Here’s the quick-and-dirty answer: Successful people understand the philosophy behind their simple habits. They know that their habits dictate their behavior, and — when compounded over time — establish the foundation of their character. These habits are so deeply ingrained in who we are that we have to start looking from our outermost layer before beginning our path to success. We have to ask ourselves “why” enough times to get to the foundation of our character: our habits/rituals.
“Success is the progressive realization toward a worthy ideal” — Earl Nightingale
Assessing Our Character
Character is the most outwardly facing of the three but also can be difficult to assess due to the fact that people of all life forms know how to mask their character or mold themselves to fit the environment. But our environment plays a significant role in our character. Our environment might include what to say, what to wear, how to look, what to feel, and so much more. Why hide this and why share that. Without question, we are the product of our environment.
“Everyone wears a mask in society; we pretend to be more sure of ourselves than we are.” — Robert Greene (Laws of Human Nature)
Though it may be advantageous to always have this mask on to hide certain character traits, behaviors, and habits, it is crucial that we take off this mask when assessing our character. We have to be absolutely honest with ourselves in order to peel back and understand ourselves.
The way we begin assessing our character is by evaluating our environment, past experiences, the quality of our decisions, and being mindful of any recurring themes. Poor character is grounded in poor decision-making skills plus a lack of awareness compounded over time. Good character is grounded in proactive thought plus consciousness compounded over time. That’s a pretty easy concept to understand, right? Simple in concept but not in practice. I know it for a fact because I have to do this regularly. I regularly assess my character to see how much I developed in one area of my life and if any other areas of my life are now suffering. Initially, getting this carousel up and running takes a significant amount of effort, but it is very easy to maintain over time. It’s just a matter of having that system in place to check yourself (before you wreck yo’self).
I believe the quickest way to assess your character is by paying attention to your emotions, and in particular, our drive and “motivation”. Regardless of how apathetic, self-reliant, and detached any person can be/become, we are still emotionally driven. Logic only takes place if we can check our emotions and analyze them thoroughly. A question you can ask yourself to be able to assess your character include but are not limited to:
- When I am feeling (de)motivated, what is the source of this emotion? Is it authentic with my behavior and my habits or was it derived from an external influence?
Depending on an individual’s perspective, this feeling of willpower and drive (aka motivation) can only last for a short time-frame before it wears off. Those with a strong awareness of their character understand that the ability to see a task through comes from deep within, and all external influences kindling their motivation is a bonus. It’s cliche but those with strong characters do the work it takes to become successful because they love what they do or they hate it enough to want to get it done as soon as possible. Motivation can assist people with showing up, but showing up is only half of the battle to success. Doing the work consistently, efficiently, and effectively is the only determining factor of success. But it all starts with understanding your character before you can dissect your behaviors.
“You are the average of the 5 people you associate yourself with” — Jim Rohn
How can a person strengthen their character if they suspect it to be weak or weakening? That we will discuss in subsequent sections.
Understanding Our Behavior
This is a tricky situation because, as mentioned, before we can understand our behaviors, we have to be able to objectively assess our character. This will become a recurring theme itself, but it is not a contradictory one. Understanding our behaviors is a deep analysis of why we do what we do and what caused us to do that.
Here’s a scenario:
Bob is a great worker at XYZ Incorporated. You’ve worked with Bob for 10 years, and he at XYZ Incorporated for 10 years your senior. You’ve always known him as very calm but every now and again he would have an outburst with new supervisors and treat the cleaners like they are beneath him all because they missed a speck of dirt on his desk. You brush it off because you know Bob. You know he’s typically very chill and level-headed, you go with him to get drinks every now and then, but besides, that supervisor does keep pestering Bob, right? That would make you annoyed as well, or would it? You go over to calm Bob down but he snaps at you. Nothing new, but yet again, you brush it off. “I’ll give him some space. He’s probably still heated,” you tell yourself but do you really know his character or is he just good at wearing his mask? Are you disregarding the facts because you want to believe the image of Bob that you constructed yourself? These are questions you have to ask yourself.
The problem with this is that you have witnessed his behavior various times over the span of a decade but still do not want to accept that his character is not aligned with what you perceived. You’ve compared how long you’ve worked there with Bob to his tenure and relationship with you.
