Remember that kid who sat at the front of each class, eager to answer the teacher’s questions? The child who helped other students struggling with homework out of their own kindness? Certain qualities in children or young adults point to success later on in life. 

A person with a positive mindset about failure and someone who asks for feedback faces a greater chance of success than someone scared of taking risks and learning how to improve. How else can we pinpoint characteristics leading to success?

1. Positive Mindset Around Failure

The one who never tried never failed, and the one who never failed never got the opportunity they wanted. Failure is a scary topic, much like rejection, although it is a necessary and crucial element of life, especially for people going into creative professions. You must learn to treat rejection as redirection, like the cliche states.

Say someone applies for a job or competes in a contest but loses out to higher-skilled candidates. Instead of giving up their passion, they continue honing their craft until the next position or competition rolls around. They refuse to allow failure to hinder their growth, a needed quality in today’s world. 

2. They Refuse to Stick to One Outlet 

Successful people dabble in various skill sets. On a recent business trip, I met an entrepreneur who explained that her success stemmed from trying loads of business operations before making a single dollar. As a teenager, she started a clothing company and a makeup brand, both failing a few months into the project. To build revenue for future companies, she took up part-time jobs in retail stores and lent discounted business advice to friends and family.

A few years later, she owns a couple of profitable clothing stores, three jewelry companies, and a makeup brand. Sticking to one stream of income reduces a person's or company's growth potential and net worth. Expand your interests and earnings.

3. Ask For Feedback 

How can you improve without feedback? You can’t. Ensure what you’re receiving is constructive criticism as opposed to harmful critiques. Engaging with destructive criticism serves no one. Multi-millionaires and CEOs of billion-dollar corporations didn’t mosey on up the ladder without asking about ways to improve their business models. Asking for feedback opens up communication avenues that benefit each party. Demonstrating care toward your work showcases your humanity, translating a positive character to potential business partners or future supporters.

As a child, I asked for feedback on my writing assignments every chance that materialized. My teachers grew tired of me, though as I approached adulthood and transitioned into the writing industry, I knew what kind of writing materials employers wanted. I used my experience as leverage, turning in assignments needing little edits or rewrites from editors.  

4. High Self-Motivation

In instances where you are your own boss, motivation makes or breaks the business. You must commit to the job at all times, focusing on your end goal. That alone drives self-starters to get out of bed each day so they can transform their dream careers into reality. 

The students who motivate themselves to practice their instrument or take on leadership positions in addition to homework face increased chances of becoming successful adults. Motivated mindsets latch onto people, transferring from youth to adulthood.

5. Rarely Complain 

Complaining wastes time. Rather than hashing out issues and grievances, successful people learn to deal with life’s ups and downs at a young age. They don’t get stuck on the bad parts. They end up reframing negative aspects of certain situations into catalysts for success. 

Those who complain find themselves struggling to complete their tasks, spending excess time pointing out the bad parts of their situation. Instead of working to improve their circumstances, they dwell on the negative, voicing complaints to anyone who will listen. Not only does this method waste everyone’s time, complainers don’t get much done.  

6. Adaptable

Which child has a better chance of becoming a successful entrepreneur? 

Kathy and Jamie both attend the same elementary school, though they have different teachers. One day, they learn that their teachers will merge classes to open up space for an advanced science program. Kathy expresses excitement to her classmates, eager to interact with the new classmates and students. At the same time, Jamie throws a tantrum, refuses to go to school, and is unwilling to engage in the new environment. 

Those who adapt, or adjust to new situations, have a higher likelihood of turning into successful adults than those unwilling to change. The job market constantly changes, meaning the ability to witness, assess, and conform to changes contributes to an adult’s prosperity. 

7. Work Well With Others 

Youth capable of commanding a group or working well in a group setting bring that expertise into the workforce. Teamwork creates a foundation upon which several businesses build. Rare cases find business owners starting a business alone. Most people have to build their way up, forming a close-knit team that climbs a metaphorical ladder before graduating to solo business opportunities. In business, a lot of ideas work due to a strong multi-person business model. 

