Qualities And Characteristics You Need For Success - And How To Acquire Them

Success

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Success is a wonderful word that we all want to be associated with in one way or another. When you hear the word, you immediately visualize good things. It can put you in a better mood instantly, just by the power of imagination. 

But who’s to say what success actually is? How is it measured? Sure, a lot of people picture a successful person as someone with too much money and all of the thriving business in the world. If that’s how you solely picture success, then good for you – you have high standards, and you’ll probably push yourself to reach them. Not everyone will reach the pinnacle, however, because it’s a place that’s reserved only for a select few. 

Success is defined as the accomplishment of an aim or purpose, and that’s how most of us view it, too. Whether it’s perceived as something small or big, it’s that feeling of achievement. In order for anyone to find success in anything, they need to have something about them. Nothing ever falls comfortably on our laps (well, perhaps they do for some people). 

Whether you’re tackling something that nobody has ever managed to tackle before, whether you’re trying to reach a personal milestone, or whether you’re trying to overcome a personal hurdle, you’ll need to have certain qualities. You don’t have to be Mr or Mrs Perfect and be flawless at every task you face, but it helps to have the skills to accompany your mission.

If you’re interested, let’s go through a bunch of different skills, traits and characteristics that are possessed by successful people.      

Organization 

In order to reach a good level in terms of your work or your overall standard of doing things, you need to have a degree of organization about you. Nobody ever got very far by stumbling along and hoping for the best. Being organized means having everything together – and that means everything. From your general plans and schedule to the bits and pieces that are assembled on your desk. People that manage to get lots done often have a working plan ahead of them. Hopping from task to task on a whim might sound like an easier idea, but it’ll only get you so far.  

Perpetual Motivation 

Motivation is something we all need just to function on a daily basis. Without it, we’d all just be sat around wondering what the point is. If you want to reach your goal and reap the rewards, you’ll need to be mentally switched on at all times. The way we get up in the morning is all based on how motivated we are to get the jobs done. 

When you’re struggling for motivation, it can be quite hard to pull it out of seemingly nowhere. You can, however, train your mind and get the motivation you need. You can watch videos, listen to podcasts and read up on the stories behind successful people. The law of attraction is also a popular method of getting what you want and being driven to do so.   

Bravery

We’re not talking about immense levels of fearlessness in terms of risking your life, instead, having the courage to commit to something. When you first set out to do something, you’re free to drop out at any time and continue on with whatever tame plans you had before. Heading in a new direction or pushing yourself to do something higher-octane takes some boldness. This doesn’t always have to be regarding something that could be detrimental or that stresses you out massively, though. There’s a fine line between bravery and stupidity!

A Sociable Personality

When you’re a person that people can bounce off of comfortable, you’re going to be in with a bigger chance of getting what you want in life. That’s just a fact. Popular and well-liked figures often get more out of life than reclusive types. As a more bubbly and sociable person, you’ll get to know more and more people. Thus, more opportunities can be found, and more networking can be done. Furthermore, when you’re good with people, you’ll develop a good reputation amongst them, and they’ll be more inclined to include you in things. 

Constant communication will mean you are subconsciously practicing. You won’t notice it as it’s happening, but your brain will constantly be taking in words, phrases, behaviours and mannerisms. These learned aspects of communication could turn you into an impeccable leader someday as leadership is more than just being the face of a group. Being a leader requires many skills, and being able to talk with everyone properly is a big one.  

A Constant Willingness To Learn

It’s very easy to slow down your pursuit of knowledge when you feel like you’ve reached certain levels. It’s understandable because you’ve gotten to the position you’ve needed. The learning was a necessary piece of the puzzle on this particular journey. If you want to constantly improve and build on any success you’ve already found, then you should always remain a keen student. It doesn’t matter whether you’re an expert in a particular field; you’ll never know it all. You could spearhead a big firm, like Mark Zuckerberg, Cynthia Telles, Jeff Bezos, and many others – it doesn’t give you the right to stop studying. Approach everything and everyone with the attitude of an amateur – you’ll be benefited hugely.  

Honesty 

This is split into two ideas: being honest with yourself and being honest with others. If you can’t look at yourself and honestly evaluate where you are, then you might not make progress that you want. Often, when people either lie to themselves or continue wishing the truth was something else, they operate around something that doesn’t exist and any issues they had become exacerbated.

Being open and honest with others is the second point here. Say you’re a boss and you have people working under you. When you need to have a chat with them, do you want to get the best results for both yourself and them? Sure, you do. The way you do that is by being completely sincere and frank. When you lie to people, regardless of the situation, it always comes back to bite you in the backside. Even if the truth is sore, you have to speak it. 

Self-Belief 

While it’s not totally necessary to have it in droves, it’s quite important that you believe in your own ability to do things. Some are born with loads of it, so they don’t need to worry about backing themselves. For those who are a little short of confidence, however, it can be worked on. Constantly studying, getting qualifications, experience – these will all boost your self-belief in a lot of subjects. 

Patience

Good things come to those who wait is how the old adage goes. And when you want something good, it’s going to take a while to reach you. Sure, some lucky souls hit the bigtime overnight, but those are one in a million instances. You need to have patience because, without it, you could give up way too soon.

You may feel as though you’re wasting your time when you’re just around the corner from something special. Patience is also a wonderful trait possessed by leaders in terms of teaching, passing down advice and working together with contacts. 

A Positive Mental Attitude

Finally, and this is often smirked at by many, but people at the height of success view life with a glass half full kind of attitude. There’s always a brighter side to any outcome. There’s always an opportunity to capitalize on. If you’re moping around with a negative mindset all of the time, you’re going to get nowhere fast.

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WHY YOUR CREATIVE VENTURE NEEDS A BUSINESS PLAN TO LAUNCH AND THRIVE

Did you create a business plan for your creative venture? If so, how long did you take you? What does it entail? If not, don't fret! You still have time to create one before the new year is here!

Your business plan doesn't need to be a formal 75-page document, but rather a one-pager that outlines how your business operates and plans for future growth.

If you're like most creative entrepreneurs, putting together a business plan can seem overwhelming and (even unnecessary in some cases). However, if you want to have a successful business this new year, then you need to have a plan of action.  

Be sure to ask yourself these questions before writing your next business or marketing plan! 

To help make the task less tedious, I'm going to show you how to create a simple yet complete business plan that you can create in an hour or less.

First, let's look at what business plan is and why you need one.  

A business plan is an overview of your business and generally, contains the following sections (each of these sections can be summed up in a paragraph or less). And you primarily need one because it serves as a roadmap for your business's future.

Business Overview and Value Proposition

Describe your business in one sentence. What makes your business different from all of your competitors? Remember, your business doesn't have to be completely innovative to be different, but it does need to be unique in some way.

Problem and Solution

What problem does your business solve or what gap does it fill? Why is there a need for your business? Explain the problem and solution in a paragraph or less.

Products and/or Services

What products or services does your business offer? What is the price range? How will your products/services be different from all of the competition? 

Target Markets

Who is your core customer? Include age, gender, occupation, household income, location, hobbies, and lifestyle (and whatever else is necessary to define your core customer).

Marketing Activities

How will you market your business? Will you use digital advertising, influencer marketing, public relations, social media marketing, SEO, blogging, guest blogging, podcasts, etc? 

Sales Distribution

How will you sell your products? What channels do you plan to use? Will you sell online or in retail? 

Management

Who is the boss? What are this person's qualifications? Who are the rest of the managers?

Financial Projections

How much money do you need to start your business? What will your salary be? What are the operating expenses?

Did you create a business plan for your creative venture? How long did it take? Share your comments in the section below.

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