HOW TO BECOME A SUCCESS

How to become a success * business success secrets * the road to fame and fortune * the difference between winners and losers * advice about how to succeed

It takes most people years to become an overnight success and road to fame and fortune is beset with obstacles that right person can use as stepping stones. However, for most, becoming a success story is the thin line between winners and losers; the missing quality, the last extra effort that they fail to make and giving in at the very moment they should be redoubling their efforts. I can provide plenty of advice on how to succeed, but most will fall on stony ground because there are too many people looking for the easy option rather than accepting that success comes at a mental price.

Start of article about the secret of success.

Previous page about what makes someone successful.

As explained earlier, there is no magical formula to success that can be discovered. There is not a single gold nugget that will somehow turn you into a success or switch the light on and make you suddenly understand what you have been doing wrong. Success has to be earned the hard way; brilliant idea or not, you are the only person who has the power to make you a success or failure.

If you are one of those people who seriously thinks that there are genuine get rich schemes out there that provide an easy way to make money, be warned, no one except a lottery winner or recipient of a large inheritance ever got rich without hard work. So unless you are feeling extremely lucky, or are related to Bill Gates; don't hold your breath.

On the previous page we talked about the qualities you need as a person and these are the other characteristics you must have in abundance.

INTUITIVE: Successful business people are able to spot business opportunities before anyone else or come up with good business ideas of their own. They recognise business opportunities created by changing market conditions, see how to make money out of market trends and recruit the right people to work with them. However, as someone once said. "Genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration and just having a good idea does not make a good business.

MULTI TASKING: Most entrepreneurs are multi-taskers. They will almost certainly be working on one project whilst planning two or three others. This enables them to plan well ahead but all will be surrounded by business partners who will be clearing up the mess, turning the ideas into profitable projects and managing the day to day business.

ORGANISED: Most entrepreneurs will have an untidy desk and rarely waste time filing anything. However, they will have highly organised minds that allow them to multi-task, be able to lay their hands on anything they need, know how a project is progressing and roll figures off their tongue like a computer. It is a useful mental agility that can cause problems at times.

PERSISTANT: When things go wrong, you can't afford to give up. You have to first understand why it went wrong and then you have got to keep trying different ways until you find the most successful formula. Objections have to be overcome, obstacles removed and solutions found to every problem. Failure is never an option.

OPEN MINDED: The most expensive thing anyone can own is a closed mind. Successful people are always open to new ideas, they always give a salesperson the opportunity to make their pitch in case they miss an opportunity or learn something new. They are always prepared to listen to everyone no matter who they are.

ENERGETIC: Health is an essential element in success. You rarely see successful people who are obese. As most successful people work at least twelve hours a day, sometimes more in the early years, energy is paramount. You cannot afford to fall ill due to obesity related illnesses and a good healthy diet is essential.

DRIVE: Successful entrepreneurs are driven by a manic desire to succeed. Nothing is allowed to stand in their way, they accept and give no excuses for failure and will work until the job is done. They will normally achieve more in a morning that most people would consider possible in two days.

COMPETITIVE: Successful people have to win at all costs. This will apply to everything they do in their business and personal lives. It is often more the fear of failure or losing than actually winning.

ASSERTIVE: Strong willed, strong minded, sometimes overbearing and dominant, successful people will use their powers of persuasion and sometimes their strong personality to assert their authority. Never scared of confrontation, they will not duck the important issues or refrain from expressing their opinion, even if they know it is likely to be unpopular.

IMAGINATIVE: Never short of new ideas, always coming up with solutions and working on several projects at the same time, successful people will often sleep with a pen and paper beside their bed to make notes. They will often look at a poor idea and see a way of turning it into a brilliant idea.

CREATIVE: Even the worst disaster can be turned into a money making opportunity by someone who is used to success. They will often see the opportunities that other people miss because opportunities are rarely labelled. Opportunities are often missed because it looks like work and not money.

FLEXIBLE: Successful people are prepared to make mistakes, accept the responsibility for making them and flexible enough to change direction. If someone comes up with a better idea, they will happily take it on board. Sometimes, when necessary they will take their business model and reinvent it to make it more profitable.

ADAPTIVE: When things go wrong as they often do, the successful entrepreneur will be able to change direction, reinvent themselves and adapt to market conditions or even new market places. They do not let the things they cannot do interfere with the things they can do. Failing sampling means another opportunity to try something else.

It is only by the cooperation of business partners working together and utilising each others skills that great businesses are born. There is no such thing as a self made man; we are all just part of a much larger organisation. Your success will always come as a result of other people.

BUSINESS SUCCESS SECRETS