I’ve always been fascinated by people who are consistently successful at what they do; especially those who experience repeated success in many areas of their life throughout their lifetime. In entertainment, I think of Clint Eastwood and Oprah Winfrey. In business, I think of Steve Jobs and Warren Buffett. We all have our own examples of super successful people like these who we admire. But how do they do it?
Over the years I’ve studied the lives of numerous successful people. I’ve read their books, watched their interviews, researched them online, etc. And I’ve learned that most of them were not born into success; they simply did, and continue to do, things that help them realize their full potential. Here are twelve things they do differently that the rest of us can easily emulate.
1. They create and pursue S.M.A.R.T. goals.
Successful people are objective. They have realistic targets in mind. They know what they are looking for and why they are fighting for it. Successful people create and pursue S.M.A.R.T. goals.
S.M.A.R.T. goals are Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Timely. Let’s briefly review each:
- Specific – A general goal would be, “Get in shape.” But a related specific goal would be, “Join a health club and workout 3 days a week for the next 52 weeks.” A specific goal has a far greater chance of being accomplished because it has defined parameters and constraints.
- Measurable – There must be a logical system for measuring the progress of a goal. To determine if your goal is measurable, ask yourself questions like: How much time? How many total? How will I know when the goal is accomplished? etc. When you measure your progress, you stay on track, reach your target dates, and experience the exhilaration of achievement that spurs you on to continued efforts required to reach your goal.
- Attainable – To be attainable, a goal must represent an objective toward which you are both willing and able to work. In other words, the goal must be realistic. The big question here is: How can the goal be accomplished?
- Relevant – Relevance stresses the importance of choosing goals that matter. For example, an internet entrepreneur’s goal to “Make 75 tuna sandwiches by 2:00PM.” may be Specific, Measurable, Attainable, and Timely, but lacks Relevance to an entrepreneurs overarching objective of building a profitable online business.
- Timely – A goal must be grounded within a time frame, giving the goal a target date. A commitment to a deadline helps you focus your efforts on the completion of the goal on or before the due date. This part of the S.M.A.R.T. goal criteria is intended to prevent goals from being overtaken by daily distractions.
When you identify S.M.A.R.T. goals that are truly important to you, you become motivated to figure out ways to attain them. You develop the necessary attitude, abilities, and skills. You can achieve almost any goal you set if you plan your steps wisely and establish a time frame that allows you to carry out those steps. Goals that once seemed far away and out of reach eventually move closer and become attainable, not because your goals shrink, but because you grow and expand to match them.
2. They take decisive and immediate action.
Sadly, very few people ever live to become the success story they dream about. And there’s one simple reason why:
They never take action!
The acquisition of knowledge doesn’t mean you’re growing. Growing happens when what you know changes how you live. So many people live in a complete daze. Actually, they don’t ‘live.’ They simply ‘get by’ because they never take the necessary action to make things happen – to seek their dreams.
It doesn’t matter if you have a genius IQ and a PhD in Quantum Physics, you can’t change anything or make any sort of real-world progress without taking action. There’s a huge difference between knowing how to do something and actually doing it. Knowledge and intelligence are both useless without action. It’s as simple as that.
Success hinges on the simple act of making a decision to live – to absorb yourself in the process of going after your dreams and goals. So make that decision. And take action. For some practical guidance on taking action I highly recommend Getting Things Done.
3. They focus on being productive, not being busy.
In his book, The 4-Hour Workweek, Tim Ferris says, “Slow down and remember this: Most things make no difference. Being busy is often a form of mental laziness – lazy thinking and indiscriminate action.” This is Ferris’ way of saying “work smarter, not harder,” which happens to be one of the most prevalent modern day personal development clichés. But like most clichés, there’s a great deal of truth to it, and few people actually adhere to it.
Just take a quick look around. The busy outnumber the productive by a wide margin.
Busy people are rushing all over the place, and running late half of the time. They’re heading to work, conferences, meetings, social engagements, etc. They barely have enough free time for family get-togethers and they rarely get enough sleep. Yet, business emails are shooting out of their smart phones like machine gun bullets, and their daily planner is jammed to the brim with obligations.
Their busy schedule gives them an elevated sense of importance. But it’s all an illusion. They’re like hamsters running on a wheel.
