Passion
If you want to reach your goals, it helps to care a lot about what you’re doing. Passion can be energizing, and it can help push you through the more difficult moments. But passion can’t be faked. You have to truly feel that what you’re doing is necessary and/or deeply meaningful.
Optimism
The biggest successes often start out as fantastical goals. In some cases, those goals have seemed so out there (such as landing a man on the moon) that others have called them impossible. Without a sense of optimism and a belief in themselves, those who have achieved the most might have achieved nothing.
Persistence
Every successful person has experienced failure—multiple times, and in multiple ways. What separates them from the rest isn’t that they fail less; it’s that they persist more. When faced with a setback—even a large one—those who succeed don’t let it stop them from continuing forward.
Creativity
From the arts to the sciences, those who have a capacity to think originally have a greater chance of success. When faced with an obstacle to your goal, don’t just go through a checklist of ways to solve the problem. Try thinking of the problem—and its possible solutions—in a way few, if any, ever have.
Self-Discipline
Everyone procrastinates. And everyone has a vice or two, however minor. But those who are continually successful never let distractions overtake them. Instead, they have the discipline to force themselves to keep at it, even when they feel the urge to do something less important.
A Desire to Improve
Successful people don’t consider themselves to be perfect. Even if they have great confidence in their abilities, they still work to improve, identifying where they have weaknesses and doing what they need to do to strengthen themselves.
A Commitment to Learning
One thing you’ll note if you talk to a highly successful person is they often have an amazingly detailed knowledge of their field. And many have an incredible knowledge of other fields as well. That’s because a good portion of success is understanding the ins and outs of what you’re trying to do, and the world at large.
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