Why are some people successful while others struggle? The world seems like an unfair playground where some lucky few live the good life as the rest of the world watch in envy. Wanting to be a successful person myself, I studied the element of success in order to understand how I could attain this illusive attribute.
I have created a 6 point summary on what I feel are the building blocks to success.
Step 1: Vision
Many people are blocked from achieving their life long goals because they lack the very first building block required: vision. What did Moses, Abraham, and Martin Luther King all have in common? They all had a dreams. All beginnings start with some sort of vision. Whether your personal vision is of wealth, happiness, or love, if you can’t envision it, you will not be able start creating an appropriate plan of action.
Step 2: Plan of action.
A plan of action is different than a vision. Many people have dreams of living a successful and happy life, but few actually follow up on those dreams with a creative plan of action. Get a good education and learn a solid trade. Dreamers do just that, they dream. Until you start to create a means, there will never be an end.
Step 3: Drive/Motivation
Everyone wants to be rich, but only those who have the motivation to get off their rear end can ever amass significant wealth. If you do not see any family estate checks coming your way in the near future, that might mean it’s time to get motivated about creating immediate income. Motivation has many factors and oftentimes can have many different faces. Whether someone is looking to impress others, to win over a potential spouse, or simply to be respected, all of these things within the right circumstance can create personal motivation. While some motivational speeches linger longer than others, no one motivational technique works best for all. Every clock ticks at a different time and with a different rhythm. Motivation is the building block towards creating success.
Step 4: Buying the lottery ticket
To this day no one has ever won the lottery without buying a ticket. The first real step at creating success requires taking a chance on ones self. Simply put, sometimes you need to pay $1 in order to win millions. From my experience, majority of dreams do not turn come to fruition not because of laziness but because individuals are not able to get past step 4. Success requires taking chances. To some, this can be the scariest step.
Step 5: Believing that you can succeed.
Many people who have a vision and are able to create a proper plan of action, are still not able to believe that they can actualize their goals. Just because someone “buys a lottery ticket” does not mean that they think they have any chance in winning the lottery. If you do not honestly believe that you should be awarded your dream job, you will never be able to actualize your lofty aspirations. While I do not suggest going to group “success seminars”, I do believe that there is value in what these seminars have to offer. Believe in yourself a bit more each day and as your confidence grows so will your sudden found success.
6: Work hard.
There is a Hebrew saying that goes as follows, “According to the pain - will be the gain.” Stop reading about multi level marketing schemes and get rich quick programs. If there were ways of making millions overnight, everyone would be doing it. Your work is only as good as the time and effort you put into it.
Remember there is no road to overnight respect and recognition. Create reasonable goals for yourself and with time you will find yourself on the path of actualizing your goals.
