Your success and happiness lies in you
I am gonna go out on a limb and say that the fact that you are here reading this article means that you are looking for ways to become successful in your life.
No doubt you have seen pictures, videos and articles of the rich and famous that emphasize their money, cars, mansions, private jets and other worldly assets.
You may be thinking that they have something that you don’t have. I mean, how are they able to achieve all of that but you can’t?
Or, you may be wondering, what are the things they did to get to where they are and can you follow the same steps and get the same results?
Oprah Winfrey, a millionaire at 32 years of age; J.K. Rowling a Billionaire at 39 years, Colonel Sanders, wasn’t a millionaire until he sold KFC at the age of 75; Marie Curie won half Nobel Prize for physics at the age of 36; Angela Merkel became first female chancellor of Germany at 51 years; several others who made it to the ‘top-most-successful-persons-in-the-world’ list deliver one common message.
Anyone can become successful when the right principles are applied and it’s never too late. You can start right now by applying the ways to become successful in life, that I will share with you in this post.
It wasn’t sheer luck. Neither did they find an Aladdin’s lamp nor inherited a big fortune.
Then, how did they make it to the ‘top most influential persons’ list?
● How did they become so rich and powerful that the world has been literally moved by them?
● What was the path they followed that enabled them to become successful?
● How can you begin your own journey to success?
Questions like these usually rob you of a goodnight’s sleep because you are constantly trying to create a better life but are finding no way to do so.
Or, you have given up because you think you don’t have what it takes to be successful. Am I right? If you answered yes, then you are wrong!
You do have what it takes to be successful. As Myles Munroe said, success is predictable! However, you have to know what success is to you before you can find it. That means defining success on your own
Let’s iron out the details a bit.
What is the meaning of success?
Success is subjective. You should have your own definition of success because when it comes to defining success, it all melts down to one single thing-Personal Fulfillment! Your personal fulfilment.
If you feel contentment at the end of a race, that is your success; if you feel satisfied after a day well-spent – you are successful; if you wish to stand head down for half an hour, that is your success.
Success on a personal level cannot be generalized. However, if we talk of material success, i.e., the success in worldly affairs, success by the book is defined as a
“degree or measure of succeeding or the favorable or desired outcome, also: the attainment of wealth, favor, or eminence.”
By this definition, success can be measured by, among other things:
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Financial or business gain
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Eminent position in certain fields
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Political or competitive victory
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Influence over masses
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Being famous
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Being rich
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Owning mansions and multiple properties
This list might intimidate you at first, but anything that can be measured - can be planned and achieved. You only have to figure out the path that will lead to your success.
Now before I go any further, let me just put this out there. I don’t know what your definition of success is but there are people who have achieved the things in the list above but still lived and died miserably. Some lose the will to live and take their own lives while others succumb to self-destructing vices like drug or alcohol addiction. So then, does achievement equals success?
How to become successful
I believe we all were born with the desire to succeed in life but some of us just don’t know how. As I said before, success is predictable but it comes to those who work for it.
Yes, being successful requires effort and we all got a good head start. Some people call it talent while others call it a gift. Either way we all have at least one, others have more than one but this is where the journey to your success begins.
Find your passion
There is at least one thing you are passionate about. Answer these questions to find out what it is.
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What is that one thing you already love doing?
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What are you excited to do the moment you get out of bed?
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Is there something you can do for hours without getting tired or burnt out?
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Is there something you spend hours researching or reading about?
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What is it that you could do without being paid for it?
Make sure you dig deep before you answer these questions.
Oftentimes we think we are passionate about something until a few months down the road we realize it wasn’t for us. That’s usually after we have wasted our time, energy and resources.
Or, if you are like me, you are passionate about and good at many things and picking just one is hard. But you have to be honest with yourself. Being good at something does not mean you would want to be doing it everyday.
It took me a while to narrow down my absolute passion but I finally did it. It’s what I am doing right now. Writing! I could spend all day everyday just putting my thoughts on paper and sharing my mind with you.
The thought of writing all day probably makes you cringe and that’s ok.
That’s why you have to find your own passion and let it guide you. You see, writing is my passion and I love it. So by applying certain principles, I will be successful at it.
Remember, success is predictable.
If you were able to answer those questions, you are already a couple steps into your success journey. Congratulations!
You might want to read how to find your passion for a deeper dive.
Change Your Habits
“You will never change your life unless you change something you do daily. The secret of your success is found in your daily routine” -John C. Maxwell
Now that you have found your passion. Let’s talk about cultivating the right habits that are guaranteed to bring you success if you apply yourself.
Reality check. Human beings are creatures of habit. Think about some of the things you did today. Did you do those same things yesterday and the day before that? Sure you did.
Those activities are your habits, let’s evaluate them.
Did those habits help you reach your goals?
Did they move you closer to the life you dream of?
If you answered no to any of those questions, you have work to do. This post will take you through the steps you need to take to change your bad habits to good ones.
Control Your Emotions
Your emotions are fickle. They change from one moment to the next so don’t be guided by them. Instead, you must master them.
What do I mean by that?
To be the master of anything, it has to be totally under your control. Emotional Mastery is your ability to fully control your emotions and not let them affect your actions, productivity or your outlook.
Have you ever been mad at someone? Sure you have. Did you spend the entire day stewing over the situation and wake up the next day still arguing in your mind?
How many times have you encountered a driver who was not driving as good as you were and you gave him the finger or told him a few choice words?
That was your emotions mastering you. You need to flip the switch.
How you master your emotions is a personal thing. It’s a process. First you have to be aware of what you are feeling and use those feelings to get to your desired end.
Your emotions have a huge impact on you becoming successful and your quality of life.
Go here to see the steps you can take to achieve full emotional mastery.
