Emulate The Best, Forget The Rest!



There's no question that successful people emulate the best traits of those around them. You can do the same for success and advancement in your career.

Think about people in your workplace. Who are the people you think are most successful at what they do? Why? Write down things that make these people successful. You want to identify and emulate the best traits of successful people around you.

Also think about people in the workplace who are doomed to get fired or demoted. These are the people who are habitually late, complain, blame everyone else for their problems, the sky is falling, etc. Forget them! You don’t want to be like them. Don’t get caught up in the “Woe is me, I hate life” attitude.

You want to constantly look for ways to improve, make things better, and emulate the best traits of those around you. I’m not sure why this is, but in every workplace I’ve been, negativity spread far faster and deeper than anything positive ever did. The negativity is The Noise, and you want to tune it out.

You may be thinking to yourself, “I can just read a book to find out how to be successful.” Now, don’t get me wrong, I love a good self-improvement book (and have a whole library to prove it!) The step beyond reading is putting the information into practice.

By experiencing and acknowledging successful qualities in other people, you gain much more insight into the behaviors of others and yourself. You know the old saying: “Practice makes perfect”. As an example, let’s take piano playing. If I want to learn to play the piano, I could certainly read a book that will teach me. But until I actually sit down and start playing and practicing will I truly understand and become skillful.

Find a mentor at work or outside of work. This could be your boss, or someone you look up to. A mentor will help counsel and guide you in a positive direction. They will also help hold you accountable for things you should be doing to make positive changes in your career.

Get rid of "the noise" in your workplace:

  • Be a positive influence on others. When you see someone at work accomplish or contribute something, or even help you with your job, send them a note of appreciation (and copy their boss!) These positive notes go a long way!!
  • Create a vision for yourself and your work group. Envision what you want your work team to be, and then work towards creating that vision. Enlist the help of your manager and others on the team.
  • Start a small group of like-minded friends or colleagues who meet once a week for lunch and discuss what you’re doing to be more successful. You could read self-improvement books on success and then discuss them, or set goals for yourselves and hold each other accountable. Having a support network will help to motivate you towards success. Whether this happens to be moving up in the company you’re with, or remaining in your current position, or even making the decision to move on, you’ll be prepared and confident to take that next step.

By practicing successful traits and learning to emulate the best, you're well on your way to having a fulfilling, rewarding career.


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