The solution: Slow down. Breathe. Review your commitments and goals. Put first things first. Do one thing at a time. Start now. Take a short break in two hours. Repeat.
And always remember, results are more important than the time it takes to achieve them.
4. They make logical, informed decisions.
Sometimes we do things that are permanently foolish simply because we are temporarily upset or excited.
Although emotional ‘gut instincts’ are effective in certain fleeting situations, when it comes to generating long-term, sustained growth in any area of life, emotional decisions often lead a person astray. Decisions driven by heavy emotion typically contain minimal amounts of conscious thought, and are primarily based on momentary feelings instead of mindful awareness.
The best advice here is simple: Don’t let your emotions trump your intelligence. Slow down and think things through before you make any life-changing decisions.
5. They avoid the trap of trying to make things perfect.
Many of us are perfectionists in our own right. I know I am at times. We set high bars for ourselves and put our best foot forward. We dedicate copious amounts of time and attention to our work to maintain our high personal standards. Our passion for excellence drives us to run the extra mile, never stopping, never relenting. And this dedication towards perfection undoubtedly helps us achieve results… So long as we don’t get carried away.
But what happens when we do get carried away with perfectionism?
We become disgruntled and discouraged when we fail to meet the (impossibly high) standards we set for ourselves, making us reluctant to take on new challenges or even finish tasks we’ve already started. Our insistence on dotting every ‘I’ and crossing every ‘T’ breeds inefficiency, causing major delays, stress overload and subpar results.
True perfectionists have a hard time starting things and an even harder time finishing them, always. I have a friend who has wanted to start a graphic design business for several years. But she hasn’t yet. Why? When you sift through her extensive list of excuses it comes down to one simple problem: She is a perfectionist. Which means she doesn’t, and never will, think she’s good enough at graphic design to own and operate her own graphic design business.
Remember, the real world doesn’t reward perfectionists. It rewards people who get things done. And the only way to get things done is to be imperfect 99% of the time. Only by wading through years of practice and imperfection can we begin to achieve momentary glimpses of the perfection. So make a decision. Take action, learn from the outcome, and repeat this method over and over again in all walks of life. Also, check out Too Perfect. It’s an excellent read on conquering perfectionism.
6. They work outside of their comfort zone.
The number one thing I persistently see holding smart people back is their own reluctance to accept an opportunity simply because they don’t think they’re ready. In other words, they feel uncomfortable and believe they require additional knowledge, skill, experience, etc. before they can aptly partake in the opportunity. Sadly, this is the kind of thinking that stifles personal growth and success.
The truth is nobody ever feels 100% ready when an opportunity arises. Because most great opportunities in life force us to grow emotionally and intellectually. They force us to stretch ourselves and our comfort zones, which means we won’t feel totally comfortable at first. And when we don’t feel comfortable, we don’t feel ready.
Significant moments of opportunity for personal growth and success will come and go throughout your lifetime. If you are looking to make positive changes and new breakthroughs in your life, you will need to embrace these moments of opportunity even though you will never feel 100% ready for them.
7. They keep things simple.
Leonardo da Vinci once said, “Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.” Nothing could be closer to the truth. Here in the 21st century, where information moves at the speed of light and opportunities for innovation seem endless, we have an abundant array of choices when it comes to designing our lives and careers. But sadly, an abundance of choice often leads to complication, confusion and inaction.
Several business and marketing studies have shown that the more product choices a consumer is faced with, the less products they typically buy. After all, narrowing down the best product from a pool of three choices is certainly a lot easier than narrowing down the best product from a pool of three hundred choices. If the purchasing decision is tough to make, most people will just give up. Likewise, if you complicate your life by inundating yourself with too many choices, your subconscious mind will give up.
The solution is to simplify. If you’re selling a product line, keep it simple. And if you’re trying to make a decision about something in your life, don’t waste all your time evaluating every last detail of every possible option. Choose something that you think will work and give it a shot. If it doesn’t work out, learn what you can from the experience, choose something else and keep pressing forward.
8. They focus on making small, continuous improvements.
Henry Ford once said, “Nothing is particularly hard if you divide it into small pieces.” The same concept configured as a question: How do you eat an elephant? Answer: One bite at a time. This philosophy holds true for achieving your biggest goals. Making small, positive changes – eating a little healthier, exercising a little, creating some small productive habits, for example – is an amazing way to get excited about life and slowly reach the level of success you aspire to.
