Mila Araujo
I fully agree. However , adding an additional layer of a weekly review of all the actions and results will have better results. Behavioural patterns can be best understood by dynamic review of events of a longer time period than just a day.
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Cyrus Golkar 2 months ago in reply to Mila Araujo
Awesome suggestion. Thanks.
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Jonathan Main 2 months ago in reply to Mitch McCrimmon
Hi Mitch,
This is a great point and one that I can say wholeheartedly I agree with. Having worked for a number of years with Deloitte in Australia, their current CEO encouraged this behavior; and as such the Australian firm has 7 signal (maxims), the last being "Have fun and celebrate". This signal was described as follows:
We acknowledge the great results achieved each day by the people
around us; we build the Deloitte community and contribute to the
community outside the firm.
To do this we:
- always take the opportunity to celebrate accomplishments- bring a positive attitude to everything we do- catch others doing something right and reward achievement- seek opportunities to contribute to the community.
http://www.deloitte.com/view/e...
I think that Deloitte is a perfect example to highlight what you have said and would be a exceptional case study.At Deloitte they had many opportunities to celebrate success such employee of the month, financial recognition for passing CA/CPA exams, public recognition of staff who had been with the company 5, 10, 15, 20, 25 years etc. These achievements both small and great was always recognized through an end of month meeting of the whole firm (otherwise known as "End of Month Drinks") where these staff were publicly recognized in front of their peers.
"Have fun and celebrate" along with the other signals were also recognized at the end of the year where all the staff voted on their colleagues as to who typified and lived each of the signals - and they were presented with a small trophy as reward! It may seem kitschy, but these intrinsic motivators were a significant driver of the company's successes.
Another point to note is that programs like the one at Deloitte will work best when driven from the top. It worked because the CEO had/has all nine; no all ten of these attributes. And so he would end all of his firm wide voice messages by saying "Have a bit of fun today"!
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Heidi Grant Halvorson 5 months ago in reply to Mitch McCrimmon
Thank you for that insight Mitch - I think that is a great way to keep yourself feeling realistically optimistic, confident that you can make success happen because you do in fact have a track record of success.
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Mitch McCrimmon 5 months ago in reply to Heidi Grant Halvorson
I am pleased that so many people like my comment. But celebrating success takes regular discipline or we forget to do it. Managers can apply this idea by asking employees in all meetings, group or individual, what went well since we last met before moving onto issues. Too many meetings focus only on what didn't go well or what has yet to be done, thus creating a negative, failure mentality. See my article on how to engage employees for more: http://www.lead2xl.com/how-to-...
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Rohit Khandelwal 5 months ago in reply to Mitch McCrimmon
Great article, Mitch. Especially liked your point about focusing on strengths rather than weaknesses of your employees. A few years back I had read the book 'First, Break All the Rules' by Buckingham and Coffman. And since then, their 'don't generalize' theory has stuck with me and helped me in umpteen situations. Your article just refreshed my entire experience with that concept! I recommend that every manager here should read that book, a real management-myth-buster! Cheers
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Patricio Vittori 2 months ago in reply to Mitch McCrimmon
I started to apply this "celebrate success" sessions on my PMs scrums meetings every morning and the results were excellent! You really start any new day with the right foot.
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Samaila 3 months ago in reply to Mitch McCrimmon
Yeah, Mitch. Apart from that, most management texts advocate management by exception: meaning that managers should concentrate on the reasons for not meeting targets and expectations. Which is really not wholly good. As you canvass, we need to know and celebrate what "went well since we last met (even) before moving on to (other) equally important issues. Thanks.
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Manaek Simamora 1 month ago in reply to Mitch McCrimmon
Great point, Mitch! Thank you for reminding. I also have read your article entitled "How to Engage Employees" which is very practical and useful. I will simply starte practicing them at work.
Please keep sharing your insights!
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Ken Rea 4 months ago in reply to Mitch McCrimmon
Nice article, Heidi, sparking off a great discussion. I’m coming at this from the point of view of someone who trains actors in a top British drama school (Guildhall). Over the decades I’ve trained about 1,000 actors there, but only a handful have gone on to become A-list internationally famous names. What fascinates me is: what were they doing that the others were not? You cover some of the answers in your article, Heidi, and Mitch, your ‘celebrate successes’ is of course very important.
What I’ve also found effective, elaborating on your first point, Heidi, is to visualise your goal as vividly as possible. That gives it an emotional as well as an intellectual connection. For example, if you wanted to play Hamlet at the National Theatre, you might mock up a poster with your name on it. I’m sure you all have lots of anecdotal evidence to prove the effectiveness of this approach. I’ll share one with you. One of my acting students had just been awarded Guildhall’s Gold Medal by the Lord Mayor of London. After the ceremony she told me, “From the first day I came in the building I looked up at the honours board and said to myself, ‘One day, my name’s going to be there.’ And here I am.“
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Garcia Janie S 5 months ago in reply to Mitch McCrimmon
Your suggestion to the 10th step was a big Aha! moment for me. Celebrating sucess, however small it may be will enable us to continue the challenge of getting better every day.
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Rachael Olajide 1 month ago in reply to Mitch McCrimmon
Quite Right. I have been reading the new book from The Business Leaders Book Club titled Lessons learned from the recession. In it 60 business leaders from all around the world talk about their recession experience and the strategies that helped them survive and thrive.
One of the things they mentioned was how imprtant it was to SMILE, LAUGH and rember LIFE GOES ON and that sometimes its BEYOND YOUR CONTROL.
Here is a link to it http://bit.ly/mUDyhY
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Pang Hongtu 5 months ago in reply to Mitch McCrimmon
Hello,I am a Chinese student and I am not good at Engish.I am not sure whether it is right or not that I think your comments are similar to the 3th.I can't tell the differences between" regular monitoring of your progress"and" Review and celebrate successes, even small ones"
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Mitch McCrimmon 5 months ago in reply to Pang Hongtu
Pang, My point is that regular monitoring of progress must first review what has worked well. Too many such reviews over emphasize what hasn't worked, what is going wrong and what remains to be done. The danger of such one-sided, negative reviews is that they demoralize people and create a failure mindset. I am saying that both are needed but that a special effort should be made to list all of the positive steps achieved as they are too easily taken for granted and overlooked. What we find easy to do, we discount, thinking it was just part of the job or that anyone could have done it. We say it was nothing, thus discounting our successes and over emphasizing our failures. We are told to play to our strengths but these are things that are so easy for us to do that we think they are really nothing to feel especially good about. This is distorted thinking that leads us to discount our strengths and over emphasize our weaknesses.
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Pang Hongtu 5 months ago in reply to Mitch McCrimmon
Thanks for your explanation.Can I understand that for"Each of the progress is the foundation of success,but what we should do is to focus on those meaningful successes and ignore negative emotions so that we can have an optimistic attitude and be better to succeed"?
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Mitch McCrimmon 5 months ago in reply to Pang Hongtu
Pang, I am not saying we should ignore what went wrong. We need to learn from our mistakes, not to mention take corrective action. I'm just saying that we should avoid focusing ONLY on mistakes, thereby ignoring successes. It's a matter of striving for a better balance between the two.
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Pang Hongtu 5 months ago in reply to Mitch McCrimmon
I see,thank you.
