There is no secret to being successful.  Hard work, dedication, and vision. We’ve heard it all, but what else goes into being successful? According to Entrepreneur Tony Robbins, these qualities and beliefs are vital to becoming successful.

1. Believing that anything is possible

2. There is no such thing as failure

3. It's in your hands

4. You don't have to understand everything

5. Appreciate

6. Enjoy what you do

7. Commitment is key

Successful people believe that anything is possible, as long as they work hard enough. Successful people ignore negative feedback and take on board constructive criticism to grow, develop and succeed.

Failure is not an option.  Successful people may fall, but they will always get back up again. Everything is a learning opportunity, and you must make the most of what there is to learn.

Once you realise that your many years of experience can benefit you directly, you should stop wasting them on employers who do not appreciate you. Understanding your worth is a crucial step in taking your career into your own hands so you can make executive decisions about which opportunities are right and wrong for you. 

Successful people believe their success is their responsibility and not in the hands of others. Whatever happens, take responsibility and don’t lean on others to determine whether you are successful or not.

In order to progress in your current role or progress into a different company, you need to be proactive.  You and no one else need to put in the leg work to get to where you want to be.  If it’s asking for a promotion, pay rise or more responsibility, then you must ask for it.  If you want to work for a particular company, do your research, connect with people inside the company and actively work towards getting to where you want to be.

You don’t have to have all the knowledge and understand everything! Make the most of a situation and learn as you go! No matter where you are in your career, you can always learn something new.

Make the most of other’s knowledge to help you in any situation. You can also enhance your skill set. You don’t need to go back to college or go to a night school – recognise where you can improve and set goals to get to where you want to be.

You don’t even need to enhance your skillset in one particular area.  If you’re interested in marketing, take an online course in content creation, or if you’re interested in graphic design and coding, find an online course in those fields.

No matter where you choose to enhance your skills, the more tools you have, the more you can apply to work situations; in addition, every skill you have puts you head and shoulders above the rest.

Appreciate those around you – not only can you always learn something from someone but you should appreciate the assistance and support that people around you give.  Showing that you appreciate the people around you can encourage people to be more positive, and they’re more likely to want to keep working with you.

To commit to something, you must enjoy it! Choose something you’re passionate about – you’ll be more inclined to work hard and more likely to be successful doing it.  The most remarkable people in their industries have all been passionate about what they do, whether you’re a software developer, software salesperson, marketer or whatever.

Don’t try.  Commit. Commitment is the key to success.  ‘The most successful people aren’t necessarily the brightest or the smartest – it’s the people with the most commitment that are the most successful.’ – Tony Robbins.

All these points go hand in hand! If you love what you’re doing, you’re more likely to be more committed – and more likely to never take failure as a result!

It’s all within you and in your control!

You don’t have to have all the knowledge and understand everything! Make the most of a situation and learn as you go! No matter where you are in your career, you can always learn something new.

Make the most of other’s knowledge to help you in any situation.

Consider your USP?

USP stands for Unique Selling Point and refers to the aspects of a person or business that singles them out amongst competitors and makes them desirable. This can be one single aspect or multiple aspects. A USP may be a reason a product, service or person is chosen over other options.

At Oakstone, we specialise in helping US/EMEA software companies expand across Europe. Helping these companies attract Grade A salespeople is frequently one of the most challenging tasks we undertake.

Once we have conducted our research identifying the right people, which is relatively straightforward, we speak to and qualify a great many people and drill down on their achievements, at which stage the complex and most challenging part of our role really begins.

Typically, standard recruiting agencies are capable of doing that first part fairly well – but the key from here is ensuring there are solid, tangible and personally relevant attractions for the individual to show them why they should consider and then join the company in question.

In our experience, it will normally be down to the following:

• Earning potential
• More Responsibility
• Culture
• Stock
• Career progression
• Strong mentor
• Travel (more or less)

These points are just the start.  If you really want to take your career into your own hands, work hard, smart and consistently!