And if you start small, you don’t need a lot of motivation to get started either. The simple act of getting started and doing something will give you the momentum you need, and soon you’ll find yourself in a positive spiral of changes – one building on the other. When I started doing this in my life, I was so excited I had to start this blog to share it with the world.
Start with just one activity, and make a plan for how you will deal with troubles when they arise. For instance, if you’re trying to lose weight, come up with a list of healthy snacks you can eat when you get the craving for snacks. 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 bigger challenges.
9. They measure and track their progress.
Successful people are not only working in their job/business, they are also working on it. They step back and assess their progress regularly. They track themselves against their goals and clearly know what needs to be done to excel and accelerate.
You can’t control what you don’t properly measure. If you track the wrong things you’ll be completely blind to potential opportunities as they appear over the horizon. Imagine if, while running a small business, you made it a point to keep track of how many pencils and paperclips you used. Would that make any sense? No! Because pencils and paperclips are not a measure of what’s important for a business. Pencils and paperclips have no bearing on income, customer satisfaction, market growth, etc.
The proper approach is to figure out what your number one goal is and then track the things that directly relate to achieving that goal. I recommend that you take some time right now to identify your number one goal, identify the most important things for you to keep track of, and then begin tracking them immediately. On a weekly basis, plug the numbers into a spreadsheet and use the data to create weekly or monthly trend graphs so you can visualize your progress. Then fine-tune your actions to get those trends to grow in your favor.
10. They maintain a positive outlook as they learn from their mistakes.
Successful people concentrate on the positives – they look for the silver lining in every situation. They know that it is their positivity that will take them to greatness. If you want to be successful, you need to have a positive outlook toward life. Life will test you again and again. If you give in to internal negativity, you will never be able to achieve the marks you have targeted.
Remember, every mistake you make is progress. Mistakes teach you important lessons. Every time you make one, you’re one step closer to your goal. The only mistake that can truly hurt you is choosing to do nothing simply because you’re too scared to make a mistake.
So don’t hesitate – don’t doubt yourself! Don’t let your own negativity sabotage you. Learn what you can and press forward.
11. They spend time with the right people.
Successful people associate with people who are likeminded, focused, and supportive. They socialize with people who create energy when they enter the room versus those who create energy when they leave. They reach out to connected, influential individuals who are right for their dreams and goals.
You are the sum of the people you spend the most time with. If you hang with the wrong people, they will negatively affect you. But if you hang with the right people, you will become far more capable and successful than you ever could have been alone. Find your tribe and work together to make a difference in all of your lives. Tribes by Seth Godin is a great read on this topic.
12. They maintain balance in their life.
If you ask most people to summarize what they want out of life they’ll shout out a list of things like: ‘fall in love,’ ‘make money,’ ‘spend time with family,’ ‘find happiness,’ ‘achieve goals,’ etc. But sadly, a lot of people don’t balance their life properly to achieve these things. Typically they’ll achieve one or two of them while completely neglecting the rest. Let me give you two examples:
- I know an extremely savvy businesswoman who made almost a million dollars online last year. Based on the success of her business, every entrepreneur I know looks up to her. But guess what? A few days ago, out of the blue, she told me that she’s depressed. Why? “I’m burnt out and lonely. I just haven’t taken enough time for myself lately, and I feel like something is missing in my life,” she said. “Wow!” I thought. “One of the most successful people I know doesn’t feel successful because she isn’t happy with how she has balanced her life.”
- I also know a surfer who surfs all day, every day on the beach in front of our condo complex in San Diego. He’s one of the most lighthearted, optimistic guys I’ve ever met – usually smiling from ear to ear. But he sleeps in a rusty van he co-owns with another surfer, and they both frequently panhandle tourists for money. He has admitted to me that the stress of making enough money to eat often keeps him up at night. So while I can’t deny that this man seems happy most of the time, I wouldn’t classify his life as a success story.
These are just two simple examples of imbalanced lifestyles that are holding people back from their full potential. When you let your work life (or social life, family life, etc.) consume you, and all your energy is focused in that area, it’s extremely easy to lose your balance. While drive and focus are important, if you’re going to get things done right, and be truly successful, you need to balance the various dimensions of your life. Completely neglecting one dimension for another only leads to long-term frustration and stress. For some practical guidance on balancing your life, I recommend Zen and the Art of Happiness.
