Success does not come through willpower alone, it takes consistency
and
determination. Doing something once won't make a huge difference; it's
when you
do that one thing many times over you achieve success. Not everyone will
be happy for you and your success. Some people are
insecure and jealous. Be prepared for them, and look past them until you
find
the people who are happy for you and who support you in all that you do.
Make a list of people you know. Include your parents, family, friends,
siblings, cousins, colleagues, and classmates. List people in your
social
networks (such as Twitter, Facebook, etc.). The list might even include
names
of people you have never met but are connected to through your social
network
or online group. You will be surprised to find out how many people you
are
connected with. If you absolutely cannot do something and avoid doing it
in public or gym
class, then PRACTICE it when you're by yourself until you're confident.
Ask for
help. There are tips to reach a succes
Step 1: Planning for Success
1. Imagine yourself being successful. Einstein said that the imagination
is more important than knowledge. The more vividly and accurately you imagine
your success, the easier it will be for the rest of your self to follow
through. The same way engineers first imagine a bridge and then build it, you
can be the engineer of your success by dedicating a few minutes every day for
the mental movies of your success.
2. Find the purpose or goal of your
life. Identify
the things you love to do, the things that give you satisfaction. Once you
identify what you love to do, use this information to find the purpose of your
life or the objective of your life. Finding what you love to do will
give you motivation along the way. Imagine being forced to do a triathlon when
your true passion is chess. Pretty difficult, huh? Now imagine the opportunity
to participate in a chess tournament. It's much, much easier to persistently
chip away at your goal if your goal is something you enjoy doing.
3. Define the meaning of success as you
see it. You cannot
have success if you do not know what it means for you. Everyone views success
differently. Set clear goals and be realistic. How will you know when you've
achieved your goals? Your standards should be quantifiable, or else you could
spend your entire life chasing after a vague goal. For example, let's say you want to
be good at your job. You get a promotion,
you get a raise,
but you still haven't reached your goal because you could always do better,
right? You could always get promoted even further, or make even more money.
Whatever you have will never be enough. Instead, create benchmarks: "My
goal is to increase my productivity by 30% and only be late for work five times
per year, at the most." These are quantifiable goals that when achieved,
give you a sense of satisfaction and completion, making you feel successful and
confident.
4. Set a timeline for when you want to
achieve your objective. If you don't know when you will achieve your objective by, then it's hard
to know whether or not you have failed. Give yourself a timeline that is
difficult but doable. Winning a Tour de France from scratch in two years is not
reasonable, but booking a comedy gig in front of at least 20 paying customers
probably is.
5. Identify the things/skills/material
needed to achieve your objectives. If you want to be a famous speaker, for example, you
need a broad vocabulary, subject knowledge, speech writing, voice clarity, and
presentation skills. This is identifying short term objectives to achieve long
term goals.
6. Identify the skills you need to
sharpen and the skills you can outsource. Outsourcing is all about time-management. You may
think of yourself as a superman or superwoman, but there are limits to your
powers. Outsourcing certain less essential tasks gives you more time to focus
on the things that are absolutely essential to your craft. Use the last example as a template;
in order to become a great speaker, you need to improve voice and presentation
skills as these are the basic skills needed for a speaker. But if you are
lacking speech writing or subject knowledge skills, you can try to outsource
them to an expert. This is called working smart. Many of the great leaders
don't write their own speech; they focus on delivering it right.
Step 2: Execution
7. Execute your small objectives,
focusing on your main objective. Don't find reasons to procrastinate. Jump head-first
into the challenge and start chipping away. You never know what problems will
present themselves before you actually step into the arena. Break your goal into small steps.
Does the goal of starting a technology company seem impossibly unattainable?
Break it down into smaller goals. Focus on streamlining your idea; then focus
on getting funding; then move onto building a prototype, etc. If you have the
vision to attack your goal piece by piece, it's easier and less daunting to
execute.
8. Stay away from distractions as much
as possible.
Distractions are either the spice of life or the forbidden fruit, depending on
your perspective. But let's be clear: it's almost impossible to be 100% focused
on you task 100% of the time. Distractions are okay in low doses. But when your
goals start taking a backseat to petty distractions, it's time to banish them.
9. Surround yourself with other people
who are successful. When
you're surrounded with people who are highly-driven, it's encouraging. You can
bounce ideas off of people, and they can even connect you with other people.
Surrounding yourself with driven, successful people is a way to create a
culture of success. Study successful people. Look around
— who has the success that you envision for yourself? What are they doing? How
do they approach life? Ask them for advice. Model some of your
approaches around theirs, if possible. Knowledge is as free as it is powerful.
