Success principles
April

Success principles April

 
 
 

‘Success is
liking yourself, liking what you do, and liking how you do it’

Maya Angelou

 
 
 
 
 

#91

Fulfill your potential
Your life purpose is to fulfill your potential. Believe in yourself. What is it that is special about you? Set yourself some targets in the areas that are important to you. Take some risks. Be persistent and fulfill your potential. The world depends on you to do just that.

 

#92

Attend Seminars
In success principle #81 we already talked about forming a mastermind group with like-minded people. But where to find these people? One of the best places is at seminars. A seminar is essentially a gathering of like-minded individuals who all wish to achieve a common goal. During those seminars there are often lots of opportunities to network and meet like-minded people with similar interests. Opportunities to make some potentially valuable contacts that can help you move to the next level in your career or endeavor.

 

#93

Define your ambitions
What is your goal? What do you want? If your answer is ‘money’ or ‘happiness’, that’s too vague. Not measurable. Set some tangible goals like ‘By July 20xx I will have bought a house in Spain’ or ‘By Oct 20xx I will have started my own business’. ‘A dream is just a dream. A goal is a dream with a plan and a deadline!’
~Harvey Mackay

 

#94

Energy flows where attention goes
Everything is energy. You create your reality by your energy. Energy itself is neutral. It goes where you direct it, so you get what you focus on. The thoughts and actions that are given most of your energy will obtain the biggest results. If you keep your attention on what is going wrong your energy flows towards negativity. Your results then reflect that attitude. Focus your attention on where you actually want it to go! You will find that you are able to create bigger success, easier and faster.

 

#95

What you think is what you create!
Buddha said it: ‘All that we are is the result of what we have thought. The mind is everything.’ What you think, you create. What you feel, you attract. What you imagine, you become. Everything in your reality, positive and negative, is created by manifesting your thoughts. Whether you are consciously or unconsciously creating the thought, you are the cause and therefor the creator of your life. You are what you think and what you’re currently thinking the most, is what you will become.

 

#96

Create your own life
What happens when we grow older? Where do all our dreams and fantasies go? If you don’t design your own life plan, chances are you’ll end up in someone else’s plan. And guess what they have planned for you? Not much! Identify, nurture and manifest your dreams. Only you are the creator of your life. Become aware of the creative process. In success principle #95 we saw that we create what we think. When you become conscious of your ability to manifest thought as a physical reality, you move beyond the concepts of faith and destiny. Beyond chance. Create your own life. All you have to do is start. Why wait when you can create?

 

#97

Stop YAP-ing
Do you have a habit of starting projects, but not finishing them? Do you find it easier to launch into ‘Yet Another Project’ rather than finish off your current nearly completed project? If so, this is a classic characteristic of people who never quite succeed. In fact it reveals a simple lack of inner discipline. Completing a project successfully takes proper planning and conscious action. And once you start, commit to it. Do whatever you have planned and track your progress. And when you get discouraged with all the things that need to be done, realize that everything you’ve done so far is an accomplishment! Celebrate the process, the resting, the doing, the completion, everything.Take this opportunity to recharge! And above all: quit being a perfectionist!

 

#98

Write things down!
Creative ideas seem to come out of our subconscious. Perhaps that is why it is so easy to forget them. So write them down immediately! Carry a notebook at all times! Here are some lists that you should be building up: ideas, dreams, successes, experiences, contacts and friends, skills and qualifications, and good intentions [very important!].

 

#99

Take countless baby steps
Success is a constant process of growth. If you want to be successful, you must continue to hold yourself to a higher standard than anyone else, and strive to improve. Oftentimes a person will be successful, but then drops off. S/he becomes lazy. Sustained success means continuously improving even if others may not see a need for it. Remember, it is not so much where you stand at any given time, as in what direction you are moving.

 

#100

Add your own twist
You don’t have to invent the wheel. Coming up with a new invention or idea is one way to achieve massive success, but it isn’t necessary. And it can even be the most challenging roads to success there is. Many people have found lots of success just by taking something that already existed and simply putting their own twist on it. Think about Apple for instance. As Steve Jobs once said: ‘Creativity is connecting things.’ Connecting things means seeking inspiration from great ideas that already exist and adding your own useful twist.

