Success. It’s a word that bombards us everywhere we look. We all want it but only few will achieve it. Why is that? Why is it that you might fail whilst your roommate will go on to being super successful?

Contrary to popular belief, it’s not your background, your skills or even your I.Q that set you apart from the rest. Sure, coming from a well off family and graduating from Harvard with an MBA is going to help. Luckily, or unfortunately, depending on your current circumstances, none of these promise anything.

So what is the secret? Why is it that Elon Musk is so successful yet others fail? It’s because success isn’t about who you are, it’s about what you do!

These are the top 5 traits of the successful

1. Decide on exactly what you want

“Life is inherently risky. There is only one big risk you should avoid at all costs, and that is the risk of doing nothing.” — Denis Waitley

You need to be specific. When you get in your car, you need to enter the exact address of your destination in your sat-nav if you want to get there. Why should success be any different? If you don’t know what you want, how are you going to get it? Far too many people miss out on this fantastically important point. Don’t say “I want to make a lot of money this year”. That’s vague and won’t get you anywhere. Define your goal like this- “I want to make $1,000,000 this year”. You need to be clear, precise and focused. Sure, you could stumble onto success without any goals at all, but that would be pure luck and who leaves things this important up to luck?

2. Think big, but be realistic

“If you’re going to be thinking anything, you might as well think big. “ — Donald Trump

Every entrepreneur will tell you the same thing, think big. What they don’t tell you is be realistic. We are not for a second telling you to lower your ambitions and goals. You do however need to be realistic. If you are currently working in a dead end job making minimum wage and your goal is to become a billionaire by the end of the month, that’s quite unrealistic. Thinking big is great, but come the end of the month, chances are your still not a billionaire and you failed to achieve your goal. Therefore failure takes over and pushes out every last ounce of motivation. What we are trying to say is don’t underestimate how hard it is going to be to achieve your goals. Any goal worth pursuing is going to take hard work, sleepless nights, and major commitment. So if you’re stuck in a dead end job and your goal is to become a billionaire, a realistic goal that implements the “think big” factor would be “I want to build a billon dollar company in the next 10 years”.

3. Improve yourself everyday

“The future belongs to those who learn more skills and combine them in creative ways.” — Robert Greene

You need to be focused. Really really focused. Decide what skills will better your chances of achieving your goals and lock onto them in the same way that various terminators have locked onto John Connor over the years. You need to become a master, the best of the best. You need to focus on yourself and not just on your goals. Do you think it’s a coincidence that only 6% of wealthy people watch reality TV shows compared to 78% of the poor? No. It’s not. While the poor watch the latest talent show, the wealthy are reading, studying, thinking, constantly improving themselves. This doesn’t mean the wealthy person is smarter. All it means is that he is more focused and has more willpower. So don’t let your self sleep until you have taken a step towards improving yourself and your skills.

4. Be specific and master timing

“The secret to getting ahead, is getting started.” — Mark Twain

We often hear the phrase “seize the moment” that’s all great, but you need to watch your timing. Wait too long and the opportunity is gone. Act too fast and you may blow it. You must assess every situation carefully and act at the perfect moment. Of course this a lot easier said than done, but we can give you the basics. You can’t always control external circumstances but you can control your timetable. We are all busy entrepreneurs with side projects, university, jobs, etc. We can often lose track of time. So if your main goal for the year is getting in shape and doubling my income — don’t let yourself go. “I’ll work out tomorrow”. “I’ll start my new startup next week”. No! Seize the moment and seize time. Be as specific as possible when it comes to execution. Don’t tell yourself “I’ll work out next week”. Instead, define the following “I’ll work out at 6:00 AM on Monday morning”. When you have exact planning you greatly increase your chances of achieving your goals.

5. Commit to your goals

“Motivation is like a shower, highly effective, but the effect quickly wears off”

You need to stay motivated and focused. Say you want to get a startup off the ground. You are very motivated and work around the clock for two weeks. Slowly, you start to lose motivation. Things aren’t working out exactly as planned and you being to question your goal. This is the point that separates the entrepreneurs from the want-repreneurs. You need to keep yourself motivated and commit to your long term goals. Be persistent. Sure, sometimes you need to give up and start over, but don’t give up easily. You know yourself, you know what motivates you. Makes sure you get regular doses of motivation so you can keep yourself focused on the goal. Remember why you started, and keep an eye on where you are headed.

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