Drawing the Line Between the Great and the Ordinary

I love reading up on what others have found to be the secret to a fruitful career. What makes a truly great business executive? What are the common traits amongst wildly successful people?

I certainly haven’t discovered the answer yet (probably because there isn’t one), but I have stumbled on a few recent articles that have some hints for at least a good start down the right path.

As not only a current CNBC correspondent, but also a mother of a two-year-old, I would dub Julia Boorstin pretty darn successful. It may be her understanding of the importance of early mornings that has contributed to her success. Last month, she shared insight into why waking up early can have a drastic impact on your life and career. Especially for us folks on the West Coast, the rest of the country are well ahead of us by the time we roll out of bed at 7am, meaning we’re spending half the morning just playing catch-up. Needless to say, I’ve been setting my alarm an hour earlier since reading this piece.

With the release of the new iPhone, it may be a bad time to tell you to power down your devices. But, I think USA Today raises an interesting point about how tuning out technologies and allowing yourself to become “bored” can actually contribute to more thoughtful ideas. Especially in an industry where we are valued for our creative thinking, it’s important to recognize that some of our most ingenious ideas stem from moments filled with no distractions.

Finally, Inc. gets right to the point in the article, “7 Traits that Distinguish Super Successful People from Ordinary Ones”. All seven traits are ones worth reading, but my favorite is the final piece of advice – Nothing Succeeds Like Failure. The sentiment is a great reminder that our first idea doesn’t have to be our best idea. And, you never know how successful the venture may turn out to be in the end. To quote one of my dear friends, “sometimes the greatest ideas come from plan B”.

Cheers to a successful Friday!