10 Essential Qualities for Living an Authentically Empowered Life Success is the process of becoming the best version of yourself.
By Sherrie Campbell Edited by Dan Bova
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
To be powerful in the business world you must possess the essential qualities that will guarantee to keep you ahead of the game. The majority of people do not reach the levels of success or satisfaction they desire, not because they don't have the talent, but because they do not have the other qualities necessary to make it happen. To live as powerfully as you desire, you must embody the indispensable qualities of those who have reached the mecca of success before you.
1. Live fiercely.
Living fiercely means you challenge yourself to live life to the fullest. Do not compare yourself to others. Your only real competition is with your own self-doubt. If you cater to your doubt, it will partner with "delay" and you will struggle to initiate and follow through. You may live an average life, but it won't be a satisfying life. Living fiercely means you go at life with your whole heart. The more fiercely you live, the more wonderful life becomes. Those who have succeeded, those who have the wealth and happiness you desire, have lived fiercely.
Related: Why Valedictorians Rarely Become Rich and Famous -- and the Average Millionaire's College GPA is 2.9
2. Care deeply.
Caring deeply means you know who you are, what you need and how to have compassion for yourself. In doing this, you increase your capacity to care for all others; even those whom you would prefer not to spend time with. If you cannot be kind, you must have the grace to remain silent. Further, when you care deeply about what you do, what your purpose is, and the effort and quality of the work you put into yourself, your passions and others, it will show. Caring deeply helps you create sustainable networks that are supportive of your efforts. Caring deeply is contagious, as it inspires others to want to be a part of what you're doing.
3. Accept reality.
Unforgivable things are going to happen. You will face plenty of loss and betrayal. To protect your success, you must accept the reality of the people and circumstances which have been set for your destruction. Acceptance brings you to reality and reality is the only place you can start to heal from in an effort to change your life. Reality is where forgiveness and wisdom combine. To be successful, you must learn to "drop it, leave it and let it go." Forgiveness is an essential ingredient when it comes to success; whereas, your wisdom lies in not forgetting. When you remember who and what did not have your best interest at heart, you are less likely to make those mistakes again in the future.
Related: 11 Qualities of Super Successful People (Infographic)
4. Discerning
You cannot host toxic people and rise in your life or career at the same time. For this reason, to be as successful and fulfilled as you desire, you must be discerning about the company you keep. You cannot fly with bowling balls attached to your wings. For this reason, rid your path of toxic people as soon as you recognize their toxicity. It only takes one toxic person to destroy the progress of many. Success is about surrounding yourself with a team of people who are similar in drive, variable in skills, and driven from the same infectious passion that motivates you. The key to your success, will always stem from the quality of your personal relationships.
5. Positive
To live an empowered life, you must train your mindset to believe in your capacity to succeed. You must choose to carry a mental and emotional attitude focused on the bright side of life. Empowerment is ultimately a state of consciousness where you anticipate happiness, health, success and the belief that you can overcome any obstacle or difficulty. Say Yes to life, to new opportunities, thoughts, ideas and directions. You must allow your mind to be open, flexible and to trust that each time you say Yes, that you will be lead into more success.
Related: Why You Should Never Follow Your Passion
6. Grit
Trust that failure is the springboard for your success. Each mistake made is designed to take you in a new direction, rather than designed to take you down. You must refuse to allow setbacks to discourage you. Let setbacks inspire you more deeply to set new goals, to generate new ideas and to take novel ways up the mountain. Let there be no amount of hard work you will shy away from, regardless of how talented you are. Hold the awareness that having a talent for something is far different than excelling at something; therefore, your hard work will trump your talent every time. To feel empowered on any level, you must have the grit to finish what you start.
7. Humble
To live from a state of empowerment, you must have the humility to know when you need to ask for help, and when it is time to allow the efforts of others to shine more brightly than your own. Humility gives you the wisdom to understand that success is a shared experience. When achievements can be shared, it makes you more engaging to others, as your humility naturally draws intrigue. There is nothing more beautiful than to give credit to the team of people who helped you get to where you are.
Related: Vacation Tips From a Workaholic
8. Set boundaries.
As important as it is to say Yes, you must also know when to say No. Overextending yourself to an oppressive schedule that doesn't allow you to take care of your health, nutrition, to get adequate sleep or enough time for your personal life is not success at all, it's slavery. Success is not empowering if you do not have your health, the experience of deep love and the time to live your life wholeheartedly. It is crucial to take breaks from the grind, and to experience the fruits of your labor. If you say No to one opportunity, another will come along that will be even better. Say No whenever necessary to establish a healthy work/life balance.
9. Courageous
The motto you must live by, is to feel the fear and do it anyways. To experience empowerment, you have to put guts over fear. You must face your fears if you want to know what you're capable of. How can you know the depth of your capacity if you never test it? You've got this one life, so you may as well test the limits of what you believe your capacities to be, and prove your more limiting beliefs to be false. To be in the game of success, you've got to be in it to win it.
Related: Why Travel Should Be a Top Priority for Every Entrepreneur
10. Tough-minded
You must not allow giving up to be a viable option. If you're seeking to live your dream, you are the only person who can go out there and live it. You cannot give up in the middle of the race just because the finish line isn't coming fast enough. Stay in the moment, learn patience and keep working hard. Your hard work and tough-mindedness will give you a resilience to outlast your competitors. Most people are not tough-minded enough to be patient or to tolerate uncertainty; they want the quick-fix and the easy win. If you want to live an empowered life, you must become a warrior; skilled in the area of perseverance. You must view each challenge as a competition to be won.
