What every successful person needs to succeed.

Characteristics of Success

When people think about the word success, they usually associate the words wealth and power, however, there are all different kinds of success. Generally, there are certain traits one must exhibit to be a successful person in anything they do. Narrowing this list down to five traits necessary for every successful person is not very easy, considering that success can be reached in a multitude of ways. However, here is what I have come up with: One must be forthright, diligent, a risk-taker, intelligent, and sacrificial.

Forthright is a word used to describe an honest, frank, or direct person. Although we wish that every successful person were honest, it is not always the case. Many people reach the top by cheating and lying, however, more often does a person find success by being honest and terse. In politics, no one votes for those candidates who are dishonest and corrupt (or so we hope).

The Peacemakers.

English: Abraham Lincoln, the sixteenth President ...

Lithograph of the Assassination of Abraham Lincoln...

Every businessman/woman must display himself or herself as a trustworthy and honest person to gain respect, and customers.

No one has ever been successful without being hard working, or diligent. Without work ethic, one accomplishes nothing. The saying "Where there is a will there is a way" goes along with this very concept. To the contrary, without will there is no way. Thus, achieving anything is done with diligence and persistence. Scientists and inventors had to experiment with things many times before they got desired results.

When Ben Franklin discovered electricity, I'm sure that he was not thinking of the consequences that could have occurred during that famous "kite experiment." Had he not taken the risk and flown the kite during a thunderstorm, one can wonder if we would have electricity today. Therefore, risk-taking is crucial to being a success in many ways.