Understanding and mastering key human behaviors can significantly impact your success in life, career, and relationships. While there may be a lot of them to master, here are ten essential behaviors to focus on, if you want to elevate your game and be in the top 10% of most successful.
1-Consistency and Perseverance: Success often requires sustained effort over time. Being consistent and persevering through challenges sets you apart from those who give up easily. In fact, if you can stay consistent in the important areas of your life—education, relationships, and career—just for the first few years of your adult life, the rest will take care of itself. Being consistent and persevering through life is the difference between someone pursuing higher education and being rewarded with a great career, compared to someone who gives up and is not consistent, constantly struggling to make ends meet.
2-Effective Communication: Clearly articulating your thoughts and actively listening to others fosters better relationships and teamwork, essential in both personal and professional settings. If you look at successful people, you will notice one of two things: either their great communication got them to the top, or they got to the top without being a great communicator, but had to master it in order to stay on top and lead their company effectively. For the latter, Mark Zuckerberg comes to mind, who wasn’t known to be a great communicator or speaker in Facebook’s first few years. But as he had to do multiple speaking engagements on a regular basis, he had to get better and better at it. By now, he is considered one of the best in the business. Another great example is Oprah Winfrey. Her exceptional communication skills played a pivotal role in her rise to success. Through her ability to connect with people, listen actively, and communicate with empathy, she built an empire and became one of the most influential women in the world. Her powerful storytelling and ability to engage others have been key to her sustained success and leadership in the media industry.
3-Empathy and Emotional Intelligence: Understanding and relating to others’ emotions helps build strong relationships and enhances leadership abilities. While some may mistake this for weakness or being taken advantage of, it is actually the opposite and much different from that. Being empathetic is like having a sixth sense, where you have the ability to sense what people are feeling and, thus, relate to them more easily and effectively. For example, if your employee is not performing well on the job this week, you might be able to excuse it, knowing that a loved one is sick in the hospital and they are emotionally and physically drained by it. Emotional Intelligence is increasingly being regarded as more important than technical skills in leadership roles because it helps build trust, foster collaboration, and create a supportive work environment. Leaders who are emotionally intelligent can inspire, motivate, and guide their teams more effectively, ultimately leading to greater success for both individuals and the organization as a whole.
4-Time Management: Prioritizing tasks, setting goals, and managing your time efficiently allows you to achieve more and reduce stress. Are you a person who is always busy and never have time to do the important thing? or do you magically always get important stuff done, while still finding time for less important things and activities? if so, you may be a great time manager, something a lot of people may not be very good at. There are various tools and techniques that can help you be much better at managing time, including time-blocking, Pomodoro technique, Pareto Principle (80/20 Rule), the One-Minute Rule etc.
5-Adaptability and Flexibility: Being open to change and adaptable to new situations ensures you can handle unexpected challenges and seize opportunities. This is something I have had to learn over the years, especially if you work in the IT field, where change is a constant thing and can’t be avoided. At first, even the smallest changes would bother me, be it an upgrade to a software I was using, having to learn new skills etc. But with change now a part of my life, I am not only used to it, I embrace it, as it is almost always works out for the better. Better adaptable and flexible is the hallmark of a successful person, since our very world is characterized by constant changes. It is just a fact of life and will always be. The opposite of change or growth is stagnation and death. So embrace it and be adaptable, flexible and always ready to change and morph.
6-Critical Thinking and Problem-Solving: Analyzing situations, making informed decisions, and solving problems effectively are crucial skills for success in any field. Elon Musk wouldn’t be worth over a quarter trillion dollars if not for his critical thinking and problem-solving abilities, particularly his approach of dissecting problems and breaking them down to their original starting point — known as first principles. In a world that is ever more complex and shaped by close to infinite data, making sense of all that data requires effective critical thinking and excellent problem solving mastery.
7-Networking and Relationship Building: Building a strong network of contacts and nurturing relationships can provide support, opportunities, and resources. It’s no wonder that the word “networking” has taken on a life of its own, creating an entire industry with experts dedicated to it. As the saying goes, it’s not what you know, but who you know, and that’s where networking comes into play. When starting a new job, business, or project, begin by getting to know your key contacts—those who can make or break things, those with the expertise and know-how, and, of course, those who themselves are great connectors. Building this intricate network of valuable contacts will go a long way in ensuring that every piece of the business or project puzzle falls into place.
8-Self-Discipline and Self-Motivation: Staying disciplined and motivated, even when external rewards are not immediate, helps you stay on track towards your goals. In fact, this ability to stay disciplined, in the fact of adversity and challenges, for along time, is what sets truly successful people from the rest. Elon Musk is known to have slept on the floor of his Tesla factories for months and months. This required self-discipline to stay focused and not lose focus and just go back to the comfort of your own bed. In other words, self-discipline is what is needed to tolerate pain until you see the light at the end of the tunnel.
9. Continuous Learning and Improvement: Embracing a growth mindset and continually seeking opportunities to learn and improve keeps you competitive and adaptable in a rapidly changing world. Successful people understand that the brain retains its ability to learn at any age—thanks to neuroplasticity—and that the key to sustained success is never stopping the process of learning, even after reaching the pinnacle of achievement. A book that beautifully illustrates this concept is Mindset: The New Psychology of Success by Carol S. Dweck. This timeless classic delves into the power of mindset, highlighting the contrast between a “fixed” and a “growth” mindset. Dweck shows how adopting a growth mindset can foster greater success in every aspect of life, making it an essential read for anyone looking to unlock their full potential and tackle challenges head-on.
10. Positive Attitude and Resilience: Maintaining a positive outlook and bouncing back from setbacks with resilience can have a significant impact on your success and overall well-being. It’s not about how many times you fail, but about how many times you get up, dust yourself off, and keep moving forward until you perfect your approach. The true mark of success is not only being okay with failure and mistakes but also having the resilience to maintain a positive attitude and view each setback as a stepping stone toward achieving your ultimate success.
By focusing on these behaviors, you can enhance your personal development and create a solid foundation for success in various aspects of life. More importantly, from a financial and wealth prospective, these habits and behaviour are like guiding principles to a life of prosperity, wealth and abundance.