The MicroTrain Blog

Have you ever wondered how people like Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Oprah Winfrey, Michael Jordan, and others made it to the top?  As a young girl I dreamt of being a highly successful attorney.  One that had it all… the nice house, the nice car, and certainly the finest guy (just joking)!   While my plan as a young child didn’t fully develop as expected, I have managed to find success in many areas of my life.  Over the last few weeks I have been doing a lot of soul searching.  Thinking about what my next big breakout moment will be.  I know inside that I have more in me.  So I started thinking about successful people that have graced this earth and what characteristics they have in common that led them to the top of the success ladder.  Which of these areas have I mastered and which ones can I improve on.  In my research I came across some common themes or characteristics that many of those that have risen to the top have. 

Be passionate about what you do:  Doors open for successful people because they are passionate about what they do and where they are going.  You have to find value in what you do.  If you don’t believe that what you do is of value you will quickly find yourself falling off the ladder not climbing it!

Never get complacent:  Successful people are always looking for ways to improve what they do.  They know that where they are right now is not where they are going to be in 5 years.  They have a burning desire to make mountains move. 

Work hard:  You’ve heard this a thousand times in order to play hard you have to work hard.  Enough said.

Always continue to educate yourself:  Highly successful people have a thirst for knowledge that even a Big Gulp from 7-Eleven can’t quench!  They ask a million questions and are reading up on various topics all of the time. But what makes them even more special is that they don’t just study…they APPLY the things they learn!

Hold yourself accountable:  Successful people are responsible people.  They hold themselves accountable and take responsibility for the things that happen in their lives.  That is the good and the bad things.  When things don’t go as plan they own up to it and learn from it.

Chill out: Stressing out over issues that do not appear to be moving in our favor is counter-productive.  Those who are successful can manage their stress levels well.  They don’t waste precious time squandering away in anxiety.  Instead, they find solutions to problems and correct them.

Keep your eye on the ball: It’s the 9^th inning of the game and your team is down by one run.  The bases are loaded and you’re up to bat.  Does your coach tell you to just go up to bat, close your eyes,  and wing it or does he tell you to hit a line drive past 1^st base to allow the third basemen to come in home? Okay, so I might not be a baseball guru but you get the point.  It would be, for a lack of better words CRAZY to go up to bat with your eyes closed and wing it.   You have to have a game plan to WIN!  Without a game plan to get you to where you are going you will find yourself striking out.  Successful people see visions of themselves in the future and create game plans to get them to where they want to be.

Think outside the box:  Successful people are creative!  They strategize and come up with new ways to improve what they are currently doing.  They take chances to see what works.  They don’t wait around for someone to tell them what they should be trying… they seek out new ideas on their own. 

Don’t be a day-dreamer be a day-doer:  Successful people take action!  They don’t spend their days dreaming about their next big move.  Instead, they spend their days developing their next big move.  You might be thinking to yourself if you can’t dream it, you can’t see it, and therefore can’t be it.  That would be a correct statement but what sets successful people apart from those who are just getting by is that when they have dreamt their knew idea they start working on it right away.  They don’t wait until the idea is just perfect, or the time is just perfect.  There is no time like the present. 

Network:  So you have all of the above star qualities but still can’t catch your next big break? You have to get connected.  What good is it to know you are fantastic if you don’t have the connections to get in front of people so that they know it as well.  Successful people have many connections.  They know everyone in their industry and even many outside it.  They work on staying in touch and letting people know what they are doing.  This isn’t bolstering or bragging.  It is strategic planning.  You have to know who is at the top of the ladder and they have to know you are trying to climb it so they can help you reach the top. 

What characteristics have you found to be most essential as you have climbed up your ladder of success?

Everyone's heard that getting a job is all about who you know. But is online networking really the solution? How do all those connections you make online actually help you find a job?

You probably already have hundreds, if not thousands, of connections spread across Facebook, LinkedIn and beyond. But when it comes down to it, what benefit do these connections really offer? What practical value do they add to your professional life and how do they help you to find a new career?

The short answer is: They don't, really. Yet.

Think of your list of connections as a handful of seeds. Each seed has the potential, if well-nourished, to grow into a healthy plant that bears delicious fruit. This fruit is what you’re after. Your online contacts themselves hold little value outside of their potential for growth.

So how do you grow your contacts from tiny seeds full of potential to mature relationships bearing the fruit of professional success? 

Keep in contact

Think your work is done after your contact accepts your friend request? Think again. Just like a plant, if you don’t tend to your contacts, they’ll wither away.

You need to stay in touch with people you feel hold the potential to develop into beneficial relationships. You don’t have to message them daily (if fact, too many messages might annoy them), but you also don’t want to contact them only when you need something.

Just remember: you have to give love to get love. Like one of their posts or comment on their profile every once in a while. Send insightful articles or links. this shows them you’re not only interested in them for favors.

When you’re ready, one of the most significant steps you can take in an online relationship is to offer a recommendation. This public display of confidence is a great way to engender goodwill, as it bolsters your contact’s online reputation.

These frequent, micro-contacts lay the foundation of your online relationship. The more times you pleasantly remind someone of your existence, the more favorably they’ll think of you.

Keeping up with someone regularly online is great, but if you really want to take advantage of the full potential these relationships offer, you have to go one step further.

Take it offline

This is a huge, but important milestone in any online relationship, so it’s best to take it in small steps. Your goal is to expand the scope of your relationship and people to think of you as more than just an online friend. This means getting off social networks altogether.

Start with email—just be careful not to spam their inbox—and progress to telephone conversations if all goes well. Just remember to always be purposeful in your messages. If you're messages are useful and important, people will start looking forward to them.

Gauge your contact’s reactions before trying to escalate things. Some people won’t be interested in anything more than online interaction. There’s nothing you can do about that. In these cases, it’s best just to move on and focus your time and attention on relationships with more potential.

Let’s do lunch

Ah, the business lunch: the holy grail of networking. Take someone to lunch and they’ll be putty in your hands. All of your communications should be leading up to some kind of face-to-face meeting. Whether it’s lunch, coffee or something in between, meeting someone in person gives you an unparalleled opportunity to harvest the fruits of your labor.

If you do succeed in meeting in person, it’s extremely important to follow up with that person a day or two later. I could be considered rude, or at least impolite, not call or email a message of thanks to your new friend. Especially if you've asked them for a favor. Once again, this signals your intention to continue the relationship and not just cut and run.

When it comes down to it, online networking is only the beginning. The real value of online networking is in the potential it offers to form more meaningful professional relationships. To truly take advantage of the potential that these connections offer, you have to not only maintain your online relationship, but also grow it into the real world as well. Tweets, likes and shares may brighten your day, but nothing beats the power of a good handshake.