07 Behaviors of Successful People

Why just admire successful people when you could be successful yourself? Success isn't all about luck. It's about focus, determination, optimism and hard work. Changing your mindset and behaviors can be tricky at first, but the payoff -- quite literally -- is worth the extra effort. Below are seven specific behaviors that successful people practice in their daily lives.

1. Make things happen instead of waiting for them to happen.

Successful people and lazy people don't mix well. Those who achieve real success understand that waiting around for their dreams to come true only wastes their time and potential. Instead of complaining about undesirable circumstances, they discover ways to overcome their challenges. Successful people throw excuses out the window and set out to make things happen the way they want them to happen.  

2. Focus on the journey, not the destination.

The journey to success is paved with valuable life lessons, triumph and inevitable failure -- which you can learn from too if you have the right attitude. Successful people stop to smell the roses now and then, enjoying the journey to success while keeping track of time. Rather than focusing on the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, those familiar with success concentrate on the rainbow itself. This makes for a much more satisfying journey. 

3. Challenge the status-quo.

"Business as usual" isn't going to change the world. There's a reason why people like Elon Musk and Bill Gates are wildly successful, and that reason is an affinity for innovation. Every day, startups are challenging norms by doing the unthinkable. Businesses are bringing modern healthcare to the home, delivering just about anything within a couple of hours and building robots to help with day-to-day tasks. You name it, and it's out there. This doesn't mean that everything's already been done -- more than 627,000 American businesses open each year. It's your job to stand apart from the rest.

4. Keep learning.

Success comes to a screeching halt once someone thinks they're finished learning. No matter how much you think you know, someone out there always knows something you don't -- and successful people like it that way. Those who are serious about achieving success enjoy the constant pursuit of knowledge. They never settle with the knowledge they already have. As basketball legend John Wooden once put it, "It's what you learn after you know it all that counts."  

5. Focus on the possible, not the impossible.

Moaning and groaning has never gotten anyone anywhere. Successful people don't dwell on the challenges they encounter as they work toward their goals. Instead, they maintain a "sky's the limit" mentality by placing emphasis on what's still possible. With each roadblock, they reroute with their goals to the forefront of their minds.

The same people also understand that reformulating the question "How can I accomplish this?" can lead to a fresh perspective and open new doors. Obstacles are only as tough as you make them out to be. 

6. Surround yourself with smart and accomplished people.

"If you want to be wealthy, hang out with wealthy people. If you want to be funny, hang out with funny people. And if you want to be poor, hang out with poor people." It's unknown who furnished this timeless advice, but it is known that the sentiment holds true. Those you spend your time with gradually shape your behaviors and your mindset. 

If there's something you want to achieve or someone you want to become, you should find complementary qualities in friends, coworkers and family. Successful people build a comfortable network of positive, intelligent and accomplished individuals. Such a network not only eases them into success-building thought patterns and behaviors, but also offers them a place to brainstorm and receive support.

7. Never give up.

The most impressive successes are those that are hardest to reach. Successful people are capable of viewing each stumble and fall as only a temporary setback. Failures are opportunities to learn and start anew, not throw their hands up and walk away. In fact, many successful people are opportunists who appreciate failures. To team, failures mean their efforts are legitimate and dynamic.