WHAT IS THE MOST IMPORTANT QUALITY A PERSON NEEDS TO BECOME SUCCESSFUL?

This question was posed by Christina Klemash in her book "How to Succeed in the Game of Life." 

Scotty Bowman:

“Probably the most important thing is attitude. I really think that there are a lot of things you can’t change, that are out of your control, but your attitude is in your control. The right attitude is something that will help you be successful. There are not many successful people that don’t have the right attitude. There are other things you have to have: You have to have some patience, you have to have perseverance obviously, and you have to maybe have had some adversity too. But the main thing I’d say is attitude. You can always do something to help your attitude.”

John Chaney:
“I think it’s the kind of integrity that one should have, the honesty that one should have. And it cannot be tainted with a bad understanding of what the integrity of a sport is. You can’t taint it. You can’t allow somebody to accept success or to accept anything from anybody when you know it is in a dishonest form.”

Tony Dungy:
“You have to have self-motivation. You have to have vision—to be able to dream and set goals that everyone can’t see. And then you have to have focus—to keep that in perspective and stay after your goals.”

Bill Parcells:
“Integrity. You can’t bullshit yourself, excuse the language. You need to have integrity. You know I read something about Warren Buffett one time where he said that having intelligence and ambition without integrity will kill you. [Laughs.] I think you have to be honest and forthright. I just think that’s important.”

Dick Vermeil:
“Compassion for other people. I think a lot of the athletes we coach today come from almost dysfunctional families. And I think that the more they trust you and the more they respect you as a leader, then the more they’re willing to work to be what they have the ability to be. I don’t know if compassion’s the right word, but I know it’s a high priority. And I automatically think number one is a tremendous work ethic. It’ll overcome a lot of faults and it will empower all your strengths.”

Bill Walsh:
“Patience. Tenacity. Passion.”

John Wooden:

“I have as the cornerstones of my Pyramid of Success, and I think these are the most important—all are important—but the most important are industriousness and enthusiasm.”