Making money, whether it be through investing in the stock market, real estate, or running your own business, isn't just about doing the math and coming out on top with a little luck. For better or worse, success is often determined by you and you alone. Successful guys have certain personality traits in common.Here are some of the characteristics of successful money makers that can help you rise to the top.
1. Be realistic
A successful man is a realist, which means that he's never going to shoot himself in the foot by being negative, but he's not going to take risks based on unsupported conclusions.Consider Bill Gates. When he left Harvard to develop his vision at Microsoft, he took a huge risk. He knew what the rest of us would later learn: personal computers would be the wave of the future if only software could be more user-friendly. You don't have to be as far thinking as Bill Gates, but you should learn something from his decision making.
2. Be a man of action
The best ideas in the world are worthless if they're not put into action. But action can be a double-edged sword because action for the sake of action can easily become reckless. The mindset that separates the men from the boys in this department is being uncomfortable with inaction. In other words, a successful guy will never sit around waiting for something to happen. He may not invest any money in a given year, but he'll always be looking and exploring.
3. Capitalise on your passion/knowledge
If you don't love it, it's nearly impossible to get others to love it. By focusing on something that you're passionate about, you'll give yourself extra resources that can't be quantified. Any financial undertaking is going to be hard and you're going to have to put in extra work that you couldn't have predicted. That's where the passionate man has an edge. When you're working on your passion, you don't mind the extra work. In fact, if you're really on the right track, it won't seem like work at all.
4. Have outer confidence
Confidence is key to almost anything in life, whether you're running a business, selling a product, or trying to finance your idea. If you don't project confidence, you won't get very far. But it's more than just being confident that matters. Confidence allows you to surround yourself with quality people, who will push you and who you can in turn push to greater and greater heights. In other words, confidence is the building block that allows you to make the whole greater than the sum of its parts.
5. Check your feelings at the door
It's not personal; it's business. Those are words to live by, but too many guys fail because they take it personally. An investor may say no, but that doesn't mean he doesn't like you; come back to him later with another proposal. A friend might tell you that your idea stinks; rather than get defensive, find out why he thinks your idea stinks. And never let the criticism get you down. The more success you have, the more criticism will be thrown in your direction.
