Yesterday I wrote about how talent and skill can be detriments to success if not combined with a proper mindset. Now let’s look at the traits we need to ensure success.
There are a few essential traits that contribute to success. In this format we’ll focus on 3 key essential traits that all successful people share. They are: Passion, Hard Work, and Perseverance.
In truth, they are all interconnected. Each one drives the other in a symbiotic relationship.
Passion and perseverance are short-term and long-term mindsets that combine a “can-do” attitude with a “will-do” determination. Hard work is the physical manifestation of these attitudes. The cocktail of all three push us to succeed.
The first and most critical Essential Trait is: PASSION
Passion comes from powerful, compelling emotions building into inescapable action. When we believe so strongly we can’t help but act, that’s passion. We are much more likely to succeed with something we’re passionate about because our passion compels us to continue until success is realized. Walking away is simply not an option.
Two stories from my life that illustrate this depth of feeling are related to two different industries I’ve worked in. Thankfully, I’ve been blessed to be successful in two careers. The first was as a Fine Arts Director. In the center where I worked, it took 4 years to ascend to the peak of what I would ever earn financially in my position. Yet I continued working in that position, expanding it as opportunities presented themselves, for another10 years.
Had I accepted other offers I received along the way, I could have earned more. But I opted for the freedom of creative expression I was afforded at the venue I was in. Freedom of expression was more important than a higher income with far less creative freedom. Where I worked, I had only 2 restrictions that, in my mind, weren’t restrictions at all. They were more like goals I wanted to attain. I became passionate about bringing diversity to that forum. As long as I adhered to those 2 restrictions (goals), I was free to do whatever I wanted in an environment virtually without borders.
As a result, Not only did I experience great on-the-job satisfaction, but that freedom of expression brought other “side work” that brought extra money and even greater satisfaction. In other words, because I chose freedom (therefore greater personal enjoyment) my creativity drew other opportunities that brought me even more success to a broader audience. If I hadn’t made the initial choice for freedom, I probably would never have experienced the greater, broader successes because my creativity would have been stifled elsewhere. Making the right choice was what allowed me to build one success upon another.
The second career was in sales—I was asked to step into a roll that others abandoned due to a lack of success. Whether it was due to luck, timing, or my choice to win where others failed, I was able to grow the sales of my product from zero into a multi-million dollar business.
I was initially given the state of California as my territory. I was also allowed the freedom to grow the business as I chose. In other words, I wasn’t told how to sell. The success I achieved there, landed me a Sales Director position over the 7 western states. Ultimately I was promoted to VP of Sales, and it was in that position, I made the most money of my life. Once again, I was successful because I was allowed the freedom to create my own sales culture.
In both industries it wasn’t about the money—although I was highly financially successful in the second career. My first priority was freedom to express myself in a way that allowed me to become passionate about my opportunities.
Tomorrow we’ll look at the 2nd essential trait for success.
