Success is possible for everyone. It is not distinguished for a select group of individuals. It is not based on your family background or what side of the tracks you come from.
Success has been achieved by some of the most unlikely people. There have been individuals who achieved great success in spite of their background, education and experience. They were willing to put forth the effort and do what it took to succeed.
Real Success
You can turn on the daily news, read the most recent news feed and observe individuals around you to discover that success is not just predicated on the accumulation of money, the acquisition of material possessions or the amount of personal achievements. If these were the only attributes to real success then only people with fame and fortune would be successful.
We see the glitz and glamor of celebrities, athletes and CEO’s and think that is real success. We see people around us who seem to achieve great success with marginal skills and abilities. It’s the reason why so many people search for a “secret to success”.
They’re looking for an easy path; a magic pill that will solve all their problems and release them from past pains and give them great success with minimal effort.
Well, I have some sobering news for you.
No Magic
There is no magic pill. There is no smooth, paved road to success. There is no special three or five step plan that will give you automatic success.
Many people are looking for an easy path; a magic pill that will solve all their problems and give them great success with minimal effort.
If you want real and lasting success that will stand strong when things don’t work out or when things fall apart, your definition of success must change.
I realized several years ago that if I desired to have the kind of success that was not just predicated on the accumulation of things then my definition of success had to change. I wanted the kind of success that was built on becoming the person God designed me to be.
When I began to look at success differently, my thinking changed. I saw there were things more important than just money, possessions, positions and personal achievement. I realized my relationship with God, my wife, children, family and others were more important to my success than just the material things.
I also discovered my character, values, health, integrity and thoughts were a very important part of my success journey. In my search for true success I discovered a new definition.
Success is becoming the person God purposed you to be, living positive values that guide your daily choices and actions, accomplishing the goals that give your life direction and sowing seeds that empower others.
5 Truths to Success
Success is a marathon, not a sprint. As you strive toward accomplishing your goals and dreams you need to know that there are no secrets to success! Here are 5 truths that I learned to why there is no secret to success.
1. Hard work — I have read hundreds of success stories and most of them had one thing in common, hard work. There is no getting around it. If you want own a successful business you must be willing to get up early and go to bed late. If you want write a book, you must put the work in writing the book. If you want to have a great marriage or train up productive children it takes hard work.
There are no free lunches. There are no such things as overnight success. It may look like it from the outside. But, behind every seemingly overnight success lie years of sweat, sacrifice and hard work.
2. Laser Focus — Every day, we are bombarded with hundreds of tasks, messages and people all competing for our time. You must be absolutely clear on who you are, what you want and what you need to do. Your ability to focus single-mindedly on the most important thing and stay at it until it is complete is an essential prerequisite for success.
You need a written vision plan that helps you focus your direction in every area of your life (spiritual, relational, physical, mental, social, financial and professional). You need a clear vision that laser focuses your daily life, motivates you and those connected to you to do the hard work necessary to achieve real success.
3. Real Courage — Courage is standing when everyone else wants to run, speaking when everyone is afraid to speak, acting when everyone is paralyzed by fear, taking action in the face of danger, holding one’s character and moral uprightness when everyone else is tempted to compromise theirs.
Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “All great successes are the triumph of persistence.” Most people will not have the courage to pursue a difficult goal, start a new business, break an old habit or move in a different direction. To live successfully you must have the courage to begin, to move out of your comfort zone in the direction of your goals and dreams, even though you know opposition, obstacles, difficulties and temporary failures are waiting for you.
4. Right Thoughts — Proverbs 23:7 says “whatever a man thinks in his heart so is he”. Your thought life determines your success. Negative thoughts can make you feel that you can’t live pass yesterday’s problems, today’s circumstances or tomorrow’s challenges. Negative thoughts will bombard your mind with doubts and fears encouraging you to give up on your dreams. The only way to reach true success for your life is for you to make a commitment to change the way you think.
You don’t have to give into negative thinking. You have the power to change the way you think. Make it a priority to properly align your thinking with your purpose. It won’t be easy, but you can do it.
5. Consistent Action — The most outwardly identifiable quality of a successful person is that he or she takes consistent action. You cannot take action one month, miss two months then do something the next month and think everything will work out. You are only fooling yourself. You must take consistent daily action to make your dreams a reality.
Your dreams are waiting for you to live them. There are enough dead dreams in the graveyard people did not take consistent action. There are dreams that you must release from your life. If you do not, yours will be another casualty in the graveyard of dead dreams. If you are reading this, join me in living out your success by taking consistent action.
There are no secrets to success because success is available to everyone. Do not let others define what success means to you. You define what success means to you and start living it out. Applying these five truths today, your life will change dramatically and success will be within your grasp and you will make a difference.
“Action is the foundational key to all success.” Pablo Picasso
Question: What is your definition of success and write it out?
Originally published at medium.com