Success is illusive for many... mainly because they don't have written goals and also because the human condition is wired to self-sabotage. It's easy to pursue a mirage or slavishly climb a ladder leaning against the wrong wall. Real success does not reside in our conquests, possessions or bank balance. It instead comes from purpose and who we are... the true value of anything we pursue resides is in who we become in the chase (The Joshua Principle).

Success is first about being the person worthy of it and making the decision to get out of our own way. In a previous article I wrote about Leadership Secrets From The Inside and this illustration shows the elements I believe create human success.

We don't get to choose the first three factors of family, intelligence and personality but we can choose our values, beliefs and attitudes. Regardless of your philosophical, political, religious or non-religious beliefs, here are five things that you need to be (embrace and live) in order to have the success that you seek.

Humble. If you have to tell someone you're humble; you're not. Humility is the opposite of arrogance. It's all very well to challenge customers and the status quo but it needs to be done with finesse and in the form of intelligent questions that posit a hypothesis of value. Avoid being the challenger bull in the china shop. You can be well informed, strong and assured while still being humble.
Grateful. Happiness comes from this trait and it's the opposite of having a sense of entitlement. Rather than demanding what you believe is fair or deserved, you're appreciative of every small blessing or piece of good fortune.
Curious. Those who are fascinated by others and also by how things work are magnets for friendship and business. They can create value because they have an innate desire to understand through active listening and research before proposing solutions. Intellectual curiosity is an indicator of intelligence.
Courageous. The most successful people overcome their fears and are intelligent risk takers; they know that persistence in overcoming rejectionand failure is the price of success. They embrace the difficult, knowing that difficulty is what excludes the masses. They take massive targeted action and are never single point dependent for success.
Generous. Those who give their time and energy to others without an agenda attract the very best from those around them. The law of reciprocity is real

You'll notice that confidence is missing from the list and that's because, in the context of of professional selling, confidence is the paradise of fools. We need to instead be positively paranoid. Confidence is the dumb cousin is certainty. Rather being certain that we have the best solution or that our view of the world is right, we need to be open to new information and the perspective of others. Belief, rather than confidence, is what we should seek to fill our people and [potential] customers with; and we need to achieve it through aligned values. Here is my article on the one anomalistic trait to seek in sales people.

This is all foundational for creating great culture. The best CEOs embrace all this as they obsessively seek to understand best Customer eXperience (CX) and how their organization can deliver it through every channel. For anyone dealing with leaders, we must understand their language and what's important to them. The primary language of business is numbers, and leaders care care about delivering results and managing risk. Here is my article on Decoding The CEO.

Finally, choose a cause and serve it with everything within you. Belief in the value you offer and be clear about the values with which your operate. Differentiate yourself with the people you work with, the approach and methodology your use, and your ability to deliver business outcomes and manage risk. All of this coupled with massive intelligent action creates an irresistible force for success.

If you valued this article, please hit the ‘like' and ‘share’ buttons below. This article was originally published in LinkedIn here where you can comment. Also follow the award winning LinkedIn blog here or visit Tony’s leadership blog at his keynote speaker website: www.TonyHughes.com.au.

Main image photo by Flickr: Don Burkett Eagle 2014