Successness: Self-Determination and Other Factors of Success

Everyone has a different interpretation of what success is.  The meaning of success is difficult to define. Yet the words that tell their story of success will all be pretty much the same.   

If you want to be successful, you need to be persistent. If you are persistent, you will be successful. Everyone who speaks about their success will talk about the determination it took them to achieve. The focus, the drive, the unrelenting challenges they had to overcome. The continual doubts they had to push through in order to see their accomplishments through fruition. Everyone will tell you they felt like giving up, but they didn’t.  They persevered, pushed through, and pursued their target, their dream. They worked hard to succeed, and are proud of their triumphs, because they know they got further than others who gave in along the achievement path.

Success is hard to define, but it is logical.  It happens because they defied the laws of challenges and won. A successful person knows what it took to get where they are, and how the road along the way is littered with those who gave up, where they never did. Discouragement, adversity, challenges, difficulties, hardships, self doubts, and the endless struggles got in their way too.  But their determination and will to succeed surpassed the feelings that may have made others give up.

With struggles come learning lessons and a means to grow and change and accomplish things we couldn’t do before. We are different from each adversity, changed by the challenges, made stronger by the results. History is filled with the people who failed and tried and failed and succeeded. People like Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, R.H. Macy. Anonymity is filled with the people who failed and stopped. We will never know their story. They don’t want us to know their story, because success happens from persistence and if they could not continue their persistence, they couldn’t achieve. Failure is not the opposite of success. Lack of persistence is. Being a winner at what you want to be comes from a belief that you can and you will through determination, and despite all the obstacles that may get in your way.

So if you want to be successful, in whatever way you define success here are my suggestions:

• · make your own definition of success ~ it needs to suit you, not what someone else tells you success is
• · have determination, persistence, and a single minded dedication to go after what you want for yourself.
• · believe in yourself, have faith in the universe, and be guided by your inner strength
• · be realistic
• · understand nothing goes smoothly and there will be obstacles, bumps in the road, and unexpected twists and turns
• · be open, flexible, and adapt to unexpected changes
• · have initiative, and be innovative
• · have a strategy, but adjust it as needed
• · make your pursuit worthwhile / make sure your accomplishment has meaning and a purpose
• · be brave, you are going into new and uncharted territory and it takes courage to go where you have never gone before
• · find a way towards aim that works for you
• · cultivate and nurture ideas
• · create an image of what you want for yourself ~use your imagination ~ envision your dreams
• · have a balance in your life ~ only working towards one thing and having forsaking everything else will leave you feeling empty even after you have achieved what you were dreaming of
• · recognize that to succeed will be difficult
• · be prepared that the rough road to achieving will toughen you, and also give you a confidence that will help you stand taller with each step you take
• · Be honest with yourself. Is this something you really want when you get it?
• · Remember what is toughest at first becomes easier with each milestone we accomplish, each step we take, each persistence we push through
• · be determined, be willing, be focused to never give up and to keep on fighting for your vision, your dream, your desire
• · encourage yourself and be loyal to your desires
• · be assertive
• · be bold
• · be proactive
• · harness the power within you
• · conquer your fears, your anxiety, and your negative thoughts
• · learn from your defeats
• · pick yourself back up after you get knocked down
• · be dependable for yourself, so that you can lead yourself through the obstacle course that is waiting for you
• · take good care of yourself ~ mental health and physical health are connected
• · listen to yourself, to your strengths, to your reasons to continue and triumph
• · you can smell and taste the victory that is waiting for you, don’t let other people deter you
• · be consistent, clearheaded, and predictable as part of your mission to succeed
• · have a mentor, a role model, or an inspiration
• · be a mentor, be a role model, be an inspiration
• · form good habits and stick to them
• · act instead of talking, start instead of waiting, encourage yourself instead of being self critical
• · develop self control so that you actions have a purpose that lead you in a forward direction
• · be confident even if others tell you not to be
• · allow time for people in your life, fun in your day, and pleasure in your activities
• · don’t put more pressure on yourself than is necessary
• · if your ideas don’t work one way, try a different way
• · be open to new opportunities
• · have a positive mental attitude
• · always be willing to learn more and more
• · dare to learn, dare to do, dare to achieve, dare to be different, dare to be the best you can
• · have the strength to prevail the storm, when the sun shines it may just shine down on you
• Be sure to stay clear of negative people so their thoughts don't hold you back!

"Our greatest glory is not in never failing, but in rising up every time we fail."

                                                                                        ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson