Do you see yourself as a smart driven successful woman? Smart, driven successful women come in all shapes and sizes, and from all backgrounds and walks of life. Just because you may not feel like you measure up to an external vision of success, doesn’t mean that you aren’t a success. Smart driven successful women have put in the work, time and introspection that’s required to define their unique version of what success means to them. You too can follow suit and determine what success looks like to you.
Here are 11 traits that smart driven women have in common:
1. Open To New Experiences: Are you willing to try out new things, knowing that if it doesn’t work out as intended, failure is often cleverly disguised as a learning opportunity? Smart driven women are notorious for experimenting with innovative ideas and strategies. The keyword here is “experimenting”. You will never know what works if you don’t step out of your comfort zone and try something new. These women understand that failure is never permanent unless you give up. Failure is just feedback. The race is not over until you say it’s over. If you fall, and you probably will, get up, dust yourself off and dream again.
2. Believe and Trust Themselves First and Foremost: Although they may value input from others, they don’t have to check in with others to make key decisions, they instinctively know what is right for them and they go for it! They have an unusually strong belief in themselves and they trust their ability to win. When you believe in what you are pursuing, you win train for it and put in the work.
3. Have a Well-Developed Life Strategy: This is a little known fact, but the success that you admire on the surface of others usually has a well- developed life strategy at the foundation. This strategy typically includes a written life vision/mission, purpose, and goals statement. As corny as this may sound, it’s more important than you may think. A well-developed life strategy will guide you in the tough times and help you make decisions full of integrity because you’ve assessed your core values and what matters most.
4. Get Things Done: Smart driven successful women are action-oriented and they get stuff done through whatever organizational/time management system that works for them. They make the most of each day by taking action on important life tasks. They value progress in all the areas of life that they consider important.
5. Cultivate Discernment: These women are able to discern (see clearly) other’s reasons and motives. In other words, they can read people very well. As a result, they selectively choose who and what to align themselves with. They surround themselves with only the highest quality people, programs, and places. They have the courage to step away from those who may not have their best interest at heart and they don’t feel the need to explain themselves. They recognize that they have the personal freedom to choose their people, places and things.
6. Feed their Hunger for Personal Development: Smart driven successful women tap into the collective brainpower of others by reading books, magazines, and articles, and listening podcasts—anything that is helpful for their own personal development. They feed this hunger on a daily basis.
7. Value the Process of Learning for Learning’s Sake: They do not just learn for a specific end—to get a certificate, degree, title, etc. They learn because it is fundamentally rewarding for them. They love the process of learning and how much value it adds to their lives.
8. Are the “Unofficial” Teachers of the World: They are constantly sharing their knowledge with other people. They put themselves out there so the rest of us can benefit, and in exchange, their own learning and knowledge develops.
9. Place a High Value on Personal Growth: Smart driven successful women do not like to stay the same, they love to grow and develop. To stay ahead of their own game, they often reinvent themselves time and time again.
10. Prioritize Sleep and Downtime: Smart driven successful women know and value the importance of sleep. These women tend to have many demands on their time and energy, as a result, they realize the benefits of a good night’s restful sleep. In order to maintain the high levels of physical and mental energy required to keep all the balls in the air, they know that quality sleep is a no brainer.
11. They value their own humanity: Although these women know a lot about specific subjects and topics, they also know and value what it means to be a human being at this time. They are insatiably curious and want to know more about becoming bigger and brighter, as a result, they naturally evolve into a bigger and brighter human beings with hearts full of compassion.
You may have wondered why some women seem to have all the success while others struggle for years and never seem to get anywhere? Are you one of those who always seem to struggle? Now you have some hints on how you too can become one of these women who achieve success. By developing some of the traits above, you can join the ranks of smart driven women and become a success.
Be well + prosper,
XO Elaine