Leadership Thought #216 – 12 Keys To A Successful Life
Living a successful life requires an intentional focus.
I’ve been giving a lot of thought lately to how the most successful people I know approach their careers and lives. Few of us achieve sustained and lasting success. Instead, we bounce up and down (sometimes sideways) in search of the elusive goals of career success and personal happiness. In my experience, these two objectives are not mutually exclusive but intertwined and critical to an individual’s sense of self-worth and meaningfulness. Fortunately, I work with some amazing people. Heeding the following twelve lessons could make a big difference in your life (it already has in mine):
- Be yourself, but strive to be the best version of yourself; leverage your strengths and manage your weaknesses effectively.
- No one is ever successful alone; share the credit and create opportunities for contribution and growth for those around you.
- Your success and happiness are directly attributable to the people you spend the most time with. They can broaden or narrow your perspective, motivate or demotivate you, and set positive examples or not – it’s that simple.
- Work-life balance is an illusion; make sure that you spend focused, quality time with your loved ones and close friends.
- Have a passion and spend time cultivating it regularly; by the way, your work can be that passion.
- Act like the work you do matters every day, because it does to someone (hopefully starting with you)
- Once you think you know it all, you are finished. Arrogance is unattractive and makes you vulnerable to the unknown, so find something else to do.
- Active listening is equally, if not more, essential than talking, especially when trying to persuade someone to your point of view.
- In all your business and life dealings, adopt a Win-Win approach to relationships; it will create positive energy and cultivate a lifelong network of supporters and fans. The rewards of this investment will only compound over time.
- Avoid the trap of unnecessary conflict every chance you get; fighting battles not worth fighting is a waste of time and energy.
- The true test of any relationship is when one of the parties is facing adversity; be there for the important people in your life when it truly matters.
- Have things in your life that keep you grounded, whatever that means to you.
Related articles
- Gretchen Rubin: Balanced Life — Cultivate Your Passions. (huffingtonpost.com)
- 10 tips for a better work-life balance (simplybusiness.co.uk)
- What Is The Key To Success – Money, Wealth, Power, Or Freedom? (babarsaeed.wordpress.com)
- Cultivate Your Passions. (psychologytoday.com)
- Quit Dreaming of Success. (xemion.com)
- Keys to Leading a Happy and Fulfilled Life (dumblittleman.com)
- Can Entrepreneurs Master The Work-Life Balance? (forbes.com)
- Getting the work/life balance right (blogs.abc.net.au)