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Smarika Chhetry 4 months ago in reply to Mitch McCrimmon
i absolutely agree with Mitch...
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MARIO NOWOGRODZKI, CPA/CITP 4 months ago in reply to Mitch McCrimmon
Great point here, Mitch. Especially the problem with highly motivated people, that nothing they do is ever good enough, so they beat themselves for what they haven't done. And this happens no matter how much others point out that they are actually getting a lot more done than most people.
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Elias DRIOUCH 5 months ago in reply to Mitch McCrimmon
Thank you for this addtional and important key success. Celebrate a success, even small one, helps us to maintain the dynamic. Also it a proof that our project progresses. It is a very important point in building a self-confidence, the key of any success.
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Linda LaBrie 5 months ago in reply to Mitch McCrimmon
Thank you Heidi and others. I've embraced many of these habits in my own long career (still climbing that greased pole) and in my work as a coach (of lawyers). #1, IMHO, is most critical but I would add - write it down and share it with others - this is how you move from talk to action! Behavior change - small/significant; private/public; personal/professional - is damn hard and a slippery slope. How many individuals do you know who have tried to quit smoking? And, how many times? So, as Mitch and others advise, rejoice and celebrate every inch you move away from comfort to your new "can" zone.
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John_oleson 5 months ago in reply to Mitch McCrimmon
Where do you suggest the celebration ... Morton's or someplace like that?
Forced to be serious, great comment ... johno from tropical Michigan.
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Pittsburghguy 5 months ago in reply to Mitch McCrimmon
Impressive Mitch! Big heads up. As long as people stay focused on the main task at hand, the reward system works wonders. Insentive goes a long way in moderation.
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Npugl 5 months ago in reply to Pittsburghguy
Incentive
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Writ2joy 2 days ago in reply to Mitch McCrimmon
celebration bonds people and they help to remove any form of animosity
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Bhavna Sapra 3 weeks ago in reply to Mitch McCrimmon
Mitch I agree....its important to pat your back saying well done even in small successes. It gives immense energy and will power to accomplish even tougher goals...
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isnextmktg 3 weeks ago in reply to Mitch McCrimmon
Excellent point and I agree wholeheartedly. I am curious though, would you consider the reverse true? In other words, do you find it equally important to conduct a similar exercise after each failure?
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Umar Zia 1 month ago in reply to Mitch McCrimmon
Well very said, I also believe that successful people never loose sight of their goal and consistency with patience is vital for any undertaking!
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Krishan Kumar 2 months ago in reply to Mitch McCrimmon
Mitch added very nice point, when you take retrospective and see what went well it brings smile on face and and gives a moral support...
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Keshabrajjoshi 2 months ago in reply to Mitch McCrimmon
I agree with Mitch. It's a good habit to reward yourself. This make himself/herself feel that s/he has done a significant work.
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Adalumos 4 months ago in reply to Mitch McCrimmon
You really hit the point and should be given kudos for this. I know of a man in my organization, though is a performer, but is never satisfied with that. He keeps scaling up in all he does.
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Michael Corleone 5 months ago in reply to Mitch McCrimmon
Mitch:
The list of nine things..... did not seem too insightful to me. Then I read your 10th idea and it's makes great sense. Simple logic that is so easily forgotten or never realized because how some of us are wired. Thanks. Enjoy the sun.
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Mitch McCrimmon 5 months ago in reply to Michael Corleone
Michael, thanks. Your comment prompted me to re-read the list of 9 things and it occurred to me that the title of this post might better have been "9 steps to goal achievement" rather than talking about success, which is much broader. For example, if success for you is becoming a well known politician, one thing you should do is develop relationships with key influencers. Or if you want to be a great pianist or golfer, you need to practice incessantly. So, the 9 things listed in this post are really about how to stick to your guns to achieve goals rather about achieving success in a broader sense.
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VIBRANTINFOSYSTEMS 2 months ago
I found this conversation inspiring. I recently attended a sponsored breakfast with a motivational speaker and he spoke about goal setting. He suggested each day you put together (in writing) your "To Do" task (no more than 5 - allowing an hour for each - the rest of the day allows for interruptions and quick responses). Then he suggested you number the items by priority. He then suggested you put a $ (dollar sign) next to the items that helped to generate income (for he suggested these are the items one should focus on first in succeeding (be sure to re-check and match the $ sign(s) up with hopefully the first 3 or 4 tasks you prioritized). (NOTE: This breakfast consisted of self-employed/entrepreneurs who's goal was to make X amount of dollars each year). He then suggested as you complete a task you take the time to line through the task (for that would provide a sense of accomplishment and assist in measuring progress) and finally when you completed the task/tasks that helped you to generate income as part of your goal setting you reward yourself in a small way - celebrate when the goal is obtained. At the very end the speaker provided everyone with a 72 inch paper ruler. He asked us to tear off how old you are (some attendee's hesitated - funny!). Then he asked you to decide at what age you to plan to retire and tear off the inches to that age. Those inches remaining represented how many years you had left to accomplish your goals! Real eye opener! I hope you found this worth sharing for I found this conversation energizing, thought provoking and inspiring. Thank you.
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Liju Thomas 2 months ago
Excellent piece of article. Nicely articulated and clear
line of thoughts. I also wanted to add an attribute called
"Stick-to-itness". I have learned the hard way. If you keep getting
exited for each new idea that pop in ur mind and try to get that materialized,
then it’s not going to work. If you have started something know that it’s a gr8
idea then stick to it. Fruits from the labour will come. Be patient.
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Linda Stubbs 3 weeks ago in reply to Liju Thomas
Liju, thanks for your input. I have many ideas running through my head, but never materialize into anything. Articulation of words and thoughts is a struggle for me working at the master level in school. Thank you for reminding me of the "stick-to-itness idea.
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Cathleencgraham 5 months ago
Excellent piece. Optimism and measured ability to focus on things one can do have long driven sucess. Someone told me this past week there is no such thing as CAN'T, but several levels of CAN. Focus on what you CAN do, and then push harder to increase your range of CAN.
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Heidi Grant Halvorson 5 months ago in reply to Cathleencgraham
I love "push harder to increase your range of CAN." Thanks for sharing that.
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melanie 5 days ago in reply to Heidi Grant Halvorson
Rather than "push harder", i like "do your best", and always come from the heart, and we really dont know how long we are here for,.....
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Samir Mishra 5 months ago
Planning the course of Action does help. Before I take a major Task. I prepare a list of things TO DO. Be it travelling overseas, taking a big/small project. This helps me to keep my mind focussed on things that are important (to be done) and not worry about what Not To Do.
I would like to add one to the list:
Keep a Journal. Record even smaller notes in it. That way we can offload our worries to the journal and get on with doing something that matters for our life.
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Mick 5 months ago
Thanks Heidi.
Number 9 really makes sense to me as I believe the mind tends to work most efficiently on images and, as such, finds it difficult or impossible to store a picture of a non-entity or non-action. For example, in telling yourself to visualize not over eating, your brain will strip out the 'not' part and end up storing an image of over eating, thereby enforcing your bad habit rather than reducing it.
