The Top 7 Success Traits of High Achievers
While people define success in many different ways, and they’ve achieved success in many different ways, there are some character traits that most of them share.
These top 7 traits came from a program I took taught by Sean Croxton, host of the Quote of the Day podcast.
These are not qualities that a person has to be born with in order to succeed. Each one of these traits can be learned and adopted at any age.
Success Trait #1: High Achievers take Personal Responsibility
People who are high achievers believe that they control their own actions, reactions, thoughts, feelings, beliefs and decisions; therefore they are responsible for their results.
They understand that they're accountable for their behavior and choices.
They don’t make excuses or blame anyone or anything else for what happens in their lives.
This doesn't mean that they believe everything that happens to them is their fault, but they understand that they can always control how they react to anything that happens.
See also: Teaching Personal Responsibility
Success Trait #2: High Achievers are Problem Solvers
People who are high achievers have a firm belief that any problem can be solved, and there is often more than one solution. They focus more on the solutions than the problem.
Furthermore, they know they can not only solve a problem, they can probably make a business out of it if enough other people are looking for the solution.
Success Trait #3: High Achievers are Self Confident
Self confidence is a feeling of trust in your own skills, knowledge and abilities. High achievers trust they can get the most out of their strengths.
Self confident people have a positive view of themselves. They have positive self talk, they understand their strengths and they don't mind asking for help with their weaknesses.
They don’t second guess themselves or wait for the perfect time or perfect conditions. They make a decision and take action. They expect a favorable outcome and don't spend much time worrying about an undesirable outcome.
Success Trait #4: High Achievers are Risk Takers
High achievers aren’t afraid to make mistakes. They know the best way to get to a successful outcome is to fail quickly, learn from the failure, and do better the next time.
They are able to analyze the risks and rewards to make a decision, and they act quickly but not impulsively.
Success Trait #5: High Achievers are Visionaries
The most successful people have a clear vision in their mind of what they want to achieve. Their desired outcome is crystal clear, almost as if they have a GPS in their mind.
They are optimistic about the future and they are able to see a better tomorrow. They have a knack for looking at what is but seeing what could be.
Success Trait #6: High Achievers are Purpose Driven
High achievers are driven by a purpose higher than financial reward.
They have a deeper purpose, such as helping many people or solving a very big problem.
Money is great, but it isn’t their main reason for pursuing success.
Success Trait #7: High Achievers are Intuitive
High Achievers trust themselves enough to follow their gut, even when nobody else believes in them.
People might tell them that their plans will fail or that nobody else does things the way they are doing things. Deep inside they know when something feels right and they aren’t afraid to follow that feeling.
Conclusion
These are not the only success traits of high achievers, and not every highly successful person has all 7 of the traits listed above. However, these 7 traits are shared by many extremely successful people in the world. This list is a great place to start when you’re teaching your children how to be a high achieving adult.
