8 traits of successful people - Richard St. John

Summary

The speaker humorously dismisses the label of 'motivational speaker,' instead positioning himself as an 'informational speaker' on success. His journey began with a conversation with a young girl on a flight, which led to a decade-long exploration of success factors. After interviewing over 500 successful individuals across various fields, he distilled their stories into 8 common traits: love for one's work, hard work, focus, continuous self-improvement, creativity, serving others, and persistence. These traits form the foundation for success in any field, with specific skills built upon them.

Takeaways

• 🎤 The speaker is not a motivational speaker but an informational speaker who shares insights on success.
• 🛫 The speaker's journey to understand success began with a conversation with a teenage girl on a plane.
• 🏆 The speaker admires figures like Terry Fox and Bill Gates as examples of success, highlighting different forms it can take.
• 🏃‍♂️ Personal achievements of the speaker include winning awards in marketing and completing over 50 marathons, showcasing success in various areas of life.
• 🌍 The speaker's and his wife's adventurous spirit is demonstrated through their climbs of two of the world's seven summits.
• 💑 A successful relationship lasting over 35 years is also considered a form of success by the speaker.
• 🤔 The teenage girl's question about being a millionaire prompted the speaker to reflect on his own success and the importance of money.
• 🧐 The speaker's curiosity about the factors leading to success led him to interview over 500 successful individuals.
• 📚 The interviews were analyzed to identify common traits among successful people, leading to the discovery of 8 key traits.
• 🔍 The 8 traits for success identified are: love what you do, work hard, focus, keep pushing, come up with good ideas, improve, serve others, and persist.
• 🏅 These traits form the foundation of success, upon which specific skills for different fields can be built.

Q & A

What is the speaker's profession and how does he describe himself?

The speaker is an informational speaker who shares insights about success. He humorously mentions that he is not a motivational speaker due to not meeting the height requirement and being called a 'de-motivational speaker' by his employees.

What was the speaker's initial reaction when the teenage girl asked him if he was successful?

The speaker initially denied being successful, citing Terry Fox and Bill Gates as examples of true success. However, after sharing some of his accomplishments, he admitted to the girl that he has had some success.

What are some of the speaker's accomplishments that he shared with the teenage girl?

The speaker mentioned his achievements in communications and marketing, his love for running and winning his age group, his marathon record, running over 50 marathons on all 7 continents, and climbing two of the world's seven summits.

How did the speaker and his wife handle the challenge of running a marathon in Antarctica?

Due to high waves preventing them from reaching the shore, they sailed 200 miles further south to calmer seas and ran the entire 26-mile marathon on a boat, completing 422 laps around the deck.

What was the teenage girl's concern regarding her future and how did the speaker respond?

The girl expressed her concern about being poor and not being smart enough to succeed. The speaker reassured her by sharing his own struggles with school and lack of popularity, emphasizing that intelligence is not the only factor for success.

What sparked the speaker's idea to interview successful people and find out what leads to success?

The idea came to him at the TED conference when he realized he was surrounded by extraordinarily successful people from various fields, and he decided to ask them about their secrets to success.

How many successful people did the speaker interview over the course of his project?

The speaker interviewed over 500 successful people face-to-face and collected thousands of other success stories.

What is the significance of the 8 traits the speaker discovered that successful people have in common?

These 8 traits are considered the foundation of success. They are common factors that emerged from the analysis of the interviews and are believed to be the core elements that contribute to a person's success.

What are the 8 traits that the speaker identified as common among successful people?

The 8 traits are: 1) Love what you do; 2) Work really hard; 3) Focus on one thing, not everything; 4) Keep pushing yourself; 5) Come up with good ideas; 6) Keep improving yourself and what you do; 7) Serve others something of value; 8) Persist, because there's no overnight success.

How did the speaker approach the task of analyzing the interviews and identifying common factors?

The speaker analyzed and sorted millions of words from the interviews, word by word, line by line, and categorized them into factors that people said helped them succeed.

What was the speaker's emotional journey during his project, and how did it impact his findings?

The speaker experienced self-doubt and hesitation at the beginning of his project, but he overcame it and went on to have a rewarding journey filled with fun and meeting interesting people. This personal growth and interaction with successful individuals likely influenced his understanding and identification of the common traits of success.

Outlines

00:00

😄 Embracing the Role of an Informational Speaker

The speaker begins by humorously rejecting the label of a motivational speaker due to not meeting the height requirement and being called a 'de-motivational speaker' by employees. They clarify their intention to share information about success, which started a decade ago on a flight to a TED conference. There, they met a poor, ambitious teenage girl who sparked their interest in success by asking if the speaker was successful. The speaker shared their achievements in communications, running marathons, and mountain climbing, and their long-lasting marriage, which they consider a form of success. This encounter led the speaker to embark on a quest to understand what truly leads to success, which they pursued by interviewing successful individuals at the TED conference.