My resolution now: stop reading such intelligent, yet addictive, articles that take me away from my work. I'm visualizing that I will get up from my computer and get back to my work :)
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Heidi Grant Halvorson 5 months ago in reply to Mick
Thanks Mick - I think you are right that it's much easier to focus on action than non-action, and far more effective. I hope your resolution worked :)
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Kevincollins_1 5 months ago in reply to Mick
Thanks for that Mick. I read the list and loved it and even forwarded it to a friend.
Then I scanned some of the responses down here until I saw yours and was reminded to stop and get back to three other tasks that are waiting for me.(I just had to take an extra few seconds to write this thank you Mick!)
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Lloyd Fassett 2 months ago
I think this is misleading and potentially harmful because it doesn't talk about how to set goals, what resources you have access to now or over time, or external factors. Are you going to blame the people who have lost their homes for committing to mortgages that they shouldn't have and for falling short of financial goals because of that?
1. There is no context for if your goal is worthwhile. Not being successful in a bad goal is a good thing.
2. The post misses what resources you have access to including preferred connections, resources or a lifestyle that isn't of the grinding poverty type. 3. Most importantly, it lacks external forces that can effect your lack of success, such as a new entrant into your market or team members that sabotage your project, or if you are part of a minority where people who control resource allocation don't like your affiliations.
Frequently, but not always, it's external factors that cause us to fail that we were unrealistic about, were not predictable, or were predictable but the reward was worth the risk. Your 9 points are all fine, after more important decisions are made though.
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Sharon 5 months ago
Thank you for this information which I Stumbled upon. At 56 years old I have finally realized what I want to do with my life and am in the very beginning stages of taking the steps towards that goal. When I look at the big picture I get doubts that I can complete the schooling and also posess the ability to be succesful when done and this post reminds me to break it down into bite-sized pieces. The postings from other people are helpful too. I like the idea of rewarding sucess and journaling every step of the way.
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Cedric B Johnson, Ph.D 3 months ago
As a psychologist I recognize and affirm your observations about the path to success. But the further I go on this journey called life I continually ask myself 'what is success anyway?' To a large degree we define it as productivity of one sort or another. But is it not also fruitfulness, that manifest quality that flows from our true and inner being (soul)? Heidi, the 'nine things' surely will help us reach that goal but the focus has to change from only productivity to fruitfulness. I explore this topic in my blog at cedricj.wordpress.com
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Belinda Epperson 3 months ago
I found this conversation inspiring. I recently attended a sponsored breakfast with a motivational speaker and he spoke about goal setting. He suggested each day you put together (in writing) your "To Do" task (no more than 5 - allowing an hour for each - the rest of the day allows for interruptions and quick responses). Then he suggested you number the items by priority. He then suggested you put a $ (dollar sign) next to the items that helped to generate income (for he suggested these are the items one should focus on first in succeeding (be sure to re-check and match the $ sign(s) up with hopefully the first 3 or 4 tasks you prioritized). (NOTE: This breakfast consisted of self-employed/entrepreneurs who's goal was to make X amount of dollars each year). He then suggested as you complete a task you take the time to line through the task (for that would provide a sense of accomplishment and assist in measuring progress) and finally when you completed the task/tasks that helped you to generate income as part of your goal setting you reward yourself in a small way - celebrate when the goal is obtained. At the very end the speaker provided everyone with a 72 inch paper ruler. He asked us to tear off how old you are (some attendee's hesitated - funny!). Then he asked you to decide at what age you to plan to retire and tear off the inches to that age. Those inches remaining represented how many years you had left to accomplish your goals! Real eye opener! I hope you found this worth sharing for I found this conversation energizing, thought provoking and inspiring. Thank you.
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Raj 4 months ago
Great list of "personal" actions/attributes. But I'd like to mention the social context for success. My observation is that your support group is also vital: spouse, friends, colleagues, and mentors. These form your "cheerleading team." So my #11 would be to pick the right support group, most importantly your spouse and mentor.
How many times have we watched awards shows where the recipient says, "I would like to thank my husband/wife without whose support I would be standing here." It has taken me many years to realize the significance of these words.
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Mabbayi 2 months ago
It's all about "continous" determination to attain a goal.
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Guest 2 months ago
Brilliant article for those who are not that decisive in their life.
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Angela McCullagh 4 months ago
'Have grit' resonates well with the Affirmation 'I have a backbone not a wishbone' and supports tenacity and Focus.
Focus then reminds us to be Fixed On Coure Until Successful.
Fixed on what will be achieved rather than what needs to be avoided
e.g losing 5 lbs instead of not putting on more weight ....
creates an anchor statement
"Where focus goes ... energy flows"
Thanks Heidi - inspiring post
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Jeffrey Manu 3 months ago
Thank you Heidi. One more thing successful people do is Give. Whether it's praying for others, giving their time or resources, successful people are great givers. Stay blessed people
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Ljmitro 5 months ago
I think #9 should really be #1. I am a strong believer in avoiding negatives. When I was younger our coach would always say, if you think "don't fall" then you are more likely to actually fall than if you think "stay up." That sticks with me in everything I do.
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Brad Trice 2 months ago
I think the comments have outshined the original
article. The article lacked any precise or even correct information (IMO), and was an
establishment piece as written by a Harvard mind lacking real world experience.
Success is not measured 5 lbs at a time, and there is no way to define a structure.
Success is in a vision, a belief, and hard work. Either you have it or you don’t.
Success is not something that can be taught or learned. Success is the belief, and
blind faith is the only driving force.
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Ayan Ray 2 months ago
Helpful and motivational ;)
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bradm 5 months ago
An excellent read! Having that ultimate specific goal provides great focus, but I think I'd add have an adaptable plan to the list. Setting milestones and celebrating successes along the way are extremely important. But there's the risk of getting discouraged, or losing sight of where you're going, because you didn't do each and every little step along the way. It's not necessarily those specifics that matter; it's the will to stay focused, plus the strength to tweak your path and adapt your approach. Or as Eisenhower said: "Plans are useless, but planning is indispensable"
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Puneet Pandey 2 months ago
It will surely help. I have always believed that we can be lot more than what we are today, that's precisely what this article talks about. We know who we are but know not what we may be.
Striving to become better makes the journey of life so interesting. Learnt so much from this article, will try to use these learning in daily life.
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Lisasperow 2 months ago
Grear article, and all of the points are valid... however, suggestions 1 (have a clearly defined goal) and 6 (have grit) are, in my opinion, two of the most important. As you mentioned, how do we know what "success" looks like unless we've clearly defined it? Not only does writing it down help to clarify what you're trying to achieve, but it somehow makes us feel more committed to achieving it once we're written it down. I call it The Power of the Pen. I have a little goal notebook that I keep, and I religiously write important goals in it... some are short-term, some are longer-term, and I take a ridiculous amount of pleasure in highlighting the goals in my book once I've achieved them. It's kind of a joke in our house when I put a goal in the book, because everyone knows that if it goes in the book.. I am serious about achieving that particular goal! And then... that's where the grit comes in. Most worthy goals require effort from us when we don't particularly "feel like it." Grit gets the job done.
Thanks for the great article!
Lisa Sperow
www.StartYourOwnSmallBiz.com
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Neo 2 months ago in reply to Lisasperow
Excellent and thanks for sharing.....:)
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Trennie 5 months ago
This is a wonderful article. Be sure to share more. Right in the middle of the nine is #5: "Focus on getting better, rather than being good." How important this must be, especially since people worst enemy is self. Instead of trying to maintain a goodness and feeling the anxiety of doing so or when matters are less than best, know that all have fallen short at times. Getting better may help some people accept flaws and failures as a sense of learning and becoming wiser. Enjoy the day!
