Getting back in the saddle here…
Normally I see list-type articles as a way to get cheap clicks, but I feel like this is something worth actually writing:
I’m still in my mid-twenties but I’ve realized over time – and especially these last few months – that business and society’s most relevant technology will probably pass me by at some point in my life. It could be because I’m too busy in my career or family life to keep up, or it could be because I simply don’t have an interest or use for it. Either way it seems inevitable, although it seems much more likely to happen later than sooner. I’m not worried though because I think there are a few other rock solid traits that will be relevant throughout my entire life in business and the rest of life.
1. Emotional Intelligence: “the ability to monitor one’s own and other people’s emotions, to discriminate between different emotions and label them appropriately, and to use emotional information to guide thinking and behavior.”
Throughout my 10 years of working in a variety of positions, I’ve noticed that the people who seem to most effectively lead others over a long period of time do so because they gain the respect of others by reading people’s emotional states and reacting appropriately. Think about it, if you’ve ever had a coworker who doesn’t seem to get that what they’re doing negatively effects you or annoys the hell out of you – or if you’ve had a boss that is oblivious to frustrations you have at work – you’re unhappy with them.I’ll be the first to admit that I don’t always show my own emotions the best or stay mindful of others in the moment, but I do reflect on past experiences to imagine how I could have handled situations better. I think that this reflection is half the battle, as I’ve noticed that it has helped improve my next interactions in similar situations.
2. The Will To Learn
Showing up might not be the most important thing in life, but it’s pretty damn close. Let’s say you don’t want to work out but you go to the gym anyway. You’re already there, so are you going to just not work out? I doubt it. But…follow through after you show up, because if you walk into the gym and immediately leave, you’ll look like a real weirdo.
Showing up might not be the most important thing in life, but it’s pretty damn close.
The reason I titled this section “The Will To Learn” rather than “The Desire To Learn” is because sometimes you just don’t want to do the hard work to reach the next level, but you do it anyway because you know it’ll be worth it in the end. In my own life I didn’t always want to stay up until 3am studying for an exam or to finish an essay, but I did it because I knew it would help me reach my next goal. In the past couple years I haven’t always been excited to read books or check out seminars on different topics in marketing, but I do it because I hope that I’ll learn something new to expand my knowledge base and eventually advance my career.
3. Resourcefulness
This piggybacks on the previous point and from a past post I made, but finding a way to get things done is huge no matter what era or circumstances you live in. In my career I’ve found that I and others who take the extra time to figure out a new way to complete tasks or to use general problem solving skills seem to be more successful than those that don’t.
Being resourceful requires that you’re either desperate, have enough confidence in yourself to find a solution to your problem, or both. I’ve been in both situations, but I’ve found that if you begin to solve enough problems on your own, eventually you become self-sufficient and become someone that others turn to with help for their issues. To the pessimistic this might sound like a curse, but to the optimistic it means that the organization you work for or the clients you serve will view you as a problem solver and want to continue working with you.
Talent and good luck are important factors in having success (whatever you deem that to be), but embodying emotional intelligence, the will to learn and resourcefulness are vital for longterm success, unless you’re stuck on an island with only a volleyball – then forget about emotional intelligence and keep the other skills.
Think that there are other skills more important than these for longterm success? Share them in the comments, and I’ll debate you to the bitter end. It’ll be good times.
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Tonight’s Box Score: 28 points, 8 boards, 8 dimes, 0 Blocks, 0 Steals, 3 Turnovers.
Jeremy King Marketing 