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5 Special Ingredients That Successful People Are Made of

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We know what a successful person looks like. But how did they achieve success?  You’ve heard the old adage that perseverance, some luck, and follow your deepest passion are the keys to success. The problem with that adage, it’s vague and broad. It’s like saying, “I want to be healthy”. What does being healthy specifically entail?  Do you want to live longer, become lean, or do you want to stop eating junk food?

Success is vague and broad because there are many ways to be successful. The good news is success has underlying principles. Knowing these principles will help you understand what others did to succeed and why they do it.

Here are 5 special ingredients that successful people are made of:

1. They don’t see themselves as successful

Once they hit their goal, they quickly move on to the next goal. Always trying to exceed what they’ve accomplished. This is how passion is created. The more you achieve, the hungrier you get. The hungrier you get, the more passionate you are. It is a perpetual cycle.

A surefire way to fall short of being extraordinary is to think success as an end goal. People who did extraordinary things are always striving for improvement. They are always striving to get better. And they are always striving until they fail their way to success. There’s no secret. Success is a journey, not a destination.

“Focus on the journey, not the destination. Joy is found not in finishing an activity but in doing it.” – Greg Anderson

2. They are small winners

In order to be a big winner, you have to be a small winner. Being a small winner means focusing on small daily achievements. Success is something that is built laying brick after brick. When you compound those small achievements one-percent a day, sooner or later you will find yourself with a well-built wall.

When you are confronted with an obstacle, remember all you need is to lay one brick to win. Because it’s not passion, not willpower, nor any motivational articles that will push you through the tough times.  What pushes people is the slight taste of success. Because small progress towards a goal is the most powerful motivator.

 

3. Successful people know when to quit

One of the most successful athletes that knew when to quit was Michael Jordan. Michael Jordan’s first love was baseball. His father dreamed of seeing Jordan play Major League Baseball. However, Jordan did not follow his childhood passion. He put aside his pursuit to be a baseball professional, and used his strengths to become one of the greatest basketball players.

If you want to succeed you need to know your strengths and weaknesses.  Peter Drucker, the father of management, said one should waste as little effort as possible on improving areas of low competence.  It takes far more energy and work to improve from incompetence to mediocrity than it takes to improve from first-rate performance to excellence. Two things that will propel you to success is to quit improving your incompetencies and start focusing on what you can be the best at.

 

4. They are executioners

The driving force of success is execution. A mediocre plan that is executed today is better than a perfect plan executed next month.  We know what it takes to lose that belly fat, but we don’t execute it.  We procrastinate our goals and push them off to later until we have more time, money, or when we are in a better situation. They may be all good reasons, but good reasons are still excuses dressed up nicely.

Success rewards those who have a bias towards action. And to take action, you may need some courage. Everything that is worth doing always lies outside the comfort zone.

“Brilliant thinking is rare, but courage is in even shorter supply than genius.” – Peter Thiel

5. They are not as disciplined as you think they are

A common myth is you have to be highly disciplined to achieve success.  Most successful people are not highly disciplined. Arnold Schwarzenegger doesn’t need discipline to go to the gym. He made exercising a routine. And his conscious decision to create a routine created his habit to workout.

Success is not an accumulation of conscious decisions. It’s an accumulation of automatic behaviors. It is created one habit at a time. When you make the shift from a conscious behavior into an automatic behavior, that is when you will see your life change. Because when you form a habit, your habit forms you.

What other elements do you think successful people are made of? Leave your thoughts below!

Dominic Chargualaf is an up and coming disruptive force in the self-improvement sphere. As an airline pilot and military officer, he loves to teach others to make better decisions. He is currently having a giveaway for a chance to win a FREE Kindle before his blog launch. Check it out now!

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Success Advice

Why One-Size-Fits-All Leadership Will Always Fail (and What Works Instead)

The surprising truth about leadership styles that can make or break your team’s success.

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Why one-size-fits-all leadership doesn’t work
Image Credit: Midjourney

Leadership has always been as much about people as it is about performance. Ken Blanchard, in his influential book, “The One Minute Manager”, put it simply: different strokes for different folks. (more…)

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Success Advice

What Every New CEO Must Do in Their First 100 Days (or Risk Failure)

Your first 100 days as CEO could define your entire legacy, here’s how to make every move count

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leadership tips for new CEO
Image Credit: Midjourney

When Tim Cook took over from Steve Jobs at Apple, the world watched with bated breath. Jobs wasn’t just a CEO; he was a visionary, an icon, and a legend of innovative leadership. (more…)

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Entrepreneurs

The Leadership Shift Every Company Needs in 2025

Struggling to keep your team engaged? Here’s how leaders can turn frustrated employees into loyal advocates.