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Gerhard 3 months ago
wow! great stuff . after this i was feeling like standing on the shoulders of a giant!
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Sumit Jha 5 months ago
As always, quite motivating piece. thanks Heidi. A common problem though is intermittent arrival of negative thoughts and i read somewhere to constantly ignore it-the moment negative thoughts come into your mind, consciously and constantly try to think its opposite i.e. the positive thought. Initially, it is very tough but soon one gets adjusted-I tried successfully to some extent.
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Sal Pellettieri 5 months ago
Great article! I think a lot Malcolm Gladwell's writing confirms this as well. People tend to think success is natural or inbred, but anyone can improve their situation with practice, patience, determination, emulation and study.
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Deep-thought 2 months ago in reply to Sal Pellettieri
Well said Sal. Having a goal and smaller goals like stepping stones to the larger goal is important. like booking a holiday you have to have a destination in mind. It would be no good saying take me to somewhere hot but I don't know where, the person would be laughed out of the place or persuaded into going somewhere in haste and under pressure that they really dont want to go. You have to decide where you want to go having decided upon your own set of options. Sadly in life it is easy to become complacent and for the mind to go out of focus rather than tune it in. Don't start to drift, you set the agenda and the goals. deep-thought@hotmail.co.uk
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Naomi 5 months ago
#5 has my name on it! thanks Heidi for this simple and profound list!
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liferox23 5 months ago
i really enjoyed reading this. recently ive been thinking about small businesses and maybe in the future starting one... but its just a budding idea so far.
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Varimakako 5 months ago
it makes one to be different from wind as it blows anywhere without a direction. that's quite cool as i am looking forward to read the latest book.
Pascah Ngwarati ,Zimbabwe
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Øyvind Frøland 5 months ago
Good points, indeed, but I believe #2 should be "Create the moment to act on your goals" rather than "Seize the moment to act on your goals"? Just as you should hammer your iron hot, not hammer your iron while it's hot; create the moments for when opportunities arise, don't wait for them to happen.
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Clkalluri 5 months ago
Excellent article, thank you!!
I used to think that things would come easily and naturally to me, if I simply set my mind to them. Ever since I realized the power of planning, I've been working towards my goals in a more deliberate fashion, and going about achieving them as well. :)
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Michael 2 months ago
Great post, self improvement check for any and all individuals who seek and dream of goals to achieve during their lifetime. Most importantly, these checks need to be done daily during an individuals rat race, weather the goals are short, medium or in long terms.
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Deep-thought 2 months ago in reply to Michael
The simple truth is in life we are all held in chains of our own making. We hold ourselves back but it is easier to blame others for our failings rather than taking responsibility for our own lives. We blame the ‘diet’ rather than ourselves when we fail to lose weight.. It’s easier that way!Self doubt and fear of the unknown keep most people living lives they would not have chosen. Routines are the adult versions of comfort blankets. We feel comfortable being able to see (9-5 repetition, knowing how to do a boring job inside out under a boss/surrogate mother) and have a powerful fear of darkness.(Taking personal responsibility for our own destiny and financial well-being /orphan).Planning is the most important thing to do when stepping out of lifes cart tracks and attempting to escape from the invisible cage we have made for ourselves - Our comfort zone. Don’t become a daytime ‘sleeper’ on the job.As long as you don't stop trying nobody has the right to judge you if you are being true to yourself and acting in an honourable manner.
Evolution teaches us that inertia is our enemy and that there is no future in standing still. Keep up your planning and doing and never stop searching. Curiosity ultimately overcomes fear.Don't end up as driftwood floating aimlessly about upon someone elses tide. Work out how to make it beneficial for others to further your plans. In helping others to help themselves you will be helping yourself. Their financial gain becomes your greater financial gain. Its called a business!You win by enabling others to win. Helping them ultimately benefits you and can lead to powerful friendships and peace of mind! deep-thought@hotmail.co.uk
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Vesper 4 months ago
Very nicely articulated post. I read through these articles, but loose track somewhere in the middle. Now, i know where my problem is: "Get Specific". That is my main issue.
Thanks for the document.
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Ashleyscwalls 4 months ago
Creating a life plan is also extremely important to success. Although some people try to avoid planning, it is a good practice! Life plans help to ensure that your actions align instead of contradict.
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Terri S. Turner 2 months ago
Great list to live by - personally and professionally. Sounds like successful people build and update their own personal strategic plan. After all, successful strategic plans don't sit and collect dust on a credenza. They are organic plans that include realistic goals, specific benchmarks that mark progress and outline the path ahead as well as accountability and timeline measurements to stay on track. Guess it's time to move my plan from thought to paper (or screen!) Watch out successful people - here I come.
Terri S. Turner, Business Growth Specialist, Writer, Trainer
TST Business Strategies, LLC
terristurner.com
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Josephryeon 2 months ago
Good idea where is coming ~ good read.
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mischastik 4 months ago
Great post!
Thanks!
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Ghaith 2 months ago
Really while reading this valuable article , I start feeling the differences beteen the sleeping brain & the fully busy brain . It encouraged me
To refresh . And get use of each and every minutes am living .
100% if you decide to success u will, & u can ....
Thanks
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U_Pushpahas 5 months ago
A nice nine fold strategy to success . In practical life , I have actually seen these qualities differentiating between people and making a sucessful part stand out.
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Usman Adil 2 months ago
Great article indeed. Very helpful but needs a bit of discipline and determination to implement.
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Prasanna Kumar FCCA(UK)7 4 months ago
HI Heidi
A thought provoking piece of information. Wonderful tips for people to become leaders. Thanks a lot for giving such highly valuable tips.
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Rokchet 5 months ago
very motivating write-up. Many thanks - Jonah Kangogo, Kenya
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Dmunene 5 months ago in reply to Rokchet
Kumbe wewe pia ni member? Danson
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Mahesh Chimankar 2 months ago
Very helpful
Regards,
Mahesh Chimankar
Infoz Software Solution
http://www.theinfoz.com | http://www.infozshop.com
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nikki luna 5 months ago
I saved this. :) Such a great reminder for us everyday. Pretty basic and simple but we tend to forget these things. Awesome list.
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Birendra Raturi 4 months ago
I am quite impressed with the nine steps and the 10th one as suggested. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
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Japhetsimon 2 months ago
Just recently had a troubled time at work...... and I am glad I did, because I have learnt a lot from it and glad I took the time to log on today.
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Julie Rbailey 2 months ago
How about ... Have dessert first ?
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Manjusha 2 months ago
Two more thing is very important for success is
1. break the big task into tiny manageable task bits.
2. complete one small task-bit at a tim. If task is difficult, be ready with 2-3 alternative ways to complete it.
Manjusha Bhave
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John Kwijuka 5 months ago
Amen.
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Krisna Flum 5 months ago
LOVE IT!
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Rastogisac 5 months ago
worth reading, Please Publish more..
Sachin
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The Secret 5 months ago
Reminds me of the book The Secret - power of positive thinking...
Good read.
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Thobimas 5 months ago
this is just awsome...
