10 Skills You Need To Succeed At Anything

What does it take to succeed? A positive attitude? Well, sure, but that's hardly enough. The Law of Attraction? The Secret? These ideas might act as spurs to action, but without the action itself, they don't do much.

Success, however it's defined, takes action, and taking good and appropriate action takes skills. Some of these skills (not enough, though) are taught in school (not well enough, either), others are taught on the job, and still others we learn from general life experience.

Below is a list of general skills that will help anyone get ahead in practically any field, from running a company to running a gardening club. Of course, there are skills specific to each field as well - but my concern here is with the skills that translate across disciplines, the ones that can be learned by anyone in any position.

1. Public Speaking

The ability to speak clearly, persuasively, and forcefully in front of an audience - whether an audience of 1 or of thousands - is one of the most important skills anyone can develop. People who are effective speakers come across as more comfortable with themselves, more confident, and more attractive to be around. Being able to speak effectively means you can sell anything - products, of course, but also ideas, ideologies, worldviews. And yourself - which means more opportunities for career advancement, bigger clients, or business funding.

For the remaining 9 skills, click here.

Comments

[JennyJay]

Those 10 on the list are all excellent, but I think that the most fundamental (and most important)
thing needed to succeed is . . . the desire, the "need" to succeed almost at a 24/7 rate.
Without that - your life is in "lateral" mode - and you ain't going nowhere.

[KillgoreTrout43]

What a crock.

[Dogma]

Jenny, do you subscribe to The Cheesy Self-improvement Book Club?

[holeybuybull]

JennyJay, we're all going towards the same end, death. It's a question of whether you want to work yourself to death and amass lots of stuff, or enjoy your life by living with your needs, rather than your wants.

[Toonadude]

In my career, I’ve worked for two women whose desire to succeed was so strong that they found it by going into the "lateral" mode.

[MyTake]

Mr. Wax needs a course in "creating a horizontal society"!

Imagine, democracy is predicated on government run public education system that puts 20-25 students in a rectangular box, seated, facing forward while looking at one head-of-state (teacher) and then score them vertically where the top 1/3rd gets a free pass an practices tax avoidance, the middle 1/3rd becomes the tax base and the lower 1/3 becomes a challenge to government resources. Give them 12 seasons of that vertical scale training and they will come out being "clappers" when someone on stage, who has good appearance and voice, is handing them a line of crap.

Imagine if the government changed its educational model to a horizontal education system. Imagine putting 2 adults per classroom with student not all facing forward. The teacher teaches curriculum and that other adult, a student personnel manger, manages the needs of each student and not just in the classroom but in the hallways, in recess, in school yards and during arrival and departure from school property. Then after 12 seasons, the students should have the ability to evaluate anyone on stage and they all become productive citizens. Then the government should give them the power to prevent corrupt people from ever taking political power by requiring a "NONE OF THE ABOVE" option on all political voting ballots.

Once this horizontal scale exists, then these 10 "CON ASSETS" can be abolished, Mr. Wax!

[LookingOverYonder]

This is not much of a list of things to "succeed at anything". Hardly anything, maybe.
"career advancement, bigger clients, or business funding" - tiny parts of life, tiny little successes. What about success as a parent, spouse, musician, artist, Mentor, Confidant, horse-breeder, auto mechanic, lobsterman, seamstress, athlete, gambler?
This list is of things that are at most helpful; none of them are essential all the time for all endeavors.
Where is commitment to excellence, ethics, morality, justice? Pfui.

[sleepless]

It always amazes me that listening, deep listening, is the most underrated skill. It relates to everything in communication, upon which public speaking, writing, and researching is based. It is also the means by which a person can come close to walking in someone else's shoes.

In this sound byte world of I got mine, you take care of yourself, I guess clarity and empathy, also from a foundation of listening skills, just aren't considered important anymore.