Dr. Suzzane Gelb spends a lot of time with some very successful people. Over the years, she has determined that these “super-achievers” share some common key characteristics.
In an article on themuse.com, Dr. Gelb raises the question, “These kinds of “super-achievers” have the same number of hours in the day as the rest of us, but somehow, they always seem to get more done. How do they do it?” Dr. Gelb noticed that all of the people whom she considered to be “super-achievers” had specific things in common that lead to their consistent success.
No matter what level of success you are striving for, these 3 key principles can help you become the “super-achiever” that we all have the potential to be.
Maintain Your Focus
Every day we all face a myriad of distractions. Thanks to our inboxes, social media profiles, smartphones, co-workers, and the universe in general – it is amazing anyone gets anything done. Whatever it is that you choose to accomplish, you have to commit to it with a laser beam focus. Dr. Gelb uses the example of watching an Olympic hurdler as an instance of focus leading to greatness.
All it takes is one little distraction to send your thought process tumbling off the track. As much as some people consider multi-tasking to be an effective way to get things done, in reality trying to do three or four things at once just assures you that you’ll get none of those things done well.
Mind the Company You Keep
Anytime I am talking about the types of people you should surround yourself with, I am always reminded of two quotes from Gen. Colin Powell:
“With some people you spend an evening: with others you invest it. Be careful where you stop to inquire for directions along the road of life. Wise is the person who fortifies his life with the right friendships. If you run with wolves, you will learn how to howl. But, if you associate with eagles, you will learn how to soar to great heights.”
and
“The less you associate with some people, the more your life will improve. Any time you tolerate mediocrity in others, it increases your mediocrity. An important attribute in successful people is their impatience with negative thinking and negative acting people. As you grow, your associates will change. Some of your friends will not want you to go on. They will want you to stay where they are. Friends that don’t help you climb will want you to crawl. Your friends will stretch your vision or choke your dream. Those that don’t increase you will eventually decrease you.”
I don’t know that it can be said any better than that.
Keep your Emotions in Check
Of all the things you can do to be more successful in life’s endeavors – this one is the hardest, in my opinion. People will always say things like “don’t take it personally, it is just business,” it is hard to separate the two. I’m not suggesting that you have to be a robot to be super successful, what I AM saying is that you have to balance those emotions and not let them take over your productivity. See a failure as a learning experience and a way to become better at whatever you originally failed at. Take criticisms, no matter how harsh, as a doorway to improvement and not a reason to hide in the bathroom and cry for an hour. Handling your emotion constructively is a process but it is a process that will lead to success.
