10 defining characteristics of successful people

The one thing for certain about the road to success is that you will be met with challenges along the way.

When the journey becomes overwhelming, the average person may give in to challenges and let go of their goals. Others persevere to find their reward in success.

If you're keen to join the ranks of master achievers, here are the characteristics of successful people you'll want to develop.

1. They imagine.
You are limited by your imagination. Successful people are simply those who are better at imagination than the most of the rest.

2. They are optimistic.
Optimistic people choose hope instead of fear. Without hope for the desired outcome, there will not be any victory. In fact, hope doesn’t magically turn the bad circumstances around, turn everything to your favor without any price. However, hope offers the possibility, it offers the courage for another trial after the defeat. It makes you try again and again and again until you finally claim your victory.

3. They build winning habits.
A huge part of your life are your habits. Not only what you do can be habitual, how you think and how you feel are habitual too. Successful people know some habits are destructive, instead of being control by them, they master them by consciously building good habits.

4. They play by their own rules.
Most of them are not born with any unfair advantage, instead, they create their own unfair advantage. They play by their own rules by risking their life, working harder than everyone else, learning every single detail from scratch, and many other things that most people are not willing to do.

5. They persist.
I don’t think people with good ideas win, but people who took action. But not all people who took action win either, but people who took action and never give up.

6. They see thing as what it really is.
By seeing thing as what it really is, it means they see things most people can’t see. While successful people see opportunities with calculated risks, most people see fear. While successful people see contributions with possible returns, most people see greed. While successful people see better future with current sacrifices, most people see the instant fulfillment and gratification.

7. They leverage.
Some leverage cheap labors, some leverage technology, some leverage others’ talents, some leverage the market conditions. Successful people multiply their effort with leverage available to them.

8. They never stop learning.
Mark Cuban reads more than three hours every day. Arthur Blank, co-founder of Home Depot, reads two hours a day. Billionaire entrepreneur David Rubenstein reads six books a week. Dan Gilbert, a self-made billionaire and owner of the Cleveland Cavaliers, reads one to two hours a day. What is your excuses?

9. They contribute.
Successful people bring value to others. Recognition, fame, wealth, love, inner fulfillment - they all come when you contribute. To become successful, always find ways to give, not to get.

10. They define their own definition of success. You can achieve everything yet not feeling fulfilled if you set the standard based on someone else’s achievement. You can be successful today if you give up the definition of success set by others.