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PoulAndreassen 5 months ago
Thanks for the kind words. Another golden article Heidi ....
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Rupesht 5 months ago
Thanks Mitch, the 10th point is really the AHA moment to know from you. Point No3 as mentioned by Heidi is too "too" good, monitoring the entire process is very veyr important. Thank you for writing such a reat article!!!
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Salil 5 months ago
It was really worth reading the set of points and I thoroughly appreciate the 10th point that Mitch shared. Its very important that you celebrate every moment of success however small it is. It keeps you lively and gives you a more positive boost towards your goal. I have bookmarked this site and am just about to share it to all my FB friends. Thanks again from the heart.
-Salil
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rosemarykb 5 months ago
Thanks. I got a lot out of this piece. Many of the points resonated: e.g improving rather than proving!
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Susanotrl 5 months ago
Similar to Mitch's idea, I have written "Done" lists to record accomplishments (whether for the year or month). This is particularly useful when I feel like the "To Do" lists are too numerous or when my self-esteem needs a boost. I've also developed strategies to work on long projects like my dissertation, including having a dissertation pen-pal to share bi-weekly goals and progress, identifying a motivating theme song, scheduling writing time, and coming up with rewards for small inches of progress (e.g., if I write 3 pages by this weekend, I can see a movie).
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nupurmaskara 5 months ago
All set now to do, not rue!
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Ambashankar 5 months ago
Hi Heidi,
A great insight, truly a thought provoking article, I wish you could have included ' intellectual honesty' while appraising oneself.
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Deepak Malhan 5 months ago
Good Article by any standards ,keep it up !!
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Edie Patterson 5 months ago
So helpful-and in my case, timely. Thank you, and the others whose posts are also excellent. As someone who works semi-solo, this is a great boost.
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parthi 5 months ago
Good Read !
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Julie-Ann 5 months ago
Fantastic and thought providing piece! You really point out the traits that make successful people stand out. In the service world, thinking as a “we” can also set one apart. As this article (http://www.upyourservice.com/l... suggests, it’s all in the attitude.
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Diva 5 months ago
I'm adding Mitch's #10 to this excellent list. Heidi's article reframes the way to approach challenges both big and small, both personal and work related. Thanks you to both of you.
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Steinar Knutsen 5 months ago
This is a great list. #1 and #3 are really powerful and often overlooked. Personally, I've found that documenting my goals and tracking progress not only helps me achieve my goals, but often leads to quicker turnaround and better results than expected.
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mindfulsafety.com 5 months ago
Nice read Heidi.
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Halima 5 months ago
Hi Heidi,
Really worth reading!
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danielleharris 3 months ago
What about finding balance? And what is your definition of success?
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iamdm 3 months ago
I love number nine! Understanding that action is the key ingredient to success, innovation, improvement and change, doing is therefore more powerful than not doing. In my experience finding the gaps in a process is only effective when the "Gap" is filled by proactive, productive action.
Thank for the rest of the list to... Great article!
David Mount
http://coretrainingsolutions.n...
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Simple Chief 3 months ago
My favorite part was the statement "detect and seize the opportunity when it arises, increasing your chances of success by roughly 300%." Chance favors the prepared mind. The insight is that if you don't prepare, you won't detect your chance. Brilliant.
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Giuseppe 3 months ago
I'm very pleased I came across this post as I recently wrote a shorter blog post on my site on the differences between an opportunity seeker and an entrepreneur. My view is simple in that one wants to make money off other people's efforts and one will have long term success from their own efforts. You can visit my post at http://www.giuseppe-saieva.com...
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saif 4 months ago
nice work. anyone who want to succeed must adopt these nine things n i assure that he wouldn't fail in his whole life.....
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Matt 4 months ago
Yes. Nice read. Is it bad form to mention that I wrote something similar 3 years ago? http://blog.tsheets.com/2008/b...
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Loraine Antrim 4 months ago
Success comes easier if we not only set specific goals, but realistic ones as well. Sometimes in our zeal, we set an aspirational goal that is so aspirational, it dooms us to failure. Don't set out to change the world as your goal or you'll be doomed to failure, but it could be a nice aftereffect! Loraine Antrim
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Archgone 4 months ago
Hi:
I'm pleased to see another forum that discusses something, rather than another classified-ad string that says 'Hi, I work from XXX to XXX and I'd be glad to make money doing whatever I do, at your expense", but you could add some body to the discussion especially in view of your 'Harvard' reference in the heading. I'd be interested in the responses from capable colleagues.
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Sutej 4 months ago
very enriching!
wondering if someone here can help me on focusing and concentrating while studying.
I am currently doing my undergrads,unable to overcome this hurdle, maybe looking back, some of you could offer worthwhile solutions.
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Ed 2 months ago in reply to Sutej
Sutej - #1 worthwhile solution - don't say "unable to overcome this hurdle" - as long as you think this, it will be true for you, and no other advice you receive will have as much impact as your "redefining" that. Once that is gone your paths will start to open up......not to oversimplify, but getting started is that simple - deciding that you are able to overcome this immediately. # 2 - have a big enough why - if your purpose is unclear, it's much tougher to focus and concentrate. You have to clearly relate your actions to a purpose that really moves you - then it will start to make sense and come together. Let me know how things work out....
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Ajoy Vakil 4 months ago
What a wonderful statement Heidi - "Be a Realistic Optimist" Excellent article - wit!h so many practical / implementable tips!
Ajoy Vakil
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zoltan 5 months ago
Great post. I think goal setting is important in order to get things done. You have to set realistic, but challenging goals though. And, you have to set your priorities and do first thing first. In our society we have so many distractions so we have to really focus on what we are doing to get back on track.
http://www.selfesteem2go.com
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Rajesh 5 months ago
Really good points,tenth point I suggest is Measure your success.
RajeshWalecha
CEO-K MIND MEDIA
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Mr. Sathasivam 5 months ago
This article is an active reminder to caution you at what you do.
Sathasivam, Bahrain
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Saurabh 5 months ago
After reading this article , i can feel a value addition in myself ! However, doesn't it resemble few habits from Steven Covey's "Seven Habits of Highly effective People" :)
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Tarapada Pyne 5 months ago
Thanks Heidi, excellent serious reading!
Just a say (may not sound brilliant in front of so many management experts here) - We have always another track available for derailment in every moment of our life, as wants and successes are very dynamic and moving targets. Human as a whole, with few exceptions, are not flexible enough to conceive, realise and direct self towards his goal to taste success even some in his lifetime. Its again in relative terms given the changing environment of one's search for excellence.
Pyne
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Cathy 5 months ago
Worth reading! Number 5 people are contagious! They are enthusiastic in the pursuit of excellence by engaging in worthwhile acitivities. Number 3 is a good roadmap to track one's progress even better if you have an accountability partner. A thunder of applause to the 10th suggestion of Mitch to Review and celebrate successes. After the delayed gratification comes pampering:)
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genehammett 5 months ago
Great article. I especially like the examples.
Gene Hammett
http://www.linkedin.com/in/gen...
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Reeram 5 months ago
Great artcile
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Rvashisht 5 months ago
This is a great list but there is something more that successful people like Steve Jobs do - challenge the status quo and follow up with their actions. Here are my thoughts on it
http://techceo.wordpress.com/2...
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fajas colombianas 5 months ago
Its all about will power, the more will you have, the more you will exceed in life.
