Three Personality Traits I Believe Have Helped Me Unlock My Version Of Success
Source of image: Flickr
I don’t believe there is a one size fits all approach to life. That’s why I am always skeptical about articles, books and videos which promise to reveal the secrets to success as if those secrets can be applied time and time again to make millions of people incredibly rich. (Can you tell I am a typical British cynic yet?!)
However what I do think helps you on the way to success is to understand who you really are.
Our personal values and ideas shape us as individuals. We should never be defined by the expectations of others or the values we believe we should have. We are not meant to be identical (And that’s OK!)
So I wanted to share three personal personality traits that I believe have helped me unlock my version of what it means to be successful.
Please note I am not using any of these personality traits to enable me to become incredibly wealthy, instead they empower me to live through my values and personal desire to be part of something bigger then myself every single day.
Furthermore please don’t mistake this article for those articles I personally detest that advocate one type of direction to lead you to untold riches and success. You should take your own journey through life and discover who YOU are as a result of YOUR personal experiences.
Being Passionate…
I have always been a naturally passionate individual. I personally believe it is so easy for people to fake passion in order to “impress or influence others”
The thing that makes me the most passionate is a cause or idea that inspires lasting change in the world. I am incredible driven to be part of any organisation where one idea has shaped a more positive social outcome within the wider community (for example Enactus was an incredible social organisation for me to be a part of during my time at university)
However when I think about what success means to me, it doesn’t mean financial reward. So I always try my hardest to keep my level of passion grounded.
We can all become too overwhelmed by the nature of drive and passion. It can cause us to overwork, manipulate and lie in order to get ahead.
That’s the dark side of being passionate. I have been there (in the sense that I often used to overwork on a project when I was younger).
But when we equate the value of life with the value of being first to market, breaking a news story or winning a competition at any cost, we can easily lose sight of the fact that life is always more important then work.
And I think that is why we see more and more young people becoming passionate about social causes. We as a generation are now compelled to help make a difference in our local community.
I am certainly not talking about my entire generation. There are plenty of people who are a similar age to me (20-25) who are motivated to work harder and take others down if it means they can get ahead.
Being Dedicated…
One of the rarest personality traits you will find in young people these days is the ability to be dedicated. (I sound so old, don’t I?! — Please don’t mistake that comment for me thinking I am superior to other people who are my age!)
Some may argue that I overvalue this personality trait and that I may view the world through rose tinted glasses. How on earth can young people remain dedicated to something when people in Gen X are constantly undervaluing their input and rejecting their ideas. (broad statement here!)
However I would argue that being dedicated and committed to a cause or an organisation is one of the most valuable personality traits that a young person can possess.
On the other hand it is also the responsibility of existing organisations to create such compelling visions and an incredible company culture that make young people compelled to join their organisation in the first place. We know a thing or two about what makes an organisation great and it is time that business leaders accept the new world we live in. You can either thrive or survive, your choice.
So there is certainly a happy median to be created between young people and business leaders.
However I have personally witnessed just how powerful it is to remain dedicated to a cause (in good and bad times).
A personal example for me is Enactus. When I joined the organisation during my time at Leeds Metropolitan University (soon to be renamed Leeds Beckett University — as of 22nd September 2014) Enactus Leeds Metropolitan was just getting by with one major community project and one developing project which had had limited success.
For most people that would be the point they take a second look at the situation and decide it is probably not worth their time. However I was incredibly keen to remain dedicated and focused on working alongside the team to figure out the solutions.
Fortunately for me so was every other member of Enactus Leeds Metropolitan.
Let me just add that Enactus as an organisation (in any of the university campuses they operate in around the world) showcases the perfect example of what it means to be dedicated despite insurmountable odds. I have witnessed university teams produce incredible social impact in local communities and around the world because they remained dedicated to making things happen.
Now please don’t think this is just one big advertisement for Enactus. I love the organisation and will always be one of their biggest cheerleaders. But they are not the only great organisation out there, they are just one organisation I can most relate to because I spent so much time volunteering there during university.
Being Adventurous…
The final personality trait I believe has helped me to understand the real meaning of success is being adventurous.
When I was 20 years old, I left college two months before finishing my full diploma. Two months!
My friends and family couldn’t believe it. Why on earth did I chose to leave college with the ambition on becoming a business owner when I had just two months to go to claim my full diploma in business. (by leaving earlier I was still able to claim my BTEC National Certificate in Business)
Looking back, it was certainly a bold step to take. But it is that sense of adventure which I believe is so complimentary to the other two personality traits I have highlighted in this article.
Being adventurous and leaving college early allowed me to experience so much.
I decided in February 2011 to take a trip to San Francisco. Let me just add that it was an adventure in itself because it was my first solo trip without my family!
During my trip to SF I was fortunate enough to meet entrepreneurs who I had admired for several years (dating back to the days when I was sat in my bedroom recording interviews with world class entrepreneurs for my first ever audio podcast!)
The following month I was invited by South by Southwest by Sarah Austin, a popular new media blogger who I had interviewed a year earlier for the aforementioned audio podcast I did from the age of 16-18 and got a free trip there courtesy of the incredible people at Nikon USA (who I am still incredibly grateful to for flying me out to Austin!)
If I hadn’t taken that chance in leaving college, I would never have been able to experience such an incredible year where I learnt so much and enhanced my professional network.
The idea of adventure in general drives me. Furthermore I will always be passionate about travelling and always anxious to experience new ideas and cultures.
Without that sense of adventure I don’t think I would be compelled to succeed on my own terms.
Some of you may just call it youthful optimism, maybe you are right.
But without it, I don’t think I would have taken on half the opportunities I have since I started on the internet in 2007 writing technology support articles.
The unknown is exciting. The unknown drives us to ask “What If?”. The unknown delivers incredible lessons which can drive you towards your version of success.
So those are three personality traits I believe have helped me unlock the keys to my own success.
I will reiterate that this is not the only way to succeed. This is just my personal story. We will all take different routes on the road to success. You shouldn’t worry that you haven’t succeeded at the first try.
As long as you live through your personal values every single day you are already succeeding by being true to yourself (Oh man, what a lame cliche — HA!)
