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Old 05-26-2015, 04:53 PM
 
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I am not sure if psychology is the best forum for this topic, so if a moderator feels it fits better in another forum please feel free to move this thread

Which of these three attributes is most critical for achieving overall success in life?
  • working hard
  • kissing butt / networking
  • being patient / making good decisions

This question is not geared to anything specific like career. It encompasses everything from relationships, getting good deals on real estate and other property and building wealth outside of a W-2 job.

When I was a college student I believed it was working hard but now that I am middle aged I find being patient and making good decisions based on thorough research is the most important thing for gaining success in life.
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Old 05-26-2015, 06:16 PM
 
Location: Near Manito
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Rework your second two bullets They are composed of terms or phrases which are not synonymous.
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Old 05-26-2015, 07:47 PM
 
794 posts, read 811,655 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by AtkinsonDan View Post
I am not sure if psychology is the best forum for this topic, so if a moderator feels it fits better in another forum please feel free to move this thread

Which of these three attributes is most critical for achieving overall success in life?
  • working hard
  • kissing butt / networking
  • being patient / making good decisions

This question is not geared to anything specific like career. It encompasses everything from relationships, getting good deals on real estate and other property and building wealth outside of a W-2 job.

When I was a college student I believed it was working hard but now that I am middle aged I find being patient and making good decisions based on thorough research is the most important thing for gaining success in life.
I'd say none of the above. I believe the best attribute to achieve what you mentioned is the ability to see and understand your particular playing field. Most paycheck workers don't/can't.
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Old 05-27-2015, 02:36 AM
 
4,078 posts, read 5,386,828 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by AtkinsonDan View Post
I am not sure if psychology is the best forum for this topic, so if a moderator feels it fits better in another forum please feel free to move this thread

Which of these three attributes is most critical for achieving overall success in life?
  • working hard
  • kissing butt / networking
  • being patient / making good decisions

This question is not geared to anything specific like career. It encompasses everything from relationships, getting good deals on real estate and other property and building wealth outside of a W-2 job.

When I was a college student I believed it was working hard but now that I am middle aged I find being patient and making good decisions based on thorough research is the most important thing for gaining success in life.
Depends on how you define success.

Most truly successful people I know chase their dreams. To them, they aren't really chasing. They are completely and totally immersed and smitten with what they're passionate about. These behaviors tend to correlate with their aligning with their talents.

When someone's really great at what they do, they naturally work hard, because they are invested in their life's calling. Being said that they are already mentally, emotionally, physically, and/or spiritually committed, they naturally meet the right people at the right time with the right connections. Law of least effort.
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Old 05-27-2015, 10:56 AM
 
4,761 posts, read 14,217,429 times
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If asking a question like this DON'T provide a limited set of answers! (The reason many surveys never find the truth.)

Rather leave the question "open" (or say "Other") so people can give answers which you may not be aware of.

For this question the answer is "Good Communication Skills". (Oral and written). That is what all successful people have in common. If you work for these people and they are not pleased, you will hear all about it. If they are pleased, you will hear all about that as well.

These are the people who will give you an address on the phone, then ask you to read it back to be sure it is correct. Of if you give them an address, they will read it back to you to be sure they have the correct address.

At a store check stand, they will count your change back to themselves as they are getting it out of the cash register, then COUNT IT AGAIN as they are handing it back to you.

They make DARN SURE things are correct, that you understand what they have told you, and that they understand what you have told them.

In the world of work, bosses love these people because they get it right the first time - they are considered to be highly competent.

In the personal world, they show up when they say they will - do what they say they will do. Or call and say they can't make it.

Last edited by Billy_J; 05-27-2015 at 11:35 AM..
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Old 05-27-2015, 11:04 AM
 
Location: Middle America
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These seem fairly specific to career success, vs. success in life. Not exactly the same thing.

I would say that a major factor in succeeding in life, including succeeding in one's career, is developing solid interpersonal relational skills, with a subset of that being excellent communication skills. A wealth of valuable secondary skills grow out of those.

Another factor that I find important is solid and realistic enough self-knowledge to correctly identify goals that are appropriate to one's skill set AND interests. A lot of people spend a lot of time pursuing things that don't even fall within the parameters of their skills and interests, and it's hard to be successful spending all one's time trying to fit square pegs into round holes.
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Old 05-27-2015, 11:13 PM
 
Location: Purgatory
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In career success, it is all but your first point.
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Old 05-28-2015, 07:24 AM
 
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unfortunately its almost entirely up to the circumstances you are born to.

hard work, being patient, making good decisions (ext), aren't nearly as important as who and what circumstances your born in to.
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Old 05-31-2015, 12:17 PM
 
Location: moved
13,572 posts, read 9,586,462 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by kat949 View Post
Depends on how you define success....

Most truly successful people I know chase their dreams. ...
Indeed. What is "success"? To some success is making seminal scientific discoveries. To others it's attaining a position of power. To still others it's leaving a legacy, whether as a poet or a philanthropist or a political revolutionary. To still others it's having a happy family, or pursuing their religion.

The shared element amongst all of these is to live purposefully, to intentionally and devotedly pursue one's aims. The great impediment isn't poverty or mental slowness or unhappy accident of birth (barring of course some pathological extremes in all of these), but not really comprehending what it is that one wants.

Most of my activity on this site is in the Relationships forum. There, many a person laments ill luck in dating and romance. Nothing seems to work. Offers are incessantly rejected, initially appealing prospects turn sour, efforts are rebuffed, appointments missed, longstanding agreements abrogated. But I think that the greatest impediment is that we don't really know what we want, or at least, lack the dedication to pursue it. Person X wants to marry. Or does he? Is he willing to compromise on career, relocation and so forth? Maybe the present condition of being single isn't so bad. Maybe there are plenty of unsavory and undesirable attributes associated with putative success.

And so we're unsuccessful in large measure because we're skeptical of the sort of success towards which we're supposedly aiming. I don't mean by this an exhortation to work hard and to maintain focus, though assuredly that helps. What I really mean is figuring out what it is that we want. Speaking personally, I've not really done this, even in the subject regarding which I tell myself matters most. Maybe it doesn't matter most? Maybe success itself doesn't matter too much?

Or maybe we should just act without ANY preconceived expectation of outcome - successful or otherwise?
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Old 06-01-2015, 12:14 PM
 
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Each person has their own definition of success. For some it is financial success; for others it may mean an emotional healthy family-life, etc.

I adhere to Coach John Wooden's definition of success:

"Success is peace of mind which is a direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing you made the effort to become the best you are capable of becoming."
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