What did you accomplish this year? What were your successes and failures? Whether you just started your personal-development journey or already achieved some of your milestones, we know you take full responsibility for your own success. As you wrap up this year, take a moment to reflect on your achievements and see how far you’ve come.
The following articles are SUCCESS’s most popular tips, traits and tactics designed to motivate, inspire and guide you to reach your goals—whatever they might be. So skim them again for an uplifting refresher, or read for the first time any you might have missed along the way.
1. 7 Qualities of People with High Emotional Intelligence
“If your emotional abilities aren’t in hand, if you don’t have self-awareness, if you are not able to manage your distressing emotions, if you can’t have empathy and have effective relationships, then no matter how smart you are, you are not going to get very far.”
2. 9 Smart Spending and Saving Tips
Step 1. Prioritize long-term goals. Saving for retirement should come before setting aside money for children’s college costs.
3. How I Quit My Job, Traveled the World and Became an Entrepreneur—All Before I Turned 25
I left a stable office job at 22, traveled a lot and become an Internet entrepreneur in Budapest, Hungary, by 24. Seriously, I did. Want to know how?
4. 21 Things I Wish I Knew When I Was 21
Stop worrying so much about what other people think.
Letting the opinions of your peers influence your decisions is one of the worst things you can do. You’ll realize later just how foolish it was. The only thing that is important is what you think and feel about yourself.
5. Food, Sleep, Exercise: Why You Seriously Need All 3 to Be Successful
Face it. We don’t always take care of ourselves as well as we should. It’s hard, because life gets in the way—doubly so if we have a busy and productive work life. And when faced with the choice between hard work and convenience, guess which one wins out most of the time?
6. 9 Things I Learned from Talking to 9 Millionaires
You are the sum of the five people you spend the most time with. My mom always used say, “Tell me who your friends are and I’ll tell you who you are.” And she was right on—because millionaires surround themselves with other millionaires.
If we really are the sum of the people we surround ourselves with, it’s so important to surround yourself with the right ones. Successful people are always networking with each other at events, conferences and mastermind groups.
7. 13 Ways to Take Care of Yourself Every Day
Sleep, wake up, work. And repeat. That’s a daily grind that will have you burning out the next time your alarm goes off. There’s more to life than work. How can you make sure you’re getting a healthy dose of “me time”?
8. 6 Qualities of Wildly Successful People
The top people in our society have an attitude of self-employment. That’s essential, because 100 percent of us are self-employed—we are presidents of our own personal services corporation. You work for yourself, and the biggest mistake we can ever make is to think we work for anyone else. The person who signs our paycheck may change, our jobs may change, but we are always the same.
We are the one constant.
9. How to Speak Well… and Listen Better
There are two sides to every conversation, and both are essential to the art of communication.
So, how are your conversation skills? Think about it: Are you a smooth talker, or do you ramble? Are you an attentive listener, or do you tend to interrupt?
Here’s how to master the art of conversation—both sides of it.
10. Why You Need Positive People in Your Life
One big mistake people make is not realizing that happiness is an individual choice. But every choice is influenced by the people in our lives. If you change your life influencers for the better, you can dramatically increase your chances for happiness and success.
11. Rohn: Read All the Books to Rise Above the Ordinary
All of the insights that we might ever need have already been captured by others in books. The important question is this: In the last 90 days, with this treasure of information that could change our lives, our fortunes, our relationships, our health, our children and our careers for the better, how many books have we read?
12. What Happy, Successful, Optimistic People Know About Life
Happy, successful, optimistic people are not exempt from the trials and tribulations of life. In fact, some of the happiest, most successful and optimistic people I know have had to overcome unbelievably difficult circumstances to get to where they are today. But what they all have in common is their uncanny ability to shift their focus to a higher part of themselves.
13. Rohn: 4 Powerful Little Words That Make Life Worthwhile
You’ve no doubt heard the phrase, a muscle never stretched never grows. The big challenge we all face is how to become all that we can be. That’s why the late Jim Rohn often said,“You can have more because you can become more—and unless you change how you are, you will always have what you’ve got.”
14. Education and Experience Don’t Guarantee Success—Attitude & Habits Do
Professional success is a culmination of many factors. Your education matters—maybe not as much as you think, but a degree in your field can really jump-start your progress. Your experience certainly matters, but that can only come to you after years of dedication. Your talent matters, too, but aside from skills (which develop from experience) most of your talent is innate, meaning you have a natural tendency to perform well in certain areas more than others. Your network of contacts matters, but you can’t always control who you interact with. And ultimately, at least some of your career success is going to come down to a factor of luck.
Looking at these things, it seems like there is little you can control. But none of these things will matter if you neglect the most important things you need to create for yourself.
15. John C. Maxwell: 5 Qualities of People Who Use Time Wisely
Time management is an oxymoron. Time is beyond our control, and the clock keeps ticking regardless of how we lead our lives. Priority management is the answer to maximizing the time we have. Our days are identical suitcases—all the same size—but some can pack more into them than others. No one has a magical ability to make time, but if our lives have direction, we can make the most of the moments we have been given.
