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One key to success is to find successful people to emulate. Be careful, though, if you think you can ask them for advice. People often don't really know why they succeed, but they will give you as many explanations as you want. For example, I saw a 100-year-old man explain that smoking a big cigar every day was one of the secrets of his longevity. It would be nice to know why he lived so long, but I'm pretty sure we won't learn by asking him.
The key, then, isn't in doing as they say, but rather doing as they do. This is how to learn success from the successful. Of course, you have to look closely and apply a little brainpower to see what they are really doing that is causing their success.
A wealthy real estate investor told me once that he didn't believe in setting goals. Watching him and listening to him, though, I came to realize that he knew just where he expected to be with his projects in six months. This is goal-setting - he just called the process something else.
You shouldn't stop listening to what successful people have to say, but you should read between the lines. Listen to their words for insight into how they think about things, how they approach their challenges. Suppose a successful basketball player only advises you to practice more, but he casually mentions "I saw that going in," after a great shot. Its time to start visualizing your shots going in.
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We won't always know what is causing a person's success. Successful internet marketers promote their websites by exchanging links, but when I first tried to exchange links with other websites, the owners didn't respond to my emails. Then I found a letter used by a successful internet marketer to get links. It sounded silly to me. I wanted to change it, but the first time I tried it, it worked.
The point is clear. It is more important to do the right things than to understand why they are right. To understand too is great, but at first, it may be best to just copy many of the actions, attitudes and
Then, as you learn, you can drop those parts that aren't contributing, and add elements of your own. Suppose you model a successful parent, for example, and life with your children is better. Does it matter if you know right away which changes were the most effective.
Is it better to understand why what you are doing works? Of course, but you may not ever understand why some things work, and this is okay too. Better to have success than to explain it, so find successful people and do what they do, not what they say. That's a vital key to success.