The Top 6 SUCCESS Insights

I recently participated in a Webinar hosted by Darren Hardy, the publisher of Success Magazine (it’s a great publication, check it out if you’re not already receiving it). It was entitled… “Darren Hardy’s Insights into SUPER Success”. What he promised was the conclusions he had drawn from “six years of homework on what creates success”.

WOW… did he ever deliver!

Darren shared the results of dozens of interviews with some amazing high achievers. People like…Jack Welch, Donald Trump, Richard Branson, Howard Schultz, Bill Gates, Charles Schwab, Dr. Oz, Barbara Corcoran, Steve Jobs, Michael Jordan, Warren Buffett, Tony Robbins, etc. The list went on and on. Initially, the information he shared seemed a bit overwhelming. Like all good presenters, Darren distilled everything down to some very specific highlights. Here they are…

If I want to get on the cover of SUCCESS, or enjoy the same super success of those who have, I need to…:

• Think big
• Learn from others
• Work hard
• Focus
• Value failure
• Always be growing

Mastering the Big 6

Seems like a pretty simple list, doesn’t it? When you look at it, anyone of us could probably have made up that list. As the late business philosopher, Jim Rohn, once said, “Knowledge without labor is wasted”. The secret is not in knowing the 6 items, the secret is in doing them well. Here’s some valuable insights on doing just that:

1. Think Big – how big are your goals? How big are the items on your dream board? Do you even have one? It’s no longer a big secret to know that you have to have goals, you have to be aware of them every day, and you have to strive for them aggressively. What those amazing mentors told Darren Hardy is that you have to stretch your mind beyond your wildest dreams and shoot for the stars! Recognize that even your wildest dreams are possible. Think Big and then support these exciting ideas with short-term goals and action steps that will ensure that you get there… one step at a time.
2. Learn from Others – in order to be super successful it’s probably safe to say that you need to have a big ego. The big ego is what tells you, “I deserve this – I deserve to be wildly successful”. Having a big ego does not prevent you from asking others for their help – find out what they did/are doing to get to where you want to go. Who are your mentors? Who are you drawing on? What are you reading/listening to every day? Those that “don’t need any more sales skills” or “I’ve already heard all that stuff before” will never achieve great heights. Have a plan. Get a Coach; get some tough accountability. Find someone who has already done what you want to do. Interview successful people in your community, go to Seminars, be on Webinars, fill up your mind with what is possible and how to do it.
3. Work Hard – as a matter of fact, the people interviewed on the Webinar I attended did not say work hard… they said “you not only have to work hard, you have to work like crazy!”. It doesn’t mean you forget about having any balance in your life. The key is to recognize the difference between working hard/effectively and just “being busy”. Super Success comes from major sacrifice. Stop spending time with activities and people that are time wasters – start being super committed and become a “vicious guard dog on the door of your time”. Get a system in place to make that happen.
4. Focus – is all about concentrating on only one thing for specific periods of time. The one underlying characteristic that stood out for all of the people highlighted in the Super Success Webinar was their ability to Focus. It came out over and over that the idea of “multitasking” just does not exist in their lives. They would tell you, “If you’re supposed to prospect for the next two hours then that’s all you should be doing – nothing else. If you are on an appointment (or even at lunch with someone) you should not be answering or even looking at your cell phone.” Intense focus is a learned skill. Don’t kid yourself into thinking that you are being productive by doing several things at once. Sometimes this is just an excuse for not doing the very thing you should be doing… and are avoiding.
5. Value Failure – no one ever got to the top without making a lot of mistakes along the way. Thomas Edison made that very clear when he explained how 10,000 experiments that didn’t work got him to invent the light bulb that did work. The highly successful people in our society got there by following Vince Lombardi’s marvelous quote, “It’s not whether you get up after falling down, it’s how fast you get up”. In the business of sales, most Salespeople avoid asking for referrals because they are avoiding rejection… they are avoiding the failure that will ultimately help them succeed. Which side of that fence are you on? Are you avoiding failure or are you welcoming it, learning from it, growing from it? Playing safe is the opposite of valuing failure.
6. Always Be Growing – there is always room for growth. It’s very reassuring to know that all those amazing people that Darren Hardy has interviewed are adamant about the need to consistently be growing. The Japanese concept of “constant and never-ending growth” comes to mind. The only way to make this happen is to put it in your schedule. Three simple ideas for you… 1. Get up half an hour early, five days a week and read inspirational material, 2. While in the car during your work day never have the radio on – always be listening to something/somebody inspirational, and lastly…3. Turn off the television 30 minutes early and read more great material before you go to bed. You decide – am I capable of more?…or am I just going to stay the same as I was yesterday?

So now you know the answer to the question… “What Does It Really Take?”.