12 Ways Successful People Think

1. Thinking is a discipline. If you want to be better at it, you've got to work at it

(Consider developing a thinking schedule)

2. Figure out where you need to focus your energy, and then use the 80/20 rule

(Devote 80% of your energy to the most important 20% of your activities)

3. Smart thinkers expose themselves to different ideas and types of people

(Spend time with people who challenge you)

4. "Ideas have a short shelf life. You must act on them before the expiration date."

(Its one thing to think it and another to do it!)

5. Thoughts need time to develop. Don't just settle on the first thing that comes to mind

(Thoughts need to be "shaped until they have substance" and need to stand the test of "clarity and questioning.")

6. Smart people collaborate with other smart people

(Thinking with others yields higher returns)

7. Reject popular thinking

(Which often means not thinking at all)

8. The best thinkers plan ahead, while leaving room for some spontaneity

(The keys to being strategic: 1. break the issue down, 2. ask why the problem needs to be solved, 3. identify the key issues, 4. review your resources, 5. put the right people in place)

9. To think differently, do different things

(Try new routes to work, meet new people, read books you might even consider boring)

10. To appreciate others' ideas, you need to value other ideas

(You can't think you're always right. Give other concepts a chance)

11. Have an agenda -- for the day, and when you meet with people

(Smart thinkers take time to plan out their weeks, months, and long-term goals -- and then they follow through)

 

12. "Learning how to master the process of thinking well leads you to productive thinking. If you can develop the discipline of good thinking and turn it into a lifetime habit, then you will be successful and productive all of your life."