Self-control
Let’s get real here for a second.
How long did you stick to that last diet you were crazy about before you reached for that juicy burger?
How many times did you give in to the urge to binge watch your favorite series on Netflix instead of going to the gym?
Were you fulfilled after either activity or were you thoroughly disappointed in yourself and resolved not to let it happen again?
I am willing to bet that it did happen again.
This is where self-control comes in. It is a very important element on your journey to becoming successful in life.
In the absence of control, you won’t be able to change your habits, cure your procrastination, master your emotions,
finish what you start, be productive or take action to achieve your goals.
According to the Oxford Languages dictionary, self-control is the ability to control yourself, in particular your emotions and desires or the expression of them in your behavior, especially in difficult situations.
Self-control is the power you need to make a decision and follow through despite the temptations to do otherwise.
Self-control helps you to manage your behaviors, reactions, emotions, and impulses. It helps you forego short-term gratifications and work for long-term gains.
Here I have more details on self-control and why it matters to you.
Prevent Procrastination
Do you ignore important tasks because they seem unpleasant to you and do something easier or more enjoyable instead?
Do you assume that you have more than enough time to get things done and end up missing important deadlines?
How about those projects you didn’t complete because you left them to the last minute because you thought they wouldn’t take a lot of time?
You are procrastinating!
One of the reasons why success eludes you is your tendency to procrastinate. You cannot become successful if you don’t kick the habit of procrastinating.
Some of the causes of procrastination are, a lack of self-discipline, being a slave to your bad habits and especially, not mastering your emotions.
Let me guess. You put off getting stuff done because you were not in the mood or the frame of mind to do it? I can’t tell you how many times I have been guilty of that.
What do you think people regret more? The things they have done, or the things they wanted to do but didn’t?
Curing your procrastination isn’t something you can do overnight and that is why you need the strategies outlined in this post.
Finish what you start
“You can’t finish what you don’t start and you should never start what you’re not committed to finish”
Gary Ryan Blair
I have a dirty little secret and I’m only going to share it with you. Finishing what I started was one of the hardest things for me to do.
I had a ton of books I started to read and never made it to the end.
I bought a lot of courses online and lost interest in most before I even started any of them.
I have changed my career goals only about a hundred times.
I had about 3-4 businesses that I almost started.
Can you relate? What have you got in your inventory of unfinished projects?
Joseph Ferrari, professor of psychology at DePaul University who authored the book Still Procrastinating: The No Regrets Guide to Getting It Done conducted a research which revealed that nearly a quarter of adults worldwide are chronic procrastinators.
The reality is, starting something is usually pretty easy. You are in love with this new project or idea and are very pumped and enthused.
Once the honeymoon wears off and you are faced with all it’s going to take to complete this project, you file it away with your other abandoned stuff.
Truth is you cannot create the life you want without following through and finishing what you start.
I will give you the exact steps I took to be able to finish whatever I start by always starting with the end in mind.
Cultivate a success mindset
It all begins in your mind.
Before you speak, the words originate in your mind. Before you do an activity or an action, the thought or idea first comes to your mind.
So if you change your mind, you change your actions. If your actions change, so will your life. Do you see where I am going with this?
It all begins in your mind. And that is why you need to set your thoughts for success.
“Success is a state of mind. If you want success start thinking of yourself as a success.”-Joyce Brothers
Your mindset is the established set of mental attitudes you hold. It affects how you think, feel and what you do.
Psychologist Carol Dweck did research in the area of mindset. She focused on the fixed mindset and the growth mindset as she believed that people had either of the two and one can predict the behavior of those people if they first determine their mindset.
The fixed mindset is one in which a person acknowledges who they are and what they are, with no intention to change because they don’t see the need to change or believe they can change.
An individual with a growth mindset is accountable for who they are and what they are with the belief that they change, develop new attitudes and improve their life.
Setting your thoughts for success is a critical part of your journey to achieve growth and success.
Plan your productivity
Do you want to know one thing you have in common with every successful person? The same 24 hours each and every day.
Please understand this, no one can create any extra hours in a day and no matter how rich a person is, the one thing they cannot buy is time.
I’m willing to bet that if you asked a number of people what they wished they had more of, the most popular answer would be time.
Time is a scarce resource for everyone, so it must be managed well. And it must be managed in order to bring about your desired end.
What I mean by that is you need to know exactly what it’s gonna take for you to be successful. It might be learning a new skill, reading a few books, completing some projects you previously abandoned.
Whatever you decide upon, you need to come with a plan that will help you to achieve exactly what you need to achieve to be successful in your life.
Your plan should help you stay on track and not waste time with tasks that will take you further away from accomplishing your goals.
You are the only one who knows what success means to you so do what you have to do to get the job done. Here is a game plan on how to plan your productivity.
Take Action
Everyone wants to be successful but how many actually take action to achieve their goals?
How many blog posts and articles related to this topic have you read? How many YouTube videos have you watched and how many podcasts have you listened to?
What about those self-help books you have at home or in your office gathering dust with maybe a bookmark half-way through? How many 30-day challenges have you signed up for and quit on maybe day 7?
Those are some hard questions but I want you to take a good look at where you are now and where you want to be.
You could have amassed all the knowledge in the world but it won’t make you a success unless you take action.
What is standing between you and the dream life you want to create is you.
Your success is ultimately your responsibility.
By now you should have created or have a very good idea of what your own definition of success is. Now is the time to take action to achieve your goals and bring your dreams to life.
According to Dr. Steve Maraboli, action is the universal language of success. Simply put, to succeed you need to take action.
This guide is only to get you started. Everyone has a unique journey. Discover yours and share with the world to lead others.
I gave you 9 principles you can adopt to become successful in your life. What would you add as the 10th? Let me know in the comments below!
