Better's Blinkist

What’s in it for me? Find out how to really succeed professionally and socially.

Success is more about breaking rules than following them. About doing what you’re passionate about rather than what society dictates. Of course, confidence and hard work are also important, but meaningless unless you have long-term goals to which to couple them. By looking at some examples of real-life success, the following blinks will uncover what it really takes to get ahead of the pack and help you accomplish your life goals

25 January, 2020 11:20 Share

Playing by the rules will only get you so far; creativity is the real engine of success.

The problem is, an ability to succeed in an environment governed by rules, like a high school, won’t prepare a student to rise to the top of the real world.

25 January, 2020 11:21 Share

Those who are obsessed; the unruly creatives who can adapt to every aspect of the outside world. These creatives are driven by passion rather than external rules, and commit themselves to their passion projects with almost religious virtuosity – a clear recipe for excellence

25 January, 2020 11:22 Share

Nice guys are highly likely to finish first and last.

It may seem odd, but it also makes intuitive sense; everybody knows a martyr who tries his best to help others only to be used by takers. And we also all know helpful people who rise because others are indebted to them. To put it simply, it’s not always bad to be nice. And by the way, bad people don’t get away with everything. That serial killer, Michael Swango, was caught and sentenced to three consecutive life terms in prison in 2000.

25 January, 2020 11:23 Share

Persevere through tough times thanks to the stories you tell yourself.

Today, Alfredo Quinones-Hinojosa, also known as Dr. Q, is one of the top brain surgeons in the world. He runs his own lab at America’s best hospital, Johns Hopkins in Baltimore. However, his life started out in absolute poverty; as an illegal migrant farmworker, he had to demonstrate true grit, sticking with difficult work throughout his life and never giving up.

25 January, 2020 11:24 Share

In observing this phenomenon, Frankl found that what was keeping these survivors going was the meaning they saw in their lives, even during times of tremendous suffering; the people who made it were those who told themselves that they had a purpose beyond themselves. Frankl himself had such a purpose, wanting to survive for his wife. He had imaginary conversations with her all the time.

25 January, 2020 11:25 Share

In other words, optimism keeps people going, but true grit is more than positive thinking. It often also depends on the stories people tell themselves about the meaning of their lives.

25 January, 2020 11:25 Share

Extroverts make the most money, but introverts make the best experts.

Why? We know that becoming an expert, regardless of the field, requires 10,000 hours of practice. Simply put, holding together a vast social network doesn’t leave extroverts with the time they need to do the hard, lonely work necessary to acquire such expertise. Meanwhile, introverts don’t have to worry about other people bothering them, and have plenty of time to hone their skills.

25 January, 2020 11:26 Share

if research is any guide, the scales certainly tip in favor of outgoing and popular people. Extroverted workers are much more likely to succeed than their peers, both in financial terms and in career progress.

25 January, 2020 11:26 Share

Confidence is key to success, but too much of it can make you hurt others.

Research has even shown that overly confident people have better chances of receiving a promotion than their less confident colleagues, even if the latter are more accomplished. According to other studies, confidence increases productivity and causes people to take on more challenging tasks, thereby making them stand out as shining stars in the workplace.

25 January, 2020 11:27 Share

In other words, confidence can predict success and often results in increased power, both on the job and in daily life. However, there’s also a downside; too much confidence and power can destroy a person’s character.

25 January, 2020 11:28 Share

And finally, research has also found that feeling powerful makes people more selfish and better at lying. That’s because power and confidence reduce a person’s concern that he’ll hurt others, and therefore lower his remorse when telling a fib. This could explain why increased feelings of power positively correlate with the odds of cheating on a spouse.

25 January, 2020 11:29 Share

The key to success is working long hours and always pushing yourself to do better.

The number of hours you spend working will make all the difference between the decent and the incredible. While intelligence will certainly help, once your IQ stretches beyond 120, adding additional points has basically no effect on success. That’s why the smart people who succeed are those that work the hardest.

25 January, 2020 11:29 Share

that work the hardest. Just take a Harvard study which found that the most successful managers in a number of industries commonly worked over 60 hours per week. The study clearly indicates that a person’s success depends on her productivity, and productivity depends on putting in time. Research has even found that in every complex, professional job, the top 10 percent of employees – those who make the most game-changing contributions – are 80 percent more productive than the average and 700 percent more productive than the employees in the bottom 10 percent.

25 January, 2020 11:29 Share

For example, research has found that doctors and nurses don’t tend to get better at their jobs over time. Another classic study by Benjamin Bloom considered leading scientists, artists and athletes. It found that one of the greatest benefits of mentorship in these fields was not insider knowledge or emotional support, but the presence of a figure whose expectations would push the mentee beyond their limits.

25 January, 2020 11:30 Share