Being
Successful
Things Successful
People Do That You
Could Learn From
Tracy Travis,
Brian Burba
PUBLISHED BY: Tracy Travis, Brian Burba
All rights reserved.
No part of this publication may be copied, reproduced in any format, by any means, electronic or otherwise, without prior consent from the copyright owner and publisher of this book.
Disclaimer
this ebook is for general information purposes only. The information is provided by the authors and while we endeavor to keep the information up to date and correct, we make no representations or warranties of any kind, express or implied, about the completeness, accuracy, reliability, suitability or availability with respect to the ebook or the information, products, services, or related graphics contained in the ebook for any purpose. Any reliance you place on such information is therefore strictly at your own risk.
Table of Content
Introduction
Chapter 1: To Be Successful You Have to Fail First
Why Failure Leads to Success
How to Turn Your Mistake into Success
Chapter 2: To Be Successful You Have To Start Small
What is Stopping Your From Starting on Your Dream?
What You Need to Do to Succeed
Chapter 3: To Be Successful You have to Let go of Attachments
Letting Go vs. Giving Up Letting Go of Attachments Conflicts of Attachments Steps to Take to Let Go of Attachments
How to Let Go of Your Attachment to Money
Chapter 4: To Be Successful You Must Have Fun
The Importance of Fun
Don’t Take Yourself Too Seriously How to Loosen Up From Your Serious Self
Chapter 6: To Be Successful Learn to Relax
Take Control of Your Life Chapter 7: To Be Successful Accept There Are Things Beyond Your Control
How to Differentiate Between Changeable and Unchangeable Things
Chapter 8: There Is No Single Path to Success
Success
Chapter 9: To Be Successful Know When to Quit
How to Be a Strategic Quitter
Questions to Ask Yourself before You Quit
Chapter 10: To Be Successful, Take a Break
Ideas on What to Do to Take a Break
Chapter 11: Successful People Create Their Own Opportunities
Why You Should Not Wait for the Perfect Opportunity
What You Need to Do
Chapter 12: Successful People Follow Their Hearts
Benefits of Following Your Heart
Why You Should Trust Your Gut Instincts
Chapter 13: Successful People are Not Perfectionists
Too Much Perfectionism is Not Good
Chapter 14: Successful People Embrace Their Mistakes
How to Embrace Mistakes as Life’s Lessons
Chapter 15: Successful People are Always Helping Others
Chapter 16: Successful People Love to Network
What is Networking?
How to Network Effectively How to Maintain Your Network
Chapter 17: Successful People Give
How to Give Yourself Away Chapter 18: Successful People are Sincere
How to Be Sincere Steps to Being Sincere
Chapter 19: You Don’t Have to be Smart to Succeed
How to be Smart Enough Chapter 20: Successful People Never Stop Learning
Why You Should Never Stop Learning
Chapter 21: Success Has Nothing to do With Luck
Chapter 22: Successful People Work Less to Get More Done
Introduction
Successful people have several counter-intuitive ideas that they have ingrained in their minds. These ideas go against the grain and appear in contrast to what we have been made to believe is key to being successful. The most surprising thing is that these counter-intuitive habits have been proven to work wonders for those who practice them. It is therefore in our interest that we take the following habits to heart and insert them in our daily routines and then observe the results for ourselves.
Without much ado, here are top 21 counter-intuitive ideas to get started.
Chapter
1:
To
Be
Successful You Have to
Fail First
Why Failure Leads to
Success
To truly experience life to the fullest, you need to know why failure is an important aspect of success. Nobody is perfect. You should know by now that life is not a perfect script devoid of any failure that you follow through. If you think there is someone living a failure-free life then you are very much
wrong. What you should believe is that there is value in every disappointment you suffer. Therefore, there is nothing to be afraid of about failing.
