Characteristics of Successful People

By Dr. Pine Pienaar

I was always intrigued by the question: Why are some people successful in life while others just cant get it right, even if they are from the same background. I have researched this phenomenan over many years, and now I believe I have a fairly accurate list of the characteristics of successful people. As this book is meant for the man in the street, I have written it in laymans terms and I used examples and humor to bring the points across. Furthermore, I attempted to show how to learn the characteristics of successful people in order for the reader to internalize the principles and become successful himself.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris UK
• Release date: Apr 8, 2013
• ISBN: 9781479784202

Dr. Pine Pienaar

After completing his studies in the fields of electrical and mechanical engineering, the author, Dr. Pine Pienaar, obtained a master’s degree in non-formal education, a doctorate in business education and an advanced diploma in labour law. He entered the auto industry as a training manager and spent years honing his skills in the field of training and consulting for numerous prominent vehicle brands, both locally and internationally. Today, he is widely recognised for his special gift to convey, in layman’s terms, the complexities of the often underestimated sales environment.

Book preview

CHARACTERISTICS OF

SUCCESSFUL PEOPLE

Dr Pine Pienaar

Image397.JPG

Copyright © 2013 by Pine Pienaar.

First edition, first impression in 2013 by Dr Pine Pienaar

778 3rd Street, Hartbeestfontein Estate 246, Montana, Pretoria, 0159 Gauteng, South Africa

Editor: Sonya Olivier

Artwork: Ferdinand Pretorius, Ice Worx Graphix, www.iceworx.co.za

Design and layout: Rina Eksteen

Library of Congress Control Number:   2013902111

ISBN:   Hardcover  978-1-4797-8419-6

             Softcover    978-1-4797-8418-9

             Ebook         978-1-4797-8420-2

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

Rev. date: 04/03/2013

To order additional copies of this book, contact:

Xlibris Corporation

1-888-795-4274

www.Xlibris.com

[e-mail]

305513

Contents

About The Author

Introduction

CHAPTER 1:   The Golden Thread

1.1   Star Signs

1.2   Cultural Heritage

1.3   Intelligence Quotient (Iq)

1.4   Religious Affiliation

1.5   Discovering The Golden Thread

CHAPTER 2:   What Is Success?

