What attributes makes up the most successful person you know?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The people.I know who achieved the highest levels of professional. Rungs on the ladder are for the most part genuinely awful people. Kiss asses and suck ups and sellouts who either have bad values or none at all. Willing to do Anything to get ahead. Sad but true.

Agree. I can walk into an office (consultant) and within a day know who will get promoted and who won't. This is just be observing body language, how the person speaks, and how they carry themselves in general. Has nothing to do with intelligence.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The people.I know who achieved the highest levels of professional. Rungs on the ladder are for the most part genuinely awful people. Kiss asses and suck ups and sellouts who either have bad values or none at all. Willing to do Anything to get ahead. Sad but true.

Agree. I can walk into an office (consultant) and within a day know who will get promoted and who won't. This is just be observing body language, how the person speaks, and how they carry themselves in general. Has nothing to do with intelligence.

And then you are gone...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Upbringing plays a major role in this

On the surface, I do not agree with this statement, but would be interested in reading an expanded version of your thought.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My husband is just a genuinely hard-worker, and loyal. He’s only had a few bosses but they all (still) love him, let him have free reign because they trust him, and offer him tons of promotions. It’s kind of funny what little it takes to stand out in today’s workforce.

This rings true. All you need sometimes is to be better than everyone else (which is often not a high bar), be personable, and be seen as delivering results valued by management.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Upbringing plays a major role in this

On the surface, I do not agree with this statement, but would be interested in reading an expanded version of your thought.

I'd interpret this to mean that parental values, passed down, have an impact. If you parents have high expectations for a child, are supportive, and demonstrate/articulate value and characteristics which support success, it's natural that those may well influence the child. if the parents are absent, drunks or addicts, profligate, have no ambition themselves, don't demonstrate responsible behavior, etc, that's going to be passed down. Poor examples can be overcome, but make for an uphill struggle.

[Anonymous]

Most successful person I know personally is a partner at a big 4, but I’ve met a few of his bigger clients. Most senior was probably the VP of finance for a very well known global company. They all have certain things in common: Very smart. Very personable/excellent at cultivating deep and meaningful relationships. Excellent public speakers. Don’t take things personally and have an excellent growth mindset. Very down to earth and can connect with all sorts of people. And most of them have well-managed ADHD.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The people.I know who achieved the highest levels of professional. Rungs on the ladder are for the most part genuinely awful people. Kiss asses and suck ups and sellouts who either have bad values or none at all. Willing to do Anything to get ahead. Sad but true.

Agree. I can walk into an office (consultant) and within a day know who will get promoted and who won't. This is just be observing body language, how the person speaks, and how they carry themselves in general. Has nothing to do with intelligence.

And then you are gone...

That's why I consult. I find very few clients where I would want to work.

[Anonymous]

Honestly me. I am a college drop out. But I launched and own my own successful company, carry my own health insurance plan, got my husband a job at my old company, pay some of my mom's bills, have more than enough money and live in a nice house. I also made really good adult women friends as an adult.

I have been struggling with wondering what constitutes true success, and whether I am basing my self worth on my career.

I am also pretty good looking, and I place a lot of self worth on that, too. This is an interesting topic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Honestly me. I am a college drop out. But I launched and own my own successful company, carry my own health insurance plan, got my husband a job at my old company, pay some of my mom's bills, have more than enough money and live in a nice house. I also made really good adult women friends as an adult.

I have been struggling with wondering what constitutes true success, and whether I am basing my self worth on my career.

I am also pretty good looking, and I place a lot of self worth on that, too. This is an interesting topic.

I’d like to echo some of this about myself. I’ve done really well for myself in business and I’m a woman and I support the people around me financially and emotionally. I also look pretty solid for 40 which I don’t know if that’s the biggest priority for me? But I do care, and it does seem to be working. Mostly, I become proud of myself when I see pictures of myself. I look really happy. I think I have a good energy.

[Anonymous]

Congrats PPs. That's awesome. Someone earlier in the thread mentioned that people don't take responsibility for the outcomes they experience. I think they are talking about failures, but I also think that not enough people take responsibility for their wins. Its natural to get excited and proud when you get a win, and winning creates momentum. Too many people quietly celebrate wins to themselves, to the point that others may not even notice what they're achieving.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My husband is just a genuinely hard-worker, and loyal. He’s only had a few bosses but they all (still) love him, let him have free reign because they trust him, and offer him tons of promotions. It’s kind of funny what little it takes to stand out in today’s workforce.

Nah. There’s something more you are not telling us. It is simply not enough. Most hard workers I know get docked - people don’t like to be out worked. If he’s a manager than maybe a little better with the hard work. He’s got to offer something else in a modern workplace - look the part of a leader (tall, preferably white, educated but not too much to threaten peers). Family connections in his shop - some kind of hidden power over others to allow him to be a ‘hard worker’ without threatening his peers. My read is this is a trust fund baby who works hard for self esteem. Seen a lot of those - since they don’t care about money sometimes this can conversely be rewarded. But then he is bringing something else - access to networks his company longs for. No, hard work is not enough. Sorry.

My BIL is like this. A trust fund kid with a really good heart but he has inherited his fathers work ethic. He is fantastic at work and makes 250k at 31.

[Anonymous]

Not comparing themselves to others.

Ever.

[Anonymous]

Depends what you consider success.

[Anonymous]

An old friend of mine is extremely successful - she started her own law firm and it has grown so she has two offices. She is also starting other businesses as well. She has a ton of confidence to the point that it borders on narcissism. She constantly promotes herself and talks about her success whenever I see her. I mean its great she is so successful but it can be hard being her friend in that all she talks about is herself.

[Anonymous]

The most successful few people I know are:

1. Very intelligent
2. Have enough people skills to lead people. Not the highest EQ I've seen, but good enough.
3. Take calculated risks, like starting companies.
4. They're pretty coolheaded and don't overthink stuff. They just keep moving forward.
5. They're creative in their fields.
6. They're hard workers, but don't burn themselves out.
7. They all have the support of strong marriages.
8. They do the right thing in business and in their personal relationships - there's no cheating. I used to run the day-to-day of one of the businesses they started and would know if anything was amiss.

These are the top 3-4 most successful people I know.