Lessons You Can Learn From Successful People
Some people make everything look easy. In the same way that Eric Clapton makes playing a guitar look absolutely effortless, we all know business professionals who seem to glide through life like a hot knife through butter. What's different about how they think and work that we can apply to our own lives? Recently, the Harvard Business Review pondered this very question, and came up with 9 ways that successful people reach their goals through their actions and activities. Here are some of the most interesting observations:
Set specific goals. Successful people set very specific goals, which makes it easier to know what success looks like and to recognize when they're not achieving it. In the same way that "lose 5 pounds" is better than "lose weight," set very clear, actionable and measurable objectives in all of your planning.
Take every opportunity to act on goals. This is critical, because we are so busy and randomized, that we waste many opportunities every day to see projects through, even in small stages. Successful people find ways to fill small chunks of time with incremental steps toward their goals.
Measure your progress. At any point, you should know what you've accomplished and how far you have to go to complete a project. Successful people measure their progress regularly -- at least weekly, perhaps more frequently.
Focus on improvement, not perfection. Successful people recognize that their skills and personalities are malleable, so they focus on acquiring skills they need along the way. That means "getting better" at something is a reasonable goal -- there's no need to strive for being good at it.
Focus on what you will do, not what you won't do. It's difficult to change behaviors by concentrating on eliminating a bad habit. Better: Spend your energy on the new behavior you want to acquire instead.
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