CHAPTER 3:   Basic Principles

3.1 Forming Habits

3.1.1 From Negative To Positive-How?

3.2 Tackling The Big Five

3.2.1   Number 1: My Lion

3.2.2   Number 2: My Elephant

3.2.3   Number 3: My Buffalo

3.2.4   Number 4: My Leopard

3.2.5 Number 5: My Rhinoceros

3.3 Paying The Price

CHAPTER 4:   Characteristics Of Successful People

CHAPTER 5:   Characteristic 1: Control Raw Instincts

5.1 Inside Information-A Look Into The Human Brain

5.1.1 The Cortex

5.1.2. The Thalamus

5.1.3   The Amygdala

5.1.4   The Prefrontal Lobes

5.2 The Highway In Your Head

5.2 Controlling Your Instincts-How?

5.2.1 Withdraw From The Situation

5.2.2 Cognitively Reframe The Situation

5.2.3 Look Out For Signs Of Defensiveness

5.3 Are You A Walking Time Bomb?

CHAPTER 6:   Characteristic 2: Protect Yourself

6.1 Protect Yourself Physically

6.2 Protect Yourself Emotionally

6.2.1 Tips On Staying Emotionally Healthy

6.2.2 Stress Management

6.2.3 Stress And Depression

6.2.3 The Bottom Line

6.2.4 Dealing With Stress

6.3 Protect Yourself Cognitively

6.4   Protect Yourself Socially

6.5   Protect Yourself Spiritually

CHAPTER 7:   Characteristic 3: Learn To Persevere

CHAPTER 8:   Characteristic 4: Forgive In Advance

8.1 Ask Yourself

CHAPTER 9:   Characteristic 5: Find The Hidden Message

CHAPTER 10:   Characteristic 6: Become A Leader

Quadrant 1: The Novice In Personal Leadership

Quadrant 2: The Bully

Quadrant 3: The Workaholic

Quadrant 4: The Expert Personal Leader

CHAPTER 11:   Characteristic 7: Master The Way You Communicate

CHAPTER 12:   Characteristic 8: Create Hope

CHAPTER 13:   Characteristic 9: Be Effective And Efficient

13.1 Doing The Right Things

13.1.1   Be Pro-Active

13.1.2   Think Win-Win

13.1.3   Sharpen The Saw

13.1.4   Prioritise

13.1.5   Synergise

13.1.6   First Seek To Understand, Then To Be Understood

13.1.7   Begin With The End In Mind

CHAPTER 14:   Characteristic 10: Motivate Yourself

CHAPTER 15:   Characteristic 11: Make Continuous Small Changes

15.1 Big Changes

15.2   Small Changes

15.3   Continuous Change

15.3.1 The Deming Wheel

15.3.2 The Power Of Kaizen

15.3.3 Follow The Leader

CHAPTER 16:   Characteristic 12: Take Risks-But Don’t Gamble

CHAPTER 17:   Characteristic 13: Adapt To Change Quickly

17.1 Change-You Can Do It!

CHAPTER 18:   Characteristic 14: Learn To Bond With Others

CHAPTER 19:   Characteristic 15: Seek Forgiveness Quickly

CHAPTER 20:   Characteristic 16: Create Emotional Stability-Not Vulnerability

CHAPTER 21:   Characteristic 17: Be Positive On Every Chair

21.1 Be A Positive Person

CHAPTER 22:   Characteristic 18: Be Free-Not Just Delivered

CHAPTER 23:   Characteristic 19: Measure With Their Ruler-Not Yours

CHAPTER 24:   Characteristic 20: Trust In The Living God

Bibliography

THIS BOOK IS DEDICATED TO GOD ALMIGHTY, FOR NOTHING GREAT IS POSSIBLE WITHOUT SPIRITUAL MOTIVATION AND GUIDANCE.

About the author

Willem Frederik Pienaar became ‘Pine’ some time in his teenage years. In South Africa, it is customary for a person to receive a nickname that is a shortened or slightly adapted version of his or her surname. For example, someone with the surname Swart (which means ‘black’ in Afrikaans) might become ‘Blackie’ somewhere along the line. The surname Van der Merwe becomes ‘Van’, Du Plessis becomes ‘Doep’ and in the author’s case, Pienaar became ‘Pine’.

Pine was born in Pretoria, the legislative capital of South Africa, on 10 August 1959. After completing his school career, he entered into an apprenticeship with the South African Air Force ( SAAF) where, three years later, he qualified as an aircraft electrician. He subsequently went on to study engineering after hours and obtained a national diploma in electrical and mechanical engineering. After two years as a senior technician, he became a full-time lecturer in electrical engineering at the Tshwane University of Technology (TUT). During the next five years, he completed a teaching diploma as well as a BEd degree at the University of Pretoria.

He progressed to the position of head of the mathematics and science department at Soshanguve Technical College and then moved on to become the principal of the Vaal Triangle Career College in Vereeniging. During this time, Pine achieved his master’s degree in non-formal education (MEd) and later, a doctorate in business education (PhD). He was subsequently employed as a manager at Toyota South Africa and two years later, promoted to the level of senior general manager of the training department. During this time, Pine continued to study after hours and obtained an advanced diploma in labour law from the University of South Africa (UNIS A).

During 1999, Pine launched his own consultancy business, specialising in the fields of industrial training, labour relations, marketing and human resources. With his background, contacts and experience in the auto industry, this became his primary field of expertise. He is still a part-time lecturer to MBA students in human resources and marketing at the Business School of the Netherlands. He has also lectured widely in these disciplines throughout South Africa, Nigeria, Namibia, Botswana and Sudan.

Pine is well known in South Africa for his ability to convey, in layman’s terms, important human resource concepts to people from various cultural backgrounds and who are involved in a wide range of industries.

Taking into consideration his in-depth expertise, extensive exposure and years of experience, Pine’s insights will no doubt prove to be of great value to the reader.

Editor

Introduction

It is the task of consultants, such as myself, to make a thorough study of the latest research and writings that become available in our fields and to then package this information in a more concise, reader-friendly format.

