Why do some succeed while others never make it?

Same desk, different days, last one in the office... It's all about
the attitude! 

As a social butterfly, and living in one of the most diverse cities in the world I am really fortunate to meet new and different people every day.  

I'm always curious to find out about people, hear their stories and how they got to the place where they are today.

So what makes some people a success story while others can't seem to get on their feet and make it to that place?  And when I say success - I am using this word in a very broad sense of the manner.  I'm using the word success to describe someone who has created wealth, who on a daily basis is able to make things happen, someone who consistently has a project going on and consistently brings ideas into fruition.

Money is not always a good definition of success - I know plenty of people with money who are depressed, can't get it together, can't have a successful relationship whether that be romantic, family, friendship or even with clients.  

Every successful person I have met has had moments in life where everything has fallen apart.  They have all had moments in life where they have failed and where they have felt the heaviness of putting one discouraged foot in front of the other but I'm telling you all of these successful people have a few things in common that have brought them from the lowest of lows into the heights of success.

Here are some of the key things that I have noted.....

It's about attitude, the ability to keep working even when the odds are stacked against them, the ability to accept failure or that the initial idea was not a good one, the ability to be flexible and change plans when they are not working, the courage to get rid of bad influences, the courage to make a call that may not be popular and the courage to lose "friends" along the way.  A successful person doesn't ask for recognition and they don't feed off it - although they are usually celebrated by others around them anyway.  A success will have the courage to ask more from others.

Having the ability to put people and feelings aside to focus on the task at hand. Having the willingness to work when everyone else has gone home.  Being willing to put the time in to learn more about their industry than anyone else. This list could go on and on... but you see it is all about the mindset, this all describes a person who doesn't give up and who has set a goal and will not stop until they reach it.

So what about those who don't make it?

Perhaps some people are doomed to be "failures" and I have met those who just can't seem to get up and go.  I have met these people and I have also quickly ELIMINATED most of them from my life.  Once again this is about attitude... A failure has already failed before they begin, they don't want to learn new ways and if they do start learning something new they give up quickly because it's "too hard".  Failures want to get recognition for things that haven't happened yet or for insignificant steps in the right direction.  A person who can't seem to make it usually hates on those who have made it and they can't focus on the task at hand because they are too busy dreaming about what life will be like once they reach a certain level of success.  Failures don't like to make unpopular decisions, they poison others with their bad attitudes and surround themselves with other poisonous people (just like it's cousin, misery, failure also loves company).  

Anyone can be a success if they put their minds to it but without the right attitude there is a huge margin for error.  I may bore you all with these blog entries about success and failure but it never ceases to surprise me the POWER of ATTITUDE.