Here are the 7 things that can make you wildly successful

Here are the 7 things that can make you wildly successfulHere are the 7 things that can make you wildly successfulIt might sound fluffy but research showshow people feel about themselveshas a huge effect on success.ViaThe 100 Simple Secrets of Successful PeopleFor fruchtwein people studied, the first step toward improving their job performance had bedrngnishing to do with the job itself but instead with improving how they felt about themselves. In fact, for eight in ten people, self-image matters more in how they rate their job performance than does their actual job performance. Gribble 2000Follow Ladders on FlipboardFollow Ladders magazines on Flipboard covering Happiness, Productivity, Job Satisfaction, Neuroscience, and moreWhat frequentlyproduces creative ideas? Its not clever tricks - its being genuinely interested in your work.ViaThe 100 Simple Secrets of Successful PeopleExperiments offering money in exchange for creative solutions to problems find that monetary rewards are u nrelated to the capacityof people to offer original ideas. Instead, creativity is most frequently the product of genuine interest in the problem and a belief that creativity will be personally appreciated by superiors. Cooper, Clasen, Silva-Jalonen, and Butler 1999We all know the stereotype of the successful workaholic who neglects everything but their job.Truth is, studies showpeople with career momentum are 53% more likely to have healthy habits.ViaThe 100 Simple Secrets of Successful PeopleComparing middle management employees, researchers have found that those whose careers continue to have momentum are 53 percent more likely to engage in healthy life habits than those whose careers are stalled. Roberts and Friend 1998A feeling of controlis what producesgritand makes people persist.ViaThe 100 Simple Secrets of Successful PeopleResearch comparing students of similar ability finds that the distinguishing feature between those who maintain a strong work ethic in their studies and those who give up is a sense of control. Those who express a sense of control receive scores that are a full letter grade higher than those who do not. Mendoza 1999(Learn how to be more confidenthere.)Quality, Not QuantityIn surveys, people say hard work is the best predictor of success.Theyre wrong.Its one of the least significant factors.Hard work is overrated.ViaThe 100 Simple Secrets of Successful PeopleEffort is the single most overrated trait in producing success. People rank it as the best predictor of success when in reality it is one of the least significant factors. Effort, by itself, is a terrible predictor of outcomes because inefficient effort is a tremendous source of discouragement, leaving people to conclude that they can never succeed since even expending maximum effort has not produced results. Scherneck 1998Research shows number of hours does not predict success at work or at home.Success correlates with thequalityof those hours.ViaThe 100 Simple Secrets of Succ essful PeopleThe quantity of hours spent working or thinking about work, or hours spent with our families, does not predict achievement or life satisfaction. Instead, the quality of those hours- how stressful or relaxing they are- is a much more potent factor in producing asatisfying family life and career. Brown 1999Beingconscientious- detail oriented and showing follow-through - produces five times the results of intelligence.ViaThe 100 Simple Secrets of Successful PeopleIn a study of recent business school graduates, employee conscientiousness was five times more likely to predict supervisor satisfaction than was employee intelligence. Fallon, Avis, Kudisch, Gornet, and Frost 2000Were in an era where multitasking seems essential and an employee must be a flexible jack of all trades.Butthe most successful people feel they are an expert at something.ViaThe 100 Simple Secrets of Successful PeopleSixty-eight percent of people who consider themselves successful saythat there is at least one area of their job in which they are an expert. Austin 2000(Learn how to be an experthere.)Make Plans And GoalsSometimes it seems so much is getting thrown your way that all you can do is try to keep up.Butsuccessful people pause, reflect, and think about long-term improvementevery day.ViaThe 100 Simple Secrets of Successful PeopleSuccessful people spend at least fifteen minutes every day thinking about what they are doing and can do to improve their lives. Sigmund 1999Achievement is rarely random. Great generals dont shrug and say We got lucky.Nearly every executive interviewed for a study saw plans and strategy as responsible for their success.ViaThe 100 Simple Secrets of Successful PeopleCase study research on business executives reveals that 98 percent see their position as the result of plans and strategy and that more than half credit their use of a successful person as an example to help define that plan. Gordon 1998I want lots of money doesnt cut it.Havingconcre tegoals was correlated with huge increases in confidence and feeling in control.ViaThe 100 Simple Secrets of Successful PeoplePeople who construct their goals in concrete terms are 50 percent more likely to feel confident they will attain their goals and 32 percent more likely to feel in control of their lives. Howatt 1999(Learn about the most effective type of goalshere.)Focus On The Small WinsStop thinking that slaying dragons is all that matters.70% of long-serving corporate leaders focus on the average events - not the best or worst.The typical is much more common than extremes, so knowing how to handle that pays off almost every day.ViaThe 100 Simple Secrets of Successful PeopleLong-term studies of corporate leaders find that seven in ten of those who survive longest in their jobs downplay both the best and worst