In this book, I have attempted to crystallise the work undertaken by many authors in my field and to incorporate my personal experience to provide the reader with a recipe for success, both in his personal and professional capacities.

In my view, information that has the potential to dramatically improve the quality of life of humanity is often of little or no use to the man in the street because of three main reasons:

•   The academic language in which it is presented is often unfamiliar to the layperson.

•   Certain long-standing truths have become common knowledge over time, but because the information has been repeated so often, these truths have become clichés, thus losing their value and impact. As a result, they are disregarded-all too often by the very people who could benefit most should they realise the true value of the information. For example, how many times have you heard the words, ‘Be positive!’ Although this is true, the statement has become so commonplace that to the person going through a tough time, it no longer carries any weight. In fact, don’t you simply feel like screaming when you are at a difficult place in your life and someone says these words to you?

•   It is seldom that the question, ‘But how do I apply this truth to my life?’ forms part of the discussion.

I will attempt to shed new light on these seemingly outdated (but still entirely relevant) principles by using actual examples and providing highly practical guidelines on how to apply them in practice.

I trust that every one of my readers will find this book of great value.

Dr Pine Pienaar

For the sake of brevity, I have made use of the male gender to denote either gender.

CHAPTER 1

The golden thread

I have always been intrigued by the question as to why some people are more successful than others and have spent years researching this topic. At first, I believed that children who had rich parents were the ones who had access to all the best opportunities in life and that their roads to success were paved from birth.

To my surprise, I discovered that some of my school friends who had come from wealthy backgrounds were unsuccessful, whilst others achieved success in life. The same applied to children who had come from poor backgrounds. Some succeeded and some did not. At both our ten-and twenty-year school reunions, I was amazed to discover that there was no distinct correlation between a wealthy background and success in life.

Of course I believe that a child who grows up in a happy, loving and caring family has a better chance of making a success of his life, because he learns self-confidence and self-respect at an early stage. These are important building blocks on the road to success. But then the question still remains: why don’t all children who grow up in such homes become very successful? Why do some of them end up as criminals or drug addicts, or simply remain at the bottom of the hierarchy whilst others build on the good start they received in life, going on to make a great success of their lives?

As far as children who come from dysfunctional homes are concerned, one could ask the same question. Why are they not all unsuccessful? Some of them manage to overcome the scars of their past and live happy, successful lives whilst others remain slaves of a victim mentality for the rest of their lives.

I investigated this complicated creature that we know as homo sapiens to see if I could find any answers. Below are some of the research results that I found most interesting.

1.1   STAR SIGNS

There are people who believe that the sign under which they are born has a direct influence on their paths in life. These people do not subscribe to the notion of natural destiny.

There might be some truth to this theory as, having been born on 10 August 1959, I certainly recognise a number of well-known characteristics of the Leo star sign in myself. However, I disagree with the claim that one is born with inherent limitations and I have also been unable to find any evidence that certain star signs predict greater success than others. It seems to me as if there is a correlation between one’s star sign and personality traits, but not between one’s star sign and your chances of success in life. However, there is no scientific evidence to back up this theory.

1.2   CULTURAL HERITAGE

Some people believe that your cultural heritage either limits or advances your career. One may argue that individuals who hail from those cultures that are considered to be underdeveloped in terms of Western standards will certainly struggle to achieve success when they are placed in a highly-developed, technological environment. In my view, this would certainly be true if one were to take a San man out of his natural environment and place him behind a computer at the stock exchange.

However, one cannot make a general rule on the basis of a single example. In any event, the San man will probably be very successful in his environment, whilst the highly successful businessman will most likely be very unsuccessful if he were to find himself in the San man’s territory. There are many examples of people from different backgrounds who achieve success in new circumstances. Once again, I find no correlation between population group and success.

1.3   INTELLIGENCE QUOTIENT (IQ)

Some believe that a high IQ is a key factor in determining a person’s chances of success. I elaborate on this topic later as research undertaken by Daniel Goleman, psychologist, author and science journalist, clearly indicates that this is not the case.

1.4   RELIGIOUS AFFILIATION

Some people are arrogant enough to