Success may contain an element of luck, but your attitude is perhaps the single most important factor when it comes to achieving your goals. There are certain behaviors and attitudes you should consciously avoid if you want to stay on a steady track to success.

Here are 9 things successful people refuse to do on their journey to success!

1. Let failure define them.

Successful people know that failure is not fatal. They know that the only way to truly fail is to give up. Successful people know that failure is not fatal. They know that the only way to truly fail is to give up.

We have all known people who give up when the going gets rough; and I bet you feel like doing the same from time to time.

But keep in mind that failure is a necessary part of the human experience. We all fail – ALL of us – but instead of letting that failure define who you are, use it as a building block to reach your goals. Successful people know that their next success may be just around the corner, and that to achieve this success as quickly as possible they just need to fail faster. For more on this, see my post The Surprising Secret to Success: Fail Faster!

2. Worry about pleasing everyone.

You know the old saying,

“I don’t know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everybody.” I don’t know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everybody.

Successful people are able to let go of the notion that they have to make everyone happy all the time. Not only is it impossible to please everyone all the time, but it can give the impression you don’t really stand for anything; and this can make you appear wishy-washy, or lead to others walking all over you (see #5).

3. Blame others when things go wrong.

When things are going wrong, it is easy to put the blame on those around you.

“If my employees would learn more about sales, we wouldn’t be losing these customers.”

“If our clients would just be more loyal to our company, we wouldn’t be facing this cash crunch.”

Successful people assign blame when blame is due, but they also know when to suck it up and learn from problems and mistakes. I am reminded of a quote by Arnold Glasow:

“A good leader takes a little more than his share of the blame, and a little less than his share of the credit.” A good leader takes a little more than his share of the blame, and a little less than his share of the credit.

Instead of always assigning blame outwardly when things go wrong, ask yourself what you could do to prevent it from happening again.

4. Wait for perfection.

Successful people know that perfection is unattainable.

Rather than spending oodles of time and effort on perfecting a project or task, they set a goal and then stick to it.

They know that it is better to get something done and out there than to have it sitting on their desk 95% finished. They do their absolute best in the allotted time, and then send it out into the world.

5. Let others walk all over them.

Humility is a great trait to practice if you want to succeed in business and in life. But being humble doesn’t mean letting people take advantage of you.

Remember that you teach others how to treat you. If you roll over and accept the blame every time someone places it on you, you will quickly become a scapegoat when things go wrong.

When you do something wrong, step up and take your fair share of the blame. Don’t, however, let others disrespect or take advantage of you, or they will continue to do so in the future.

6. Get jealous of other people’s successes.

It can be hard to see other people being successful, particularly if they are meeting goals you have set for yourself. But instead of getting jealous, successful people use theses successes as motivation and inspiration to achieve their own goals.

They learn from the successes of others, and apply what they learn to their own lives. Instead of letting themselves get discouraged, they offer sincere congratulations and continue focusing on their own goals.

7. Stop learning.

Successful people know that growth requires learning and they aren’t afraid to invest in themselves! Successful people know that growth requires learning & they aren’t afraid to invest in themselves

Once you stop educating yourself, your ideas tend to become stagnant and uninspired. Regardless of how successful you become, there will always be things you don’t know. Always continue learning and growing by reading blog posts, books and industry magazines, going to conferences or taking professional development courses.

8. Not learn from their mistakes.

As already mentioned, successful people know that success is built on many small and, sometimes, BIG failures.

We all make mistakes, but successful people learn from their mistakes and do better next time. We all make mistakes, but successful people learn from their mistakes and do better next time.

Rather than making the same mistakes over and over, they analyze where things went wrong and put a plan in place to ensure it never happens again. Instead of beating themselves up, they turn their mistakes into something positive by using them as opportunities to learn and grow.

9. Think that success is a short-term endeavor.

Successful people know that the hard work they do now may not pay off for months or years to come.

While they are happy when they see short-term results, they have learned that these aren’t to be expected.

They are willing to work long and hard, even when success is a long way off. Their passion for what they are doing is enough to help them stay the course, even when things get rough.

These are my 9 things successful people refuse to do. What would you add to this list? What attitudes or habits do you see the successful people in your life practicing?