Do you know what the problem is with asking successful people for advice? They don't always know why they are successful - but they'll give you all the reasons you want. I once watched an 100-year-old man explain that smoking every day was the secret to his longevity. It would be great to know why he lived so long, but I'm pretty sure we won't learn by asking him.

Don't Listen To Success - Model It

Don't do as they say, but rather do as they do. That is the way to learn success from the successful. A wealthy real estate investor once told me he didn't believe in setting goals. Only later in the conversation did I realize that he knew just where he expected to be with his projects in six months. That's goal-setting - he just called the process something else.

Don't stop listening to what successful people have to say - but read between the lines. Look at their words for insight into how they think about things, how they approach their challenges. A successful basketball player might only advise you to practice more, but if he mentions "I saw that going in," after a great shot, start visualizing your shots going in.

Copy Everything At First

Sometimes we won't know what is causing a person's succcess. I once tried to exchange links with other websites, but the owners didn't respond to my emails. Then I found a letter used by a successful internet marketer to get links. It sounded silly to me, and I wanted to change it, but the first time I tried it, it worked.

At first, it may be best to just copy many of the actions, attitudes and approaches of someone who is succeeding. As you learn, you can drop those parts that aren't contributing, and add elements of your own. Model a successful parent, for example, and don't worry if you don't know right away which changes have made life with your children so much better.

You may not ever understand why some things work, but you don't need to, do you? Better to have success than to explain it. So do what they do, not what they say.

Steve Gillman writes on many self help topics including boosting brainpower, losing weight, meditation, habits of mind, creative problem solving, learning gratitude, generating luck and anything related to self improvement. You'll find more at http://www.SelfImprovementNow.com