The 7 Habits of Low-Performing People You Need to Avoid

How you can stand out more

Max Phillips
Ascent Publication
Published in
7 min readNov 20, 2020

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Image by Vishnu R from Pixabay

When I was in school and university, I thought success was mostly financial. If I worked hard enough and got good grades, I could find a well-paying job, and I’d be sorted.

However, looking at the most successful people’s definition tells you a completely different story.

Oprah Winfrey believes it is about fulfilment:

“How to be used in the greater service to life. Ask this question, and the answer will be returned and rewarded to you with fulfilment, which is the major definition of success, to me.”

Richard Branson says it is about being happy:

“Too many people measure how successful they are by how much money they make or the people that they associate with. In my opinion, true success should be measured by how happy you are.”

Michelle Obama explains her husband’s definition of the term:

“For Barack, success isn’t about how much money you make. It’s about the difference you make in people’s lives.”

It’s easy to say money doesn’t matter when you’re in a position of wealth. But for the majority of people, financial success would make a monumental difference in their lives.

With that being said, I define success as the impact you make on the wellbeing of others and yourself — a combination of financial and emotional wealth.

To reach that position, there are some habits you need to avoid, as you may stand out for all the wrong reasons.

1. They make excuses.

Recently, I have been reading The 10x Rule by Grant Cardone. He suggests looking at your behaviour instead of others, even when it isn’t your fault.

In most instances, people tend to blame internal problems on external matters. There’s always an excuse. Yet, when you see abnormal behaviour in society, you’re likely quick to blame the person’s internal behaviour.

Let’s say your boss passes you up for a job promotion and you have no idea why. It turns out the CEOs son was appointed. Sure, there are circumstances out of your hands, but ask yourself: what could I have done

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