Note: I am trying to let this blog grow organically.
My hope, however, is that reading what I have to write will help you spark thoughts and actions.
The goal is to add value.
Let's start off with an apology, because I’m
already tempted to quote Yoda and I'm not even one sentence into this article. So,
I'm sorry, but let me get this out of the way.
"Do or do not, there is no try." Sigh,
I feel wiser already.
Whether Yoda is fictional or not (I believe that
he really did just live a long, long time ago), there is something very real to
be said about his words. Persistence, mixed with desire, is often times more
powerful than a good idea. Sometimes it’s more important than a good
idea, and often times it's the driving force behind overall success.
For the sake of this topic let’s define
“success,” because success can mean many different things to many different
people. Some people define success by the size of their bank account (along
with the sizes of other things). Some people define success by the amount
personal relationships they’ve made. Some people define success in terms of
spirituality. And a multitude of other people defines success in a multitude of
other ways. The point is that success is not confined to the pages of a
Webster’s dictionary. It can mean literally anything to anyone, and it is
important to note that although success may have a different meaning depending
on whom you ask, success holds the same value to everyone.
Success is the ultimate value holder. It is the
measurement by which we judge the quality of our lives, yet many people haven’t
defined what success means to them (myself included). How can you come to the end of a path if you
don’t even know what path you’re on? At the risk of channeling my inner Tony
Robins, step one to being successful is to define
success for you.
Once you define success for yourself and set it as your goal (write it down – read it regularly), the path to
attaining it becomes a lot clearer. Not to say that you won’t fall off the path
a couple times - even as you read this I am either just falling off or just
finding my way back, I’m not quite sure. What’s important is that the path will
be there, whenever you decide to look.
With the goal set - write it down - and the path laid, the next step is to take action, and you can’t
take positive action without positive thoughts. Granted, the actions needed to
achieve success are vast and vary from person-to-person, but all actions that
lead to success come from a place of positive and constructive thinking. If you
don’t believe me, or take this message at less than face value because you
question the validity of the author, think back to your own life. I am
confident that any success you’ve had worth remembering has come from a place
of positive thinking, persistence, and desire. Striving every day to think
positive will cause you to attract similar thoughts and similar thinkers, and
it will positively affect the outcome of your life.
Actions are like dominos. Taking the first step on
the path toward achieving success causes a chain of events largely unknown and
mostly uncontrollable to you. Make sure that you take your first step with
positivity, persistence, and desire.
I’m
not saying that I have the keys to success by any means, trust. I’m writing
this to myself as much as I’m writing it to you, because you
and I are the same. I’m living and learning one mistake at a time, but it doesn't change the fact that success is all about your mindset. Thoughts attract
like thoughts, so make sure you are thinking the thoughts you would like to attract.
And by understanding that thoughts spark action, thinking positively is the key
to achieving success. Whatever that may be to you.
Disclaimer: as much as I'd like to take credit for the title, it is paraphrased from Henry Ford