outcomes they experience and keep their feelings relatively steady. They have what psychologists call a focus on an acceptable average, not on the extraordinary, whi ch is useful because almost every day turns out to be more average than extraordinary. Ingram 1998A consistent amount of minor success producesmuch more happinessthan occasionally bagging an elephant.ViaThe 100 Simple Secrets of Successful PeopleLife satisfaction is 22 percent more likely for those with a steady stream of minor accomplishments than those who express interest only in major accomplishments. Orlick 1998You want a steady amount of challenge, achievement and feedback(Learn more about happinesshere.)Know What Motivates YouMotivationpredicts career success better than intelligence, ability, or salary.ViaThe 100 Simple Secrets of Successful PeopleWhen tested in national surveys against such seemingly crucial factors as intelligence, ability, and salary, level of motivation proves to be a more significant component in predicting career success. While level of motivation is highly correlated with success, importantly, the source of motivation varies greatly among individual s and is unrelated to success. Bashaw and Grant 1994But what motivates people can vary widely.What reward gets you going? Do you want to be richer? Do you like helping people? Do you want praise?Dont speculate.Think about specific times when you were very motivated and what caused it.Research shows that reward is responsible for three-quarters of why you do things, so align rewards and goals appropriately.ViaThe 100 Simple Secrets of Successful PeopleResearchers find that perceived self-interest, the rewards one believes are at stake, is the most significant factor in predicting dedication and satisfaction toward work. It accounts for about 75 percent of personal motivation toward accomplishment. Dickinson 1999Take the time to reflect on how far youve come and the good work youve done.It boosts your motivation.Thats not indulgent or fluffy - persistent people spend twice as long thinking about their accomplishments.ViaThe 100 Simple Secrets of Successful PeopleComparing people who tend to give up easily with people who tend to carry on, even through difficult challenges, researchers find that persistent people spend twice as much time thinking, not about what has to be done, but about what they have already accomplished, the fact that the task is doable, and that they are capable of it. Sparrow 1998Heres Dan Pink, author ofDrive The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us, the single best book on motivation (click for video).Choose The Right WorkplacePeopleandenvironmentaffect you dramatically - andbad habitscan spread like a virus.ViaThe 100 Simple Secrets of Successful PeoplePsychologists have observed that bad habits can spread through an office like a contagious disease. Employees tend to mirror the bad behaviors of their co-workers, with factors as diverse as low morale, poor working habits, and theft from the employer all rising based on the negative behavior of peers. Greene 1999You want to learn and grow - but you want to be learning the right t hings and growing in the right way.Having a diverse platzset of co-workers can make you much more productive.ViaThe 100 Simple Secrets of Successful PeopleTeams in the workplace composed of people with differing personalities are 14 percent more productive than teams composed of more compatible individuals. Fisher, Macrosson, and Wong 1998We all knowmentors and role models are valuable.What most people dont know is that these aspirational figures must fit with your career goals.Role models who arent relevant or whose achievements are unattainable can make you 22% less satisfied with your career.ViaThe 100 Simple Secrets of Successful PeoplePeople who actively target someone to serve as a role model draw positive feelings from that person only if the role models achievements are both relevant and attainable. People who choose role models who do not fit that description wind up 22 percent less satisfied with their careers than people who do not have a role model at all. Lockwood and Kunda 2000(Learn how to use context to your advantagehere.)Learn People SkillsYou cannot go it alone. Abig networkandbeing likedpay huge dividends.80% of CEOs feel that people skills are not only essential at work but also make them happy at home.ViaThe 100 Simple Secrets of Successful PeopleEight in ten ceos report that a healthy family life is crucial to a productive business life and that the same key skill- interpersonal engagement, the capacity to express concern and interest in those around them- is crucial to both home and work. Henderson 1999Being defensive not only makes you disliked, it also makes it hard to learn anything.ViaThe 100 Simple Secrets of Successful PeopleDefensiveness is negatively correlated with learning on the job. People with highly defensive personality traits speak more times in meetings, are more likely to interrupt a speaker, and are one-fourth slower in adapting to new tasks. Haugen and Lund 1999(How do you learn people skills? Starthere.)Sum upSe ven things that will make you more successfulFirst, Build A Better YouQuality, Not QuantityMake Plans And GoalsFocus On The Small WinsKnow What Motivates YouChoose The Right WorkplaceLearn People SkillsWhats the easiest way to get started? Gohere.Join over 330,000 readers.Get a free weekly update via emailhere.Thisarticlefirst appeared onBarking Up The Wrong Tree.You might also enjoyNew neuroscience reveals 4 rituals that will make you happyStrangers know your social class in the first seven words you say, study finds10 lessons from Benjamin Franklins daily schedule that will double your productivityThe worst mistakes you can make in an interview, according to 12 CEOs10 habits of mentally strong people