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8 Things Really Successful People Do

8 Things Really Successful People Do
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By Kevin Daum, visit Inc.

Most people claim to want success. But not everyone is willing to do the hard work and the smart work to get there. Often opportunities present themselves and because people are distracted, they miss them or give up on them before things fully develop.

Truly successful people don't leave much to chance. They are disciplined and focused. They constantly seek new methods to achieve more, in bigger and faster ways. Listed below are eight different practices that will help you concentrate your efforts on rising above the tide.

1. Make Materialism Irrelevant

Fancy cars and houses are all well and good, but many foolishly focus on the byproducts of success, rather than concentrating on building sustainable success in the first place. Establish a bare minimum for your material needs, and then you can enjoy the benefits of success, debt and stress free.

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2. Enhance Knowledge

Success comes faster to those who are open, active learners. The higher up the success ladder you climb, the more complex the systems and opportunities that are presented to you. Absorb all the information you can and if you sense a gap you can't fill, connect with people who have the knowledge you need.

3. Manage Relationship Expectations

People in your life require time. Successful individuals attract folk and so they have to carefully regulate the time they can spend with others. It's hard to limit the time you share and still make people feel important. Make choices about the people who matter to you and determine how you each can get value from your interactions. Then make sure they understand your limitations so they don't take it personally when you can't be present.

4. Practice Emotional Self-Awareness

Not all successful people are calm and nice. In fact, many can be volatile. But most are very aware of their tempers and idiosyncrasies. They know how to use their emotions to get what they want from life and work hard to make sure feelings don't become a detriment. Know yourself and learn how to let your emotions work for you in positive ways.

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5. Commit to a Physical Ideal

Everyone has a vision of their own perfect body. They don't have to be fashion models or athletes to be happy. But physical health is a consideration in their life and it's a big distraction when it gets out of whack. Determine the body you believe is worth working for and set a game plan to achieve and maintain it.

6. Gain Clarity About Spirituality

There are many highly successful people like Richard Branson and Warren Buffett who don't consider religion to be important or relevant. But they have a clear point of view as to the role spirituality plays in their life. Find your own way to be at one with the universe and be clear and deliberate in how you practice.

7. Adhere to a Code of Ethics

Really successful people live by rules. They may not be the rules of others, but consistency is important for them to maintain power and stability. Their individual view of how the world works is the basis for how they believe people should be treated and they will defend it until their dying day. Determine your ethical lines and broadcast them loud and clear so people around you know where you stand.

8. Focus on Time Efficiency

Prioritization is a key component of success. You can't reach your pinnacle if you are wasting time on distractions. Integration of activities frees up time for greater achievement. Spend your time on activities that are fun, enlightening and productive and soon you'll have gained hours to reap the benefits of success.

Ultimately, really successful people live their lives by design instead of default, so if you want to be one of them, dedicate time and effort to determining the plan for your preferred future and execute that plan in a focused and consistent manner.

