8 Reasons Why Successful Losers Make the Best Leaders

Steve Jobs. Bill Gates. Russell Simmons. Mark Zuckerberg. Howard Stern. Oprah Winfrey. Walt Disney. Jim Carrey. Halle Berry. What do all of these people have in common other than being hugely famous and filthy rich? They either dropped out of college, were fired from their jobs or they were homeless. For some reason, it seems as if your most famous athletes, movie stars and business leaders did not travel the easy or conventional road to success.

Yet all the people mentioned are LEADERS in their respective fields. What separates them from the rest of us? Education? No. Economically privileged? No. Above average intelligence. Maybe. Born with above average talent? Maybe. I’m guessing these people just wanted to succeed more than the rest of us. We all want success but how bad do we want it?

Why Conventional Wisdom is the way to mediocrity and failure

Why does it seem that the vast majority of us who do what were told as kids – Get good grades. Go to college. Graduate. Get a good job – are still employed and spinning our wheels in mediocrity in jobs we hate and still broke?

Why does it seem that people do all “the right things” don’t seem to be as successful as people who didn’t? Perhaps it was the hard times that helped made those people into who they are. But I’m sure we’ve seen or heard about countless people who experienced the same situations and quit. Never to be heard of again.

The reason is that conventional wisdom teaches us to work for other people. You’ll never be rich working for someone else. This country was built by and for leaders, particularly business leaders. Even the tax codes favor business owners. But I digress.

The main reason “successful losers” are different from the rest of us is that just think differently than the rest us. Plain and simple. They don’t look for the easy to comfortable way. They don’t give up easily. They are willing to sacrifice everything because many times they don’t have anything to lose or go back to.

Although there are more than eight reasons successful losers are successful, here are the top eight I found among all the greatest successful losers ever studied:

• Successful losers are willing to sacrifice everything they have for success. They are willing to lay everything on the line. Successful losers are willing to sacrifice sleep, the comforts of home, months and even years without making money. They are willing to move wherever there is opportunity. Most people don’t want to leave their hometown and want guaranteed money, 40 hour work week and benefits.
• Successful losers are work insanely hard to get where they are. Most of us complain when we have to work overtime on weekends. Losers are willing to work 50, 60, 70 hours or more a week on whatever they’re trying to build. Many times without pay.
• Successful losers are willing to take risks. They are willing to try different things to find a system that works for them. Most of us want a guaranteed way to succeed. They aren’t afraid to make mistakes even though mistakes sometimes cost time and money. They are willing to start over and try again.
• Successful losers are persistent. While most people are willing to quit by the second or third failure, losers don’t see failure as an option. Successful losers many times fail at two or three businesses and go bankrupt several times before attaining success. They are not normal. What most people think is overnight success is usually 20 years of hard work, tears, failure and living in obscurity.
• Successful losers unlike most of us bring a team along with them. Most of us attempt success on our own. Successful losers know they can’t do it by themselves. They almost always partner with another successful person and create other successful people.
• Successful losers are willing to reinvent themselves. Sometimes opportunities are successful for a while but things change: The economy, consumer demand, the person themselves, culture and technology to name a few. Rather than keep doing the same thing(s) that USE to work, they adapt to the changes and make things work.
• Successful losers are usually ahead of the game. They don’t wait for the tides of a great opportunity to come ashore and then try to ride them, they are prepared before the tide comes. When the tides come, the ride them for as long as they can and make the most of the ride. Most people wait too late take advantage of opportunities or aren’t ready when come.
• Successful losers know when to call it quits. As the old adage goes, all things come to an end and so do opportunities. Losers know that when they no longer have the desire or passion to do something, it’s time to do something else. And when an opportunity is no longer profitable, it’s time to cut your losses. Either go into another business or transform the existing business.

When it comes to why and how people are successful. It’s really not a secret anymore. More books, e-books, CDs and DVDs have been produced on successful people that it’s almost cliché or trite. However, at the heart of American culture, Americans love to hear rags to riches stories. It’s what makes this country great. Anybody can succeed IF you’re willing to sacrifice and work extremely hard and be insanely persistent.