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7 traits that make successful people unforgettable

People who are highly successful are usually unforgettable. That should come as no surprise. What surprised me, however, was when I discovered that many highly successful people were unforgettable before they were successful. They possessed certain traits that seared them into other people's memories. Indeed, becoming unforgettable seemed to predict becoming highly successful.
With time and over the course of many experiences, I've seen emerge a rather consistent pattern of characteristics which contribute to one becoming unforgettable and highly successful. Let's take a brief look.
Optimism - The human brain is wired to be negative. We anticipate threats. We exaggerate threats. We sometimes see threats that simply are not there. It's protective, but it's also burdensome. When we meet someone who is upbeat and optimistic, we remember them. You know the type. They see the glass as half full, while the rest of us see it as half empty. They may confuse us, but they are unforgettable.
Reliability, trustworthiness, taking responsibility for one's actions - Sadly many people say one thing but do another. They make promises, but then find reasons why they can't keep the promises they made. Sound familiar? There is however a minority of people who actually show up when they say they will. They do what they say they are going to do. They take responsibility for their actions, especially their mistakes. They take our breath away. They are unforgettable.
Tenacity - For most endeavours in life, tenacity is the single best predictor of success. Success in athletics, business, and even academics is predicated upon tenacity. You've heard the stories of many famous people who failed time after time only to persevere and emerge from those failures successful. Abraham Lincoln, Thomas Edison, Col. Harland Sanders (Kentucky Fried Chicken), Ray Kroc (McDonald's) all suffered repeated failures before they changed the world. President Calvin Coolidge once said compared to talent, genius, and education, tenacity is omnipotent. But it's not just about winning and success. We remember tenacious people whether they win or lose.
Self-confidence - We remember people who have confidence. Confidence is 'magnetic'. We are attracted to people who exude confidence. We want to be like them. Perhaps we hope some of their confidence will transfer to us. Research over several decades has shown that self-confidence becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy predicting happiness and success. It makes us unforgettable.
Respectfulness - George Santayana once said those who fail to respect the past are doomed to repeat it. Sadly, the demands upon us are so great that many of us only have time to respect ourselves and the here and now. Yet this is short-sighted. Harvard professor William James once said the deepest craving of human nature is the desire to be respected and appreciated. Take time to consider others. If we respect others we will earn their respect. And we become unforgettable to them.
Interpersonal connectedness (It's whom you know) - "No man is an island, Entire of itself, Each is a piece of the continent, A part of the main.Each man's death diminishes me." These lines come from John Donne's poem on the connectedness of humankind. Research tells us that loneliness predicts heart disease as powerfully as does cigarette smoking. Research also tells us that interpersonal support is the best predictor of human resilience. We go through life hoping to find someone who will have our backs in times of turmoil. When we find them, they become unforgettable. If we are there for others in times of need, asking nothing for ourselves only to help, then we become unforgettable and invaluable.
Resilience - Resilience is the reactive ability to bounce back from adversity. The legend of the Phoenix says it arose from the ashes, so too can we arise from adversity. In doing so, we become unforgettable. But recent thought and research from Johns Hopkins has discovered another type of resilience that we shall refer to as resistance. Think of resistance as a form of psychological immunity. With reactive resilience we become unforgettable. With psychological immunity we become invincible.
-Psychology Today
George S. Everly serves on the faculties of John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and The John Hopkins School of Medicine