Professional Success Checklist


  1. Emotional Intelligence (EQ) is the greatest predictor of overall success. In fact, it is more important than our IQ and technical knowledge combined in determining success.  The definition of EQ is simple. It is your ability to interact effectively with people you encounter in your professional and personal life. You can increase your EQ development. The two key elements are listening and empathy. The book to read is Emotional Intelligence by Daniel Goldman. The shorter book is Emotional Intelligence 2.0 by Travis Bradberry & Jean Greaves.

  2. Trust and Verify. When you meet someone for the first time, be open-minded with a trusting attitude. As you observe their behavior (behavior always speaks the loudest) you can decide if they have earned your trust.

  3. Build trust with others just by doing what you say you are going to do. Productivity would be dramatically increased today if we did that one thing.

  4. Be kind to all people you encounter because you never know what they have been through in their life which can color how they perceive your behavior and your words.  You never know how you can help someone if you are willing or how they could help you.

  5. Communication is key to ultimate success. You cannot read another person’s thoughts. It’s true you can assume, surmise, or guess, but you really don’t know what they’re thinking until they begin a conversation to share their ideas, thoughts or feelings.

  6. Build relationships with people. You cannot do that with social media alone. Texting is not the same as a shared conversation where you are looking at someone’s face and eyes. Everything in life is about a relationship. Everything!

  7. Set a time aside each quarter to reflect on your goals as to whether you attained them.  Measure your personal and career happiness on a scale of 1-10 with 10 being the “I couldn’t be more happy about where I am than now.” Ask yourself some great questions. Such as, what could you do differently to attain a better outcome more aligned with your personal mission in life? We all have dreams. Are you progressing on your life path to the successful outcome you desire?  Balance of thought, work and play is the ultimate goal.


Attitude, intelligence, determination.
You've got it all.



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