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KBihr 5 months ago
Good insight into how to set goals and achieve them. I would like to see more on how to translate that same philosophy into the business/work setting, with specific examples as well.
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Sanjay Gurnani 5 months ago
A good practical list. Thanks
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Rajan Murti 5 months ago
Thank you Heidi for your insights. An extreme pleasure in refining our knowledge. I believe that success is all about choices one makes in life. Humans, however have an everlasting urge to seek happiness thus the need for us to reward ourselves in each step as mentioned earlier by Mitch.
Cheers
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DS 5 months ago
A very timely piece. Internet has an ugly side. And that is to make you loose focus. Such advises are required, more on regular basis now....Atleast this is how it goes with me.
Deepak Sharma
Sapperworks Consulting
India
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Coachpeg 17 hours ago
The 10th "thing" is to confidently speak to your achievements. Know where you have made an impact in your career and your life and say so. To some it may seem like bragging. To others, those that count in your life, it will expressing your passion!
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Stephen 21 hours ago
Good article! It is true that successful people even if they know it or not will do things differently than the average person,it may be that they take advantage of opportunities when they present themselves or that they make goals and stop at nothing to achieve them!
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Jonyaq 1 day ago
Overly, I also perceive over several below points are of crucial and succeeding motors:
1. realize one's strength both mentally and physically, values and self existence that all can be done if wished and wanted for so strongly.Almost in every single effort, human is lagging behind the pillar and stone;
2. think and plan of what all can do based on potentiality, emotional strength, measure all posibilities and options to select best choices. The more difficult one is the most competitive option and having great benefits later on. This should open one head and eyes to see all options-visionary profile;
3. find ways and approaches to achieve that as well as key resources, both softwares and hardwares. This will bear a very tight schedules and work plans ahead;
4. against those tight schedules, time divide is very crucial one because one will share times amongst so many listed activities/plans/actions;
5. take every timely and quick actions and initiative to implement and work all out;
6. check and monitor all works and plans, programs, activities closely and tightly;
7. get time to take rest, leisure activities to refresh energy, minds, cure some problems;
8. creat large networks, groups discussions;
9. re-do all and repeat all cycles with certain new changes and development. Tnx.
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integritive 6 days ago
Number one jumped right out at me - Get Specific. This is probably one of the easiest, and yet, often overlooked ways to achieve your goals. We use goal cards to set down in writing our personal and professional goals, and then we have something tangible to remind us of what we're working towards. It's also a great reward mechanism for once you reach a goal, you have that card as proof of what you've accomplished!
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Terry Schmidt 1 week ago
There is much to be said about letting go of dusty, obsolete, and inappropriate goals. When I left the Harvard Business School my career goal was to become Secretary of Defense or a senator from Washington state. And I started that quest in Washington DC. But funny thing --- after a few years, the appeal of this goal declined as I discovered new arenas for adventure. So it was clear that was not the goal to put my passion into. However a nagging voice told me that somehow I blew it, failed, copped out. So what had one been a motivating goal now became an obstacle to moving forward. All of which is a reminder to scrub your lists on occasion. Forty years later, my goals are more modest, and have to do with supporting others and giving back to the system which has been so good to me.
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Subbarao Ganaparthi 1 week ago
yeh i agree with what writter addressed on how to be successfull with nine insightfull things.and moreover i like one quote that success should be celebrated even whether it is small .apart from that i dont know precisely the information which has been printed on bill gates giant ms.eventually what i learnt from the above is keep knowing is not enough but keep doing to achieve we want is enough thing.meanwhile we must be aware of what to do and not to do.however i heartly congratulate you sir.
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Mr M.R. 1 week ago
Given that the Roman Empire lasted what around 500 years and the British Empire say nearly 300 years why is it that the American empire is on its last legs in less than 70 years? Could it be because of all these self-deluding Harvard Business School platitudes. For an empire to postulate so dynamically and freely yet bring itself to its knees through its own failures so quickly surely takes a rare kind of mindset. Might it be that all this Business School think is blinding Americans from the reality of how the real world works.
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Davidb 1 week ago
Nice blog. However, the most important thing that I have learned from successful people in business is this: Don't try, Do. It is alright to fail as long as you learn from your failure, but to try, is just an excuse to fail.
How many times have you given a difficult task to an employee and heard from that employee, "I don't know, but I will try."
Those are the employees that will remain employees, while the employees with a can do attitude will succeed.
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Jeremy L. Hamilton 2 weeks ago
Excellent article.... If you dont go you will never know
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Y S Ganesh 2 weeks ago
Very good article nice investigation. Good guidelines to inculcate. To keep grit what motivates the successful people.In pursuits where end results are not predictable (say an new venture/ occupation/ new study/ new project ) where more ifs are seen how to develop grit ?
needs little substantiation.To take risk what kind of grit is needed?
Old adage " Have patience to be courageous". Have courage to be patience. This is enough or anything more when it comes to grit?
Good wishes,
Y.S.Ganesh
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Dsprenkle 4 weeks ago
I have noticed in my sales experience that probably the hardest but greatest skill for me to really encompass the meaning of: Active Listening. Whether it be out in the field with current clients, potential new business or with my sales team. To activly listen has changed how I respond to every conversations.
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DragonLeaders 4 weeks ago
Great article: sound advice with grounded principles. Particularly like: "hinking things will come to you easily and
effortlessly leaves you ill-prepared for the journey ahead, and
significantly increases the odds of failure." This should make those self-made "gurus" in self-help think more carefully.
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Shyam Panchavati 1 month ago
Switch off and indulge
Pursuing goals is a stressful experience, and carrying it forward to the next day often adversely affects your capacity to deliver.Night sleep doesn't exactly make you fresh, it is not a break mentally or psychologically.
To rejuvenate your energies, you need to switch off and indulge.Earmark a time (an hour) early in the day to do things that in no way compliment you goals.Just be indulgent to yourself.celebrate being yourself.do things that you enjoy doing,do things that make you happy.let not rules inhibit you, break them.Emote in a way that best suits you do it everyday preferably at the same tiem and see the difference.
You will find your energies elevated to the levels unimaginable.And the results will speak for themselves. You will find more details in my article.
IF ETERNAL IS YOUR DESTINATION, THE PATH LIES WITHIN....
http://capacitybuildingdevelop...
Shyam
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wwespot 1 month ago
Great to read this article, thanks for sharing this. This is true that "Winners Don't do different things, but they do things Differently - by Shiv Khera"
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Search_census 1 month ago
9 things to success, 10 things to leadership, 50 ways to independence, 22 steps to integrity, all those crap, i wonder if this is self actualization for authors who write these. or they just want attention. -.-
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Stanley 1 month ago
One major thing I have read about success or reaching a goal is this; winners are willing to endure pain and suffering to reach their goals. I have read Gordon Ramsay's and Marco White's autobiographies and these great chefs when they were starting out would show up early for work and leave late, show up for work on their days off to become better chefs, and stand out in the cold and do a job when no one else would. This would demonstrate their absolute seriousness, a thing I have termed " signaling ". This would attract the attention of their head chef, and they would be given advice and opportunities that other workers wouldn't.
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Socialalertz 1 month ago
This a great read, I am making changes based on this article immediately.
