5 Unobvious Secrets to Success

1. Procrastinate more

Result: we are in time

Being on time usually means following a predetermined schedule. You can arrive on time for an interview or a lunch meeting. To come where you promised to be is a sign of decency. But being on time means choosing the right moment for action. It is necessary to feel the moment, and not blindly follow the schedule. People who have mastered this art show up exactly at the moment when they are needed, offer unexpected solutions and know how to seize a good opportunity, no matter how fast it rushes past them.

We are often told to be punctual, but there is no lesson that tells you how to first procrastinate until the last minute, and then suddenly give something when the need arises. The launch of a new product, the decision to hire a new employee, and even meeting the right people — the success of these events depends on what time you choose for them. And there is hardly a schedule that one could point a finger at and say that now is the perfect moment to turn this thing around.

Tips & Tricks

Wait strategically until the last minute. Do not rush to complete the task as soon as possible, but wait for the moment when you can do it with optimal efficiency. It will be easier for you to capture this moment if you stay in the present time and do not let social networks and gadgets distract you.

Learn not in advance, but in time. Education does not have to be formal, like studying at a university. You get it every time you learn a new skill.

There is no need to understand the weight of paper and different types of lamination until you are about to start your own publishing house.

2. Interrupt more often

Result: become an active listener

It’s easy to justify an interviewer’s success as being a good listener. Most have been taught for years how important this skill is. Even as preschoolers, we learned that a person has two ears and only one mouth for a reason. We can think of a dozen other sayings about the benefits of listening. Problem: As a rule, we are not explained what good listening is. Usually we are simply trained to listen silently… And this implies that we should close our mouths and try to focus on the speaker.

What if listening (or silent listening) doesn’t really help the conversation or the interview? Maybe, to become a good listener, you need to learn how to strategically interrupt the interlocutor? Talk about some of his statements, wedged into a conversation with some of his own history. By interrupting the monologue, you create a rhythm that promotes the development and deepening of the dialogue. Knowing how to interrupt properly can make you a more pleasant person to talk to. It transforms you from a passive listener to an active one.

Help

Nod less, ask specific questions more often. Frequent nodding encourages the other person to launch into a retelling of the vacation story. Ask if there was a moment on the trip that changed his view of the world, or if he happened to be in a place where he would like to stop time. Questions like these can serve as a strategic interruption tool that makes the conversation more interesting and deeper.

3. Don’t eat cauliflower

Result: we have our own point of view

I hate cauliflower, its smell, look and texture. There was a time when I hid my dislike for her. He smiled politely and tried to quietly bypass. Sometimes I even had to put it on my plate to please persistent hosts. But I decided that I would not pretend. Hiding your opinion is useful in the field of law, where personal opinion can and will be used against you in court. In business and everyday life, having your own opinion is commendable and desirable. The presence of an opinion distinguishes those who contribute to the common cause, from those who carry out other people’s orders. But you have to be able to justify your beliefs, even if it’s something as small as a dislike of cabbages. It’s great to have a point of view as long as it’s not based on ignorance.

I am well informed about the disgusting taste of cauliflower and even ate it once as a child. However, in matters of taste it is always permissible to have your own opinion. But when it comes to something more serious, it is important to train yourself to be “persuasible”, that is, to be ready to update your beliefs if you happen to be faced with refuting facts. It also implies that you are able to look at the problem with different eyes. It is a balance that is difficult but necessary to strike. One must be strong enough to take one’s own position and defend it, but at the same time be open enough to be able to change beliefs if new information is provided.

Help

Learn to separate opinions (things that seem) from facts (things that can be proven). Thanks to the Internet, you can always get to the verified facts if you set out to form your own opinion based on a critical comparison of different sources.

The best way to overcome the fear of being outnumbered is deliberately take an unpopular positionto create the conditions under which you have to protect it. This trick, which can piss off the environment, does wonders for developing a strong point of view. It forces you to consider other people’s opinions and see the world through the eyes of a person whose beliefs are different from yours.

4. Rip your jeans

Result: attracting random insights

In many industries, there has long been an opinion that workers are divided into two types: “business suits” and “creatives”. «Business» watch the money. «Creatives» wear jeans and generate grandiose ideas, the distinction between clothing styles is not accidental.

Throughout my career, I had to switch between two roles: for some clients I was a “businessman”, and for some I was a “creative”. Once I was given an ultimatum: forget about jeans or quit. I needed this job. But when I parted ways with jeans, I lost something elusive that helped me in my previous places: part of the creative energy. There were frequent business trips to New York, where I wore jeans. So I began to notice that in informal clothes, feeling more comfortable and free, I begin to think outside the box, it’s easier for me to find unexpected solutions.

Help

The style of clothing should match the environment. It is unlikely that you will succeed on Wall Street if you wear jeans. You won’t be taken seriously. But no matter what dress code is imposed, there are ways not to lose individuality. You can wear trendy glasses or socks that don’t match the suit. Being able to be yourself will help you open up to ideas and not miss the opportunities associated with them.

5. Forget

Result: we develop resilience

We love stories about how people continued to fight despite many setbacks and rose to success and glory. The British inventor James Dyson, the creator of vacuum cleaners, managed to achieve the required suction power only after he made more than five thousand experiments. J.K. Rowling, creator of the Harry Potter novels, wrote her first book as a single mother living on welfare. Her manuscript was rejected by many publishers.

How do you train yourself to endure adversity and move on? The ability to overcome the test depends on how quickly you can accept the circumstances and begin to act on them, on how soon you get through the stages of denial, anger or bargaining, thinking about what could or should have happened instead. In addition to acceptance, resilience provides the ability to remain calm.

Tips & Tricks

Change your explanatory style. Talk about your experience with optimism, focusing on the positive aspects. This will greatly increase your chances of success in the future. Martin Seligman argues that this is one of the main characteristics that distinguishes those who easily recover from setbacks.

Don’t remember the old. After holding a grudge or experiencing a series of setbacks, we tend to revisit the topic some time later. We mention it in some remarks and thereby let others know that we still will not calm down. To overcome this habit, make a vow to yourself once publicly declaring that this is all in the past, never to mention it again, even in passing phrases. Such a vow will become a self-fulfilling prophecy for you: you will quickly forget about the annoying episode. Of course, this is not a way to avoid problems: if some situation needs to be resolved, you need to deal with it first of all … and only then forget it and never return to it again.

Source: Rohit Bhargava’s book Always Eat With Your Left Hand (Alpina Publisher, 2018).