A guest blog by L M Thomas Group Marketing Assistant and University of Illinois Class of 2021 Ryan Smith

A successful person lives with intention.

That’s it.

Yes, there are more factors, but at the end of the day, no matter what someone’s bank account says, or social status is, if they are a successful person, they have goals and are actively pursuing them. For example, Conor McGregor, one of my favorite athletes of all time, has been quoted saying, “I am not talented, I am obsessed.” Successful people have a purpose, and realize that reality depends on them, and not the other way around.

You can be successful and unknown: that’s most successful people. There is a very strong argument for wanting to be successful and not wanting to be famous, especially today. I also don’t necessarily believe there is a set income that would qualify or disqualify someone from being successful. I do, however believe that all successful people share similar traits, for example, self-reliance, commitment, positivity, focus on their goals, confidence, and more.

How someone can someone make the switch into adopting this way of thinking and living?

Above all else, successful people don’t make excuses or misplace blame on other people or outside factors even when it could be considered completely rational to do so. You may have heard the phrase, “Everything that happens to you is your fault.” A successful person would agree with this statement while others may not. It is very easy to pick it apart and say, “Well I didn’t go to the gym today because the weather conditions caused too much traffic, so it’s not my fault.” That may be a fair statement, however: since successful people are intentional, follow-through and reaching their goals becomes non-negotiable.

A person acting with intention might instead check the weather the night before and go shovel, so that they are not stuck in that situation. This example applies to many areas of life. And when you start to listen for it, you may hear it coming from yourself or others around you. It is very apparent that many people are willing to concede their goals if their excuses are good enough. The great thing here is that accepting you are fully responsible for being in control of your life is liberating. To me, this mindset seems to be not only the most prevalent quality of successful people, but the easiest quality for anyone to attain who might not already be living a successful life.

When the opportunity arose to start blogging for the site, I wanted to make sure I wrote about something that interests me, but also benefits the readers.  Eventually the series, "Habits of successful people”, was born. The irony of a college student telling people how to be successful does not escape me: in fact, I wouldn’t necessarily say I am a successful person just yet because I have a lot of things I still need to accomplish. Honestly, this series is meant to help me just as much as it is meant to help the reader, so I will be putting in the time to make sure good insights are drawn from this.

 Each blog will focus on a single concept that is shared amongst people who have succeeded in their lifetimes. I may bring up famous people, or regular people from my life that are successful, but they all will have certain attributes/attitudes that align.

Come back for the second part of this series, and if you are interested in anyone specific, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and I’ll research it. Thanks!