What do successful people do to accelerate their success?
As a Life/Accountability coach, I've spent a lot of time studying the behaviours and habits of the world's most successful people. A lot of people think there's a secret trick to success, but let me tell you this: success is a science, pure and simple.
When you look at the successful people you admire – whether it's Steve Jobs or Oprah Winfrey – they all have one thing in common. They've all gone the extra mile, and done more than what was expected of them, in order to succeed.
If you want to accelerate your own success, in any area of your life, that's all you have to do too: exceed expectations. Think about the areas in your life where you've hit a bit of a wall, or feel stuck in a rut. What's the little extra you could do to go for a 'wow'?
Let's take one of my personal heroes as an example: Oprah Winfrey. She's come from a childhood of poverty, abuse and adversity, to become the richest black woman in America. Oprah now has an estimated net work of $3 billion – yet as a child she wore clothes made out of potato sacks, suffered sexual and physical abuse, and became a mother at just 14-years-old.
So what happened? You guessed it, she learned to exceed expectations. After her baby was born prematurely, and later died, Oprah went to live with her dad, who she credits with providing a direction for her life.
“My father turned my life around by insisting that I be more than I was, and by believing I could be more. His love of learning showed me the way” - Oprah Winfrey
"My father turned my life around by insisting that I be more than I was, and by believing I could be more. His love of learning showed me the way," she said in an interview with Good Housekeeping.
According to reports, Oprah's father expected her to learn five new words every single day, and she quickly became a star student at school. She joined the church choir, became head of the school council, took part in the drama club, and won a public speaking contest at the age of 16. The previous year, while performing in Los Angeles with her choir, Oprah had seen the Hollywood Walk of Fame and vowed to one day have her own star on that coveted walkway. Well, look at her now!
Throughout her career, Oprah always went the extra mile – working part-time jobs throughout school and college, and taking part in speaking contests and beauty pageants, which she invariably won. During her second year of college she became the first African-American woman to be news anchor on CBS's Nashville television.
It wasn't by accident that Oprah went on to become a household name, with nearly 50 million Americans tuning into The Oprah Winfrey Show. No, Oprah built herself a reputation for being exceptional, and she traded on her ability to always exceed the expectations that were laid down for her. Simply being "good enough" was never good enough; there was always more to do, more to achieve.
We won't all become megastars like Oprah, but we can learn plenty from her about how to multiply our success. First, figure out where the line of expectation is for you. Have you been coasting along at work, doing the bare minimum that's expected of you in order to get by? Once you know what's expected, you can work out how to exceed those expectations – even when it comes to the small, seemingly insignificant stuff.
Look at your daily routines and habits. What are the areas of your life where you could do the unexpected – or, at the very least, do better than expected? Make a habit of constantly looking out for those multiplier opportunities in all aspects of your life. Where can you go a little further, push yourself a little harder, last a little longer, prepare a little better, and deliver a little bit more?
When you repeatedly demonstrate your ability to perform better than expected, that excellence becomes a big part of your reputation. Bosses and clients rely on you, friends strive to be more like you, and you'll find yourself much more in demand. Like Oprah's, your reputation for being exceptional will multiply your results in the marketplace many times over.
There's no magic formula for becoming successful. You will determine your own success in life through the actions you take to go above and beyond what's expected of you. It's up to you to figure out how.
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