Success is a matter of luck – or at least years of hard work, right? If you believe this, then you probably haven’t heard of the success formula. It says that success can be cultivated. With a few simple tricks, you can set the course for your own professional progress. Sounds too good to be true? Then be on your guard…
Step 1: The right attitude
The first lesson sounds banal, but it’s the most important: Pay attention to your attitude. Successful executives are ambitious and do not doubt themselves. They have self-confidence and cannot be confused by failures or mistakes. Nor do they burden others with these. On the contrary, failures and mistakes are regarded as necessary experiences in order to develop personally and professionally.
Develop your success by not taking mistakes personally. Instead, think about:
- How else should I have handled the situation?
- How can I avoid such mistakes in the future?
Step 2: Set measurable goals
Top executives set crystal clear and measurable goals. They pursue this purposefully, without being distracted. Executives divide extremely ambitious goals into partial and intermediate goals that are easier to achieve. Because they know what they’re looking for, successful leaders are also decisive.
How to develop your success: Write down in detail:
- What success means to you
- What you want to achieve in the short and long-term
- Why you want to achieve these goals
Then set clear goals. Define the measures with which you want to achieve these goals. Focus only on actions that bring you closer to these goals.
Step 3: Develop your charisma
A person with charisma enters a room and everything else around them becomes invisible, according to fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld. Successful executives radiate sovereignty, professionalism and know-how with their appearance.
Develop success: Improve charisma in three steps:
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Build your self-confidence by getting to know your strengths. Find out:
- What you can do especially well
- Where your greatest talents and strengths lie
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Train your communication skills by learning to:
- Express yourself in the clearest and most correct ways
- Ask the right questions at the right time
- Listen to others and let them speak
- Improve your body language by:
- Standing with your feet hip-width apart
- Keeping your head straight
- Smiling
Step 4: Strengthen willpower
Important success factors are the motivation and the willpower to turn decisions into actions.
Find out what drives you with the following questions:
- What did you enjoy during your childhood?
- What activities give you a lot of satisfaction today?
- Which topics are you particularly interested in?
- How do you see your life?
Then strengthen your willpower by choosing to focus on:
- Clear goals
- The essentials
- Your life values
Step 5: Build mental strength
Mental strength (resilience) refers to the resilience of an executive to adverse circumstances. A study by the Bertelsmann Foundation points to a connection between professional success and mental strength.
Mentally strong executives can activate their mental strengths in difficult situations and master a challenge.
How to build your mental strength:
- Remember situations in which you have already demonstrated mental strength
- Prepare for the challenge ahead
- Keep reminding yourself that you can do it
- Concretely imagine how you will successfully master the task
Take advantage of the success formula: Always keep your goals in mind and work consistently on the implementation – as a result, success will arrive on its own.