All the people I work with and most of the readers of this blog are highly successful people in their chosen professions. Since they know I work with successful people, others frequently ask me if I know what sets those people apart. What qualities or skills do they possess which make them so successful? I’ve given this question a lot of thought over the years and the answer I always come back to is that successful individuals tend to have one thing in common: the ability to persevere through difficult times, and lead others through the same difficulties.
Successful people look at problems less as obstacles and more as challenges. They are confident in their abilities and press forward through these challenges. As Bruce Springsteen once sang, it’s “no retreat, no surrender.”[1] The people they lead pick up on this and start to buy into that attitude as well.
I was having lunch recently with a gentleman who has worked with some of the most successful people in the real estate industry. When I asked him to describe what made one of his former bosses so successful, he said, “In a word: tenacity.” If his former boss wanted to get a deal done he would not let go until the deal was done. He added that a lot of the people he had worked with over the years probably wouldn’t be successful in a different profession, but he had no doubt that his former boss would be successful in any field he chose because of his “can do”, “never say die” approach. I have worked with this man, and have no doubt that his former employee’s assessment is correct.
I’ve probably made this seem easier than it actually is. The reality is that facing challenges head-on is one of the toughest things a person has to do in life.
When I was a football coach, I had all sorts of tools at my disposal to measure the size, strength and speed of my players. But much harder to measure was a player’s “intestinal fortitude:” his courage, or as Churchill once described it, “poise in the face of adversity.” Plenty of players belonged on what we called the “All-Airport Team,” since they looked the part as they walked off the team plane. But how many of those kids would be there working hard and leaving it all on the field when we were down in the 4th quarter? Unfortunately there was no way for us as coaches to know who would perform in that situation until the players actually faced it.
If you feel that you possess this rare quality you should always have a high position with a credible organization. Very few people have this quality, but it is so important to success.
Have a great weekend,
Ro
[1] “No Surrender” performed by Bruce Springsteen from his album Born in the USA, released June 4, 1984.