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10 Skills You Need to Succeed at Almost Anything

What does it take to succeed? A positive attitude? Well, sure, but that's hardly enough. The Law of Attraction? The Secret? These ideas might act as spurs to action, but without the action itself, they don't do much.

Success, however, it's defined, takes action, and taking good and appropriate action takes skills. Some of these skills(not enough, though) are taught in school(not well enough, either), others are taught on the job, and still others we learn from general life experience.

Below is a list of general skills that will help anyone get ahead in practically any field, from running a company to running a gardening club. Of course, there are skills specific to each field as well—but my concern here is with the skills that translate across disciplines, the ones that can be learned by anyone in any position.

1. Public Speaking

The ability to speak clearly, persuasively, and forcefully in front of an audience—whether an audience of one or of thousands—is one of the most important skills anyone can develop. People who are effective speakers come across as more comfortable with themselves, more confident, and more attractive to be around. Being able to speak effectively means you can sell anything—products, of course, but also ideas, ideologies, worldview, and yourself—which means more opportunities for career advancement, bigger clients, or business funding.

2. Writing

Writing well offers many of the same advantages that speaking well offers: good writers are better at selling products, ideas, and themselves than poor writers. Learning to write well involves not just mastery of grammar but the development of the ability to organize one's thoughts into a coherent form and target it to an audience in the most effective way possible. Given the huge amount of text generated by almost every transaction—from court briefs and legislation running into the thousands of pages to those foot-long receipts you get when you buy gum these days—a person who is a master of the written word can expect doors to open in just about every field.

3. Self-management

If success depends on effective action, effective action depends on the ability to focus your attention where it is needed most, when it is needed most. Strong organizational skills, effective productivity habits, and a strong sense of discipline are needed to keep yourself on track.

4. Networking

Networking is not only for finding jobs or clients. In an economy dominated by ideas and innovation, networking creates the channel through which ideas flow and in which new ideas are created. A large network, carefully cultivated, ties one into not just a body of people but a body of relationships, and those relationships are more than just the sum of their parts. The interactions those relationships make possible give rise to innovation and creativity—and provide the support to nurture new ideas until they can be realized.

5. Critical Thinking

We are exposed to hundreds, if not thousands, of times more information on a daily basis than our great-grandparents were. Being able to evaluate that information, sort the potentially valuable from the trivial, analyze its relevance and meaning, and relate it to other information is crucial—and woefully under-taught. Good critical thinking skills immediately distinguish you from the mass of people these days.

6. Decision-Making

The bridge that leads from analysis to action is effective decision-making—knowing what to do based on the information available. While not being critical can be dangerous, so too can over-analyzing, or waiting for more information before making a decision. Being able to take in the scene and respond quickly and effectively is what separates the doers from the wannabes.

7. Math

You don't have to be able to integrate polynomials（多项式）to be successful. However, the ability to quickly work with figures in your head, to make rough but fairly accurate estimates, and to understand things like compound interest and basic statistics gives you a big lead on most people. All of these skills will help you to analyze data more effectively—and more quickly—and to make better decisions based on it.

8. Research

Nobody can be expected to know everything, or even a tiny fraction of everything. Even within your field, chances are there's far more that you don't know than you do know. You don't have to know everything—but you should be able to quickly and painlessly find out what you need to know. That means learning to use the Internet effectively, learning to use a library, learning to read productively, and learning how to leverage your network of contacts—and what kinds of research are going to work best in any given situation.

9. Relaxation

Stress will not only kill you, it leads to poor decision-making, poor thinking, and poor socialization. So be failing to relax, you knock out at least three of the skills in this list—and really more. Plus, working yourself to death in order to keep up, and not having any time to enjoy the fruits of your work, isn't really “success”. It's obsession. Being able to face even the most pressing crises with your wits about you and in the most productive way is possibly the most important thing on this list.

10. Basic Accounting

It is a simple fact in our society that money is necessary. Even the simple pleasures in life, like hugging your child, ultimately need money—or you're not going to survive to hug for very long. Knowing how to track and record your expenses and income is important just to survive, let alone to thrive. But more than that, the principles of accounting apply more widely to things like tracking the time you spend on a project or determining whether the value of an action outweighs the costs in money, time, and effort. It's a shame that basic accounting isn't a required part of the core K-12 curriculum.

