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3 Things Successful People Don’t Think About

October 13, 2024

Why is it important to consider what successful people don’t care about?

In my opinion, it is important for two key reasons:

  • First, it is a window into the psychology of success.

What that means is, your knowing what successful people don’t care about brings to your awareness the lifestyle approach that is responsible for their success. So that by applying them, you too can taste the fruit of success in your personal life as well as in business.

  • Second, these approaches to life can be helpful signs to diagnose your bearing as regards success in life and business.

That is, they give you a clue as to whether you are tending towards success or gravitating towards failure and doom. So you can course-correct your way accordingly.

Isn’t that enough reason to look into the psychology of success?

I guess it is.

If you’re set, let’s consider them one after the other:

1. They don’t care about the status of anyone they can learn from.

Successful people learn from just anyone who is more knowledgeable or more successful than they are.

They know that there is no shame but gain in learning a valuable skill or insight that can improve an area of their life or advance their business, irrespective of the status of the person offering it.

“Every person that you meet knows something you don’t; learn from them.” H. Jackson Browne, Jr.

Carol from Florida shares an experience on the profitability in having such a humble approach to life:

“I remember sitting in a meeting and listening to others share and I felt like a child in a candy store because I couldn’t believe all the different ways of looking at any given situation, word, or life experience of all those wonderful people in that room.

The best part…..was when I walked out that door and took with me what I could use in my life for a better me. I smiled all the way home….”

One of the major downfall of a lot of people – both in leadership and in the corporate world – is the despiteful ” what does he or she know to teach me?” attitude. They feel too big to learn from someone who occupies a lower position on the corporate ladder.

That despiteful attitude cost them not to learn the skill, lesson, or insight that would have advanced their career. In the end, they lose out.

Successful leaders and executives have different perspectives. They know they don’t and can’t see the whole picture. Therefore, they give an audience to anyone who has something to share that could compensate for their blind spots.

The lesson:

Whoever is too big to learn is too big to succeed. So learn. So you can succeed.

2. They don’t care about failing at a new skill before gaining mastery of it

Successful people don’t see failure the way most of us see it.

They see failure as a journey that leads to success. Rather than as a destination. For that reason, they don’t mind having a handful of failed attempts on their way to learning a valuable life skill or mastering a business strategy.

On the contrary, unsuccessful people give up trying their hands on a new skill or strategy with just the mere perception that they may likely fail in the first few attempts.

The mere possibility of failure has them pull into their shell and just maintain the status quo. They care so much about looking good in the eyes of others more than they are resolute to transform their lives for the better. For that reason, they are stuck and their life experiences are average and uninteresting day in day out.

My very close friend would have been a better writer by now. Even when we live under the same roof.

My two years of experience writing on Medium would have given him a good head start and an edge.

But he didn’t even start. I opened an account for him. To date, he hasn’t written a single paragraph.

Do you know why?

He can’t just bear to see his article suck. He rather not write than see his article sucks.

What an attitude to life that is?!

Here is a simple truth:

Success is not for those who are too ashamed to fail. Neither is it for those who are too careful to fail.

Success is for those who see failure as a necessary experience on the journey to success.

Beginning today, see failure the way successful people do: As a necessary experience in the journey to success. It will set your mind free to explore and experiment with life. And when you do, you will meet with success in common hours. Trust me.

The lesson:

Success is within the reach of anyone who doesn’t mind failing. So stop taking failure personally. That mindset is key to achieving success in your personal life and in the corporate world.

3. They don’t mind spending a few dollars to gain a skill or knowledge that can advance their life and career

This is the one I have struggled with for years.

For years, I couldn’t just imagine myself spending a few dollars to buy a course. For that reason, it took me years to learn otherwise simple skills and lessons that would have propelled me beyond my current level of expertise and skills.

Recently I bought a piano course at Udemy. A few weeks into it, my piano skills improved significantly. Yesterday, I pinched myself for taking so long before buying the course.

The next item on my bucket list is to enroll in a writing course after my professional exams.

I have learned my lessons

Successful people don’t think like my old self. They don’t mind investing a few dollars to acquire a skill that can earn them 10× that amount in a few years’ time. As long as they figure out they need the skill, they go for it even if they have to pay for it.

Most unsuccessful people think like my previous self. They are all for freebies. They want it free and still expect to get the best value from it. The problem with that mindset is that they pay for the experience or skill with their most valuable resource, time, rather than with money.

But successful people would rather that their money works for them than their time. For that reason, they speedily advance in their career. And enjoy the benefits that those who are not willing to spend a few bucks will probably taste in years’ time.

The lesson

Nothing of value is free. If it requires you to spend a few dollars to acquire a valuable skill that can advance your career and improve your life experience, go for it. It is a worthy investment with a huge ROI in a matter of time.

Learn from successful people.

See life the way they see it. Adopt their approach to learning; how they see failure and how they make their money work for them, i.e. investing. Soon you too will become successful.

Cheers!

https://idegberejoshua26.medium.com/3-things-successful-people-dont-care-about-96d72dc4ac53