10 Phrases You Will Never Hear From a
Strong-Willed and Successful Person

By Diana Clark

Being successful requires a lot of solid effort and energy. Naturally, it is not something that can be done in one day because every successful person usually has a story about a unique journey they had to embark upon to achieve what they wanted. Even though all these journeys are very different, they all have the same outcome, success, and some rules that should be followed in order to succeed, like, always being persistent and enthusiastic and so on. There is one interesting thing, though. All the actions of successful persons are generally led by the unstoppable attitude and mentality that allowed reaching their goals without having some doubts about the outcome.

These are ten phrases that you will never hear from a successful person because they undermine their mentality.

1. “That’s impossible”
This phrase is never used by successful people because it holds them back from achieving what they want. Those people who really desire to do something great and go beyond the average expectations tend to ignore the limitations and barriers because complaining about them won’t bring anything good. Besides, the word “impossible” falls under the negative category and gives birth to limitations that do not allow achieving something great.

2. “I hate my job”
As strange as it may sound for some, successful people share one interesting quality: lack of opinion about their workplace or position. This means that even if they have to work through discomfort and conflict with other colleagues, they will continue to do their best and avoid using phrases like this. Lots of other people tend to quit or complain if they are faced with similar conditions on the job but successful people utilize the strategy of neutrality and tactics.

3. “That’s too early”
Do you think that Steve Ballmer or someone such as Richard Branson is used to say something like, “the meeting is too early, I won’t make it”? That’s right, they are not. We know that for sure because Richard Branson usually starts his working day at 5 am and Steve Ballmer does the same. If there is a meeting or something else, people like them will be there regardless of the circumstances or time, because a big part of being successful is being at the right place at the right time. And being a night owl is not an excuse here.

4. “That’s not fair”
Have you ever been in the situation where your counterpart received all the glory and awards and you got nothing, even though you did much more? If you have, try to remember how you reacted. Successful people do not try to rant and rave about all the inequalities and injustices in life but they are used to them, says Brian Grimes Co-Founder of admission-service.com. Moreover, they will not use this phrase because they realize that success is not something that can be gifted to a person but rather it must be earned regardless of the unfairness along the way.

5. “That’s too late”
It’s very easy to explain this one because it is quite similar to the “too early” thing above. Imagine that you have been invited to a dinner where you could potentially meet a good business partner, but the dinner starts at 10 pm and you have to spend an hour and a half just to get to the place. Would you go or politely refuse the offer explaining that the time is a little bit inconvenient for you? Successful people would definitely go with the first option because again, they have to be at the right place at the right time.

6. “Let’s meet some other time”
This phrase falls in the same category as “we will call you back if something comes up,” used by interviewers. A successful person will never use it because it is said as filler and often does not lead to any follow-up. It is explained by the fact that they work hard to build their network of connections, which involves being respectful and thoughtful and act without such mundane phrases.

7. “I should have”
Successful persons are known to deprive themselves of opportunity to regret because it is one of the most negative feelings that people can experience. It involves a rethinking of what could and should have been done in the situation, which does not bring any positive feelings. Instead, they know that the opportunity to do something must be taken regardless of the conditions.

8. “That’s not how we do it here”
This phrase is often used by pretty conventional people that like the things to be done in a certain way. What they are missing in this situation is the opportunity to be creative and innovative, which is the essential quality of a successful business. Steve Jobs once said that innovation is what differentiates a true leader from a follower. He was absolutely right.

9. “That was all my idea”
Successful people do not use this phrase because of the simple reason: the success comes from the collaboration with many other individuals and taking credit for their work is wrong. Clearly, no idea is truly one’s own and they are aware of this fact, so prefer to stay away from using it.

10. “Rest time is for losers”
True success comes as the result of tremendous work, so avoiding some downtime is going to wear a person down. Successful people always care about their health, so this phrase is never used by them. Besides, they know that vacations can refresh and provide new energy, so avoiding them is a bad idea.