8 Reasons I Am Successful, And You Are Not by NEIL PATEL

8 Reasons I Am Successful, And You Are Not

by NEIL PATEL on APRIL 10, 2008

One thing I get asked frequently is how did you become successful. Usually when people ask this they are looking for 1 answer, but the truth is there are a lot of factors that caused my success.

1.      Location – I live in Orange County California. It isn’t the silicon valley of the world, but there are a lot of big companies out here and a lot of rich people that can come in handy. Overall I am pretty central because I am 30 minutes away from Los Angeles and I am an hour flight from San Francisco.

2.    Speaking – when most people speak they tell the audience what they want to hear. When I speak I tell the audience the truth, whether they like it or not. By doing this you can gain the respect of thousands of people every year, as well as obtain paid contracts from a few of the conference attendees.

3.    Blogging – a great way to spread your knowledge to the masses is to give them advice. It is an easy thing to do if you have a blog. The key with blogging is to lay it all out there because sooner or later people are going to know what you know, so might as well be the first one to share the information and get credit for it.

4.    Networking – whether you are shy or not there is always a way to get to know more people. For me, I enjoy networking in person, but you can also network through the web. Knowing tons of people on a personal level is never a bad thing. It maybe time consuming at first, but it can be advantageous in the future. Just keep in mind, you need to network with the little guy and not just the big guy.

5.     Sucking up – some people like their ego being stroked, so I stroke it. By sucking up to certain individuals they will start liking you and many of their followers will also want to get to know you.

6.    Talking shit – just how sucking up works with some individuals, others may prefer it when people talk shit to them. I have done this multiple times in the past and it works well. If you think about all the big fish in the sea, too many people hit them up saying how great or cool they are. So I take the opposite approach by telling them how they suck and point out everything they are doing wrong. This may seem like a way to build enemies, but it is actually a great way to build friends.

7.     Age – I’m a 22-year-old kid and when I am the only young person in a room, I stand out. I use age to my advantage all the time, and if you are young like me I recommend doing the same. On the other hand if you are old, there is not much you can do to leverage your age other than to share your experiences.

8.    Risk taker – I have very little to lose, so I take risks whenever I can. I currently run a business, go to college, and still live at home. I have no personal expenses because of my parents, which means if I lose everything I can leech off my parents. You may not be able to do the same as me, but it doesn’t mean you can’t take risks. Take as much risk as you feel comfortable with or even better take a bit more than you feel comfortable with. Whatever you decide to do, just take on some risk.

Hopefully my experiences help you become more successful in life. Anyone else have any experiences they want to share?