Photo by: Thomas Hawk
Ben says
Hey Marc,
Awesome article! And great blog too! Lots of useful content.
BH
Elisa says
Wow, #5 really hit home with me! I haven’t followed through on some of the things I felt were good ideas many times because I had not figured out how to do it “perfectly.” Thanks for the kick in the pants.
Mikael Lidström says
Really good post on this topic! You cover it all. I usually don’t comment on blog posts, but this is totally worth it. Thanks!
Max says
“I’m convinced that about half of what separates the successful entrepreneurs from the non-successful ones is pure perseverance.” Steve Jobs
Awesome article! Loved it!
Rye says
I’ve been in tears most of the day. I am feeling so depressed today because I feel terrible about a recent personal failure. I decided to go online to find some inspiration to give me direction, and the newest blog post in my RSS feed reader is this one.
It’s an awesome read! Thank you. I hope I can use it to move forward.
pokindra says
Great read! Thank you for sharing this advice with us.
Ferb says
Great article!
Ann says
Thank you Marc and Angel. Another excellent read.
Musa says
#6 was the one that did it for me.
Come to think about it it’s finding a balance of some sort regarding setting realistic goals.
Because my perception of being realistic is setting a 2 year goal which another person might believe could be achieved in under 6 weeks.
But I’ve found that written goals with written plans of how they can be achieved end up being done with a shorter time frame that anticipated.
I love this article that I think I’ll tell my blog visitors about it.
– Musa
marc van der Linden says
Great post!
I love number 12.
Leading a balanced life which both challenges and supports your values leads to growth. If you have only challenges, you cannot grow. If you only great support, you cannot grow. But if you have both challenges and support of your values, you grow the most.
Thanks for sharing.
Aaron Morton says
Good article. It really provides some practical insight about how a successful person structures their life.
Civia says
Awesome blog. Going to give a copy to my 18 year old son and see if he knows this already. Thanks for putting it all down so well…
cherie says
Loved it! Best article I’ve seen here so far; I’m passing this on to friends. Thanks!!
mauri says
Thank you for writing such wonderful and inspiring blogs! They help! This one is so practical.
James P says
A very good article and a timely checklist.
Two weeks ago I heard a sermon in my church speaking about 12 in the Holy Bible viz, Twelve tribes of Jews, Twelve Disciples, 12 gates in Heaven guarded by 12 angels, etc. It was interesting and struck a chord with me.
As an entrepreneur , who want to achieve great success I wanted to refocus my energy in my business and activities keeping 12 as a number of things I should concentrate first.
I have been doing a serious discussion within myself and my family and friends for a 12 point check-list. Your 12 things successful people do differently came exactly at an appropriate time.
Thanks for the wonderful check-list.
Cheers
James P
MizLaT says
I thoroughly enjoy reading your lists of advice. It’s good to review these kinds of things throughout the year; I especially like to be reminded of the balance that is necessary. That can be tricky in today’s face paced, results oriented world. But when it comes to family and work, there simply has to be a balance that doesn’t short change the kids!
Claire says
Great advice!! Thanks for the concise explaination of each goal. I can’t wait to work on all of them. That’s always been my goal- “Keep reaching, keep learning, never stop trying to get better.”
Suzanne Frazier says
Thank you for a great summary. I am sharing this article with a teenager who I am mentoring. You nail each of these points perfectly.
john says
Love the last paragraph about the millionaire and Surfer. Yes, Balance is a must for sustained happiness and success.
-John
yoga with john dot com
Ene okwori says
This blog post truly enlightened me and gave me direction. Kudos to you.
Hope says
This article hit a sweet spot with me. Lately I’ve been considering the need to start from a solid center. I’ve been pondering what success means to me for a few months on my blog, and it’s always great to hear how successful people define success.
This helps. Thanks.
Vinod says
As usual, another superb article with practical advice. Absolutely love it! Keep up the good work.
Morgan says
Excellent list! Kept nodding my head at all of them. While there are some that I need to work on, like tracking progress a bit better, I feel I’m working towards and accomplishing a lot of these things listed above.
