My colleague Nick Ikonomou and I share some common beliefs about the traits which are found in virtually every successful person - especially in real estate investing. Nick shared them with his friends, and I am now doing the same.

1. They are willing to learn. The greatest learners become the best teachers. Never ending improvement, as the Kaizen principle insists, should be an individual’s primary goal in life. The only failure in life is the failure to participate. There are no right or wrong ways of doing things, each providing a result that can be assessed and worked on from the learning that the outcome provides. This perfectly fits in with the following success factor.

2. They take action. I have never seen anyone being successful by doing nothing. By default, doing something has to be a move forward. Doing a lot means that the law of averages will ensure that success falls your way. 95% of the population “can’t be botheredâ€. To jump into the 5% of the population who are successful isn’t hard. It’s just a genuine decision to do something and persevere. Successful people work on improving their time management by learning how time works and what it means to you.

3. They mix with the right people. You can mix with the right people and you can mix with wrong people. The choice is yours. You either fall into those groups or you seek them. Because successful people don’t gloat because of the Australian tall poppy syndrome, you need to do your homework and ask people about their success. They are more than willing to tell you because if they initiated the conversation, that might have been construed as gloating. Look for a business coach and/or a mentor. Surround yourself with the best accountants and lawyers.

4. They are great networkers. Successful people go out of their way and meet as many people as they can because they know that the more people they know, the more opportunities come their way. Staying in your business or at home most of the time produces little results.

5. They have a dream. These people are the greatest dreamers. They have strong beliefs that one day they will achieve what seems impossible to most. The law of attraction means that you shall receive what you crave for if the craving feeds itself with all the other attributes of success.

6. They don’t allow dream takers interfere with their dreams. The most dangerous people in your life can also be the people you hold most dear to yourself. These can be some family members, friends, neighbours and business colleagues. Respect the opinions of those who are successful in their own right. Otherwise, you will receive pretty much the same as what those dream takers are experiencing. Most of all, respect your own intuition. Most of the time it’s the right decision for you anyway. Remember, why engage in other people’s situations when yours is different. You have different expectations, experiences, financial and personal needs. Why live it through other people’s lives? It’s one thing to have a dream, but to stick to it is the most important part of achieving the dream. It is said that the journey is far more exciting than the final achievement, so, choose to have an exciting life.

7. They have integrity. Have you seen people having a go and temporarily have a hiccup? Well, you can lose everything and rebound twice as fast if you maintain your integrity. Once you lose your integrity, it’s over. Practice the integrity that you wish other people to treat you with. Set an example rather than stoop to the behavior and reactions that you are not impressed with.

8. They are great communicators. The best tool to master is to have great communication skills. Honest, straight forward communication totally outweighs fancy use of the language which also can have another name for it. Study personality profiles and the way people process information and the results of improved communication will reap you many rewards over and over with a win/win outcome in most cases.

9. They are willing to share their knowledge. The best way to remember the best parts of your success are to verbalise them or write them down. Share it with those who ask.

10. They have a balanced life. Working too hard in any one area creates imbalance. Work out what you like the most and bring them into your life as you go. There are many tools available to assess the “perfect youâ€.

I am more than happy to help you on many of these points.