What common traits and childhood experiences are shared by top achievers? How did they acquire the skill and drive that has taken them to the top as adults?
The story is familiar: no matter what the field, you’ll hear about childhood lessons, hard work, overcoming obstacles and the drive to succeed. But don’t take my word for it. Why not do some interviews of your own?
Talk to some of the high-achievers in your own life…. and please don’t get hung up on defining success. Use your own definition. Think of people you consider successful.
You might decide want to use a blend of people from your own community mixed with famous people whose stories you can research online. One of the first things I think you’ll notice is the amount of time they put into honing their skills.
No matter what the focus, success requires an investment of time.
My guess is that you’ll discover many of the same things that I did in my interviews: that early in life they learned to work hard and to get up one more time than they were knocked down. You’ll probably see goal-setting, discipline and a positive attitude as well.
Sometimes when I’m conducting a workshop and suggest this exercise, parents ask why I assume that these successful people will talk to them. Experience has shown (me anyway!) that the busiest, most successful people are incredibly generous with their time and their expertise. Time and again they’ve told me that it takes a village…. that they did not achieve their success without help and that all of them mentors simply asked them to pay it forward.
What better way than by sharing with someone who is respectful of their time and really wants to know?