10. Find a mentor. A mentor is someone, usually with
a bit more experience than you, who knows the trade, offers advice, and helps
you in your pursuit. Behind many successful people are mentors. Mentors get
satisfaction out of knowing that their guidance has literally bred success.
A mentor will help you:
- Network. Networking is making connections with people who have connections. Contrary to popular belief, networking is mutually beneficial. You offer expertise, opinion, or opportunity to someone in exchange for something back.
- Troubleshoot. Troubleshooting is learning about how to make ideas or applications even better. Your mentor can help you figure out what you need to change in order to make your idea(s) even better.
- Strategize. A mentor will probably have more vision than you because s/he's been in the game longer, with more successes and failures. You can draw on their legacy of experience to strategize about their future.
11. Gather as much information as you
can. Listen.
Study. Understand. Learn. Repeat. Humans are amazing creatures because we can
look at the world, make intellectual connections, and use those connections to
make our lives better (or potentially worse). This is what information allows
us to do. Never turn your "learning switch" off. You never know when
your flash of insight will come!
- Take calculated risks. Step out of your comfort zone. Successful people think big and act big. Don't wait for opportunities to fall in your lap. Sniff them out. Successful people make big investments (in their careers, in their businesses, in their education) and all investments involve risk. Study your risks, make sure the odds are in your favor, and take a leap. Be bold. Three calculated risks to consider: Partner with a competitor. Whether you're a long distance runner or rolling out back-end solutions to technology giants, partnering with the competition may help you pool your resources, motivate you to work harder, and build new relationships. Lead, don't follow. Leading the way can be dangerous. You're taking on the headwinds literally, perhaps, or you're banking on an idea — like Facebook or Google — that someone has already tried before. Summon up the courage to do something different, if not entirely different. Hit singles and doubles, not home runs. Of course, hitting a home run isn't a bad thing at all! It's just that you can't rely on them to win the game every single time. Try letting singles and doubles add up to the same value as home runs.
- Solve problems. People who are successful encourage progress by solving problems and answering questions. No matter where you are or what you're doing, look around and try and think of ways you can contribute. What are people struggling with or complaining about? How can you make life easier for them in an effective way? Can you re-design or re-organize some aspect of the situation so that things run more smoothly? Can you create a product or provide a service that fills a critical gap?
- Social problems. Facebook reinvented the way we interact with one another. Can you think of a similar social problem that needs reinventing?
- Technology problems. Companies like Dell design smaller and more powerful computer processors that help our user experience line up with our expectations. Can you assist people do with technology what they already want to do?
- Strategic problems. Consultants like IBM help other companies and individuals become more productive, profitable, and prudent. Can you help someone else solve a strategic problem?
- Interpersonal problems. Psychologists and marriage counselors help other people navigate the complex web of personal relationships that make up our lives. Can you help people better get along with one another?
12. Be persistent.
You're going to fail — that much is a given. What will define you is how you
pick yourself up after you've fallen. Don't give up. If your first attempt
didn't work, don't quit. Always keep in mind the following sentence: "If
you don't give up, you cannot fail." Don't let failure define you. When
asked about his 10,000 failed attempts to develop a storage battery, the
prolific American inventor Thomas Edison responded: "I have not failed,
I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work.". Don't make excuses. Don't
rationalize your failure by placing the blame on someone or something else.
Accept when something is your fault. This will help you identify what you need
to change in order to get better. An excuse after failure is a refusal to make
the situation better.
13. Accept that life is unfair. It's a fact. You can moan about it
and wish that it were different, or you can go out there and do something about
it. So stop wasting time about the unfairness of it all and think how to use
the situation for your benefit. Newton could have complained about the Apple
falling down the tree could hit his head. Instead, he identified the law of
gravity and is now known as the father of physics.
14. Remember that success does not
guarantee happiness. Success is
equated with the achievement of a goal, but don't assume it will always bring
happiness. Many people make the mistake that if they accomplish this or that,
they'll be happier. Fulfillment and satisfaction have a
lot more to do with how you approach life than with what you do
in life. Keep that in perspective. Don't burn bridges along the way. A
lot of life is about personal relationships, so don't forsake them. If you've
invented a cheap, efficient way to make nuclear fission, but everyone dislikes
you, you have no spouse, and no friends, will it be worth it? Value experiences over objects.
Humans can be extraordinarily obsessed with money. It's strange, too, because
scientists think that experiences, along with their memory, make us happier
than objects we can buy with money. Focus on making great memories with
great people along the way, and you should be happy.
15. Remove fear and doubt from your way
of thinking. Focus on
staying positive in every situation. You will be surprised how your effective
you can be when your thoughts are guiding your actions, not the other way
around. If and when you fail, don't be fearful about starting over; be happy
that you've been given a chance to be even more successful.
Sources: http://www.wikihow.com/Be-Successful