 

#101

Make things happen!
One of the worst things in life is thinking about all the things you wish you could be doing, instead of doing them. It’s a terribly helpless feeling. Make things happen, instead of waiting for them to happen. The things you want won’t happen until you choose to make them happen. Decide and be clear about what you want. Make only decisions that are in line with what you want. Every choice you make should fall in line with what you want. Then focus on action and make it happen. Don’t waste your life on wishes…

 

#102

Take responsibility for your success
The best part of your life will start on the day you decide your life is your life. No one to lean on, rely on, or blame. You are in full control of your future. Believe with all your heart that you will do what you were made to do. It may be tough at times, but refuse to follow some preordained path. Make your own rules and have your own game plan. There is no happiness and success to be found by playing it safe and settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living. Make the rest of your life, the best of your life!

 

#103

Persistence always wins
As Winston Churchill once said: ‘Success is stumbling from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm.’ It may take more than one swing to compose an efficient hit. Don’t give up on strike #1. And remember, a river cuts through rocks not because of its power at a given moment, but because of its persistence over time.

 

#104

Take action to make progress
What is not started today is never finished tomorrow. Some of the greatest ideas never made it. Why? Because the genius behind the idea failed to take action. Just remember, no action at all always results in a 100% failure rate. So get into action now, and begin to move in the right direction. Once you get started every following step gets easier and easier. Until eventually, what had once been invisible, starts to become visible, and what once felt unattainable, starts to become a reality.

 

#105

Have success now!
You can have success now or later. Success definitely will take time, if you think that it is a slow process. Truth is, success can happen in no time at all! You can achieve success instantly, if you change your beliefs. Enthusiasm and passion are miraculously in accomplishing your objectives. Enthusiasm is the energy, the fuel, the blazing fire that brings about a successful result. Success can be yours, now or later. Make your choice and go for it!

 

#106

Change your mood
In the no-mans land between your old comfort zone and achieving success you are likely to have some of those ‘I-want-to-stay-in-bed’ off-days. To counteract these have a ‘cheer-me-up-kit’ ready. This could include a CD of your favorite music, an audio CD of motivational speakers, your dreamboard, your list of past successes, a few selected photos of friends, family and kids, your favorite restaurant, beach, hideaway. Anything [but comfort food] to get you in a different state of mind and back on track.

 

#107

Failure is necessary
Don’t wake up at seventy-five years of age, sighing over what you should have tried, but didn’t because you were afraid to fail. Like Nike says: ‘Just do it!’ And be willing to fail and learn along the way. Very few people get it right the first time. In fact, most people fail to get it right the first 5-or-so times. If what you did today didn’t turn out as you hoped, tomorrow is a new opportunity to do it differently. Interpret each failure as a lesson on your road to success.

 

#108

Positivity fuels productivity
Thoughts are like a steering wheel. They move your life in the right direction. Success comes from positive energy. You can choose to get caught up in the negativity surrounding you, or you can decide to do something positive about your situation. You always have a choice. Remember, happiness is one of the elements of success. The happiest people don’t necessarily have the best of everything, they use positive energy to make the best of what they have.

 

#109

Believe you can
Find the place inside yourself where anything is possible. It all starts with a dream. Add confidence, and it becomes a belief. Add commitment, and it becomes a goal in sight. Add action, and it becomes a part of your life. Add determination and time, and your dream becomes a reality.

 

#110

Help others
Our greatest successes in life are often found in helping other’s succeed. Our most lasting and fulfilling achievements are often earned by helping others fulfill theirs. Consider how helping another results in significant benefits in a number of directions. The receiver has reached a far greater potential than they could have on their own. The world has been bettered. The giver is remembered fondly and is thanked for their contribution. And if the original receiver pays is forward the cycle begins again…

 

#111

Use the ‘Big Rock’-method
In these days of email and the internet it is very easy to start the day in a very unstructured way. One trick is to plan what task you are going to start the day with on the previous evening. You write that task on a piece of paper, and place a token on it such as a big rock. The next day you do not allow yourself to read email, check social media or surf the web until you have completed the designated task. This way you get off to a good start and can use the satisfaction you get out of it to go onto completing further tasks. So now, go on and find a nice rock!