05:01

🔍 Unraveling the 8 Traits of Successful People

After ten years of extensive research, the speaker has interviewed over 500 successful individuals across various fields, analyzing millions of words from their stories. They express gratitude to the interviewees for sharing their insights. The speaker then presents the 8 traits that successful people have in common, which they derived from the collective comments of their interviews. These traits are: loving what you do, working hard, focusing on one thing, self-improvement, generating good ideas, serving others with value, and persistence. The speaker emphasizes that these traits form the core of success, upon which specific skills can be built depending on one's field or career. The traits are presented as universally applicable, regardless of the industry, and are the foundation for achieving success.

Keywords

💡Success

Success is a term that encompasses the achievement of one's goals or the accomplishment of something desired. In the context of the video, success is the central theme, with the speaker sharing his journey and insights into what leads to success. The speaker discusses various aspects of success, including personal achievements and the traits of successful people.

💡Motivational Speaker

A motivational speaker is someone who inspires and motivates others through storytelling and sharing personal experiences. The speaker in the video humorously dismisses this label, stating he couldn't meet the height requirement and lacks the ability to motivate, which is a playful way to introduce his actual role as an informational speaker.

💡Informational Speaker

An informational speaker is someone who shares knowledge, insights, or information on a specific topic. The speaker in the video positions himself as an informational speaker, aiming to pass on the information he gathered about success to his audience.

💡TED Conference

The TED Conference is a set of global conferences that bring together people from various disciplines and backgrounds to share ideas in technology, entertainment, and design. In the script, the speaker mentions attending a TED conference in California, which serves as a backdrop for his realization about interviewing successful people.

💡Self-Doubt

Self-doubt refers to a lack of confidence in oneself and one's abilities. The speaker talks about experiencing self-doubt before approaching Ben Cohen, co-founder of Ben and Jerry's, for an interview. This concept is important as it shows that even those who seek to understand success can face moments of uncertainty.

💡Traits

Traits are characteristic qualities or attributes of an individual. The speaker identifies 8 common traits among successful people, which are central to the video's message. These traits are the foundation upon which specific skills are built to achieve success in various fields.

💡Communications

Communications is the activity of sharing information and ideas. The speaker mentions a passion for communications and winning awards in marketing, which is an example of how a specific interest can lead to success and recognition in one's field.

💡Marathon

A marathon is a long-distance running race with an official distance of 42.195 kilometers. The speaker shares his personal achievement of running over 50 marathons on all 7 continents, illustrating the dedication and perseverance often associated with success.

💡Seven Summits

The Seven Summits refer to the highest mountains on each of the seven continents. The speaker mentions climbing two of these summits, Aconcagua and Kilimanjaro, as part of his personal success story, showcasing the concept of pushing oneself to achieve significant goals.

💡Altitude Sickness

Altitude sickness is a condition that can occur at high altitudes, causing symptoms such as nausea, headache, and shortness of breath. The speaker humorously recounts his experience with altitude sickness while climbing Kilimanjaro, demonstrating that success can come despite setbacks.

💡Millionaire

A millionaire is an individual with a net worth of at least one million units of currency. The concept of wealth is brought up when the speaker admits to being a millionaire but clarifies that money was not his primary goal, highlighting the idea that success can be measured in various ways beyond financial wealth.

Highlights

Speaker clarifies they are not a motivational speaker but an informational speaker.

Speaker's story begins with a conversation on a plane with a teenage girl from a poor family.

The teenage girl asks the speaker if they are successful, leading to a discussion about success.

Speaker mentions Terry Fox and Bill Gates as examples of success.

Speaker shares personal achievements in communications and running.

Speaker's fastest marathon time is two hours and 43 minutes.

Speaker has run over 50 marathons on all 7 continents, including a unique marathon on a boat in Antarctica.

The speaker and his wife have climbed two of the world's seven summits.

Speaker admits to not being a millionaire and not pursuing money as a primary goal.

The teenage girl's question about what leads to success inspires the speaker's project.

Speaker decides to interview successful people at the TED conference.

First interview is with Ben Cohen, co-founder of Ben and Jerry's ice cream.

Over 10 years, the speaker has interviewed over 500 successful people.

Speaker analyzed millions of words from interviews to find common factors for success.

Eight traits successful people have in common are identified.

The eight traits are the foundation of success, with specific skills built on top.

Speaker thanks the interviewees for their contribution to understanding success.

Transcripts

Now, my subject is success,

so people sometimes call me a "motivational speaker."

But I want you to know right up front I'm not a motivational speaker.

I couldn't pass the height requirement.

(Laughter)

And I couldn't motivate anybody.

My employees actually call me a de-motivational speaker.

(Laughter)

What I try to be is an informational speaker.

I went out and found out some information about success,

and I'm just here to pass it on.

And my story started over ten years ago, on a plane.

I was on my way to the TED conference in California,

and in the seat next to me was a teenage girl,

and she came from a really poor family, but she wanted to get somewhere in life.

And as I tapped away on my computer, she kept asking me questions,

and then out of the blue, she asked, "Are you successful?"

I said, "No, I'm not successful."

Terry Fox, my hero, now there's a big success.

He lost a leg to cancer, then ran thousands of miles

and raised millions for cancer research.

Or Bill Gates, a guy who owns his own plane

and doesn't have to sit next to some kid asking him questions.

