It is a fact of life that some people are successful while others are not. However, researchers from the University College London have pinpointed five skills that are commonly present in the most successful people in the world.

Experts examined people in their 50s and 60s and found five common characteristics in those who are wealthy, healthy, and successful - control, optimism, stability, determination, and conscientiousness. In contrast, those who scored lower in these skills suffer more from depression and chronic diseases.

The experts got their data from the English Longitudinal Study of Aging which holds the data of more than 8,000 middle-aged people they have followed for 11 years.

Aside from lower percentage of depression, those who scored high in these character skills also have lower cholesterol and C-reactive protein levels, a marker that has been found in those who have type-2 diabetes and heart disease.

Andrew Steptoe, co-author of the study and a professor at the department of Epidemiology and Public Health said that it was interesting to note that these skills are not confined to certain groups of people.

He said that there are intelligent and privileged people who don't have these character strengths, hence they fail in life. On the other hand, there are those who come from poor backgrounds but have the self-discipline and reliability to achieve their goals. He also added that one of the attributes is more important than the other but rather, they compliment with each other.

Despite the results, the researchers cautioned that causal conclusions cannot be drawn from their study. However, it opens up a number of possibilities in discovering ways how these life skills can enhance the life of people, especially during old age.