8. Never Give Up

A successful person doesn’t know what giving up means. Sure, they face setbacks and issues during their careers or lives, but that never causes them to quit. When they don’t succeed in one particular aspect, they shift their point of view and approach from a different stance. 

A common misunderstanding about successful people is they get to where they are without failing. They scaled up to the top of billion-dollar corporations without any issue. No. In fact, successful people all face harsh truths that knock them down to reality, yet they keep going until they find a method to catapult them back to the top.

9. Aren’t Hesitant to Hear Criticism

Learning how to view criticism with a grain of salt should be taught in a Business 101 class. Detaching oneself from the opinion of others is a tricky, priceless tool in business. Of course, no one likes hearing what they did wrong or what another person despises. Even so, criticism helps us grow. 

To shorten the gap between always listening to detrimental criticisms and never listening to a single criticism, open up a set meeting time with a colleague or mentor to review changes and improvements. This way, you prepare for the critiques and don’t react in a defensive manner. 

10. Listen Rather Than Talk

Observers face a heightened probability of becoming successful people because they learn how to listen and not subject others to their opinions whenever a thought crosses their mind. As children, observers sit quietly in their classrooms, paying attention to the teacher and the students around them. They may not answer many questions in class or offer to participate in large discussions. However, they do pick up on behaviors and patterns. Understanding patterns and characteristics aids that child once they transition to the workforce because bosses love observers.

11. Great Communicator

Never underestimate a person who states their mind. Communication fosters healthy relationships in personal life and in business, permitting the parties to keep that avenue open. During childhood, an honest communicator speaks what goes through their mind, sometimes coming across as harsh, other times helping others to understand how they’re feeling. 

When these honest people reach adulthood, they don’t struggle with communicating feelings or emotions to their counterparts or bosses, an issue a vast majority of adults face. Instead of running and hiding from emotions, they put them into words. 

12. Optimistic

Here’s an anecdote to chew on. My fourth-grade writing teacher asked each student to read their stories in front of the class. We stood on a chair since our growth spurts hadn’t yet hit, and we offered whatever fantasy story we transcribed to the class. She gifted us with honest feedback, turning groups of students away from their dreams of garnering famous bylines. 

The students who persevered despite her edits advanced to the fifth-grade writing course, an invite-only curriculum. Students who caved to her critiques developed a poor, sour outlook (pessimistic) toward writing. Those who continued to freehand formed positive, excited (optimistic) relationships toward their work’s future. Generally, the kids who ended in the fifth-grade writing course chased creative dreams as the uninvited children pursued status quo jobs.

13. Can Say No

Our society struggles with setting boundaries. Saying no comes across as rude or entitled when, in actuality, saying no is an invaluable, valid one-word sentence or response. Children learn to submit to adult figures by saying yes in situations where they are uncomfortable or scared. All that boils down to a baseline level of fear preventing us from sticking up for ourselves. Saying no is a difficult lesson to learn, as it is ingrained in our bodies, though re-teaching oneself how to say no solves years of issues. 

Habits learned in childhood move to adulthood seamlessly. So, adopting a habit of saying no at a young age morphs into a second nature later in life. Sticking to boundaries (saying no) prevents burnout, earns trust, helps prioritize happiness, boosts confidence, and increases self-love, necessary characteristics for successful adults. 

14. Confident

What is confidence? Confidence is trust or belief in oneself regardless of external factors. An inward self-trust rooted in a steady belief that you are capable of X, Y, or Z. Confidence is a learned trait probably developed in childhood or young adulthood. A confident child asks for help when needed, unafraid of consequences related to the inability to perform a certain task.

Confident children convey satisfaction toward themselves, rarely engaging in self-criticizing behavior. And since confident children exhibit self-satisfaction, they help boost others up. Ideal candidates for working adults present an optimistic outlook and one open to failure and improvement.