http://time.com/3929123/high-achiever-behaviors/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+timeblogs%2Fcurious_capitalist+%28TIME%3A+Business%29
Steve Tobak / Entrepreneur 8:00 AM ET
Stop obsessing over 'why'
I remember the conversation like it was yesterday. After lobbying to absorb yet another project into my ever-growing engineering group, something was bugging me. “It’s like I can’t get enough,” I confided in my manager. “It sort of scares me.” Finally, I asked, “Am I power hungry?”
“No, Steve, I don’t think you’re power hungry,” my boss replied. “You’re just achievement oriented.”
Relieved, I thanked him for his time and went back to work. It was only later that I realized I had no idea what he was talking about. What the heck does “achievement oriented” even mean, I wondered.
If it sounds like I was a bit naïve, I’ll cop to that charge. Unlike today’s up-and-comers, we didn’t really spend a whole lot of time thinking about ourselves back in the dark ages. But that never stopped some of us from reaching for the stars, even if we had little understanding of why we did it.
I believe that, among a number of other behavioral elements, explains why certain people are consistently high achievers.
They do without obsessing over why.
The common thread between every successful overachiever I’ve ever known – and I’ve probably known hundreds in the tech industry alone – is that they’re born doers, troubleshooters, and problem-solvers. If something important needs to be done, they’ll figure out how to do it, no questions asked.
They have no patience for the status quo.
Monday, June 22, 2015
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