Success is a word learned at a very young age from school-aged children through college and adulthood.

Understanding that success may look different to different people is essential for discussions about the word.

Read on to learn seven behaviors that you should adopt if you want to find your success.

They Know What Success Means

A common trait among successful people is knowing and understanding what success means. Most people know that success does not mean the same thing to everyone, so defining what it means to you is essential. 

While for some people, success means having the astronomical paycheck that can afford the “bigger than your neighbors” house, vehicle, vacation, and so on, for others, it may mean much less. This is why it is essential to define what success means to you before you head out to find it.

Many people enjoy the thought of getting an education and starting a career that will lead them to a high-paying position. The position typically comes with the feeling of accomplishment and success that allows them to purchase almost anything they want.

Maybe to you, success means being able to pay your bills, buy groceries, and have the occasional low-cost vacation with your family. Many people who have struggled financially define success in very different ways than many others. 

Success may mean that you are in a career you absolutely love and would not dream of being anywhere else. This could be the goal as you work through many jobs that make you unhappy until you find that one that is precisely what you have always wanted.

The bottom line is that successful people, no matter their circumstances, can deem themselves successful if they have reached the goals they set for themselves. Successful people know exactly what success means to them, and they go after it with everything they have.

Set Goals

Successful people set goals for themselves and work as hard as possible to achieve them no matter what it takes. It is often said that true success comes from the combination of both heart and hard work. Setting goals can help you to keep focused on the result.

A common misconception when setting goals is that they have to be larger than life to mean anything. The best plans are often small ones that you can set on your way to your larger goals but allow you to have success along the way.

Yes, it is important to have those larger-than-life goals for yourself. It is also essential to create stepping stones to help you not get discouraged because the ultimate goal is taking too long to achieve.

Most successful people recommend sitting down at the beginning of the year, or the moment you feel motivated and creating at least one massive goal for yourself. The idea is to create a plan to reach that goal. These are the stepping stones that are then broken down into smaller chunks.

Once you have your stepping stones, take them one at a time to create a plan to reach that particular goal. Then move forward with your plan until all of your stepping stones lead you to your ultimate goal.

Surround Themselves with the Right People

You have probably heard that you should surround yourself with positive, uplifting people who are also passionate about their own goals. Doing this allows you to reap the rewards of their positivity and turn it into your good feelings about your life.

Motivational speaker Jim Rohn once said, “You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.” If you think about it, friends become that way because they have common traits in most cases. This should also be true about people in the working world.

If you define success by the big paycheck, large house, and expensive cars, then you probably should surround yourself with others who agree with this mentality. At the same time, if you define success as being truly happy in your life, then find those people who feel the same way.

Keeping yourself surrounded by the right people depends heavily on your ultimate outcome in your life. The right people will always be on your side and encourage you to reach for the stars and always keep moving forward to find your success.

Always Keep Learning

Successful people know the value of being lifelong learners. They know that it is virtually impossible to know everything about everything in life, so they keep themselves open to learning new things every day.

The most vulnerable yet powerful statement you can make is, “I don’t know, but I can find out.” This shows others that you know where your weaknesses lie, but you are unwilling to define who you are. You are eager to go above and beyond to find out the information needed to solve the problem.

Successful people are always reading; whether it is about their industry, news stories, or other things, they know the importance of gaining more knowledge. These read and engage in learning as a part of their daily routine.

If you spend about 30 minutes or more a day reading something, anything, you increase your knowledge exponentially over a year. This does not mean that you must always be reading only industry material, but reading for pleasure also allows you to gain specific knowledge you did not have before.

They Learn from Failure

The most successful in the world have failed at some point in their lives. The difference between these people and others is that they became prosperous through the failures they once experienced.

When you attempt to accomplish something, it is natural that you may fail at it the first time or even several times after that. The best thing you can do for yourself is pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and try until you succeed.

It is essential to understand that trying until you succeed does not necessarily mean that you try in the same way as before. The most successful people reflect after failing to understand why it did not work and rework the problem.

If you are genuinely passionate about the goal you have set for yourself, then you will not allow any roadblocks to stand in your way. Failure is just a learning experience waiting to happen. Learn from the failure and then find a way to move forward.

You have most likely heard people say the phrase, “Failure is not an option.” While the statement is bold and has its place, this statement is not a way to live your life. Failure is the only way you grow and get stronger until you finally reach the goals you set for yourself.

Prioritize Their Tasks

Succeeding with goals often means not putting off until tomorrow what you can do now. One of the biggest obstacles with people trying to find success is getting distracted when other things come up that take your attention away from the work they were doing before.

Successful people understand that prioritizing their tasks is the only way to ensure their work is completed every day. Knowing what tasks to prioritize starts with understanding which are more urgently needed.

Many people find it helpful to create a to-do list each day either on paper, a post-it note or on their computer. Making a list means that you can physically mark it off when it is finished, thus giving you small successes throughout the day.

When deciding which tasks should get priority, you can typically classify them as urgent, high, normal, or low priority. It is essential to take the time to define each of these categories so you know what type of task should go in each category.

Once you know that you have tasks that need to be done that day, following a priority list can help you quickly put them in the correct order. Doing this can keep you focused throughout the day, so you can easily accomplish the things that need to be taken care of.

Delegate and Outsource

One of the most important things many people struggle with is time management and figuring out how to fit everything into one workday. In most cases, some tasks have to be put off until the next day.

Many successful people know the value of delegating responsibilities and outsourcing services. Both of these are time savers that allow them to focus their attention on other, more important things.

When you are bogged down with responsibilities, you must learn to delegate some of them to those who work with you or for you. Successful people typically know the strengths and weaknesses of the people they work with to delegate the right tasks to the right people.

When you hire an agency to provide a service, you save yourself much more time than you can spend on other areas. Outsourcing is a way to delegate responsibilities to outside sources that can handle them without disrupting your workflow. These types of companies provide services from email management to freelance writing.

When it comes to saving time within your day to focus on the areas that are higher priority, it can be helpful to think outside the box. Delegating and outsourcing are things that successful people do to create more time within their day.

Get Started Today

Overall, successful people typically have several things in common that help them achieve the goals they make for themselves.

These habits are designed to set them up for success and create ways to go through their day focused on what is essential.

If you want to become more successful, reach more goals, and increase your results consider embracing the seven behaviors discussed above.

P.S. Want more help defining what your vision of success is? Grab my Happy New You! It’s a Brand New Year! PDF and get started today. This isn’t just a workbook; it’s your personal guide to success! Dive into thought-provoking exercises that will help you envision your ideal year and chart the course for a triumphant future. Uncover the changes needed for your breakthrough and masterfully cultivate the habits that align with your aspirations. Download your free workbook and let the journey to your happiest, most successful self begin!

If you want more secrets to building a successful career brand, you can:

Listen to the Culture Secrets Podcast on your favorite platform.

Grab your copy of the book Culture Secrets.

Join Successfully Ever After  an online course designed to help you create a personal brand designed with career success in mind within 30 days.

Booking now for speaking and training events.

Join my private Successfully Ever After Facebook Group for trainings and information designed for success-seekers.

Check out my audio books: Get Noticed, Get Hired or When In Doubt, Delete It!

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