Reblogged: Wall Street Insanity-Renata Musial
1. Strong Sense Of Self-Awareness– Successful people have a strong sense of self-awareness: the capacity for observation and the ability to recognize themselves as an individual separate from their environment and from other individuals. A self-aware person is considerate of their own personal impact on the world and cognizant of their ability to make change in the world. They can identify and appreciate their inabilities and limitations and strive to change them, where possible.

Alternatively, unsuccessful people have a more single-minded view of themselves and their role in the world. They may be extremely confident and want to facilitate change in the world or their own life, but their focus is more self-centered and personally motivated. Their “big picture” vision just isn’t quite big enough.

2. A Desire To Improve Another difference between successful and unsuccessful people is the work of successful people towards improvement: improving themselves, their lifestyle, their community, the world. Unsuccessful people generally are risk-adverse or feel “safer” staying in the same place. They are most comfortable doing what they know best, whether or not it’s actually working for them. Sometimes, this works out just fine and, in their own eyes, they are quite successful.

Whether they seek to grow personally, or in their careers, successful people take action to make positive changes. For some, it may mean simply keeping in shape or eating healthy on a daily basis. For others, it’s a religious commitment to marathon training. Some read books to expand their perspective on the world while others research topics extensively in order to write books. Regardless of the level of the attempt to improve and, somewhat surprisingly, regardless of the actual results, this is a major difference between successful and unsuccessful people.

3. Ability To Delay Gratification Successful people also have a higher threshold of patience, an ability to delay their own gratification. Take a law student who spends an entire four-month semester studying for one final exam that determines his entire grade. Or an entrepreneur who starts a business and has to work for two years without a paycheck in order to keep his business afloat. These are not the behaviors of instant-gratification types.

The difference between what makes someone successful versus unsuccessful is difficult to truly pinpoint. Not only is the identification itself often subjective, but it can sometimes be based on totally uncontrollable factors, the “I was in the right place at the right time” situation. But, more often than not, successful people exhibit characteristics that propel them towards their goals and ultimately success. And if you don’t naturally possess these traits, all is not lost. Just get practicing.