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Bridging the gap between employees and employers
Image Credit: Midjourney

In workplaces around the world, there’s a growing gap between employers and employees and between superiors and their teams. It’s a common refrain: “People don’t leave companies, they leave bad bosses.”

While there are, of course, cases where management could do better, this isn’t just a “bad boss” problem. The relationship between leaders and employees is complex. Instead of assigning blame, we should explore practical solutions to build stronger, healthier workplaces where everyone thrives.

Why This Gap Exists

Every workplace needs someone to guide, supervise, and provide feedback. That’s essential for productivity and performance. But because there are usually far more employees than managers, dissatisfaction, fair or not, spreads quickly.

What if, instead of focusing on blame, we focused on building trust, empathy, and communication? This is where modern leadership and human-centered management can make a difference.

Tools and Techniques to Bridge the Gap

Here are proven strategies leaders and employees can use to foster stronger relationships and create a workplace where people actually want to stay.

1. Practice Mutual Empathy

Both managers and employees need to recognize they are ultimately on the same team. Leaders have to balance people and performance, and often face intense pressure to hit targets. Employees who understand this reality are more likely to cooperate and problem-solve collaboratively.

2. Maintain Professional Boundaries

Superiors should separate personal issues from professional decision-making. Consistency, fairness, and integrity build trust, and trust is the foundation of a motivated team.

3. Follow the Golden Rule

Treat people how you would like to be treated. This simple principle encourages compassion and respect, two qualities every effective leader must demonstrate.

4. Avoid Micromanagement

Micromanaging stifles creativity and damages morale. Great leaders see themselves as partners, not just bosses, and treat their teams as collaborators working toward a shared goal.

5. Empower Employees to Grow

Empowerment means giving employees responsibility that matches their capacity, and then trusting them to deliver. Encourage them to take calculated risks, learn from mistakes, and problem-solve independently. If something goes wrong, turn it into a learning opportunity, not a reprimand.

6. Communicate in All Directions

Communication shouldn’t just be top-down. Invite feedback, create open channels for suggestions, and genuinely listen to what your people have to say. Healthy upward communication closes gaps before they become conflicts.

7. Overcome Insecurities

Many leaders secretly fear being outshone by younger, more tech-savvy employees. Instead of resisting, embrace the chance to learn from them. Humility earns respect and helps the team innovate faster.

8. Invest in Coaching and Mentorship

True leaders grow other leaders. Provide mentorship, career guidance, and stretch opportunities so employees can develop new skills. Leadership is learned through experience, but guided experience is even more powerful.

9. Eliminate Favoritism

Avoid cliques and office politics. Decisions should be based on facts and fairness, not gossip. Objective, transparent decision-making builds credibility.

10. Recognize Efforts Promptly

Recognition often matters more than rewards. Publicly appreciate employees’ contributions and do so consistently and fairly. A timely “thank you” can be more motivating than a quarterly bonus.

11. Conduct Thoughtful Exit Interviews

When employees leave, treat it as an opportunity to learn. Keep interviews confidential and use the insights to improve management practices and culture.

12. Provide Leadership Development

Train managers to lead, not just supervise. Leadership development programs help shift mindsets from “command and control” to “coach and empower.” This transformation has a direct impact on morale and retention.

13. Adopt Soft Leadership Principles

Today’s workforce, largely millennials and Gen Z, value collaboration over hierarchy. Soft leadership focuses on partnership, mutual respect, and shared purpose, rather than rigid top-down control.

The Bigger Picture: HR’s Role

Mercer’s global research highlights five key priorities for organizations:

  • Build diverse talent pipelines

  • Embrace flexible work models

  • Design compelling career paths

  • Simplify HR processes

  • Redefine the value HR brings

The challenge? Employers and employees often view these priorities differently. Bridging that perception gap is just as important as bridging the relational gap between leaders and staff.

Treat Employees Like Associates, Not Just Staff

When you treat employees like partners, they bring their best selves to work. HR leaders must develop strategies to keep talent engaged, empowered, and prepared for the future.

Organizational success starts with people, always. Build the relationship with your team first, and the results will follow.

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Entrepreneurs

What Makes an Entrepreneurial Leader? Traits of the World’s Best Innovators

Inside the mindset of entrepreneurial leaders who transform risk, passion, and vision into world-changing results.

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entrepreneurial leadership skills and traits
Image Credit: Midjourney

When you think of Richard Branson (Virgin Group), Bill Gates (Microsoft), Steve Jobs (Apple), Rupert Murdoch (News Corporation), and Ted Turner (CNN), one thing becomes clear: they are not just entrepreneurs, they are entrepreneurial leaders. (more…)

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