In 2014, Dave Kerpen, chief executive of Likeable Local and author of “The Art of People,” received a postcard that illustrated the traits and behaviors of successful and unsuccessful people.
The card came from fellow Entrepreneurs’ Organization member Andy Bailey, the chief executive of Petra Coach, a business-coaching service. Although the two CEOs have never met, Kerpen said in a 2014 LinkedIn post that the postcard has had a profound effect on him, “reinforcing values I believe in and reminding me on a daily basis of the attitudes and habits that I know I need to embrace in order to become successful.”
The postcard, at right, points out 16 big differences between successful and unsuccessful people. Below we highlight six of our favorites, plus seven others Kerpen shared with us in a recent interview.
Read on to find out what distinguishes superstars from everyone else:
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1. Successful people embrace change; unsuccessful people fear it
“Embracing change is one of the hardest things a person can do,” Kerpen says in his 2014 LinkedIn post.
With the world moving fast and technology accelerating at a rapid speed, it’s imperative that we embrace these changes and adapt, rather than fear, deny, or hide from them, he says. Successful people are able to do just that.
2. Successful people talk about ideas; unsuccessful people talk about people
Instead of gossiping about people, which gets you nowhere, successful people discuss ideas.
“Sharing ideas with others will only make them better,” Kerpen says.
3. Successful people accept responsibility for their failures; unsuccessful people blame others
Truly successful leaders and businesspeople experience ups and downs in their lives and careers, but they always accept responsibility for their failures.
He says blaming others solves nothing: “It just puts other people down and absolutely no good comes from it.”
