How Do You View Success?

Success is one of my favorite words. I am constantly reading about how others made their way to success.

I see success as the status one achieves once they have reached several of their goals and they start receiving recognition for that achievement. But what about those of us who do not feel that we’ve made it to our ultimate goal yet?

Project Success

There is a way to project success even when you don’t think you have ‘arrived’ yet. Remember the commercial where the kid meets his favorite football star for the first time?

He is in awe as Mean Joe Green chugs a full size Coca-Cola after a game. Mean Joe has an aura of confidence that makes the kid look up to him. He sees success coming from Mean Joe and he recognizes it.

 

I have been told there are a few ways to project success and ever since I heard of them, I’ve been using them consistently.

 

Walk Faster

If you walk a little faster than the average person, people will think you are going somewhere important. In New York City, people are constantly walking briskly. Why? They have important business to take care of. In general when you walk a half step faster, you will have the appearance of a successful, busy, business person. But you have to remember to walk with your shoulders back and eyes straight ahead.

 

Make Eye Contact

When you make eye contact with the person you are speaking with, it shows them that you are confident and not afraid to share your ideas. The eyes are the windows to the soul, to use a cliché, and they can tell a person a lot about your disposition.

 

I was once told not to make eye contact with an angry dog. They will immediately feel the need to implement ‘fight or flight’ and they will generally fight. Humans are somewhat similar, making eye contact is a way to show that you are confident in your abilities to defend yourself, either physically or mentally. Successful people know their business because they know how they made their way to success. In a conversation or debate, they will make eye contact and defend their position.

 

Accentuate the Positive

Successful people focus on what is going right and work to fix what is going wrong. You may be down because you did not get that promotion or spot on the volleyball team, but you should focus on what you do have. This works especially well for turning a bad situation into a positive one. Many successful people were rejected several times before they decided to go it alone. One in particular, Jay-Z, tried unsuccessfully to be compensated by the big companies that he constantly mentioned in his raps. When he was rebuffed, he decided to start his own empire and RocaWear was born, along with several other businesses he owns.

For more on Jay-Z check out the autobiography written by Forbes writer Zack O’Malley. I am reading it now and it is a great read.

Help Others

The last way is perhaps the most important. If you want to be successful, you have to help others on your way there as well as when you have arrived. Successful people know that it is important to share what you have with others. Whether it be your talents or finances, you have to use what you have been blessed with to help those who are less fortunate.

There are ways to achieve success but there are also ways to fake it until you make it. To do this, put some pep in your step, make eye contact, focus on the positive and help others.

How do you view success?