How to be successful at everything

Highly successful people do some fairly simple things to help them remain productive and unforgettable in their organisation and industry.

There’s no simple answer to becoming successful, but there are a few traits which successful people follow.

Have a read and ask yourself whether you’re really doing all these things to help move your own success along:

Ditch the small talk

The most successful people understand small talk means little, but great storytelling speaks volumes.

According to Fast Company, learning how to tell a great story – starting with your interview – is the best way to stick in people’s minds.

Get up early. Like, really early

We’ve touched on this before, but there’s a reason for it. Almost every successful CEO of a major corporation gets up about two hours before you probably do. (Read: 5 tips to becoming a morning person)

Imagine going to bed and NOT watching movies until after midnight, so that you could get up 4am to make the most of your day?

Be a leader, not a dictator

In other words, don’t be this guy from Office Space:

Or this guy, from Horrible Bosses:

Don’t be too proud.

Never be too proud to apologise. To admit mistakes. To want success. To laugh at yourself. To owe your success to others.

Seriously successful people are HUMAN. They own up to their mistakes and apologise when things don’t go as expected. We’re all learning on the go. Realising this and owning it makes you that much more relatable to everyone around you.

Take time to breathe

Newsflash: No one is going to berate you for needing to take a break (or, they won’t when they realise how much more successful and productive it makes you.)

Maybe what you need is a holiday, or maybe you simply need to unplug. Give it a try and see what happens.

Be honest, but not too honest

Success is built on mutually trusting relationships with pretty much everyone around you.

Don’t make promises you can’t keep (no matter how small) and don’t talk around things which make you uncomfortable – deal with them head-on.

However, when dealing with your employees, make sure your honesty and feedback comes across as constructive.

Project an image of success, and you will (hopefully) become successful.