I’m sure many people will find this deeply dissatisfying and worse quite depressing.

Because having studied the commonalities of many of the most successful business people in the world I now know there’s no secret ingredient, special gene or luck involved. However there is a formula…but be prepared not to like it.

My study concludes successful people all tend to do three things:

1. They view the world differently.

Successful people adopt a mindset based on “what’s possible” rather than “what’s not”. They don’t look for reasons why they can’t do something, they find ways to make things happen. They think, “how can we make this work?” and then set about to achieve their desired result.

2. They have routine.

Successful people can appear boring to some as they follow a strict routine. They do the same things, in the same way, day after day. That’s not to say they lack spontaneity, because they can be – but within a structured plan. They have the discipline to do the tasks others put energy into putting off, and typically they do these things first and foremost.

3. They focus on relationships.

Successful people put most of their energy into developing mutually beneficial relationships. They prefer to call than email. They’d rather meet and discuss than analyse over a spreadsheet. They look at the person before they consider the idea.

For some people this will really grate as it’s so simple, and worse, everyone can do it. But only a small percentage apply these habits, despite overwhelming evidence that applying them will lead to being successful.