What made Dhirubhai Ambani, the biggest business giant of India? How did Sunil Mittal create India's largest Telecom company? How did Bill Gates build Microsoft? Every other day we come across people who have reached the zenith of success, leaving an example for others. But how often do we think of what made them reach such a height? There are certain traits inside them that have made it possible for them to exist above the level of simple survival. Are there any particular characteristics they all share that are the basis of their accomplishment? A deeper insight into their lives will show that they have some things in common.

They dream big
All people who have touched the zenith of success have an inspiring dream that motivates them to move ahead into the future. They don't limit themselves to mere words like "realistic" or "possible". They go beyond them. They dream as big as they can and adjust their dream with an organized plan as they progress. They clearly distinguish between perception and reality. As Dhirubhai Ambani, who showed that nothing is truly unattainable for those who dream big, once said, "You should dream big, but dream with your eyes open."

They think outside the box
"One needs to think differently to survive in the globalized world. To get success, innovation is the key. Think outside the box and do things which no one else has done before". This is what Wipro boss Azim Premji said and rightly so. To get the outcome that you have desired, you need to approach problems in new and innovative ways. This is not just a business clich", but one of the key success mantras that every successful leader follows.

They learn from failures
As we go through life, we're going to make mistakes. But those mistakes provide us with a great opportunity to find a lesson and learn from it. Former President of India Dr. APJ Abdul KalamI once said, "I have gone through many successes and failures. I learnt from failures and hardened myself with courage to face them. This was my second stage, which taught me the crucial lesson of managing failures." Dr. Kalam's contribution to India's defence capabilities is very significant.

They create and seize opportunities
A man of success is the one who has the ability to create and seize opportunities to act on a goal. Successful people don't wait for opportunities to knock at their door. They go and create opportunities for themselves and whenever they come across any, they seize it to make full use of it.

They never say 'die'
All people face challenges in life, but unlike others, successful people deal with situations with one view: Do it again if they are fail at their previous attempts. They don't tolerate flaws; they keep on working on them until they fix them.

They take up responsibility
Those who are really successful don't hesitate to take up responsibilities. They don't worry about blames or waste time complaining. They truly believe in making decisions and moving on. They take initiatives and accept the responsibilities of success.

They take calculated risks
All successful people inherently do take calculated risks all the time. They always assess what kind of a risk they are going to take. They know it well that risk taking doesn't mean jumping headlong into something that they don't know. According to Jack Welch, former CEO of General Electric, risk is stepping outside your comfort zone to a place where you cannot predict with any degree of certainty the outcome of your actions. Risk is taking on something that holds an enormous chance of failure. Most importantly, risk is the only key to outrageous success.

They are solution focused
Successful people look for solutions and when they are focused on a solution, the rest of the world seems to disappear until they stop. They don't simply stop at finding or pointing out at a problem. They move ahead and look for better solutions for that particular problem.

They review and celebrate successes, even small ones
Success matters a lot for successful people and they don't forget to celebrate for successes even if they are small. They truly believe that even the smallest success builds into the big picture. They list all the small steps they took that worked well or that they are pleased about. As Warren buffet, the legendary investor, says, "In the business world, the rear view mirror is always clearer than the windshield".

They ask the right questions
The simple "Why?" when asked about five times can help us get to the root cause of many problems. All successful people ask the right questions and try to find out the causes the put them in a productive, creative, positive mindset and emotional state.