7 traits highly successful people like Taylor Swift share: They’re ‘unicorns,’ says expert

As in most fans, Taylor Swift and discography have long been an important part of my personal story. A career transition was even an unexpected source of inspiration.

I left my job as an aviation engineer and human space flight designer at NASA to make MBA at Harvard University, which ultimately led to my current way as an economist and investor.

In Harvard, I started to think about Swift’s journey with a professional lens. I was directed by a key question: Apparently, how do normal people do extraordinary things? How do these ultra successful unicorn horses be?

After reading a perfect book by the legal scholar and documentary Paul Davis, “Dedicated: commitment status in the age of endless appearance“I have begun to recognize a number of features where these highly successful people have common points.

In particular, there are seven features that Swift regularly shows.

1. Imagination

We are all born with imagination, but as we get older, we usually put restrictions between our minds and creative stimuli in the world around us.

Not fast. An expression, a feeling, the ears, such as a line, turns small sparks into all worlds. A great way to do the same thing is to start to notice more of the pieces that catch your eyes. Ask yourself why and then save it.

Swift understands that his imagination starts with curiosity, not invented. Great to pay attention to the smallest, most resonant details and building universes.

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2. Synthesis

This is the ability to connect new and old ideas and thoughts through creativity. Creating synthesis requires courage, because it is not easy to redesign the world or do business in a way that others do not.

Swift’s record for synthesis is talking for himself. The iconic song “Death by bin Cuts” was actually inspired by the relationship failure of the female hero’s romantic comedy “.

But the most famous example of Swift’s synthesis skill is “Love Story”. He restarted and reinterpreted the romantic Shakespeare tragedy of “Romeo and Juliet” to a lively, a happy ending.

3. Focusing

The focus is to make your goal a part of your presence. Swift did not publish a makeup line or fashion brand. You don’t see him in things that don’t matter to him. Show and song writing has been the most important priorities since her youth.

And he was entirely focused on being the best in these things.

Ask yourself to sharpen your focus: Does this bring me closer to my basic purpose, or is it just noise? It is not a loss to say no to distributor elements; This is a way of assigning and protecting the energy required to go deep in the most important place.

4. Doggedess

Dogged is the ability to continue doing something or continue to fight for it in the face of difficulty.

Imagine those moments in a scene where Swift is sick, exhausted and broken. During the period tour, when a song cries visibly, seems to be swimming in heavy rain, and makes the same set millions of times.

Nevertheless, he acted as if he was the best, most monumental night of his life. Even though unicorn horses always think that they do not have doggedness and passion, they are good in claiming that they have it until they get back back.

5. Passion

Passion gets an enthusiasm that has been doing something even after a while or even after losing its brightness. Passion and Dogged seem to coincide because they require durability and durability.

To revive your own passion, re -connect with “why” behind what you do. Ask yourself the first thing you have attracted to yourself, and find the little ways to rediscover this joy through the experiment, re -invention or persistence.

6. Respect

This is the ability to fear and deep respect for something.

Unless the object of your passion gives you a sense of internal happiness and curiosity, it is often difficult to stay passionate unless it feels that there is something bigger than you and everything in front of you.

Respect nourishes your purpose, which nourishes your passion and thus allows you to give your commitment to something.

7.

The ultimate feature is a commitment in the context of the continuation of all the options that pursue this one thing, especially on everything. To go to the university or another career for Swift, to save music and tour.

Real commitment usually requires sacrifice. Ask yourself: What am I ready to quit so that this goal can survive? When something is optional, it makes you feel safe. However, magnitude is built by those who are willing to bet what they love the most.

This commitment is evident in Swift’s ability to put music in the first place at all times and forever.

Sinéad O’Sullivan Harvard Business School has a MBA degree and previously served as the chief strategist of the HBS Strategy and Competitiveness Institute. He also worked at the Sloan Administrative School of Massachusetts Institute of Technology and was a professor at the Faculty of Business Administration of Illinois Technology Institute Stuart. That author “Good Ideas and Power Movements: Ten Lessons for Success from Taylor Swift. “

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