ZERO talent required. Really??
No one said life was going to be a walk in the park, and it’s safe to say that we’re always looking for ways to make it that little bit easier – hence the popularity of time and labour saving devices that flood the market and promise to make all of those mundane and everyday tasks a breeze.
However, what about the things that we can do ourselves to improve our lives? Things that don’t rely on us having the latest expensive app or gadget?
Some would say that, in that case, success in life all comes down to our own skill-set or talent – and when most of us think of success, we tend to instantly think ‘money’.
There’s no denying that having money certainly improves your quality of life and makes things easier, however, unless you happen to be born into wealth, the amount you have is most likely to come down to what talent you have.
Sadly, we can’t all be star athletes, great singers, dancers or actors, or entrepreneurs. However, there are some things you can do, regardless of talent, that can improve life immensely and make you more successful – and it doesn’t necessarily have to be in the financial sense…
Here are my 10 things that you can do that require ZERO talent!
1. Being On Time
Despite the fact that some people never seem to manage it, being on time for things doesn’t require some sort of secret skill that they haven’t been let in on. Whether it’s being on time for an appointment, meeting, or even a social gathering, always being on time will improve your life by creating a great first impression with your peers.
Human beings rely on social interaction, on being accepted as part of a group, and being someone who is thought of as reliable and respectful of other people’s time will definitely bolster your social status.
It is said that ‘time is money’ and, in general, people hate theirs to be wasted. Latecomers are often seen as arrogant, slovenly, selfish…not exactly qualities you want to be associated with – particularly by your friends and those you work with.
You’re unlikely to get invited to many more functions if you’re always the one that turns up late to the surprise parties and ruins the effect, after everyone’s been ready to order for half an hour, or after everyone’s seated in the church and the bride’s about to walk in.
And when it comes to your career, the effects could be even more devastating; people who are consistently late for meetings or turning in reports are unlikely to be in their job for very long. And if you’re the type to turn up late for interviews, you probably won’t even get the job in the first place!
It takes literally NO talent at all to be on time, just an alarm and a bit of forethought!
2. Being Prepared
The boy scouts were really onto something here, and being prepared is something else that requires no skill set at all other than looking before you leap. While we’re on the cliched sayings, ‘failing to plan is planning to fail’ could not be closer to the truth. If you don’t have a course of action prepared before you do something, the chances of things going the way you hoped are, to put it bluntly, pretty shit.
If your philosophy in life is, ‘fuck it, I’ll just wing it’, you might have just found the answer to the question, ‘why don’t things work out for me?’ It’s incredibly rare that the ‘winging it’ attitude wins out when it comes to job interviews, public speaking, work projects, meetings, exams…the list goes on and on.
Save yourself time and stress and increase your chances of success in everything you do by being prepared. Take time before everything you do to plan out what you’re going to say and do, and the outcome is likely to be much more favourable.
After all, if you’re failing to plan, you’re planning to fail!
3. Work Ethic
Certain jobs, in fact most jobs, require a level of talent or skill – but actually pulling your finger out and doing the work in the first place doesn’t. It doesn’t matter how good you are at something, if you don’t have the work ethic to get the job done, you’re not going to be successful. You can massively improve your quality of life by taking pride in what you’re doing – and if you’re in a rut, get out and find something that does motivate you and spark up that work ethic.
Cutting corners at work is often tempting – and it’s certainly easier – but if you don’t show dedication and pride in the quality of what you do, the talents and skills that got you there in the first place aren’t worth shit.
If you know you’ve got complacent recently work-wise, and you know you aren’t really giving it your all, give yourself a kick up the arse and inject some work ethic into what you do. Remind yourself of the reasons you love what you do, and try to reignite that passion.
Putting effort into what you do – whether it’s your dream career or not – takes no talent at all but the improvements to your life overall, including your motivation and even your mental health will soon become apparent.
4. Going Above And Beyond
Are you a ‘doing the bare minimum’ type of person? Do you glide along only putting in as much effort as is absolutely necessary at work, with the kids, in relationships…? If you answered, ‘yes’, this one’s for you.
Now, I’m not suggesting you burn yourself out by putting in tons of unpaid overtime at work, or putting yourself out for people who wouldn’t reciprocate, but it’s a fact that those who do more than is expected of them tend to be more successful.
People who are attentive and good communicators have healthier, happier relationships than those who aren’t. Employees who take on extra projects and offer ideas in meetings have more rewarding careers. Students who do work for extra credit and study beyond the parameters of the curriculum get better exam results.