This is one of those times that doing and saying are of utmost importance for you to be able to assess your character, or his in this case. Bob displays hubris which you see as 20 years of knowledge, therefore he must know what he’s talking about, right? Bob displays…
Creating New Habits
Successful Habits, Behaviors, and Character Traits
This is a question that has kept my interest for as long as I could remember. I’ve only started to research this topic thoroughly for about 6 months and what I’ve learned is staggering.
These are the traits, behaviors, and habits that successful people have. I feel it will be worth my while to define successful people before explaining what makes one successful.
- Successful people think, move, eat, drink, act, love, laugh, etc. alike. They have more in common with each other than “regular” people think. (explain this)
- Successful people never stop learning. They are the exact opposite of this. They are avid-learners. Many begin as autodidacts and then when their carousel gets up to speed, they have people they confide in to learn more about certain subjects. On top of learning, very successful people tend to have an affinity for reading a variety of topics in order to be well-rounded.
For example, professional athletes (like MMA fighters) go to one training partner to learn how to kick, then another to defend, then another to punch, etc.
- Successful people have a routine they custom-built to ensure their success. Any deviation from what they know, they will immediately course-correct without delay.
- Successful people continuously assess their strengths and weaknesses. These of the uber-success know how to position themselves in such a manner that whatever weaknesses they have become strengths due to their amazing ability to delegate those areas of their life effectively and efficiently. But successful people also know how to leverage and capitalize on the few strengths they have grown to master. It’s about maximizing what we’re great at and being transparent and honest about what we aren’t.
- Successful people are generous with information and knowledge. I’ve heard countless times how it’s “lonely at the top” and I believe it to be true because not enough people commit themselves long enough to see success. This is why so many successful people write books giving the exact keys to their success, but I truly believe not enough people read these books, dissect them, and ingest every bit of information that can be extracted from the words of successful people. I find this specific point truly appalling.
- Did I say already that successful people are always curious?
- Successful people are willing to lose it all, to fail, and to go bankrupt all in the name of learning what not to do when pursuing their passions and ambitions. They’d rather learn a lesson than live life in regret.
- Successful people have similar philosophies on life and practice it every single day without fail.
- Successful people are playing the game of longevity and delayed gratification.
- Successful people think, plan, and execute a minimum of 2 to 3-years in advance.
- Successful people know how to think so big, actualize those larger goals with smaller achievements, and then begin taking action immediately once it makes sense to do so. They do not wait “for the right moment” because every moment is fleeting.
It’s easier to ask for forgiveness than permission
- Successful people know how to handle their finances …very well.
- Successful people put a conscious effort toward their health, nutrition, and mental wellness. Remember, they’re betting long.
- Successful people know how to have a good time but know when to be serious for business.
- Successful people are selfless in the grand scheme of life because there is no way to make an impact if the only one benefitting is yourself.
Notice how I did not mention anything material. The reason being is because many do not desire the need/want of materialist things as much as those without. Those without want to look rich, but those that are wealthy just are and can do so because they can literally afford to do so. I believe I’m talking about modesty, humility, and humbleness.
There’s a saying that goes “money cannot buy happiness,” which is true although the quote is not completed in my opinion. This would be my version, “money cannot buy happiness but it can rent it.” I say that to also be transparent that the luxuries afforded with money should not be overlooked. Yes, life is a lot easier to think freely about the next 2–3 years of one’s business and personal life when the stressors of finances and bills are out of the equation completely. It would be unrealistic to not be aware and honest about that.
But in order to get to that stage of life and career, a person must be willing to adopt the philosophies, work ethic, habits, and behaviors of those that have attained success in a similar career.
I want to take a look at business moguls Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, and Warren Buffett. Three of my most closely studied successful people.
Think like Jeff Bezos
- eCom business magnate
- “slow and steady wins the race” mentality = deep understanding -> very precise moves
- probably really good at chess** (I should find out if this is true)
- single-handedly made states bid for his contract because of the job opportunities it would bring
- completely changed how people shop online
Think like Elon Musk
- EVs and autonomous driving business magnate
- rocket scientist (literally)
- hands-on engineer
- constantly living in the future
- extremely curious/fretful of our future
- willing to put everything on the line in order to push humanity forward
Think like Warren Buffett
- non-arguably the best securities investor ever
- extremely generous with his knowledge: releases a book list every year, shares his favorite stocks, has written many books
- understands his strengths and his weaknesses (tech companies) and does not deviate from that at all
