What is success? It depends on who you ask — but if you dig a little deeper, you can find common characteristics that add up to a life of fulfillment and productivity. A growth mindset, good relationships, grit, and resilience are a few key components of success. A big factor is the example and influence of other people in your life; mentors, coworkers, friends, family, and acquaintances. Here are several ways to cultivate success by learning from others.
Be Curious
It’s essential to be a good listener. The author Dale Carnegie said it well: “You can make more friends in two months by becoming interested in other people than you can in two years by trying to get other people interested in you.” Not only does friendship grow from being a good listener, so does learning. Whether it’s hearing about the best way to navigate the onboarding process at a new job, to a friend’s experience, every conversation brings the opportunity to gain helpful information if you’re willing to make space and ask good questions.
Be Approachable
With widespread reliance on electronic gadgets, it can be easy to appear distracted or unapproachable. That’s an obstacle to coming into contact with people and situations you can learn from. Get some feedback from someone you trust; when you’re out in public, do you seem appropriately self-contained yet approachable? If you’re not, it’s a straightforward issue to address: check your posture (keep it open rather than closed), open up your field of vision, wear a pleasant expression, and make eye contact when the time is right. All of these things will set up an environment for learning from others.
Be Teachable
No, you don’t know it all — and that’s a good thing! Being teachable is one of the main foundations of self-development; it’s impossible to learn from others if you’re not willing to be open to new information, learn new habits, and act on new knowledge. Additionally, being teachable usually corresponds with an attitude of attentiveness and respect; both hallmarks of a success mindset. Being teachable is an acquired skill — don’t be concerned if it doesn’t come naturally to you at first.
Be Knowable
Having good interpersonal boundaries is important. It’s just as important that you develop and maintain life-giving relationships that energize and challenge you, where you can give and receive constructive feedback. In order to do that, you’ll need to self-disclose. If you have trusted friends, colleagues, and family who you can confide in, let them know some of the vulnerable aspects of your thoughts and feelings. When you’re getting to know new people, start small at first — allow relationships to develop slowly and organically. Allowing yourself to be known opens the door to positive influence and success.
Observe
Some of the most powerful lessons are caught, not taught. If you’re a keen observer of people, situations, and relationships, you’ll gain a great deal of knowledge that you can apply to your own life. If you have some type of journal or notebook, jot down important features of what you observe. Study the habits of people you admire. When you’re online or watching TV, pay attention to attitudes, actions, cause, and effect. When trying new hobbies or getting healthy, pay attention to those who are more experienced. Many say Thrive experience helped them to focus and work harder to become the best mentally and physically.
Emulate
Now is the time to start putting your newfound knowledge into action. Make some decisions about which attitudes, habits, and actions you admire fit your life and personality. Do a bit of experimentation, gradually adding new ways of doing things. If the desired results start to come and you feel authentic and invigorated, you’re likely on the right track. Nothing has to be engraved in stone yet — you might need to adjust for a period of time to see what works.
Communicate
Keep an effective feedback loop going between you and other people as you make your changes for success. It might be by attending a networking event, corresponding by email, or having some kind of accountability system in place. While it’s tempting to go incognito for a while as you renew your life and work, it’s crucial to at least keep a few significant relationships active so you can brainstorm, calibrate, and bounce off ideas.
Demonstrate
Remember how you’ve employed your powers of receptiveness, curiosity, observation, and application? Consider how someone else might learn from you. As you teach others by demonstrating, you’ll not only share hope but also reinforce your own constructive habits for success.
Learning from other people is one of the most powerful ways to create success. Try these steps to ignite your process.