How Successful People Think

How Successful People Think lays out eleven specific ways of thinking you can practice to live a better, happier, more successful life.

I can’t help but laugh when people are freaking out about insular events, like missing the deadline for their tuition payment in college. I’m not mean, I just see the big picture. Usually, I use this to try and help my friends calm down. “Look, they only put up a deadline so people wouldn’t forget it altogether. Nothing is going to happen, you can just pay it a couple days late.”

What’s more, even if it meant getting kicked out of school, there are so many more things you could do, like enrolling in a different school or program, suing your way back in, or, just abandoning college altogether. And while I think about the big picture a little too often and doubt my own plans, most people lack this awareness.

If you’re someone who gets stressed out by rather small problems like that, maybe John’s tactic can help you. Before you begin your day, look at all appointments on your calendar, and think about which ones will be the biggest learning opportunities. By preparing for the most important events each day, you remain open to finding new ways of doing things, changing direction, and be reminded that there’s more to life than your little, 24-h plan.

John used this to be on high alert when he had dinner with an NFL coach, for example. He thought of lots of questions beforehand and left the table full of new ideas and inspiration.

Each year, the message seems to become louder: you have to be creative to do work that’s valuable. But to a lot of people “be creative” sounds like a hard and abstract task. But being creative isn’t limited to writing, painting, and singing.

Every time you make a decision, you have to engage in creative thinking. Even adding just one more option to your roster of possible choices is a creative act.

For example, take the task of buying cereal. Most of us have our favorite brand, so we run straight to aisle seven and grab a box of Cinnamon Toast Crunch. But what if you considered a new option? As soon as you start to wonder what Cocoa Puffs taste like, how crunchy they might be, and why they turn the milk a brown color, you’re thinking creatively!

I know our school system has us wired to believe there’s only one answer to each question, but that’s not the case. Instead of looking for the one, the only option, think about how you can find the best out of many. That’s what creative people do.