本文发表在 rolia.net 枫下论坛Whenever you are trying, you are not failing. The only failure is failing to try.
---John Johnson, founder of Ebony Magazine
What does it take to be successful? In “The 100 Simple Secrets of Successful People”, David Niven, a psychologist at Florida Atlantic University, looks at what scientists have found when they studied successful people. Some of his findings:
 Seek inputs from your opposites. Some people are starters and finishers. Some are big-picture people and others are detail people. You benefit when you involve people in your business who have traits and perspectives that are the opposite of yours. Indeed, one study found that teams in the workplace composed of people with different personalities are 14 per cent more productive than teams composed of more compatible people.
 Avoid defensiveness. Nobody likes to be criticized, but defensiveness can lead you to ignore potentially useful feedback. One study found that people with highly defensive personality traits are one-fourth slower in adapting to new tasks.
 Speak slowly. Communication is not about the number of things we say but about the number of things that are understood. David Brinkley mastered that technique, after a teacher told him “ the faster you speak, the less people will understand you.” One study found that people rate speakers who speak more slowly as being 38 per cent more knowledgeable than speakers who speak more quickly. (As an aside, I do think I am very knowledgeable according to the above point, because I speak very slowly for most of the time. :-) I tried to speak quickly, but I just couldn’t. My poor English, hehe)
 Define your goals in concrete terms and define your plans to attain them. Most of us have vague goals and plans for enacting them, but we never take the time to make them concrete. However, a study found that people who construct their goals in concrete terms are 50 per cent more likely to feel confident they will attain their goals and 32 per cent more likely to feel in control of their lives.
 Be organized. In movies or on TV, success and happiness seems to flow from some almost magical quality or event. In real life, it flows from being conscientious- people who approach things with order, common sense, consistency, and persistence will ultimately succeed. In a study of recent business graduates, employee conscientiousness was five times more likely to predict supervisor satisfaction than was employee intelligence.
 Don’t be afraid to bet. The fear of failure is powerful, but the real failure is not trying. When asked to describe significant regrets in their lives, more than eight out of ten people focused on actions they did not take rather than actions they did.
 Keep your goals where you can see them. Make them an ever present part of your life. One study found that successful people spend at least 15 minutes every day thinking about what they are doing and can do to improve their lives.
- THE BOTTOM LINE: The qualities for success aren’t mystical or unexpected. Science confirms that those with common sense—people who compensate for their weaknesses, keep learning, communicate clearly, set clear goals and conscientiously seek to attain them—are more likely to be successful.更多精彩文章及讨论，请光临枫下论坛 rolia.net
---John Johnson, founder of Ebony Magazine
What does it take to be successful? In “The 100 Simple Secrets of Successful People”, David Niven, a psychologist at Florida Atlantic University, looks at what scientists have found when they studied successful people. Some of his findings:
 Seek inputs from your opposites. Some people are starters and finishers. Some are big-picture people and others are detail people. You benefit when you involve people in your business who have traits and perspectives that are the opposite of yours. Indeed, one study found that teams in the workplace composed of people with different personalities are 14 per cent more productive than teams composed of more compatible people.
 Avoid defensiveness. Nobody likes to be criticized, but defensiveness can lead you to ignore potentially useful feedback. One study found that people with highly defensive personality traits are one-fourth slower in adapting to new tasks.
 Speak slowly. Communication is not about the number of things we say but about the number of things that are understood. David Brinkley mastered that technique, after a teacher told him “ the faster you speak, the less people will understand you.” One study found that people rate speakers who speak more slowly as being 38 per cent more knowledgeable than speakers who speak more quickly. (As an aside, I do think I am very knowledgeable according to the above point, because I speak very slowly for most of the time. :-) I tried to speak quickly, but I just couldn’t. My poor English, hehe)
 Define your goals in concrete terms and define your plans to attain them. Most of us have vague goals and plans for enacting them, but we never take the time to make them concrete. However, a study found that people who construct their goals in concrete terms are 50 per cent more likely to feel confident they will attain their goals and 32 per cent more likely to feel in control of their lives.
 Be organized. In movies or on TV, success and happiness seems to flow from some almost magical quality or event. In real life, it flows from being conscientious- people who approach things with order, common sense, consistency, and persistence will ultimately succeed. In a study of recent business graduates, employee conscientiousness was five times more likely to predict supervisor satisfaction than was employee intelligence.
 Don’t be afraid to bet. The fear of failure is powerful, but the real failure is not trying. When asked to describe significant regrets in their lives, more than eight out of ten people focused on actions they did not take rather than actions they did.
 Keep your goals where you can see them. Make them an ever present part of your life. One study found that successful people spend at least 15 minutes every day thinking about what they are doing and can do to improve their lives.
- THE BOTTOM LINE: The qualities for success aren’t mystical or unexpected. Science confirms that those with common sense—people who compensate for their weaknesses, keep learning, communicate clearly, set clear goals and conscientiously seek to attain them—are more likely to be successful.更多精彩文章及讨论，请光临枫下论坛 rolia.net