 

#112

Success is giving your 100%
What makes one individual have an extraordinary career and another an ordinary career? What makes one business have extraordinary performance and another just ordinary performance? It’s not just about some out of this world talent [though that can certainly help]. There’s a quality that you have complete control over. How much effort you put in to what you do. And that is not about more time. It’s about giving your 100% effort. By defining success as ‘giving your 100%’ you will strive further, set bigger goals and let go of the fear of failure. Your success us totally up to you. Own it by giving your all!

 

#113

Strengthen your EQ
Strengthen you emotional intelligence. Be aware of your own feelings and those of others. Regulate these feelings in yourself. Use emotions that are appropriate to the situation and that build relationships. Become aware of your inner dialogue. Stress can be a huge killer of emotional intelligence. Develop healthy coping techniques that can effectively and quickly reduce stress in a challenging situation.

 

#114

Strengthen your MQ
Your moral intelligence deals with your integrity, responsibility, sympathy and forgiveness. The way you treat yourself is the way other people will treat you. Keeping commitments, maintaining your integrity and being honest are crucial to moral intelligence. Make fewer excuses and take responsibility for your actions. Avoid little white lies. Show sympathy and communicate respect to others. Practice acceptance and show tolerance. Forgiveness is not just about how we relate to others, it is also how you relate to and feel about yourself.

 

#115

Strengthen you BQ
Your BQ is your body intelligence. It reflects what you know about your body, how you feel about it and take care of it. Your body is constantly telling you things. Are you listening to the signals or ignoring them? Your body intelligence absolutely affects your work because it largely determines your feelings, thoughts, self-confidence, state of mind and energy level. At least once a day, listen to the messages your body is sending you about your health. Actively monitor these signals instead of going on autopilot.

 

#116

Avoid perfectionism
A dedication towards perfection undoubtedly helps you to achieve results. So long as you don’t get carried away. The insistence on dotting every ‘I’ and crossing every ‘T’ breeds inefficiency. It causes major delays and stress overload. True perfectionists have a hard time starting things and an even harder time finishing them. Always! The real world doesn’t reward perfectionists. It rewards people who get things done. And the only way to get things done is to be imperfect most of the time. So make a decision. Take action, learn from the outcome, and repeat this method over and over again.

 

#117

Take immediate and decisive action
Very few people ever live to become the success story they dream about. And there’s one simple reason why: They never take action! The acquisition of knowledge doesn’t mean you’re growing. There’s a huge difference between knowing how to do something and actually doing it. Knowledge and intelligence are both useless without action. It’s as simple as that. Absorb yourself in the process of going after your dreams and goals. Make that decision. And take action.

 

#118

Be productive, not busy
Work smarter, not harder. The busy outnumber the productive by far. Busy people are rushing all over the place, running late half of the time. Their busy schedule gives them an elevated sense of importance. Like hamsters running on a wheel. But it’s all an illusion. Slow down. Breathe. Review your commitments and goals. Put first things first. Do one thing at a time. And start now. Take a short break in two hours. Repeat. And always remember, results are more important than the time it takes to achieve them.

 

#119

Take logical, informed decisions
Emotional ‘gut instincts’ are effective in certain fleeting situations. When it comes to generating long-term, sustained growth in any area of life, emotional decisions often lead you astray. Don’t let your emotions trump your intelligence in those cases. Slow down and think things through before you make any life-changing decisions.

 

#120

Keep things simple
‘Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication’ ~Leonardo da Vinci
Here in the 21st century we have an abundant array of choices when it comes to designing our lives and careers. This often leads to complication, confusion and inaction. The solution is to simplify. Keep it simple, sweetheart!

 
Here on the website we build the success principles day in day out, week after week, month by month.
Follow us on Facebook and Twitter to stay in the know on a daily basis!

 
Join the seven2success community of invincible women to receive a weekly update with the seven success principles of the week lined up!