Doing more than is specifically required of you makes you look keen and switched-on and it takes no talent – it just requires you to get off your arse and do it!
5. Body Language
You probably assume that your body language isn’t something you can control; that is simply a series of subtle yet complex signals that you give off subconsciously and can’t do anything about.
While there is some truth in that (it’s generally pretty easy to tell by someone’s body language if they are feeling scared, nervous, confident etc), being aware of your body language and changing it if necessary is something you can do without needing to take a course.
Think of the message that you want to communicate with your body and then ‘fake it until you make it’, and you’ll find that your life, and chances of success, will improve ten fold.
Whether it’s trying to land that deal, ask out that person you like, or even confront a fear, being aware of your body language is key. Watch out for folded arms, jiggling limbs and looking at the ground; anything that belies how unsure or anxious you might feel.
Counter those with plenty of eye contact (though not staring!), shoulders back, standing tall, taking space without being bolshy or intimidating, speaking clearly, not fidgeting… It sounds like a lot, but it doesn’t take talent to master – just practice.
6. Passion
Apathetic people who don’t really care about anything are easy to spot, and not much fun to be around. Showing enthusiasm about the stuff you are passionate about is infectious, and will draw people to you, making you engaging and approachable.
Being passionate about things and showing that will improve your social life by putting you into contact with like-minded people and widening your friendship group. It can improve your work life, leading to new opportunities that might not have been possible if you’d kept quiet about what it is that you love.
The most successful entrepreneurs and business people in the world are those that are passionate about what they do and who don’t stop going on about it.
Talent level required? – Zero.
7. Energy
Much in the same way that passion is infectious, a person’s energy levels can do the same thing. We’ve all known an energy ‘vampire’, someone who is so unmotivated and lethargic that they just suck the life out of you, and before you know it, your own levels have taken a massive dip and it’s almost impossible to replenish.
Everyone has bad days where motivation is at an all time low, but change your mindset; focus on your goals and your ‘why’ and force yourself out of that funk. People who are highly motivated and energetic will, again, find that more opportunities open up to them, and that others will want to be around them. Improve your life by fostering a growth mindset and a go-getter attitude and success is assured – and the best part? ANYONE can do it.
8. Attitude
About 15 years ago a good friend of mine Steve Jones and I advertised in the Metro magazine in London to train business coaches. For 5 nights in a row we had over 150 would be business or life coaches in a conference room in a hotel in Park Lane.
We asked the question what skills did Richard Branson, Alan Sugar, Peter Jones and Stelios Haji had in common. 95% of the answers that came up were attitude based.
The ‘toxic positivity’ trend and the backlash against the ‘positive vibes only’ brigade has put a pretty bad spin on having a positive attitude in general – and it’s a shame, because adjusting your attitude to one of positivity can be invaluable in all situations and can improve your life no end.
It is your attitude that will determine your course in life, and if you’re negative you’re simply blocking your own success. Once again, fake it until you make it if you need to.
Practice positive affirmations in the mirror and set your mindset to one of positivity. Research shows us that if we assume the worst, more often than not it will happen, so flip the script when those negative voices pop into your brain and replace them with positive statements; ‘I will be successful’, ‘I can do this’, ‘good things will happen’.
Positivity is free, and anyone can tap into it – and those that do will find their life is much improved. Your attitude will determine your altitude!
9. Being Coachable
We all know someone who knows everything; a person who simply won’t be told and doesn’t believe anyone can teach them anything. Aside from being an arrogant pain in the arse, it’s unlikely that this person is hugely successful in life – and if they are, I shouldn’t imagine it will last forever.
We should all always be constantly learning…no matter how much you know (or think you know!) about a subject, there is always more, and the most successful human beings in the history of the planet are those who were always open to learning, to expanding their minds and their knowledge beyond the realms that they thought possible.
Be one of them. It requires no talent at all to be an open-minded and continuous learner, but the results could be epic.
10. Effort
Always doing your best seems like an obvious point to make when it comes to making your life as good as it can possibly be. But I think it’s fair to say that we don’t always do that. If you’re guilty of not giving your all when you do something, an easy hack for improving your life is to start.
Regret is one of the worst feelings, and regretting something because you know you didn’t do your best is a classic recipe for kicking yourself. Doing your best literally requires no talent at all – YOUR best is simply that; the best that YOU can do. Always do that, and life will always be as good as it can possibly be.