The Principle of Success

What is success?

I am not going to try to define success. I think a precise definition is impossible. Is it winning a Gold Medal at the Olympic Games or winning Wimbledon, or being awarded a Nobel prize? What else? I believe personal success could be anything at all - it does not have to involve public recognition. Who is more successful? A millionaire who is unhappy, or an unnoticed person who has led a simple, happy life? The simplest definition of success I think is 'to set out to do something and to succeed in doing it'. It really doesn't matter what, or how humble the undertaking is...

Believe you can succeed and you will. Achieving success in whatever endeavour you choose may be the goal of life. Because it gives you freedom from worry. Could that be?

Success means different things to every one of us. Some people believe it is measured in financial terms, ie.. having wealth; others believe it is helping others rather than helping themselves. A bit of both perhaps! Or it could be simply achieving for achievement's sake. Success is such a personal thing. To many people it is the very root of their being - the reason for existing is to achieve something worthwhile in our lives. To the vast majority of the population it doesn't matter much whether they want to be successful or not; that's OK by me, as long as that is what you really want and you are happy with life. However, most people want and are motivated to a great extent by public recognition and a relentless pursuit of achievement. How many people too are really happy? How many people are really doing what they want to with their lives? ( Incidentally, the ability to imagine, makes us different from animals).

No matter what motivates you personally...whatever you choose to do with your life, don't expect instant success. The years of struggle, commitment and learning in excelling at whatever endeavour or trade you choose, is no easy task. I would wholeheartedly agree with that statement. It takes a lot of courage, character and discipline to achieve success in any field. Nearly all successful people have doubted themselves at some point and wanted to give up. Yet they carried on. So many people give up within an inch or two away from the gold in the seam down the mine - a whisker away from success. One thing is for sure: success breeds SUCCESS, as it gathers a momentum of its own and you get on a winning streak, when everything seems to fit into place.. * * *

I like all of the following quotations. They all stand for what success means to me personally. So I'll share them with you...

"Success is the continuous journey towards the achievement of predetermined worthwhile goals." - Tom Hopkins, American motivator

"To live your life in your own way To reach the goals you've set for yourself To be the person you want to be - that is success." - author anon.

and another one on a similar theme... "There is one only one success: to be able to spend your life in your own way" - Christopher Morley

Most of all, I believe success is a matter of personal growth. If every day you are developing or growing just a millimetre (or acquiring a "teeny weeny" bit of knowledge for improving yourself that you didn't have before), I believe one is successful. So dwarfs can be very successful people too.

Just being a slightly better person each day for me is success. I've got a very long way to go then!

HOW TO ACHIEVE SUCCESS:

I believe the first step towards achieving success is to define what it represents to you. A key factor is understanding yourself and what "makes you tick". What is your DEFINITE PURPOSE in life? If you know where you want to head, it'll be far easier to set in place a plan to get you there. What motivates you?. I think the most important step on the road to SUCCESS is first ACKNOWLEDGING yourself for what you are: your faults, strengths, "warts and all". Your HOPES and DREAMS for your life are vitally important.

The key ingredients in the formula to success, I believe, are as follows:

1.A PLAN

2. FOCUS

3. DETERMINATION

and most importantly,

4.A POSITIVE ATTITUDE

Some others which you can throw into the recipe are:

* DRIVE

* ENERGY

* ENTHUSIASM

and a SINGLED-MINDED PURSUIT of your objective.

So what else helps?

A strong belief in yourself and what you are doing (or trying to achieve)

Your ultimate goals and dreams should conform to your values. So if you're an honest sort of bloke (nice Kiwi/Aussie word for a solid down-to-earth type of person), who wants to make a lot of money, don't think of robbing a bank. The riches won't bring you happiness...and you're not likely to be too successful as a bank-robber if you are a regular church-goer!

NB: Whatever you are, I believe the key ingredient to achieving success is PERSISTENCE.

The following words mean a lot to me personally ...

Just because you failed doesn't mean you are a failure.

"I'm not a failure if I don't make it...I'm a success because I tried " - anon

YOU TOO ARE NOT A FAILURE IF YOU DON'T MAKE IT

YOU'RE A SUCCESS BECAUSE YOU TRY.

All of the above character traits give us our strength in the face of adversity. EMPOWERMENT: this is the ability to take control over your life and learn from your experiences. We can all learn so much from the roller coaster that is life each and every day. Or is it swings and roundabouts?

What can you do about your life...other than breathe and stay alive?

Don't just stand there - do something.

"JUST HAVE A GO" at life.

ACTION AND A COMMITMENT IN SEEING IT THROUGH IS THE KEY TO YOUR SUCCESS (IN WORK AND IN LIFE).

About the Author




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