I’ve been reading a book by a Stanford College Professor who has done one of the largest studies into successful people ever undertaken. While there are many attributes that successful people from all walks of life share, there was one common denominator that rated more highly than any other. It is nothing complex, or overly intellectual. In fact, it’s pretty ordinary.
Successful people take action.
That’s it. They take action. They have ideas – they take action. They move forward with their goals, plans and dreams by taking action. In fact this one common denominator is so simple that it is sometimes easy to forget. We tend to be presented with so many options in life. Risks worth taking or not, chances that come and go. Dreams that go unrealised as other priorities take over.
It is important to remember that taking action is a choice. Not always the easiest, but always there, no matter how impossible the circumstances. In business, taking action can be done in a variety of ways. Expanding your networks by taking action and attending industry events; upgrading your technology by taking action on a new tech plan and spend or even increasing your marketing reach by learning more about social media.
Each decision we make and act upon will lead to a result. Sometimes we don’t always get the result we want. But that’s when we take action again. Because the second common denominator amongst successful people is accepting and more importantly, learning from failure. When basketball great Michael Jordon was asked how he became so successful at the game, his response was:
“I’ve missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I’ve been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.”
Failure can often be the result of an action we take. But at the same time, it is a road map – leading us ever closer to an action that will work.
For the last 15 years I have run a business, I have lost count of the amount of times that the actions I have taken for my business have failed. Some of them have been more costly than others – some financially and others emotionally. But each and every time, I have learned something – making me a much better business owner. It has also given me the confidence that taking action is fail safe – succeed or fail, you get a result, and the next step in your journey – which is rewarding.
So remember the golden rules of successful people as you move forward with your business. Take action and embrace failure – it’s part of the road to your own success.
Vanessa’s mission is to positively impact people by increasing their knowledge base and decision making ability around finance and business principles. She is the creator of No More Practice, and founder of the parent company, evolution media group.