Thanks for the reminder and insight!
Shawanda says
I was just thinking about an important blog post I drafted that I want to be perfect before I release it tomorrow. And then I thought, if perfection is the standard, I’ll never click the publish button. I’ve already put it off too long. At some point, good enough is good enough. Thank you for the timely reminder.
Gustavo P says
Thank you for this outstanding, informative article.
Kenneth Dreyer says
Very nice article!!! I think it is some of the basic things in my type of coaching. I am looking forward to reading more from you…
Kenneth
Aaron says
This is a great post packed with great advice. Thanks for the kick in the butt.
Nadia says
Thank you for this article! It could not have come at a better time. More power to your site!
Scott says
Another fantastic read. Thank you.
Jaemin Frazer says
Good read! No. 11 was the clincher for me.
You guys are incredible and the kind of people I need to associate with more often.
Mrs. Jen B says
This is absolutely brilliant, brilliant stuff. Thank you so much for sharing this wisdom – exactly the sort of thing I need to be reading right now.
valerie says
Great article! I’m going to start my smart goals right now! Thanks so much for the push.
Sarunya says
Great Article, Marc! Very inspiring, indeed.
Sheila says
Great article and great advice!
Ani Todd Smith says
We have SMART goals at work but I need to do a better job at applying them in my personal life as well. Great post overall!
Marva Small says
Incredible article! All this week I felt like God has been encouraging me to step out into deeper water and stop being my own worst critic. It’s time to stand up and step out… Thank you for the motivation.
Christopher Combes says
Great read! I use a slight variation of SMART goals:
Specific
Measurable
Action-Oriented (use action verbs)
Realistic
Timely
So instead of “attainable” I use “action-oriented”.
Instead of “Relevant” I use “Realistic”.
Kari says
I used to be guilty of chasing sporadic goals – never really making a S.M.A.R.T goal as you said. I’ve found that once I really got specific on my goals, I really started to obtain them.
Of course taking action on them helped me achieve the goals. Sitting around hoping for them to manifest was not really working out for me!
Martin says
I really liked #12. In life we all look at the rich and the free and think they have the life. When in reality they don’t have a balance and have pitfalls we don’t know about. The grass is always greener until you look down and realize the grass you are standing on is pretty darn green!
Cam Clayton says
You guys rock. I love coming to your site every now and again to catch up on some positive life lessons.
Marc says
@Christopher Combes: I like your modification of the S.M.A.R.T. goals formula. I’ve seen others modify it suit their needs as well. Truthfully, it doesn’t matter how you twist the formula, if it works for you, you’re doing something right. Best of luck to ya.
@All: Thanks again for another round of positive feedback and encouragement. You all rock our socks! 🙂
tuffers says
I came across this article by accident, but after reading it, I am encouraged and feel your article is a great platform for me to build upon my success. Thanks.
davek says
Great Post Marc. Thanks for revisiting the concept of SMART. Christopher’s notion of action-oriented also makes sense. So I take both as they both help in opening my eyes right now. The best I can do right now is to be SMART in life in general rather than just at work. Hence, making it a life philosophy will be my goal, although I know it’s not easy.
Ebuka says
Thank you so much. This advice really came to me at the right time. You’re a blessing…
Jason Scott says
These are all valid characteristics that we should all develop. Nice list. One more that I’d like to add is that successful people are curious. They want to know how things work, so they find out. Then they make those things work for them.
Your lists are so inspiring, Marc. Keep giving!
James Barbush says
Hello Marc and Angel
In researching the web for material to support concepts in my leadership session tomorrow, I found your blog. I will show the 3 articles on ’30 things to stop’ and ’12 things successful people do’ and ’30 things to start.’ Excellent material and ties right in with our leadership discussions. Thanks.
peter says
I like number 7. in this article. Simplicity is essential.
Matthew Fryar says
Good read. Leading a balanced life which both challenges and supports your values leads to growth. If you have only challenges, you cannot grow. If you only have great support, you cannot grow. But if you have both challenges and support for your values, you grow the most.
solwan says
Great article … Thanks alot 🙂
Matt Szebelledy says
Great article. Very good summary. I would also add another paragraph about how successful people don’t blame others for anything. They understand that they are the source of their successes and failures. Very powerful way of being and essential to being successful.