1. According to the author, what is the most important to be successful?

A. A positive attitude.

B. The Law of Attraction.

C. The Secret.

D. Taking action.

2. Some skills of taking proper action _____.

A. can be learned well enough in school

B. can be learned from our life experience

C. can only be learned on the job

D. can only be learned in some specific field

3. One of the most essential skills that everyone can develop is _____.

A. the ability to be effective

B. the ability to be confident

C. the ability to be well-spoken

D. the ability to be attractive

4. To take effective action, one should develop the ability to _____.

A. have a strong sense of discipline

B. acquire strong organizational skills

C. form effective productivity habits

D. focus attention where and when it is needed most

5. Nowadays, _____ can make you stand out from the mass of people.

A. good critical thinking skills

B. good analysis skills

C. skills of evaluating information

D. skills of sorting information

6. _____ is the bridge connecting analysis and action.

A. Responding quickly and effectively

B. Being critical

C. Knowing what to do

D. Making effective decisions

7. Even within your field, it is very possible that _____.

A. you know everything

B. there is something you don't know yet

C. you must find out what you need to know

D. you need to know everything

8. If you _____, you will knock out at least three of skills that will help you get ahead in your field.

9. Working too hard and never spending any time in enjoying the fruits of your work is in fact a kind of _____.

10. According to the author, it is a pity that _____ isn't considered important in K-12 curriculum.

文章精要：

本文主要介绍的是获取成功所需的十项技能。文章首先指出获得成功最根本的要素是采取行动，而采取恰当的行动是需要技能的，然后具体阐述了在众多领域内通用的获取成功所需的十项技能。

答案解析：

1. D　根据题干信息将答案锁定在文章首段。文章提到，“这些观点（指上面提到的积极态度、吸引力法则和秘诀）可能是行动的刺激因素，但是没有行动本身，它们也不起作用”，由此可知，作者认为成功的最重要因素是采取行动，故答案选D。

2. B　根据题干中的Some skills of taking proper action将答案锁定在文章第二段。文章提到，采取有益且适当的行动需要技巧，而这些技巧分别可在“学校、工作和生活中学习到”，由此可知本题选B。选项A与原文内容相反，C和D的表述片面，都不是正确答案。

3. C　根据题干中的One of the most important skills将答案锁定在文章第一个小标题下的首句。文章提到，“在观众面前进行清晰、有力且有说服力的演讲——无论是在一个人面前还是在数千人面前，这是任何人都可以培养的能力”，由此可知，任何人都可以培养的最重要的一项技能就是演讲能力，故选C。

4. D　根据题干中的effective action将答案锁定在文章第三个小标题下首句。文章提到，“如果成功取决于有效地行动的话，有效地行动就取决于把注意力集中在最需要的地方和时间的能力”，故答案选D。

5. A　根据题干中的the mass of people将答案锁定在文章第五个小标题下的末句。文章提到，“良好的批判性思维技巧会立即帮助你从大多数人中脱颖而出”，由此可知本题选A。

6. D　根据题干中的bridge将答案锁定在文章第六个小标题下的首句。文章提到，“由分析到行动的桥梁是有效的决策”，故答案选D。

7. B　根据题干中的Even within your field将答案锁定在文章第八个小标题下的第二句。文章提到，“即使在你自己的领域内，你不知道的也可能远比你知道的多”，由此可推出在自己的领域里，有些你也可能不知道，故选B。文章还提到，“你并不是非得知道一切，但是你应该能够迅速且轻松地发现你需要知道什么”，故排除A、C和D。

8. are failing to relax。根据题干中的knock out at least three of skills将答案锁定在文章第九个小标题下的第二句。文章提到，“没有放松的话，你至少会失去迈向成功的三项技能”，由此可知本题答案为are failing to relax。

9. obsession。根据题干中的enjoy the fruits of your work将答案锁定在文章标题九下第三、四句。文章提到，“为了不落后而工作累得要死，而且没时间来享受工作成果，这不是真正的‘成功’。这是痴迷”，由此可知本题答案为obsession。

10. basic accounting。根据题干中的K-12 curriculum将答案锁定在文章最后一句话。文章提到，“基础会计学不是K-12课程所必修的部分，这是一件遗憾的事”，由此可知本题答案为basic accounting。