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Craig Hohnberger 1 month ago
Great article Heidi and great additional comments. Grit is huge! I know so many people with so much talent that give up and move to the next great idea before fulfilling the promise of the thing they are working in now and they end up spinning their wheels for another cycle. And yes, Mitch, celebrating successes is extremely important. I do a "gratitude journal" in the evenings as I plan my next day and have to have at least 7 things I am grateful for that happened that day. Forces me to look for the good throughout the day, no matter how challenging the day is.
Craig Hohnberger
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Rachael Olajide 1 month ago
I like this article. It all makes perfect sense. Often what we need to adapt from successful people is the way they think and the way the methods they adopt.
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Nani1052005 1 month ago
really nice one........please post goood articles if anybody have.....
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Billionaire 1 month ago
Heidi is quite right as are most of the posters when it comes to getting the keys to unlock success.
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MyCollegesandCareers 1 month ago
Great list, I especially agree with #9. Focusing on what we can do to improve will help us look forward optimistically rather than dwelling negatively on our shortcomings.
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Halil Özgür 1 month ago
Extremely useful list. I especially like speech if it provides something both new and practical, combined with nice wording (e.g. Build your willpower muscle). We are neither powerless nor absolutely powerful. Everything is normally gradual.
As usual with such lists however, its utility only grows as you follow more and more points from it.
PS: I'm not a native English speaker and I don't want to be a smart-a** but, shouldn't there be a "how" or something in the last sentence of the point #8?
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Binnybhogal 2 months ago
worth reading,,,this article motivated me when i really wnt it
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Frehiwot tamru 2 months ago
Frehiwot from Ethiopia,
Thank you so much it is very helpful. All the nine points contribute for our success and failure one way or the other. we may not necessarily fulfill all the nine points to be successful, they are nice checklist to ease our progress towards to success....
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Katrina 2 months ago
I agree with the points discussed in this article--especially the first one (get specific). Many people fail to realize that they are not being very specific about their goals in life. I personally found most of my goals very vague until this was brought to my attention.
Katrina Bea
Internet Marketing Personnel
New Media Services Pty. Ltd.
Web and Mobile Support Services Provider
http://www.newmediaservices.co...
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Gil Pizano 2 months ago
A really refreshing article! I personally never tire of reading such posts. What can be tiring is when people attempt to "short-cut the short-cut" and not do some of the basics that can be done in order to achieve success in whatever they are attempting to do. Those very basic items are what this article talks about. Thanks for sharing this post with us Heidi!
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uvtlv 2 months ago
good!!! like it
you sould read this blog about "the list" a tool for good life
http://the-list.co.il/en/?page...
and here...
http://the-list.co.il/en/?phot...
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Munish 2 months ago
Hi,
Sorry for being contrarian! But, I do not entirely agree with too much emphasis being on success that too by "being focussed", especially through 9 points like stratgies (or 5 points, 6 points, 7 points....). We all know, "being focussed" and "getting things done" come at the cost of "sustainability" and "leaving someone behind through illegitimate/unethical ways( others may or may not be aware of them). I request the authors not to propound "one sided reality" as it is creating more harm than good, when we start looking at things at macro level: both in space and time.
Sorry for being contrary words but felt like expressing!
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Eric Bonnici 2 months ago
This is an awesome article! I feel bringing the last point into your conscious awareness is critical. That's because it's easy (and often done without thinking) to focus on what you won't or don't want to do. I also like the idea of keeping things realistic. This article is definitely going into my bookmarks of favorites. Have a great day and thanks.
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Charles Oh 2 months ago
Good Job
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Mmelihh 2 months ago
Very nice & effective suggestions, thank you
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Vivek_nair25 2 months ago
I am pretty impressed and motivated the way the writer had jotted things
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Richard Hawkins 2 months ago
Good article and comments. In addition to what was said I find that successful people focus on their strengths. They accept the fact that they can't be good at everything and surround themselves with people who have complimentary skills. Great technicians don't try to sell. Great sales people don't try to write code, and so on.
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Sujata Aghor 2 months ago
Wonderful Article!!!
I myself follow many things from this, but i get inspired to improve more with these guidelines.
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Mzmazad 2 months ago
Recommended to read....it's a nice one.
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Tharindu 2 months ago
Good post. Also i would agree on "Mitch McCrimmon" 10th suggestion : Review and celebrate successes. Its really help you to achieve more big goals ahead in the future. When you appreciate, celebrates your inner mind always be willing to drive you to that goal.
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Roger 2 months ago
Nice Post!! Enjoyed reading it!!! Will try to put it to practice.
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Saket Vohra 2 months ago
Its good piece of thoughts put together..i must share being specific in your conversations does help in yr persnl n professional front as well.
Good Post!
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Gosh89 2 months ago
The problem of today's society is that we are having too many goals. Most of them bigger than achievable or even realistic. We know it in back of our mind and we think it might happened if we only wish for it. The reality is that we are living in a real world and if we take two steps forward we will only go two steps forward while our feet is on the ground.
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Rizwan Qureshi 2 months ago
very nice, well researched article....
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Dave Smith 2 months ago
I'm not an advocate for goal-setting. It doesn't work for most of the people, most of the time..it's fine for competitive people, but what of those folks who feel no need to compete? What of those folks who have ambition in life that cannot be measured?
For example, if your 'goal' is to become a better father, how can you quantify that? What if your 'goal' if to live a peaceful life? How can you measure that? This competitive/win/overcome/beat attitude only exists in about 15% of the population. For them, goal-setting is fine, for the rest, it's just an unwelcome distraction from living a cool and fulfilling life.
"There is only one true success. To be able to live your own life, in your own way.
-Christopher Morely
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Bholland 2 months ago in reply to Dave Smith
Goals which might help you be a better father (from my personal observation that the biggest issue most men have with children is that they do not pay attention to their children when the children ask for attention, but when they themselves are 'ready' to attend to their children):
- As soon as I get in from work I will kiss my children- At dinner, at least once a week, I will ask my kids 'what was the best thing which happened to you today?' and I will listen to the answer and contribute at least two more comments / questions
- I will do one activity a week / month with my children which I will let them choose. (even if I have to set limits on costs etc...)For living a more peaceful life, it may depend on whether you are causing the loss of peace or whether you are letting other people disrupt your peace. But possible options include:- as per original article, 'I will not shout, I will breathe deeply three times'
- I will not discuss politics (religion, child-rearing philosophies, whatever...) with Person X
- I will limit my meetings with Person Y to no more than 45 minutes (since whever we spend longer than that together we annoy each other)
- If Person Z shouts at me, I will not shout back, I will say 'I do not want a fight so I am going now' and I will go.
...goals do not have to be competitive with someone else, or about an achievement, they can be about changing your own behaviour.
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Craig Hohnberger 3 weeks ago in reply to Dave Smith
I agree with Bholland's comments Dave. You can quantify subjective goals if you want to and he gives some great suggestions how to do so. The cool thing is it's your life so whatever goals you choose to have, and in whatever format you define them, that's fantastic.
Craig Hohnberger
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Raju Muralidhar 2 months ago
Amazing stuff..Was helpful specially the muscle part was great.
