- Choose a Direction. Go With It. How do you define success for yourself? What traits and characteristics do you place a lot of value on? What are you passionate about? What do you want your life to be like in 5 or 10 years? You don’t need to have answers to all or any of these in order to get moving, but you ought to have some sort of an idea of where you want to go- which is what these questions seek to get from you. To me, success is based on the level of satisfaction I have with myself in the main areas of my life: personally or character/decision-making, professionally, in my relationships with people (and my dog), and in my health and physicality. Success, for me, is also based on the amount of progress I am making/have made towards being the type of man I want to be, and live the type of life I want for myself (a positive influence). I have answers to all of these questions, you may not; that is fine, but I bet you have one answer, and that alone can help you choose a direction. Be sure to choose one though.
- Lead Yourself. Take Action. This starts with taking responsibility for yourself by making a point to always do your best, to always keep your word, and to practice habits that are in alignment with your direction. Consider it your duty to figure out a good health, phsyicality and wellness plan for yourself, and more importantly to follow through on it. There is no blueprint; many different things seem to work for people. I suggest you eat real food, avoid highly processed foodstuffs on a regular basis, practice basic resistance exercises and do some cardio training, take up meditation and/or yoga, regularly sleep in a dark room on a regular schedule for as long as you reasonably can, spend time socializing, build close relationships with people you respect, and be a contribution to people you come across and causes you believe in. Hey, it ain’t easy to take a high degree of responsibility for yourself in the way I quickly outlined; heck, it may even seem like a full-time job, but the benefits are plentiful, and they carry over into everything. Also, it gives a sense of satisfaction that you can only get from something that feels inherently right.
- Be Persistent In Your Effort. It takes a sustained effort, over many years, to accomplish nearly anything meaningful. Problems will arise, you will experience disappointment, and things will not go as planned. That’s fine; you expected to make adjustments when you set forward. It might not come naturally or immediately, but you must adapt and display some resolve in order to be successful. That’s just how it is. Each of us will face a different set of problems in our lives; it is up to us to not only figure out how to overcome our problems, but to use them to grow stronger. If you fail to make it where you set off to, but grow much stronger and more capable then you still did pretty well. Persistence builds character.
Tip: Discipline yourself to do what it takes. You cannot rely on motivation to make good decisions, and to live the type of life that puts you in position to be successful. You need to discipline yourself to do the things that need to be done, it’s that simple. At the very least you need to do the basics: be on time, be present for interactions, focus on the task at hand, keep your word, and do your best in all that you do- even the little things. You will get a high sense of satisfaction when you make significant and sustainable progress in disciplining yourself.
Tip: Focus on the way you think.When it comes to your thinking you have to constantly use discretion in terms of which you thoughts you follow, and which thoughts you let go. It is up to you to decide what type of life you want, and whether or not the types of thoughts you entertain have the ability to deliver you to that type of life. Thoughts are powerful because your actions, and your intentions, begin with your thoughts.
Tip:Focus on the words you speak. Bring more intention to your life by choosing your words more carefully, and choosing to engage with people about certain topics and not to engage with people about certain things. If you make it a point to talk about meaningful and helpful stuff, and avoid shedding light on or discussing negative stuff you can make yourself more constructive, more empowered, and a better influence on others. Words are powerful; use them to your benefit. I have many faults, and my failure to consistently speak with intention is one of them; it is worth your effort, trust me.
Tip:Focus on the choices you make. Once again, your habits determine your degree of success, your health, your energy and the results you experience. Be mindful about your diet, your exercise, your stress levels, your spiritual life, and especially your relationships. It is on you to nourish yourself, to move your body and stay in shape, to keep your stress at tolerable level, to do what it takes to be satisfied about your spirituality, and to keep up with people in your network, and be a contribution to those who are close to you. It’s not easy, it takes time, you will have to learn and figure things out on the fly, you will have to forgive others and you will have to forgive yourself many times, but once again, the path to success is, in part, taking responsibility for yourself.
Tip:Set big-picture, long-term goals, set a plan, and then don’t talk much about any of it. It is important to know what you want, and to know what gets you moving. It’s nice to have a plan, too. What you do, the way you live your life, and the action you take matters most of all. We all know to set goals, and make realistic plans, but not all of us follow through. Do yourself a favor, and talk very little about them. There’s actually something in the subconscious mind that holds people back when they speak too much of their goals; do NOT let that be your reason for not following through on your plans.
Tip:Write down your priorities, and write down your values. Are they in alignment with your goals, and the direction you want your life to go in? Are you aware of your passions? Have you a purpose for your life? What brings meaning to you? This is to promote not only your self-awareness, but also your personal integrity. When we get our priorities and values in alignment with our words and action our lives are truly ready to step up a level.
Tip: Your time is of the highest value. You have to place the highest value on your time because it takes time to do anything meaningful, and this is all about doing meaningful stuff and bringing more meaning to your life. It is a daily choice for you to avoid distractions, to avoid toxic people, to avoid wasting your time. For me, valuing my time highly was one of the best changes I made over the last few years. Try it yourself, it takes time to see and do things differently, and things might not change immediately, but your life will get a lot better. Time management is a fundamental skill for success.
Well, there you go. Now you are either ready to get moving or you have some ideas to keep moving forward. Thanks for reading.
samsuska 