Sucessful or Unsuccesful: A donsbasement probe.

This chart appeared on my facebook timeline on January 3.

This chart only highlights the traits of successful versus unsuccessful people. You could very well be a success even if you don't have these traits.

It turns out that even though I am a success (after all I have a blog), I have more traits of unsuccessful people than successful ones.

Being a new year and all, I think it is a good time to determine whether I am successful or not. Since I am a relativist in most respects, I believe that there are no yes or no answers to these questions.


Successful People:

Compliment: Yes. I took  a Dale Carnegie course in 1983 or 1984. It stressed that compliment were good for business. But that they should be sincere. That is to say have a basis in fact. Even if the motivation was ingratiate one's self with another for commercial business.

Have a sense of gratitude: No. I have piece of note paper from a psychologist that I went to that reads, "I'm willing to be at peace, content, calm, (grateful?). She put grateful in parentheses. Obviously she thought I had a problem with that.

Give other people credit for their victories: Yes. 'There is no limit to the amount of good you can do if you don't care who gets the credit" I gave that quote to Ronald Reagan.

Read everyday: Yes. Currently reading, "Unfamiliar Fishes," by Sarah Vowell, On The Trail of Grant and Lee: A Narrative History of the Boyhood and Manhood of Two Great Americans by Frederick Trevor Hill, a free Kindle Download written in 1900. I also read the New York Times, especially Gail Collins and Maureen Dowd.

Talk about ideas: No As I don't understand the question.

Share information and data: Yes. Often repeating myself in the process.

Exude joy: No. I experience joy from time to time but I generally keep it to myself.

Embrace change: Not hardly.

Keep a "to-do project" list:  Yes. I keep several lists. But they are often of the daily variety. Since there is a later question of a "to be" list. I can comfortably say yes to this one.

Forgive others: No. Never a strong part of my growing up. Call it Russian. Call it being Jewish. Or call it unsuccessful. I don't forgive. (Although I want other people to forgive me)

Accept responsibility for their failures.: Yes.  I do this often before I have even failed. I save time that way.

Keep a journal: Yes. On and off since high school. Mostly it says how terrible everything was today. But it does get things off my chest.

Want others to succeed: Yes. Unless they are a direct competitor to me, my wife or children, I am all about success.

Keep a "to be" list: No. I was too young for the "Be In."

Set Goals and develop life plans: No. I have set sales goals for the past 30 years but have never developed a life plan. I was too superstitious to develop a life plan. I feared it would make the evil eye angry with me.

Continuously learn: I guess. I am interested in history so I guess I know more about the Civil War, Mongolia, World War I and World War II, and retail than I did when I was younger.

Operate from a transformational perspective: No.  I'm kind of a "go along, get along" kind of guy. Just like the late Sam Rayburn, Speaker of the House in 50s and 60s.

  "If you want to get along--go along."

Final Talley: 9 yes, 8 no. Not completely successful.

Let's look at unsuccessful people.

Criticize. Yes.
Have a sense of entitlement: No
Take all the credit for their victories: No
Watch TV everyday: Yes
Fear Change: Yes.
Fly by the seat their pants: No
Talk about people: Yes, frequently
Hoard information and data: No. I overshare and then forget and overshare again.
Exude Anger: No. Only in the morning and on very ridiculously cold days.
Hold a Grudge: Yes. It's an article of faith and family.
Blame others for their failures: Yes.  In a macro sense.
Say they keep a journal but really don't. No. And this question, is just weird.
Think they know it all: Regrettably,Yes.
Operate from a transactional perspective: Yes. It may come from being in retail but it is a pretty shallow form of interaction but it comes down to pennies.
Secretly hope others fail: I will say NO. (because if I said yes, it wouldn't be a secret)
Don't know what they want to be: Ouch, Yes. But I have tried to be different people but I end up in the same place. And it's not a bad place, to be honest.
Never set goals: Well, I said no to the opposite question trait, so guess I am locked into Yes.

10 yes to 7 no. Not completely unsuccessful.

Wow.