I’m a very good employee. Not a rock star, but keep nose clean, do excellent work and my very difficult boss never complains a peep about me. For the life of me, I’m not certain why.
I don’t have kids but I honestly don’t know what advice I’d give them to be successful. I don’t do the hiring, but I have no idea what qualities I’d look for in a potential employee (or what to advise a new employee).
It seems like that by now (mid-40’s) I’d have some grasp of why. So, people who are successful, particularly at work, do you examine the reasons why, or do you just go along with flow and simply be grateful for what you have?
I’m an engineer and I work with lots of other engineers.
The best engineers are those who have a genuine interest in engineering. They love solving problems. They also work on their own cars and do a lot of tinkering at home. I would say 30% of engineers fall into this category.
The other 70% received engineering degrees because they thought it would be a secure and good-paying career. They do not have a genuine interest in engineering. They hate their job and are not good engineers.
Moral of the story: the happiest and most successful employees tend to be those who have a genuine interest in their professional field.
Have I analyzed why I’ve enjoyed most jobs I’ve had? You bet. It’s precisely what Crafter_Man said. If you are interested in your vocation the job can be challenging and fun.
If you are somewhat luckier you have jobs that are project-oriented and you get to see the results of your efforts. You might not always be successful, I sure wasn’t, but you still get a kick knowing you, or your team, made it happen.
I once had a job that was way off my normal path. After three months both my supervisor and I realized things weren’t working. I didn’t let the door hit me on the way out.
Success definitely deserves analysis. Many people think that we need to find the causes of poverty but this is crap. Poverty is the default of humanity and has been since the beginning. Success is the rarity that needs analysis.
Definitely be aware of what work makes you happy. You’ll put your best effort into it and that, combined with a modicum of talent will make you successful.
I left school at 16 because I didn’t know what I liked to do and couldn’t give my all to further education. a little later I did realise what I enjoyed doing and did an honours degree tailored to precisely that area and got myself a first.
I’m now a a self-employed consultant and I have had to tell clients not to hire me long-term on stuff that will bore me stupid and instead help them recruit someone that is a better fit. Again, it all comes from knowing what work is a good fit and that you find rewarding.
I’ve got to agree with Crafter_Man also. I’m an engineer also and I know the top engineers in my specialty very well, and all don’t just do the job but enjoy the job and will do a lot more than what is required to stay employed. They are smart and creative and can speak up.
I know exactly why I was successful, and also exactly why I chose the path I chose.
My kids are successful also, but that came from us teaching them to think clearly, to not be afraid of doing new things. Genes did have some part of it.
If you figure out why you are successful, that is what works, you can do more of it.
Simple as that. I’ve been around many successful people and they all have one thing in common. That is an excellent ability to communicate. This means…
-If they are happy with your work, they will let you know.
-If they are not happy with something, they will let the persons/companies concerned know about it - via verbal message, phone call, writing, etc.
-If you give them information on the phone, they will repeat it back to you to be sure it is correct. And ask you to repeat what they said to be sure you received the correct information.