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Before You Go

The Forbes 400: The Richest People In America
10. Michael Bloomberg - $25 billion UP(01 of10)
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Source: Bloomberg LPAge: 70 Residence: New York CityNew York City's mayor has been working to enact as much change as he can in his adopted hometown during his final term. A ban he proposed on super-sized sugary drinks will take effect in March, and he was vocal in his support of the state's Marriage Equality Act, passed in 2011. He's renewed his call for stricter gun control in the wake of July's movie theater shootings in Colorado. Over the years, he's given away $2.8 billion. In 2011, he donated $330 million to groups including the Sierra Club, the Alliance for the Arts and the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. At his financial data and media firm, Bloomberg LP, sales popped an estimated 20% in 2011 to $7.6 billion.
9. S. Robson Walton - $26.1 billion UP(02 of10)
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Source: Wal-MartAge: 68Residence: Bentonville, AKWal-Mart heir S. Robson Walton has served as chairman of the board for the massive retailer since 1992. Rob is the eldest son of visionary retailer Sam, a former clerk who opened his first store with help from his brother James in 1962 in Rogers, Ark. Today, Wal-Mart has sales of $444 billion and employs 2.2 million people worldwide. Since last year, Rob received more than $420 million in dividends after taxes, and the stock is up 36%--boosting his net worth by $5.6 billion. Before joining Wal-Mart, he was a partner with the law firm of Conner & Winters in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Rob and his siblings have donated about $2 billion to the Walton Family Foundation over the last five years.
8. Alice Walton - $26.3 Billion UP(03 of10)
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Source: Wal-MartAge: 62Residence: Fort Worth, TXWal-Mart heiress Alice Walton opened her ambitious Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in November 2011. The museum, which seeks to bring a world-class art experience to Bentonville, Ark., includes works she has donated herself (with a personal collection valued in the hundreds of millions of dollars.) Alice and her siblings have also donated about $2 billion to the Walton Family Foundation over the last five years. Daughter of retail visionary Sam, Alice graduated from Trinity College in San Antonio, Tex., and now runs a horse ranch in central Texas. Since last year, she received more than $420 million in dividends after taxes, and the stock is up 36%--boosting her net worth by $5.4 billion. (credit:AP)
7. Jim Walton - $26.8 Billion UP(04 of10)
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Source: Wal-MartAge: 64Residence: Bentonville, ARKWal-Mart heir Jim Walton is the youngest son of retail visionary Sam (d. 1992), who founded the massive retailer with his brother James, opening a single store in Rogers, Ark. in 1962. Wal-Mart now has sales of $444 billion and employs 2.2 million people worldwide. Since last year, Jim received more than $430 million in dividends after taxes, and the stock is up 36%--boosting his net worth by $5.7 billion. He and his siblings have given about $2 billion to the Walton Family Foundation over the last five years. Jim is also the CEO of his family's Arvest Bank, which has branches in Arkansas, Kansas, Oklahoma and Missouri. He gave $100,000 to the Super PAC for Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney. (credit:AP)
6. Christy Walton & Family - $27.9 Billion UP(05 of10)
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Source: Wal-MartAge: 57Residence: Jackson, WyomingWal-Mart widow Christy Walton is the richest woman in the United States once again. She inherited her wealth when husband John Walton, a former Green Beret and Vietnam War medic, died in an airplane crash in 2005. John's investment in First Solar had boosted Christy's net worth well above the rest of her family, but the stock tanked in 2012, closing her lead to just $1.1 billion (down from $3.4 billion last year) over brother-in-law Jim. The rest of her holdings are in Wal-Mart, the massive retailer founded by her father-in-law Sam Walton and his brother James in 1962. Wal-Mart's shares are up more than a third since last year, pushing Christy's net worth up by $3.4 billion.
5. David Koch - $31 Billion UP(06 of10)
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Source: DiversifiedAge: 72Residence: New York CityManhattan's richest resident David Koch is full of surprises: The New York delegate at the Republican National Convention told Politico that week that he believes in gay marriage and in raising taxes to pay down the federal debt. Earlier in the year, he and his brother Charles had sued the conservative Cato Institute, which they helped found in 1977, over issues of control; the parties later settled. Despite any drama, Koch Industries, the second largest privately held company in the U.S. with interests in pipelines, refineries, fertilizer and consumer products like Brawny paper towel and Dixie cups, continues to generate rich cash flow and pay down debt. David, who is executive vice president, is worth $6 billion more this year thanks to an increase in the company's value. A prostate cancer survivor, he says his biggest philanthropic contributions so far go toward a "moon shot" campaign to finding a cure for cancer, to whichhe's donated more than $200 million. (credit:AP)
