Many successful people have the same or similar life positions and philosophy. Besides they also have the same habits. Jeff Haden is the author of more than 30 successful business books and also popular articles such as “10 Things Bosses Never Tell Employees”, “7 Things Employees Never Say to Their Bosses (But Should)”, “5 Questions Great Job Candidates Ask” and many others. He made a list of useful habits of successful people, which he knows personally. Our resume service publishes this list for you in this post on successful people habits. Also remember that success can not be achieved without professional help. Ask for the help of resume professional writers and it will be the first step to your personal success.

1. No plan B

Plan B help to sleep calmly at night. So when the difficult times come, plan B will help you to quit everything without much damage (and success).

But when you do not have the options of the safe quitting or giving up, you will work more and harder, longer, till the very end. If you are not sure about your safety, you will use all your powers not to fall down. And you will be surprised of how much power you really have.

If the worst thing happens (but this “the worst” is not that terrible as it might seem), you will always find the strength to return to work. If you do not give up and learn from mistakes, you will achieve what you want.

2. Work

If you try a little bit, you are able to succeed. If you try some more, you can succeed even more. However, it is impossible to become the best, if you do not invest in your activity enormous, nonsensical number of hours, attention and effort.

Look at any person who is good at his sphere. And it will turn out that he has spent thousands of hours of his life to get what he has now. It works only in such a way.

There is no short way to success. You can not become super successful in one night only. Everyone, for sure, has heard about the “principle of ten thousand hours”, but very few people are ready to follow it… So stop wasting your time. Clock is ticking.

If you have not hear about the “principle of ten thousand hours”, now the professional resume writers online of our resume writing website will explain you what its essence is.

The rule of 10 000 hours

To achieve success and become an expert in a certain sphere, it is necessary to spend on it 10 000 hours. A curious theory about why geniuses are not born, they are made was published in the book “Genius and outsiders” by the journalist and sociologist Malcolm Gladwell. Basing on the works of psychologist Anders Eriksson, he studied the stories of success of many legendary personalities and companies, and as a result the “Rule of 10 000 hours” appeared.

Here is an extract from the book: “Whatever field we are talking about, to achieve the skill level that can be compared with the status of a world-class expert it requires 10 000 hours of practice. In the researches, the subjects of which are composers, basketball players, writers, skaters, pianists, chess players, inveterate criminals and so on, this number is met with surprising regularity. 10 000 hours are equivalent to approximately 3 hours practice per day, or 20 hours per week for 10 years. Of course, it does not explain why some people benefit more from the practice than others. However, there was no case yet when the highest level of skillfulness was achieved in shorter time. It seems that this is the period of time that our brain needs to learn all the necessary information”.

As an example he writes about Mozart, “The Beatles”, Bill Gates, Bobby Fischer and others. The first concert that is considered a great one Mozart wrote on his own (without his father’s help) at the age of 21. By the time Mozart had been writing the music for 10 years already.

To become a grandmaster it is also required approximately 10 years. Only the legendary Bobby Fischer came to this honorary title a little bit faster: he needed 9 years.

Bill Gates according to estimates spent about 10 000 hours on the computer programming, and only after that he managed to make a significant breakthrough.

“The Beatles” arrived to the United States in February 1964, having initiated the “British invasion” to the music scene of America and having released a series of hits, which changed the sounding of popular music. Since the date of foundation of the group to recording of such famous albums as “Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band” and “The White Album” ten years passed.

In such a way Malcolm Gladwell claims that the success key factor is not only the innate talent or high IQ of a person, but also persistent occupation with favorite business for a long time. Surrounding also plays significant role. Neither great scientists, nor famous musicians or professional athletes are able to achieve success on their own or having no money at all.

However, there is an important clarification: you should spend time not on the learning of activity, but on the practical side of the activity. And there is more, only persistence training and exercise with more complicated tasks give results. Otherwise you risk to stick at one level.

So 10 000 hours or 5 years of full working day – this is a magical number of a great skillfulness. You may believe it or not, or you may check this rule on your own experience.

3. … and work more

All successful entrepreneurs work much more than ordinary people. They have a long list of the things they want to do. They invest their time in their business. What is wondering, they want to invest their time. Your load will seem unbearable to others. If you are not ready to take it, it means that you are not very success oriented, or the goal is not that big and important. Anyway, this is not a way to success.

4. Avoid crowd

If you do like others do, you will get the same result as others have. Following the crowd, whatever fashionable and cool it is, is a pledge of mediocrity. Really successful people do what other people do not want to do or are afraid to do. They are engaged in such fields, in which there is no competition and there are more chances to succeed.

5. Start with the end

A modest person is a result of modest goals. Decide what you need without amendments and compromises: to become the best, the fastest, the most expensive, the biggest – it does not matter what exactly you want to be. Strive to the best. Decide what you want to reach eventually. This is your aim.

Now move from the end till the beginning paving the way to the goal, step by step. When it comes to the goals, never begin with a small one. Set a big goal and you will come to better decisions. Also you will be able to do more if you set bigger goals.

6. … and do not stop

For successful people the goal achievement is not a limit. Reaching one big goal is a reason to set another goal, even bigger than the previous one. For example, you want to establish a company worth hundred million of dollars. When you fulfill it, you can use your capital and contact to establish charitable foundation. Having reached success in business and charity, on this basis you can become a leader of minds, speak publically, write books and so on.

Achieving outstanding results in something, you parallel develop skills that will make you successful in other spheres. Successful people do not stop at the first victory. They continue their way and achieve more and more.

7. Sell

Most entrepreneurs and general directors say that the skill that influenced the success of their career the most is ability to sell. Remember that sale is not cheating, not manipulation or pressure. This is the ability to explain the logic and benefits of a solution. Know how to sell means know how to attract people to cooperate. Sale is a constant overcoming of the difficulties.

Sales are at the heart of personal and business success. This is also an ability to negotiate and work with refusals, and maintain self-confidence and faith in yourself. Sales imply constant communication with absolutely different people. This is the formation of long-term relations.

Those, who believe in themselves, in their idea and their company, manage to sell without selling. For this purpose you do not need to have big ego any other outstanding feature of the character. All you need is to communicate.

8. Do not be proud

Do not be afraid and do not be ashamed to admit mistakes. Apologize if you are wrong. Dream about something bigger. Recognize those whom you owe your success to. Laugh at yourself. Ask for help. Stand the failure. And never ever give up!

We hope this post on habits of successful people was really useful for you. Follow the tips given by professional, be persistent and patient, and very soon you will see the results of your work.