Beyond success: the one thing that successful people do differently

The internet is littered with dozens of articles about how to be a successful person. These articles range from serious well-written advice to fancy fluffy nonsense. Today, let us separate the gold from the dirt. If you read all the well-researched, well-written articles on successful people, you will find they all have one common message.

You see, there is one thing that all successful people do differently from unsuccessful people. And it isn’t easy. It isn’t something you would like to do.

What is success any way?

Before I tell you what that one thing is, we need to define success. When you saw the title: successful people, what image popped into your mind?

Is this your image of success?

Was it an image of a wealthy tycoon driving a fancy sports car?

Perhaps it was the image of a billionaire who donates millions in charity?

Or was it just someone who did work they enjoy and worked their own times?

It could have been someone with a happy family and a content life?

I hope it was a practicing Muslim who has earned Allah’s pleasure?

You see, success is a subjective word. So in order for this article to make sense, we need to settle on a definition of success. That definition doesn’t have to apply to life as a whole, just the theme of this article. This article is about being successful in your field of choice/career path.

Some do and some don’t

In every field, there are successes and there are failures.

There are authors who never sell more than hundred books. And there are authors who are multi-time best sellers.

Likewise, There are doctors who lose their certification due to malpractice. And there are doctors who become world renowned for being the best in the world.

Thousands of businesses shut down every year. Yet there are thousands of successful businesses as well.

You will meet teachers who you would never entrust your children to, and you will find amazing teachers who inspire children to be their best.

In every field, some fail, some succeed, and most fall somewhere in between, in the land of mediocrity.

So what separates the successful people from the rest?

They do what everybody else doesn’t want to do. They do the hard work. The scary work. The irritating work. They are the ones who see something they don’t want to do, but do it anyway because they know it will take them one step higher on the ladder of success.

You see, success only isn’t about doing what you love. There are many people who only do what they love and never experience success. (especially if they love to waste time or binge watch TV series)

Success is more than that. Success is about going beyond expectations, and doing what everybody else puts off doing.

The successful author is the one who spends the nights writing thousands of words that nobody will ever read, just to improve her writing skills.

That successful doctor is the one who never misses a conference and is always up to date with the latest research, even if it means sacrifice some personal time to do some reading.

The successful businessman is the one who invests a lot of money into training, courses, mentoring and books. So he learns what other businessmen do not, applies it and in doing so, surpasses the others.

And the successful teacher is the one who spends nights, weekends and holidays researching, preparing and learning how to be a better teacher. So she surprises her students with the latest teaching techniques. Inspires them with her positive attitude. And leads them to excel by leading by example.

Simply put…

Whatever field you have chosen, there is only one way up the ladder. Find what nobody else wants to do, but is necessary for growth, and be the one who does it.

Whether it is waking up earlier, investing in resources, researching an intricate topic, studying something new, or being better at customer service. Find the hard stuff and do it.

Do this one thing, and you too can succeed in any field.