Success Personality According to a Gallup survey, a

Success Personality
   Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. Today our topic is about the personality of successful people. Is there a "success personality" -- some winning combination of qualities that leads almost inevitably to achievement? If so, exactly what is that secret success formula, and can anyone cultivate it?
   At the Gallup Organization we recently focused in depth on success, probing the attitudes and qualities of 1,500 prominent people selected at random from Who’s Mw in America, Our research pinpoints a number of qualities that recur regularly among top achievers. Here are five of the most important:
   1. Common sense. This is the most prevalent quality possessed by our respondents. Seventy-nine percent awarded themselves a top score in this category. And 61 percent say that common sense was very important in contributing to their success.
   To most, common sense means the ability to present sound, practical judgements on everyday affairs. To do this, one has to sweep aside extraneous ideas and get right to the core of what matters. A Texas oil and gas magnate puts it this way: "The key ability for success is simplifying. In conducting meetings and dealing with industry regulations, reducing a complex problem to the simplest terms is highly important."
   Is common sense a quality a person is born with, or can you something to increase it? The oil man’s answer is that common sense can definitely be developed. He attributes his to learning how to debate in school. Another way to increase your store of common sense is to observe it in others, lemming from their -- and your own -- mistakes.
   2. Knowing one’s field. After common sense, specialized knowledge in one’s field is the second most common quality possessed by the respondents, with three-fourths giving themselves an A in this category.
   Geologist Philip Oxley, former president of Tenneco Oil Exploration and Production Co. and now chairman of Tenneco Ewope, attributes his success to having worked in the oil fields. By "sitting on wells and bird-dogging seismic crews" he learned the tricks of the trade firsthand. "People who are going to be good managers need to have a practical understanding of the crafts in their business," he says.
   On-the-job experience convinced one news photographer of the importance of specialized knowledge. He says that "understanding why my equipment performs the way it does" is part of his success formula. A noteworthy point is: he obtained his specialized knowledge through self-education and not through formal schooling.
   "Do your homework!" advises an vice executive president of an industrial corporation "Nothing helps success more than knowing what you’re doing. It reduces the risk,; and works like an insurance policy for your own ability."
   Once obtained, specialized knowledge isn’t something you should take for granted. The learning process continues even after major peaks have been sealed. "To achieve success, you have to want it", the vice president explains. "Then, you must work to keep it".
   3. Self-reliance. Top achievers rely primarily on their own resources and abilities. Seventy-seven percent give themselves an A rating for this quality.
   Self-reliance is not how you feel or how good you are; rather, it’s whether you have the quality to take definitive action to get things moving in your life. It includes plain old willpower and the ability to set goals.
   Two-thirds of the respondents say they’ve had clear goals for their lives and careers. And half of those we interviewed give themselves an A in willpower. Among other capabilities, willpower contains the ability to be a serf-starter and to persevere after a project had begun.
   A respondents says, "The formula for success in my field is not only pride in what I do but also the courage and determination and energy to work the hours required to accomplish the objectives."
   4. General intelligence. This is essential for outstanding achievement because it involves your natural ability to comprehend difficult concepts quickly and to analyze them clearly and sharply. At least that’s the way our respondents see it -- 43 percent said it was a very important ingredient of their success, and the other 52 percent said it was fairly important.
   Recent studies suggest that many types of intelligence can’t be measured with the usual methods, such as IQ tests. Still, it is interesting that our respondents had high IQs with a median score of 140.
   From our survey, we confirmed -- not surprisingly -- that the general intelligence of our respondents consists of at least three elements besides IQ: an extensive vocabulary, and good reading and writing skills. During the year preceding the survey they read an average of 19 books, including ten nonfiction works.
   These top achievers aren’t just talking shout an innate capacity when they speak of intelligence. A finance executive sums it up this way: "An inquiring mind and broad-ranging interests are fundamental to success."
   5. The ability to get things done. Nearly three-fourths of our high achievers rank themselves "very efficient" in accomplishing their tasks. And they agree that at least three important qualities have helped them to do so: organizational ability, good work habits and diligence.
   A physics professor summarizes his success formula this way: "Sheer hard, tenacious work, with the ability to place oneself." He admits working up to I00 hours a week.
   Besides the five listed here, there are other factors that influence success: leadership, creativity, relationships with others, and of course, luck. But common sense, knowing your field, self-reliance, intelligence and the ability to get things done stand out. If you cultivate these qualities, chances are that you’ll succeed. And you might even find yourself listed in Who’s Who someday.