What Can We Learn from the Greats? Discover Three Traits That Led to Their Success

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3: Three Lessons From The Greats

Over the past year, I've read about fifteen biographies of the most influential people I could find, including Amelia Earhart, Charles Lindbergh, both Theodore and Franklin Roosevelt, Winston Churchill and others. As part of my New Year's review, I took time to think about the factors that made them so successful.

Obviously, the common denominators were not family or wealth. Amelia Earhart grew up poor and her father was an alcoholic. Orville and Wilbur Wright repaired bicycles for a living.

Winston Churchill did not become Prime Minister until he was 65 and spent his middle years in “the wilderness,” rejected and ridiculed. Well into his forties, William Randolph Hearst was viewed as a dangerous “crank,” and yet he became one of the richest and most powerful leaders in America.

So, what made them successful? I came up with at least three powerful traits that seemed to make all the difference.

1. First, they knew exactly what they wanted. Many people have observed that “clarity is power” and these people were clear about what they stood for and what they wanted.

Churchill's views on Hitler never wavered. The Wright brothers were determined to build an airplane. FDR set out to be President while recovering from polio, when many people thought his productive life was over. Henry Ford was determined to develop a V8 engine when his engineers thought it couldn't be done. Earhart new exactly what she wanted to do and planned, plotted and schemed to make her flights happen.

This is why I'm such a strong believer in setting goals!

If you have life-time goals, great! But even if it's merely a specific, measurable goal to increase your income by 20% this year, or to change jobs, or to take a trip to Paris, write it down. Visualize it. Affirm it! Clarity brings power!

2. Second, they were determined. Each of these people had a strong personality. I'm sure their family and friends thought they were stubborn, bull-headed, even obnoxious, but they “stayed the course.” They fought for what they wanted. Churchill endured rejection, was accused of treason and war-mongering, but he knew where he stood, what he believed, and he never flinched.

I loved the stories of the Wright brother's failure. Everyone knows of their ultimate success at Kitty Hawk, but few remember the plans that didn't “fly.” Most people know that it took Thomas Edison 10,000 “failures” to invent the electric light bulb, but few seem to have learned the lesson.

I've worked with too many clients who have ‘tried' to start a business or achieve some other goal, but quit because “it didn't work out.” If it were easy, everyone else would have already done it!

3. They worked very, very hard. We all wish success were easier. That's part of human nature. We love the promise that we can “work less and make more” and when there's a smarter, better way, I always want to help my clients find it! That's the joy of being a coach! But often there are no alternatives to hard, hard work.

Earhart's flights were physically exhausting and at least once she literally wet her pants during a long flight. W. R. Hearst worked all night, and both Teddy and Franklin Roosevelt drove their staffs to exhaustion with their endless working hours. After formal dinners, Churchill routinely went back to work until 2:00 or 3:00 in the morning, (or later!) and one of his rules was to “lay down 200 bricks and write 2000 words a day.” That was an enormous out-put!

To make 2006 your best year ever, my suggestion is that you have very clear goals, that you make up your mind to stay focused no matter how long it takes, and that you agree to work very, very hard. If you are fortunate and success comes quickly, good for you! But more often, success, fame and fortune are the result of long hours, persistent effort and clear goals. Stay the course. Make this the year you turn it around and create the life you truly want.

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4. Quotes of the Week

“Inch by inch, anything's a cinch. Yard by yard, everything is hard.”

-- Unknown

"We have much to do together. Let us do it in wisdom and love and joy. Let us make this the human experience."

-- Gary Zukav

"I couldn't wait for success, so I went ahead without it."

-- Jonathan Winters

"Consult not your fears but your hopes and your dreams. Think not about your frustrations, but about your unfulfilled potential. Concern yourself not with what you tried and failed, but with what it is still possible for you to do."

-- Pope John XXIII

Courtesy

www.philiphumbert.com

Keep up the good smile.

regards,

rajesh

Hi Rajesh,

Nice article. The other day, I was watching the Biography of Richard Branson on the History Channel. It was really amazing what the man did in his life. All of his ventures, right from a publishing house to music to airlines (Virgin Group), were the first time, without having any beforehand knowledge. In the end, the conclusion that one of his employees drew was that "every business has a common sense behind it. What Richard only did was use it."

It's noteworthy that Branson did not have any prior knowledge of something so big and complex as the airlines, and he still decided to go ahead with it despite the "against advice" of his friends, experts, and employees. He launched Virgin Atlantic at a time when British Airways maintained a monopoly, and no other business could beat "the giant." But Branson did, and he did it, not through expertise better than British Airways, but through mere common sense.

So there... we have another factor to add to the list. :D

Regards,

Vinisha.

Hi Vinisha,

Thank you for sharing the story of Virgin Atlantic and the man behind it, Mr. Richard Branson.

I completely agree with you that the list should include the "Fourth Factor" as common sense, which is so "Uncommon" these days. :)

In the story you shared, one thing clearly stands out: "it is not necessary to understand everything in order to use everything. There is always a balance between knowledge and use."

All the greats of the business world never went to college, whether it be Bill Gates, Dhirubhai Ambani, or Henry Ford. However, one thing that sets them apart from others is their ability to use common sense in an uncommon way.

I am a keen student of NLP and I use the techniques learned in my classrooms. In NLP, we have a concept called "belief system," which acts as the barometer of one's life and governs decision-making tendencies. It emphasizes that the power of beliefs can make an individual great in their chosen area of specialization. Even Mahatma Gandhi stated, "if you choose to do something, you acquire the power to do that which is absent when you start to do this." Such is the power of beliefs.

The beauty of having belief systems is that they guide you in life. NLP asserts that each individual must form their own belief system as a guiding force in life's journey.

I have formed my own belief system and would like to share it with you for a fair assessment of the power of beliefs. Remember when you asked me about NLP?

1. There is no success and failure in life; there are only results.
2. The past does not equal the future.
3. God's delays are not God's denials.
4. Everything happens for a reason and a purpose, and that purpose serves us.
5. Whatever happens, take responsibility.
6. It's not necessary to understand everything to do something; there is a balance between knowledge and use.
7. People are my greatest assets.
8. Work is play; make your "vocation" your "vacation."
9. Life demands first, then delivers.
10. Everything that happens for the first time never happened before; therefore, never be afraid of making a new beginning. (Richard Branson applied it)
11. Never reject without applying.
12. Be active and productive.
13. Be among the "few doers" and not "many who think only."
14. You can change your life at any moment by making a new decision.

Hope you find this valuable.

Wishing you a great future.

Regards,
Rajesh

Hi Rajesh,

Thanks for the wishes. I would have rephrased the first belief to "There are no successes or failures, only learnings," but that is my belief :) And I hope you are adventurous and laborious during your "vacations" :)

Recently I dug up a very old Reader's Digest book - Success Stories. There was this story of a guy who was blind since the age of five. His family always encouraged him to move on and never pitied him. They always made him self-reliant. Once he wanted food from the kitchen, his sister said, "You cannot expect anyone to do anything for you. Go get it yourself." And he did. Every time he asked his father, "Will I be able to do it?", the only reply his father ever gave was, "You'll never know until you try." That has become one of "THE" statements in my life.

The guy, even though blind, amazingly went ahead to become a medical student and then took up psychiatry!

Regards, Vinisha. :D

Hi Pallavi,

Reading inspiring stories in the morning really inspires us to do great things throughout the day. Please post some of such stories or anything about what might have inspired you to adopt a belief or make one of your own. 😃

Regards,
Vinisha