Success leaves clues. It is amazing to me how many folks I meet believe success is luck or happens by accident. In my experience, this is not the case. Look at the folks in your arena that are superstars. The common threads that these men and woman posses enable them to step away from the masses and accomplish something great.

Work ethic, definiteness of purpose, and a positive attitude are always at the top of the list for these overachievers. What we often overlook, is the common traits that keep people average. They are Procrastination and Excusitis. These are the plagues of the mediocre.

Procrastination has long been an enemy of success. It is so easy to trick ourselves into believing there is an endless amount of time when no one tells us to clock in and clock out. Procrastination is the little voice inside our heads that whispers "you can do it later."  

Symptoms:  

• Most open browser windows have nothing to do with a current project.   
• Must have all the ducks in a row before beginning work. Details get in the way of the overall goal
• Days go by without getting priority tasks accomplished.  

Treatment:

• Focus on being productive not being busy. Pick small achievable goals to accomplish.  
• Write down daily goals and keep keep them visible. This creates a sense of urgency.
• Minimize "time thieves." These are the tools like IM, facebook, and twitter (the web in general) that sap our time. Use tools like Rescue Time to see where your time goes.

The second failure disease is Excusitis. Successful people have a a different perspective on excuses. They use them as motivation to win instead of cause to lose. A person with Excusitis will find circumstances as the "why" they cannot succeed. Common excuses used are economy, weather, government, intelligence, money, and background.  

Symptoms:

• Victim mentality. Belief that the world is out to get you.  
• Blame everything on others.  
• Believe luck is the author of success.  

Treatments:

• Don't compare your weaknesses with others' strengths.
• Don't pass the buck. Take personal responsibility.
• Change the perspective on your circumstances. Turn the excuses into reasons.

These simple remedies will cure the toughest failure diseases. What medicine have used to stay healthy and productive?


Photo Credit: Shawn Zehnder Lea