4. Charles Koch - $31 Billion UP(07 of10)
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Source: DiversifiedAge: 76Residence: Wichita, KansasThe head of the nation's second biggest private company, $115 billion (sales) Koch Industries, Charles Koch continues to pay down debt and generate rich cash flow. By Forbes' estimates the Wichita, Kansas company, with interests in chemicals, refining and Georgia Pacific, which makes Brawny paper towels and Dixie cups, is now worth $75 billion, pushing up Koch's own net worth by $6 billion in the past year. A well-known libertarian, he gives $40 million plus a year to his foundation, which gives grants to colleges and universities to study "market-based tools that enable individuals, institutions and societies to prosper." He also helped found the Cato Institute, which he sued last year but the parties settled, and the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, both bastions of free-market and libertarian scholarship.And he's busy funding groups designed to raise a new generation of free-market entrepreneurs, including Youth Entrepreneurs Kansas, which teaches entrepreneurship to about 1,000 high school students each year; and the Bill of Rights Institute, which runs programs to educate teachers and students on the importance of the Constitution in "securing our liberty as Americans." (credit:Bo Rader/Wichita Eagle/MCT/Newscom)
3. Larry Ellison - $41 Billion UP(08 of10)
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Source: OracleAge: 68Residence: Woodside, Calif.Despite ongoing legal battles with such rivals as SAP, HP and Google, shares of Oracle, the software firm Ellison has run for 35 years, were up 20% in the past 12 months. He was the year's biggest dollar gainer, adding $8 billion to his net worth. He spent a reported $500 million to buy 98% of Hawaiian island of Lanai from David Murdock in June. His other passion, yachting, is making its mark on San Francisco as anticipation builds for the 2013 America's Cup. Ellison, who signed on to the Gates-Buffett Giving Pledge in 2010, has thus far donated $445 million, mostly via Oracle stock, to his Ellison Medical Foundation, which supports research on aging and age-related diseases. His latest gift to the foundation was 1.6 million shares of Oracle--worth $45 million--in April. (credit:AP)
2. Warren Buffett - $46 Billion UP(09 of10)
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Source: Berkshire HathawayAge: 82Residence: OmahaBuffett recently completed radiation treatment for prostate cancer, five months after he notified Berkshire Hathaway shareholders of his condition, assuring them that it was "not remotely life-threatening." Still, he has gotten his house in order. In December, he chose his farmer son, Howard, as the future non- executive chairman and "guardian of the firm's values." In February, he said he'd picked his CEO replacement but has declined to give a name. He's also stepping up philanthropically. He gave $1.5 billion to the Gates Foundation in July, bringing his total giving to $17.25 billion. On his birthday in August, he pledged $3 billion of stock to his children's foundations. His fortune is up $7 billion as class A shares jumped more than 20% since last year. After studying under Benjamin Graham at Columbia Business School, Buffett offered to work for his former professor's investment partnership, Graham-Newman Corporation, for free. According to Buffett, "he turned me down as overvalued." It was only after several years of "pestering" that the father of value investing agreed to take on the younger man in 1954. When Graham retired two years later, Buffett returned to Nebraska to launch his own partnership. In 1962, Buffett began buying up shares of a struggling textile company called Berkshire Hathaway. Though Buffett has called Berkshire "the dumbest stock" he ever bought, the firm has long since shed its textile assets and today serves as Buffett's famed investment vehicle. In May, Berkshire snapped up dozens of local newspapers from Media General after announcing a deal for the Omaha World-Herald in November 2011. (credit:AP)
1. Bill Gates - $66 Billion UP(10 of10)
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Source: MicrosoftAge: 56Residence: Medina, WashingtonThe planet's most generous person --he's given away $28 billion so far -- has a new obsession: building a better toilet for those without water or sewage systems. Every year 1.5 million children die from food and water tainted with fecal matter, more than the annual deaths from AIDS and malaria combined. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is also spearheading a malaria vaccine that is showing promise in clinical trials. Gates' net worth climbed $7 billion since last year on the strength of Microsoft shares, which rose 20%, and on gains from investments in private equity, bonds and stocks such as hygiene tech firm Ecolab and Mexican TV broadcaster Televisa. He continues to sell shares of Microsoft--he shed 80 million in the past year, about 15% of his stake--so that now just one-fifth of his net worth stems from the software company he cofounded 37 years ago. Gates and his good friend Warren Buffett continue to recruit new members to their Giving Pledge--so far 91 people, including 10 new signatories, have taken the pledge to donate at least half of their fortune to charity, in life or death. (credit:AP)
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