Last week I wrote about the fact that for me articles are far more efficient for growing oneself than books or podcasts. In that post I also shared the best article that I believe exists in the entire world. But in my opinion, a close runner-up does exist as well!

How to be Successful

About 6 years ago the now CEO of OpenAI, Sam Altman, posted a blog much like this one. In this article, entitled How to Be Successful, Altman shares 13 of his thoughts on how to achieve elite-level success. Here are a few highlights (with direct quotes italicized):

1. Have almost too much self-belief. “Self-belief is immensely powerful. The most successful people I know believe in themselves almost to the point of delusion.” Grow this early on and then over time get more and more data that backs it up. Self-belief must be balanced out with listening to and considering feedback that is given by others.
2. Focus. “Focus is a force multiplier on work.” Spend more time stepping back and thinking about what to work on. THEN be relentless about attacking those small handful of priorities day in day out.
3. Work hard. “You can get to about the 90th percentile in your field by working either smart or hard, which is still a great accomplishment. But getting to the 99th percentile requires both—you will be competing with other very talented people who will have great ideas and be willing to work a lot. Extreme people get extreme results.” A few ways to work extra hard without burning out are to work with people you enjoy being around doing work that you enjoy doing. Start working hard earlier in your career. This is the time in your life where you usually have less commitments (like kids). But also work that is put in early then has time to compound over future years like growing interest.
4. Be willful. “A big secret is that you can bend the world to your will a surprising percentage of the time—most people don’t even try, and just accept that things are the way that they are. People have an enormous capacity to make things happen. A combination of self-doubt, giving up too early, and not pushing hard enough prevents most people from ever reaching anywhere near their potential.” Be optimistic. You will hardly ever find a pessimistic successful person. 
5. Be hard to compete with. A great way to do this is to build up leverage, and you must find some way to do this. “Most people do whatever most people they hang out with do. This mimetic behavior is usually a mistake—if you’re doing the same thing everyone else is doing, you will not be hard to compete with.”
6. Build a network. “The size of the network of really talented people you know often becomes the limiter for what you can accomplish.” Build a network by helping people as often as you can, and by developing a reputation of taking care of the people who you work with.
7. Be internally driven. “Most people are primarily externally driven; they do what they do because they want to impress other people…The most successful people I know are primarily internally driven; they do what they do to impress themselves and because they feel compelled to make something happen in the world.” A person’s motivation is so important, and it should be the first thing that you try to identify in someone else.

Closing Queries

You can read Altman’s entire article here. Which of these attributes of successful people is your strongest? Which do you most need to improve in? Who in your sphere could benefit from being coached on one or more of these traits of successful people?