Highly Successful People: How to Pick a Winner Using These 7 Qualities
I have been through many business partners, helped coach many clients/students and recruited large sales teams. It is within this process that I have shared in the success and failure of my decisions. One of my biggest personal flaws is that I have the tendency to like every person that I meet. In fact, I want them to win in whatever they set out to do…more so than they want to win for themselves. Here are seven key qualities I have observed in highly successful people that I have had a pleasure in working with as I reach certain goals, helping me get closer to realizing my dreams.
As much as I deal in financial situations, these important decisions never end up being very logical. As much as math and science is applied to personal finances, it all really boils down to the personality, character and habits of a person, in winning the money game.
Just yesterday, I had a conversation with a very successful young professional in the Chicagoland area. She had contacted us early in the year, to help find someone to help guide her through a tough financial and business situation. Every time someone did follow up with her, they found it extremely difficult to get a hold of them, or receive a return call or email.
This was very confusing because this person was the one who contacted us to begin with! To make a long story short, this person finally admitted, “I have made such foolish mistakes with my money and I just find it hard, even embarrassing, to admit this, especially to a financial planner!”
I had another listener call our financial talk radio show and share how their partner spent money foolishly on equipment they did not need. Eventually, not addressing this issue lingered on for about a year and the “break-up” of the business partnership was not pretty.
Going forward, I will list some of the traits or habits of successful people we can identify in our future business partners, clients and coaches to work alongside with. Following these points have helped me avoid potential problems in building our radio show , choosing clients or coaching the right students and running an award-winning financial planning practice.
Consider these seven points to look for in choosing a person to work with:
1. Growth Mentality – They must have a commitment to personal development. Listen to how your potential business partner, adviser, mentor, client or coach talks and what they talk about. Do they talk about the things they used to do, back in their glory days, but lacking recent examples? Or do they talk about what they want to accomplish and the tasks they are taking on to get them to the next level? Is their compass pointed to “continuing to be a winner” or continuing to relish past accomplishments over an over? They should not ever be satisfied with being “good enough”.
2. Competitive – This here is a lifestyle choice and a pre-disposition to compete in many highly successful people. They detest losing yet they embrace the lessons from their losing experiences. The just don’t hang their hands and shrug it off with a “woe-is-me” physiology. Winners will continue to compete, in every thing, even when they do not want to. It is in their blood, their DNA. That is why I like hosting events and retreats. It not only stretches my leadership skills but I get to watch my team, volunteers and interns take initiative. It allows me to see who will utilize their own leadership qualities to grow personally, spiritually and professionally.
3. Want to be Somebody – People that personally motivate me and look up to are people who want to be a hero to their families. They have a deep passion to provide for their loved ones. In fact, they have something to prove. They want to either prove a point to someone close to them or just to prove something to themselves. They want their circle of friends and family to be proud of them. Highly successful people do not have have to be told to get up and get things done. They get easily motivated when they see others working hard. Their personal self-talk does not say, “I’ll just let them do it…I’ll catch up sooner or later”. They instead ask, “How are you getting the things you want in your life…IN YOUR LIFE?” I live by this personal motto, “You can make excuses or you can make money…but you cannot do both!”
4. Easily Motivated – Instead of foolish pride or ego getting in the way, highly successful people can relax, go with the flow and allow themselves to be challenged. They allow their close friends, coach, mentor, adviser or business partner to be brutally honest with them because they understand these people love them and care only about what is best for their lives. Winners in a competition, or in life overall, allow themselves to adapt and change. Of course, they will do nothing to violate their core principles and morals, but they recognize early on that life is constantly evolving.
5. Strong Will and Strong Character – Some may say that highly successful people at times are overbearing, loud, obnoxious at times…even described as “push overs”. This is just misinterpreted by onlookers as winners have a with a deep desire and will to win. There is always a difference between first and second place, whether is is a millisecond to the Olympic athlete or one day to a relative that is on life support. Winners always look back at every situation and want to know, regardless of the outcome, that they did everything they could do. If they can honestly answer that question and say, “Yes, I did all I could possibly do”, then their lives will continue on in peace. This personality trait allows them to deal with adversity, edging closer to the next victory.
6. Common Sense – There is a difference between academic smarts and street smarts. Combining these two qualities together create a highly potent base of evolving common sense. Highly successful people hone “common sense” as a skill through many of their experiences. This allows them to develop sound prudent judgment without needing much further obscure education or research. They do not allow themselves to second guess themselves and endure “paralysis by analysis” and slow-down important decisions. They can confidently make up their minds and move forward with fairly predictable outcomes and the confidence to deal with the results, good or bad.
7. Ability to Make Time – In this day and age, we are multi-taskers. We have to be. Technology has forced us to this reality. We have families, careers, opportunities, voicemail, email, text messages…agh! This old saying has lost meaning, “If you want something done, ask a busy person to do it”. We are ALL busy! What modern-day winners can do is take a multitude of tasks and concentrate in short bursts by applying extreme focus to what is in front of them. If not, they just have to simply reduce what is on their plate and learn how to say, “NO”. Working with highly successful business partners, they understand their role within a business and stay within their “zone”. Ongoing communication alleviates the problem of wondering, “Okay, what are you supposed to be doing?” or “Who is supposed to do that?”
It is YOUR Turn
If you want to win, follow the habits of highly successful people who are winning in their profession, sport or business. The fruit of their work will be easily evident in their growing influence and accomplishments. As much as you may not want to, analyze yourself and ask if you are getting in your own way. Often times our own selfishness, pride and ego hold us back for years.
Do not worry about getting your feelings hurt. Your purpose, passion and future cannot afford to standby as so many people are awaiting the greatness of what God has planned for you. Success in one area of your life can be translated into other areas.
A winner, regardless of their environment or circumstances, is a winner. It is their choice. It is your choice. One thing for certain about winning… there can be no victory without a battle, a game or a race! You will crash, your will get hurt, you will face pain, you will make and lose money, people who thought were your friends will disappoint you. This is part of winning. Keep marching forward. It will boil down to your choice of continuing to persevere.
Ask yourself, how big are your dreams? Do you think it is impossible to attain them? Let me encourage you, God’s reality and purpose for you life is bigger! He wants your success, victories and financial achievements to bless and inspire others!
King Solomon, the wisest and wealthiest King who ever lived said in Ecclesiastes to his children, “I have observed something else under the sun. The fastest runner doesn’t always win the race, and the strongest warrior doesn’t always win the battle. The wise sometimes go hungry, and the skillful are not necessarily wealthy. And those who are educated don’t always lead successful lives. It is all decided by chance, by being in the right place at the right time.” (Ecclesiastes 9:11 New Living Translation)
Therefore increase your odds by deciding today. No matter what has happened to you in the past, it is a new beginning. Decide on building your team that will support and encourage you. You cannot train and win on your own. Invest in working with a coach or adviser who display the personality traits or keys to winning as I have outlined above. Spend time learning successful systems and constantly surround yourself with people that see more in you than you see in yourself.
I look forward to hearing your accomplishments, new found skills and victories in your lives whether it be personal, financial, spiritual or entrepreneurial. Drop a comment or leave us a voicemail @ 708.686.2000 x8 and we may even include you in our next episode!
Now let’s get after it!