An important thing to know is the fact that failing is part of life. You will fail before you can succeed. You need to know that you will continue to fail if you really want to succeed in your life. In any case, many of the people who succeed in life are mainly those who are not afraid of failure and rejection. Without taking action there is nothing you can achieve.
Every time you hear about the success of someone, you are most likely to think more about this success and not the struggle the individual has undergone to get to where one is. The most common way of thinking is that the individual is lucky and that is why they have succeeded. However, what you need to know is that if you have never failed then you have most likely not lived. This is an important message you should consider in any aspect of your life.
Furthermore, all innovators and pioneers have failed. Most of them have failed miserably at one point
in time in their life. Moreover, others have even considered suicide or various drastic actions due to their failure. The world over, there is no individual who has lived without some form of disappointment in one’s life. Therefore, you should not fear failing. This is because it is possible to come through the problem and become successful just as many famous individuals have done for themselves.
Today, you can define failure as the steps you need for you to climb the ladder of success. There are great lessons you can draw from
any failure in your life no matter how small. Whatever lesson you get builds on your experience and knowledge and is what you need to succeed. It is for this reason you should not ever be afraid of failure.
Life is all about taking action and risks. It is only through trying that you have an opportunity to become successful. Moreover, it is also in trying that you become susceptible to failing. Therefore, it is easy to become scared of trying out new ideas in your life. You may also be afraid of rejection in your line or work or in your relationships. However, it is good to know that
the essence of any success is about the difficulties that you experience throughout your journey. You need to experience some form of failure in your life. Once you learn how to deal with these disappointments in your life fast the quicker success comes your way.
If you are to use failure to succeed then you need to know the steps to take to prepare yourself mentally. First, you need to know that in life you are bound to get one or more failures. Once you understand this better for you. The second step is to accept your failure. There is no point allowing
your past disappointments destroy the great future before you. The idea is to believe that you at least tried and you have lived. The third step is to understand that you are also bound to fail in future. This is a realistic way for you to make the best out of any problem in your life.
However, this is not to say that you should expect to fail. The secret is to accept logically that it is possible to fail and that failure does exist. However, be confident that you are capable of avoiding failure by being confident in yourself. This is the best way for you to stop yourself from being a habitual
failure. One secret of doing this is to accept you can fail but that there are ways for you to get over the problem and not have it destroy your life. This is a very empowering thought to have and it can easily increase your chances of being successful.
One of the biggest hurdles that people face in life is the fear of failing. Never allow failure to destroy your chance of being successful. What you need to do is try. If you have a project or anything you wish to accomplish then you only need a step and try it. You need to live your life and it
is in trying things that you can say you are living. Always welcome new experiences in your life. You need also be prepared for possible difficulties but still have hope that you will succeed and it will soon happen.
The best way for you to enjoy the success in your life is to go through failure. It is a good way for you to understand the value of your life and every experience you go through. There is no point in denying yourself a chance to achieve success in everything you set out to do in your life. What you need to know is that the more
times you fail you are increasing your chances of succeeding. Therefore, the more times you try to make things work for you the more you increase your chances of success.
How
to
Turn
Your
Mistake into Success
It is not that successful people are impervious to any problems that arise from making bad decisions. You should also know that they also do make the wrong decisions. However, the main reason they are still successful is that they have learned how to turn their failures into success. For most of them, they understand that failure is a necessary element if they are to succeed. Moreover, they know that it is only in trying and making errors that they are
able to become successful.
Failure is a good thing. Although the name comes with a negative connotation, it is possible to get something of value out of your woes. The worst that you could get out of failure is if you do not make a point of learning from it and be discouraged to a point of giving up.
Some of the people who have failed in life and have lived to tell of their success include Richard Branson and Simon Cowell.
Richard Branson
worth is more than £3 billion. He is the man behind various successful brands worldwide. His business acumen is vastly dominant in fields of music, travel, and communications and in carbonated-fruit drinks and the pioneer of Virgin Records. Before his success in business, Branson had initiated a bird breeding exercise and initiated a Christmas tree growing project. These two projects are a few of the many failures in his life.
