Six habits of successful people

Here are six unexpected habits that will help you achieve greater efficiency in your life.

When I was younger, my father told me that the best way to achieve success is to befriend other successful people. I didn't understand his advice at the time, but these words became firmly rooted in my mind.

I didn't completely come to terms with their significance until I was older, when I moved to the suburbs with my wife to settle down in our family home. I was working online at the time, so I rarely traveled to the city. I needed to build business connections, so I found some people I looked up to and started regularly messaging them.

Soon enough, I could reap the rewards of this approach, because I had managed to build an entire network of people I respected. There were entrepreneurs, high-profile experts and active creators in their midst.

The best way to achieve success is to befriend other successful people.

Looking back, I wish I could have understood the meaning of these words sooner, but I am still proud of myself for taking advantage of this advice. By learning how these people organized their lives, I achieved success in my own life. Oddly enough, successful people don't have any secrets. They simply make sure to follow six rules which I will share with you here.

Successful people aren't afraid to share and give

Generosity is the defining trait for today's leaders. They are happy to share their time and resources with others, and they're not afraid to talk about their ideas.

Naturally, this doesn't mean that they are interested in self-sacrifice. One of my acquaintances told me that the fastest way to implement an idea is to tell someone about it. The more you put out into this world, the more opportunities you will have in the future. The expression 'the more you give, the more you get' has become a cliche precisely because it's true.

They record everything

Successful people are always taking notes. Notes enable you to analyze what is happening to you and identify certain patterns. What's more, notebooks (or special note-taking apps) teach you the habit of self-reflections. By recording your thoughts and ideas on paper, you're more likely to accomplish your goals and put your mind at ease.

They understand that failure is inevitable

People working in sales know not to worry about the ratio of sales to the number of clients. Instead, they track the number of established contacts. Even if they don't manage to close a certain sale, it's alright! By remaining active and trying new things, you are bound to succeed.

Writer Seth Godin once said 'If I fail more times than you do, I will win.' All of the successful people I know live by this rule. They never think that one of their actions was wrong. Instead, they accept that failure is an essential part of their journey to success, part of a valuable experience.

They're not afraid of criticism

Feedback is important in any kind of business. There's no point in getting offended by people whose words might direct your attention towards a potential issue. In order to succeed, you need to pay attention to what other people are saying. Successful people aren't afraid to ask others for their opinions and they always make time to get the feedback they need.

They know when to say no

Successful people are not gods. Moreover, sometimes they're not even smarter or luckier than others - it's just a matter of several important qualities that define success. One of them is the ability to live in the moment. When someone tries to distract you from your work, you shouldn't be afraid to say no.

In the past, I also had trouble rejecting people, I felt guilty, I was afraid to sound rude. But today, I am convinced that Warren Buffett was right when he said that 'honesty is about saying no to most things.'

Silence is golden

While we are talking, we don't get to learn anything. But as soon as we start listening closely to our partner, we can learn many valuable insights. Success in your personal and professional life depends on your ability to understand what the other person wants. This is easy to achieve: all you need to do is define your priorities for speaking and listening.

Although it might sound a bit pretentious, these six straightforward tips can completely transform a person's life. Success is not a gift from heaven, it comes from hard work, everyday efforts and discipline. To achieve results, there's no need to reinvent the wheel. You just have to do the right things over a long period of time.