I’ve become very interested in the patterns and habits of some of the most successful and insightful people on this planet.

When Googling “what do the most successful people have in common” the first three results shown are from Fortune, Time Magazine and Forbes. The patterns and behaviours they mention are, for example, “they know when to stay and when to leave”, “they create instead of just consume” and “they know that they make their own luck”.

While that’s great and probably true, it doesn’t really help me. It makes it look like successful people are just born that way and that if you’re not, well…too bad! Actually, it’s the opposite. In addition, in the mentioned articles, their definitions of success have a strong link with business ability and making a fortune, while in my opinion success is wider than this. For example, when asked to think about someone successful, you can definitely think of multi-billionaires like Richard Branson or Warren Buffet, and you’d be right, but you can also think of people like Nelson Mandela or the Dalaï Lama and you are as just as right.

When talking about success, I consider successful people to be those who had a vision of what their impact on the world should be and made their vision come true. I guess I could write an entire blog post about what success means!

Anyway, this is why I really like Tim Ferriss’ recent work, both in his podcasts and his latest books (Tools of Titans and Tribe of Mentors), as he interviews people who have found success in very different areas of expertise. His work is amazing, but in my opinion it lacks a synthesis to sum up what habits or tips are found amongst most of the people he interviews.

That is the work I’m trying to do here: synthetize these patterns of success and give you the tools to implement them. This is obviously subjective and I’m happy for anyone to challenge what I say in this article.

To make it easier, I classify these patterns into three categories: clarity, harmony and action.

Clarity

First, successful people have strong convictions about who they are and what they want to do.

Pattern #1 – Keep learning and read books

You would be amazed at how much time successful people spend listening to podcasts, watching documentaries or, especially, reading books. Today, you can access the teachings of the most insightful people that live or have lived on the planet and it would be crazy not to dedicate a decent amount of time to hear what they have to say. Most top CEOs read an average of 4–5 books a month, so you can’t use the “I don’t have time” excuse.

Pattern #2 – Be curious and diversify

Many successful people have a variety of different interests and are very curious. People like Steve Jobs and Leonardo da Vinci clearly explained that their genius came from the combination of arts and science. When looking at someone like Arnold Schwarzenegger, who became the most renowned body-builder, then a famous actor and then the Governor of California, it becomes clear that his mental strength was the foundation for his success and the domains in which he became successful were only a consequence of this—he could have been successful in many different areas.

Pattern #3 – Step back

While working hard increases your chance of being successful, you can easily fall in the trap of becoming a workaholic. It is more important to work smart. Stepping back will let you analyse whether you actually spend time on what matters, and is very important in this regard. Meditation can definitely help you to do this.

Pattern #4 – Drive the bus!

You don’t want to drift through life like a jellyfish in the ocean. Successful people are completely in control of the projects they choose, and in control of how they use their time. Many people say they “don’t have time” to do something, but successful people simply prioritise what they do with their time, which helps them to avoid feeling overwhelmed. There is a great book called The Big Leap by Gay Hendricks that I recommend for learning this skill.

Clarity

Pattern #1 – Keep learning and read books

Pattern #2 – Be curious and diversify

Pattern #3 – Step back

Pattern #4 – Drive the bus!

Harmony