Simon Cowell
Cowell is the founder of the Fanfare Records and is an
international star popularly known as “Mr. Mean” due to his music talent show. Although he is famous for being a simple A&R man, he still went ahead and formed various successful groups and his own record label. At a time when his company went down because of a financial crisis, he lost so much to the point that he had to return home. At the age of thirty, he went to live with his parents. However, this failure did not stop him. He was able to bounce back and gain a great fortune. Today, he is a man with over £1 million in personal fortune.
One feature these two individuals and many successful people have in common is confidence in their conviction. Their decisions are not always right. However, their courage helps them make decisive choices and to make things happen. Additionally, they take several steps to ensure they do not allow failure to hinder their progress. These steps also make it possible for them to recover from their mistakes. You can also use the same step to make something out of your life.
The first step to being successful is for you to accept that you can fail or have failed. If you made a mistake, it is good to accept your involvement in it and the consequences that arise. You should do this fast and learn from the lessons the problem presents. This is the best way to take quick action to recovery. It is also a way to ensure you do not spend more time on the failure but try to find a way to turn things around for the better. Usually, external factors contribute to failure.
However, there is no need for you to get angry or even try to
escape from the issue by pointing fingers at another person. If you made a mistake accept it plus all the consequences that come with it and try to move on.
ii. Let People Know
Family, friends and employees are the most probable people in your life affected by failure in your life. They will not all get affected at the same time. Furthermore, each situation you get yourself into is bound to be different. However, when you fail, you should let everyone involved or those likely to
feel the pinch of your failure know about the mistake. By making an honest attempt to include them in the problem, they can easily understand the situation without the need to end the relationship.
Most people appreciate an honest straightforward explanation. Furthermore, you get to have your problem half solved by simply sharing it with others. What this means is that you should be honest from the start.
iii. Find a Solution to the Problem
mistake the next step is to find a solution to it. Whatever method you choose to use to remedy the situation determines whether you become successful or not. Therefore, it is good to come up with the best possible solution for the particular issue. You must make decisions at this point. Do not expect it to be an easy process.
First, you need to assess your situation. This is the best way to find out whether it is possible to remedy the issue. It is also a good time to determine if you need to consult other people or need to ask for help from others. Secondly, it is
possible to solve a situation by simply apologizing or thanking someone. This gets rid of heartache and any bad feeling someone else may have because of you.
Thirdly, it would be best to have an alternative solution to the initial thing that you did wrong. Here, you need to return to the first instance when things were still good and find out whether there is an alternative way to do things that do not lead to failure. Lastly, you can also decide to cut your losses or try to put the issues away for you to move forward.
iv. Move Forward
The last step you need if you are to recover from failure is to move forward. The idea is to take action to solve the problem or find an alternative solution to it. Failure to move forward can easily lead to another problem. You must make this simple and necessary step.
First, it is good to find out what is it that you could have done differently to avoid the problem. The information you get here is what you need to change how you run your life. Secondly, you need to come up with several solutions and
choose the best to sort out the issue. You could get a partner to help you make most of the big decision.
When you look at the life of some of the most successful people in the world, you realize that they all made mistakes in their life at one point. However, most of them did not allow these failures to hinder their progress. In any case, a close look at these situations in their life uncovers the secret of how successful people view failure as a good thing. To them, it makes them stronger each time they learn from their mistakes.
Chapter
2:
To
Be
Successful You Have To
Start Small
The greatest secret to success is to always think big but start small. This is an important principle you need to make over your life if you want to achieve big things. It is the little steps you take that make all the difference in your life, profession or in your relationships. It is common to think that the only way to a successful life or business is to start with a big fanfare. For most people, they believe that a
business launched with a lot of buzz from the start is the one that beats competition. This is a definite road to failure especially if business is not able to sustain that initial buzz or even match the value of the product or band with the much fanfare it made at the beginning. This is the start of the failure of such a business.