(Laughter)

But then I told her about some of the stuff I'd done.

I love communications, and I've won lots of awards in marketing.

I love running, and I still sometimes win my age group,

old farts over 60.

(Laughter)

My fastest marathon is two hours and 43 minutes

to run the 26 miles, or 42 kilometers.

I've run over 50 marathons, in all 7 continents.

This was a run my wife and I did up the Inca trail to Machu Picchu in Peru.

And to qualify for the 7 continents,

we had to run a marathon in Antarctica.

But when we got there, it didn't look nice and calm like this,

it looked like this.

The waves were so high, we couldn't get to shore.

So we sailed 200 miles further south to where the seas were calm

and ran the entire 26-mile marathon

on the boat.

422 laps around the deck of that little boat.

My wife and I have also climbed two of the world's seven summits,

the highest mountains on each continent.

We climbed Aconcagua, the highest mountain on the American continent,

and Kilimanjaro, the highest mountain in Africa.

Well, to be honest, I puked my way to the top of Kilimanjaro,

I got altitude sickness.

I got no sympathy from my wife.

She passed me and did a lap around the top

while I was still struggling up there.

In spite of that, we're still together and have been for over 35 years.

(Applause)

I'd say that's a success these days.

So I said to the girl,

"Well, you know, I guess I have had some success."

And then she said, "Okay, so are you a millionaire?"

(Laughter)

Now, I didn't know what to say,

because when I grew up, it was bad manners to talk about money.

But I figured I'd better be honest,

and I said, "Yeah. I'm a millionaire.

But I don't know how it happened.

I never went after the money, and it's not that important to me."

She said, "Maybe not to you, but it is to me.

I don't want to be poor all my life.

I want to get somewhere, but it's never going to happen."

I said, "Well, why not?"

She said, "Well, you know, I'm not very smart.

I'm not doing great in school."

I said, "So what? I'm not smart. I barely passed high school.

I had absolutely nothing going for me.

I was never voted most popular or most likely to succeed.

I started a whole new category -- most likely to fail.

But in the end, I did okay. So if I can do it, you can do it."

And then she asked me the big question:

"Okay, so what really leads to success?"

I said, "Jeez, sorry. I don't know.

I guess somehow I did it. I don't know how I did it."

So I get off the plane and go to the TED conference,

and I'm standing in a room full of extraordinarily successful people

in many fields -- business, science, arts,

health, technology, the environment --

when it hit me:

Why don't I ask them what helped them succeed,

and find out what really leads to success for everyone?

So I was all excited to get out there and start talking to these great people,

when the self-doubt set in.

I mean, why would people want to talk to me?

I'm not a famous journalist. I'm not even a journalist.

So I was ready to stop the project before it even began,

when who comes walking towards me but Ben Cohen,

the famous co-founder of Ben and Jerry's ice cream.

I figured it was now or never.

I pushed through the self-doubt,

jumped out in front of him, and said,

"Ben, I'm working on this project.

I don't even know what to ask you,

but can you tell me what helped you succeed?"

He said, "Yeah, sure, come on. Let's go for a coffee."

And over coffee and ice cream, Ben told me his story.

Now here we are over 10 years later,

and I've interviewed over 500 successful people

face-to-face, and collected thousands of other success stories.

I wanted to find the common factors for success in all fields,

so I had to interview people in careers ranging from A to Z.

These are just the careers I interviewed beginning with the letter A,

and in most cases more than one person.

I interviewed six successful accountants,

five corporate auditors, five astronauts who had been into space,

four actors who had won the Academy Award for Best Actor,

three of the world's top astrophysicists,

six of the world's leading architects

and, oh yeah, four Nobel Prize winners.

Yeah, I know it doesn't start with A, but it's kind of cool.

(Laughter)

And I want to say a sincere thanks

to all the great people that I've interviewed over the years.

This really is their story; I'm just the messenger.

The really big job was taking all the interviews

and analyzing them, word by word, line by line,

and sorting them into all the factors that people said helped them succeed.

And then you start to see the big factors that are common to most people's success.

Altogether, I analyzed and sorted millions of words.

Do you know how much work that is?

That's all I do, day and night -- sort and analyze.

I'll tell you, if I ever get my hands on that kid on the plane --

(Laughter)

Actually, if I do, I'll thank her.

Because I've never had so much fun and met so many interesting people.

And now, I can answer her question.

I discovered the 8 traits successful people have in common,

or the 8 to be great:

Love what you do; work really hard;

focus on one thing, not everything;

keep pushing yourself; come up with good ideas;

keep improving yourself and what you do;

serve others something of value, because success isn't just about me, me, me;

and persist, because there's no overnight success.

Why did I pick these?

Because when I added up all the comments in my interviews,

more people said those 8 things helped them

than anything else.

The eight traits are really the heart of success, the foundation,

and then on top we build the specific skills

that we need for our particular field or career.

Technical skills, analytical skills, people skills, creative skills --

lots of other skills we can add on top,

depending on our field.

But no matter what field we're in,

these eight traits will be at the heart of our success.

(Applause)