8 Rare Things You Must Have To Be Successful — And Completely Happy
It's not about what you have but what you do.
Jacob Lund | Canva I’ve come across certain people in life who have figured out how to achieve the most happiness and success. There’s one thing about these people that always made me look at them with admiration — who they were as a person.
It's who they really are deep down — the values that run their lives, the standards they set for themselves and the people around them, that voice in their head that makes them differentiate right from wrong even when they know nobody’s watching — that sets them apart from the rest.
Here are 8 things you must have to be successful and completely happy:
1. Strong, established beliefs (that you never stray from)
Life will throw a lot of things your way to challenge your beliefs — to make you bend to other people’s will — but if you’re clear about what you stand for, you'll always understand the importance of staying strong in your beliefs. People who stand for nothing never achieve true success.
2. Rock-solid integrity
There will always be moments when doing the RIGHT thing is the hardest thing to do — but sometimes the "easy" way ends up destroying something or someone else in the long run. Being a true leader and being incredibly successful only amplifies the importance of maintaining your moral integrity and being a person of your word.
3. The complete understanding that people are always worth more than money
It’s easy to get to a point in life where the success you have makes you feel invincible, but the most successful people understand that PEOPLE are always more important. They treat everyone with respect and value kindness and love beyond anything else. Stepping over people is not part of the plan.
4. A trusted support system of friends, family, or colleagues
Having a community of trusted people who know your worth and value is immeasurable. It's about proving to them they can count on you no matter what. Once you’ve built your tribe, you'll have someone to lean on when things don’t go your way (and when they do!)
5. Set solid boundaries
Many times when your success starts to show on the outside, there will be people there to celebrate with you — as well as people who jump at the chance to take advantage of the situation. Always set your boundaries to make sure you always keep the right people around. Don’t worry about alienating people. The right ones will always stay.
6. The knowledge that the ends never justify the means
Never compromise yourself. If you do something that you feel ashamed or embarrassed about, fix it. If you can’t fix it, at least try. Sometimes we discover our greatest powers in the power to be better than we were.
7. The drive to be better every single day
Twitter, now X, used to have this slogan written on their wall “Let’s make better mistakes tomorrow.” But is it really about making more mistakes or is it just their way of acknowledging that we will ALWAYS make mistakes? It’s in human nature to err — we will always try to learn from our mistakes, correct them when we can, and become better for them.
8. A sense of urgency (because we aren't going to be here forever)
The hard truth is we don’t have endless time in this world. Every successful person out there cherishes their time and knows how important it is to give time to the things that TRULY matter, instead of the things that seem more urgent.
Albert Einstein said, “Try not to become a man of success, but rather try to become a man of value.” While we all find our own way to define success and to be successful in this life, let’s never forget to be people of value in the process and to always try to be the best version of ourselves.
Lavinia Lumezanu is a freelance writer, blogger, and communications and public relations executive. She has been featured in, Fast Company, Yahoo, The Culture Trip, Thrive Global, Elephant Journal, JustLuxe, Fremont Tribune, and more