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Irfan Suleman Chohdry 2 months ago
very well written, helped me to clear a lot things
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Shravan Kumar 2 months ago
Very Nice Suggestion, I like this thank u very much for suggestion
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Neeraj Rohilla 2 months ago
very nice comments. I liked the most which says one should not think that his abilities fixed and he can not do that he has never done. So always get rid of this feeling and try to improve your skill and abilities. : ...... Neeraj Rohilla
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Anthony H. 2 months ago
Very helpful, Thanks!
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Iamaditigaldesigner 2 months ago
11. Don't waste time reading articles or books about being successful
12. Be born male - far less hurdles, however it's probably better to be your own boss as a women as the chances of being promoted there in someone else's business are far slimmer
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gatot siswanto 2 months ago
I think it is a new paradigm of what factors enable us for succesful. the most important thing is a patient and commitment to succes itself
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Shekar AR 2 months ago
9 steps are +ve motivation, one who act they will achieve
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Henri Behari 2 months ago
looks like running a startup
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Guest 2 months ago
Thank you Krishan...my thoughts exactly!
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K Mohan 2 months ago
Good It is self assessment of self to improve.It is an on ongong possess to improve oneself
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Krishan @OCW 2 months ago
I love most of your blog posts but somehow it feel like the things are getting repetitive and novelty is lost somewhere. Hope we can change the track and bit to more specific business problems and real life ideas of goodness. If you may wish :-)
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Mary Elise Chavez 2 months ago
Fantastic, great post. I'll be sharing this with my team @BFMWeb.
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Mike DePaoli 2 months ago
Great post. Sounds like Kaizen for self-improvement and goal achievement
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internet fax 2 months ago
I think that having realistic goals and expectations is the main thing. Too many business owners have pie-in-the-sky goals without the means to achieve them.
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Prateek 2 months ago
Great Thought........ With Deep understanding...
Should Definitely Implement in our life.........
Prateek
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Jay 2 months ago
Persistence!
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Naeemsolangi 2 months ago
Nice & very Constructive. thankssss HBR
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Sebastian Font 2 months ago
Lots of comments, with many adding their 2 cents.
For me, the essence is what is important, and that is a framework of items that help get us out of the box and improve our progress. You don't need an all inclusive list to improve your results, and its possible that you need to tweak some of the 9 steps to make them work for you. But again, at the end of the day, its about using some sort of reasonable framework of 6, or 8 or 10 steps to help pull you out of mediocrity.
http://criticalperformancellc....
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Olivia Lane 2 months ago
The list is great. I learned the lesson some time ago, that celebrating the little things that we accomplish really is critical to any success. The recognition of the small things that each of us must overcome is the only we can see the before and after in the present moment. Even animals get treats for obeying their masters ... don't we all like treats, too!
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Success 3 months ago
Great thread! thanks to all who contributed!
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Rammohan 3 months ago
Can we add 'Building a team of like minded people'
Thanks
Rammohan
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MendelsonConsulting 4 months ago
One additional thought on Heidi's article is that perhaps she purposely listed only nine in an effort to encourage all of us to fill in and provide the tenth!
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Rahim 4 months ago
Nice Article ....
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Nick Tarazona 4 months ago
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v... The Power of Failure. JK Rowling is keynote speaker for Harvard University Commencement June 5, 2008.
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Abdulla Al Babul 4 months ago
Really, I feel better after reading this. However, We should think positive then we can overcome the problem easily.
Thank you, Heidi Grant Halvorson.
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Mehul 4 months ago
Very practical points... Thanks for sharing and Thanks those people in discussion as well.
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Trivakenny 4 months ago
Am at a peak of my dreams,thinks get though when you almoslt there.but one thing i just leart now is you have to keep pushing to the limit till we hot the goal.
thanks alot for the article.
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Marketers to Experts 4 months ago
Any peer-reviewed evidence to support these claims?
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Marketers to Experts 4 months ago
Oh please, is there any research or data to support these platitudes?
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Heidi Grant Halvorson 4 months ago in reply to Marketers to Experts
Marketers to Experts,
In short, there are boatloads of peer-reviewed research to back up "these claims."
For work on specificity, see anything by Locke and Latham (e.g., Locke, E. A. and Latham, G. P., (2002), “Building a Practically Useful Theory of Goal Setting and Task Motivation”, American Psychologist, Vol. 57, No. 9, pp. 705–717.) I believe at last count there are over 1000 studies demonstrating the importance of specificity.
For work on the importance of seizing opportunities through if-then planning, try Gollwitzer, P. M., & Sheeran, P. (2006). Implementation intentions and goal achievement: A meta-analysis of effects and processes. Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, 38, 69-119. Or, perhaps one of mine: Duckworth, A. L., Grant, H., Loew, B., Oettingen, G., & Gollwitzer, P. M. (2011). Self-regulation strategies improve self-discipline in adolescents: Benefits of mental contrasting and implementation intentions. Educational Psychology,31, 17-26.
In the interest of space-saving, for the remainder of the points I made, I refer you to following highly-regarded academic handbooks of scientific psychology: The Psychology of Goals (Guilford, 2009, which I co-edited), The Psychology of Action (Guilford, 1995), and the Handbook of Self-Regulation (Guilford, 2004).
Or, you could just buy a copy of my new book, Succeed: How We Can Reach Our Goals. It is practically bursting with citations, if I do say so myself.
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psychology student 4 months ago in reply to Marketers to Experts
Why so skeptical? Try it and see for yourself!
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Steel_cutlass 4 months ago
I doubt anybody cured their anger problem through "deep-breath replacement-behavior" activity.
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Guest 4 months ago
Love it! I always reward myself after a show with a nice Margarita and a pat on the back...as long as I sell something! Ha ~Denise
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Vishal Modi 4 months ago
Excellent post Heidi. many thanks. Point # 3 is something that I was challenged with as to how do I measure the progress towards my goals. One thing that I put in to practice is at end of the day, I ask my self the question what do I know today that I did not yesterday and I keep a track of those. And many times the answer were not fancy at all.I am surprised how much help this has been and how through these daily learning I made minute changes to my plans/strategies so as to achieve the end goals.Now when I now look back at my daily logs, I feel I have progressed and it just motivates me to keep going on.
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P K Singh 4 months ago
nice tips...but seldom it is obseved that very typical business situation - when one go for big change thru applied knowedge/latest technology deployement..."why there is huge resistance to change" when every one know that it is good for the economy. How to overcome with this type of buiness situation?
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Zachi 5 months ago
This is a really enlightening article. There some similarities that successful people share. Quite thoughtful.
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DancewithChaos 5 months ago
I've always been searching for feel good and motivating articles like yours Heidi. Lucky I found it.
For me goals are there for us to have a purpose to live for and give meaning to our lives. We may not necessarily reach all the 101 goals written on our list but at least we get to learn something along the way and become better persons as well.
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David Kaiser 5 months ago
Overall, I agree and this these are sound ideas. One question, though, how is "grit," as you define it, different from "willpower?"
David Kaiser, PhD
Executive Coach and CEO
www.DarkMatterConsulting.com
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Nutflipped 5 months ago
I imagine that this what Kaddafi was doing for the last 40 years but must have lost focus recently.
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Dipendra Thakur 5 months ago
Excellent piece........
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Mailbandaru 2 months ago in reply to Dipendra Thakur
Good article and great people discussing it. As mentioned in the article, take one step at a time with the key as " though small, something sustainable".
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