The best and surest way to become successful is to simply model those whom are already successful. Find somebody that is the best in the category, genre, or field that you seek to be the best in and follow their footsteps. If you follow their way, then you can avoid some of the mistakes that they made. The people in this life whom you deem as “successful†didn’t get there overnight, they didn’t just get lucky. The most successful people had to grind and hustle their way to the position they are now.
Modeling was first coined by neuroscientists who suggested that we all operate with the same fundamental principles, that we can achieve the same results as somebody else. In other words, if we learn from others, we can achieve our desired result using less effort than those who became successful before us.
What have we learned from successful people before us? We have learned that hard work trumps talent. Hard work is the key to success and just because somebody is incredibly intelligent doesn’t mean they are destined to automatically become a CEO of a fortune 500 company. Millionaires are in the position they are because of their constant drive and fear of sitting still. They are resilient. Many times, normal people get bogged down by adversity and negativity, but millionaires push through these trials and come out stronger than before. They learn from their mistakes and improve their weaknesses. Successful people learn to self-motivate. They don’t need somebody to encourage them or to tell them that they are going to be successful. They didn’t need somebody pushing them and telling them to continue. Successful people’s most supportive advocate is themselves.
So how do we model those successful people? We should read biographies of the people we want to become. Read the bio of Mark Cuban, Steve Jobs, Barbara Corcoran or Michael Jordan. None of these people we handed success and therefore we can relate to their mediocre beginnings. We should always be a lifelong learner. Egos can get in the way of us achieving our fullest potential, because we think we don’t have anything else to learn. Successful people are always willing to learn. They want to know as much as they can and aren’t afraid to admit they might not be the best at everything. And sometimes you don’t need to model others to provide you with inspiration. Try modeling yourself! Think about times in which you felt as if you were successful and try to think about what made you have that success. Try mirroring that behavior.
If you want to become successful, you can’t just continue doing what you are doing. Things must change, you must change! Start today knowing what successful people you would like to model, follow in their footsteps and go and get the success you deserve.