Finding it hard to imagine what being a super-successful introvert would look like?
There’s a comment I’ve heard from more than one person in the past that goes something like this. “I know it should be possible to be a successful as an introvert. I just can’t imagine what it would look like”.
A big part of that confusion is that for several years, we’ve lived in a world that all but worships extroversion. One where the “squeaky wheel gets the grease” (or in this case, the acknowledgement). One that means that the many successful introverts out there tend to be ignored.
That’s starting to change though. Thanks to articles like Huffington Post’s recent 16 Outrageously Successful Introverts, people are starting to realise that the word “introvert” does NOT necessarily equal “doomed to failure”.
Here are three solid examples of introverts in totally different areas of life who’ve made a massive impact in their respective areas.
Example #1: Susan Cain
If you’ve read or listened to anything about introversion over the past couple of years, you’ll know the name Susan Cain. She’s the author of “Quiet: the power of introverts in a world that won’t stop talking”. And of course, the presenter of the “Power of Introverts” TED talk.
The idea of introversion as simply another personality dimension isn’t a new thing. Authors have been writing about introvert-related strengths for at least a decade now. One of my favourite introversion-related books, Marti Olsen Laney’s “The Introvert Advantage”, was written back in 2002. However, many people credit Susan Cain with starting the recent celebration of all things introverted. So it makes sense to point to her as the quintessential successful introvert.
Susan started her working life as a lawyer, then became a negotiations consultant – career choices you would have thought would work better for extroverts. But in her bio, she states that she “prefers listening to talking, reading to socializing, and cozy chats to group settings”. She “likes to think before she speaks”. And she knows that she “owes everything she’s ever accomplished to those traits”.
Which means she’s a great example of successful introversion in action.
Example #2: Bill Gates
As the founder and chairman of Microsoft, Bill Gates is one of more successful of the reported 40% of business executives who identify as introverts. He’s described as “quiet and bookish” without being in any way shy.
It’s probably not surprising that introverts make good business leaders. Several of the strengths that are associated with introversion (detail focus, ability to research, good writing skills) are obviously pretty helpful in the business world. So it’s nice to see articles in business publications like Forbes.com acknowledging this.
What is surprising is the assumption that it shouldn’t be this way: that the only valuable business skills are the extroverted ones. That’s not to say that extroverted skills aren’t valuable too… but even Bill Gates himself acknowledges that businesses need both introverts and extroverts to function optimally.
Example #3: Leonie Dawson
If you’re new to the heart-based, spirit-led difference-maker community, you might not yet have heard of Leonie Dawson.
In short, she’s the founder of the global Amazing Biz & Life Academy – a membership community for creative, spiritual entrepreneurs. With nearly 3,000 paying members, 26,000 social media followers, and business growth that doubles every year, she’s pretty much my definition of solopreneur success. And yes, I consider her to be one of my key business mentors.
Leonie’s an awesome blend of “hippy dippy” spirituality (her words!) and grass roots business wisdom, and is a serious inspiration for me. She’s always been a poster child for being completely, totally and 100% yourself in business. But it wasn’t till I read her “Introvert’s Guide to Succeeding in Business” article though that I realised she was an introvert too.
No wonder she’s one of the people I want to be when I grow up!
So what do all these super-successful introverts have in common?
I’ve said before that there’s no one right way to be a successful introvert, and the folks I’ve profiled in this post about bear that out. Each person is different, and each is massively successful in their own unique way. When you bring in the folks from the Huffpost list, you have writers, software engineers, business coaches, actors, singers, activists and scientists.
I’ve also written before about the fact that introverts aren’t just people who are unlucky enough to not be extroverts. We’re not just introverts because we lack extroverted strengths Instead, we actually have a whole load of things that we tend to be better at than our extroverted friends.
Each of the introverts I’ve profiled has different strengths. What they have in common is a willingness to focus on and make the most of those strengths, rather than letting the fact that they’re not extroverts define them.
I don’t know about you, but as a raging introvert, I find that pretty inspiring!
Want to learn more about how to use YOUR unique strengths as an introvert?
If you feel like being an introvert could be holding you back in promoting your business, I have a free training call that might help!
In the call, I’ll take you through what introversion truly means, and how you can make it work for you in your business instead. I’ll also introduce you to introvert-friendly ways to manage your energy, plus four of the promotional techniques that work for me as an introvert without exhausting me.
Sound interesting? Find out more about the call here!
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The post Proof that it’s possible: 3 solid examples of super-successful introverts appeared first on Crystal Clarity Copywriting.