A good thing to learn from such a mistake is that value helps you sell more. It is important that you put more effort in building the value of your project or goal. The buzz in this case will enhance the quality of your project and make it easy to
sell your idea to a wide range of people. Furthermore, you need to start small and build your stamina and ability to deal with more.
What is Stopping Your
From Starting on Your
Dream?
Every individual has his or her own fears that make it hard to take the first step towards achieving success. Some of the common factors you may be experiencing include:
· Fear – The fear of the unknown is prevalent in many cases. Here, you can find yourself worrying too much, about what other people might say about you;
you worry about being embarrassed if your idea becomes a failure or the fear of the cost you have to spend on time, effort and skills to achieve your goal. · Unclear vision – You will
not be successful if your vision is not clear even to you. Have you figured out what it is you want to do with your life? If you are not sure what action to take, what your goal in life is, how you want to achieve success or whether you even want to succeed, there is no way you
can make progress.
· Wanting to start big – This is a common problem where you want to be successful immediately and have all the big things and all the money you can dream of having. Therefore, you easily find yourself waiting for the excellent opportunity that will miraculously transport you to your dream success. Such an attitude will see you waiting for the rest of your life and never getting that opportunity.
What You Need to Do to
Succeed
Should you start your way to success through small steps, or can you use a bootstrapped approach is one question you need to ask yourself. What this question seeks to answer is whether patience versus immediate fanfare, which of the two is bound to work effectively. The main issue at this point is the time you take to get to your destined goal. There are those who prefer taking the shortest time possible in taking action that leads to success. Such
individuals invest a lot of money to make this possible. However, there are those who first create value in their goals and take time to get to it. Although the first fast attempt at becoming successful can work and give you success after a short period, it creates a big disaster for you if it happens to fail.
If you want to succeed, you need to know what it is you want for your life, career or relationship. This is the first step to being successful. Here, you should see yourself becoming what you dream of but have not yet taken the first step to achieving it.
What you should do in this case is start from where you are. Remember there is no big miracle that will sweep you off to your success. Using whatever you have at hand it is possible to make great steps towards achieving success. It does not matter if it is a small action. The more little steps you make the more likely you get something big.
Many individuals who have achieved big successes started small. They actually took the first step and all the other pieces slowly fell into place leading to a big
achievement. You also need to know that it is what you do now that counts and not what you are waiting to do the coming year. Even as you dream big, it is good to take baby steps first and little by little, you get to grow big.
If you are determined and are able to visualize your success, it is possible to attract big growth into your life. It is good to know there is no success that comes easily. This is a journey filled with failures, the weak hearted cannot succeed in accomplishing. Furthermore, by taking the first step you are writing your success story one-step at a
time.
No element can outshine the need for value if you want to become successful. It beats the need to have a lot of money or influence although these elements have their own contribution. You should be able to prove the worth of your goal and focus on its value. Next, spend every penny wisely to invest and add more value to your objective as you grow big. It is also good to take small cautious steps for you to grow big.
Chapter
3:
To
Be
Successful You have to
Let go of Attachments
Many human beings are like the proverbial monkey that you can easily catch because it does not want to let go of the banana. Here, you only need to put a banana in a cage in front of a monkey to trap it. What the monkey does is to reach out for the banana through the bars and hold it. Because the spaces in between the bars are small, the monkey is not able to remove its hand while holding the banana.
Trapping the monkey is easy because instead of letting go of the banana, the monkey continues struggling with it.
Human beings also act the same way, refusing to let go of things holding them down to succeed. The greatest challenge you face about change is where you have to let go of what gives you balance and stability in your life and what you value as part of your identity.
Your identity manifests itself because of your beliefs, thoughts, attitudes and behaviors. Your identity defines who you are.
Therefore, if it comes to a point where you have to let go or change part of what you feel identifies you it is easy to hold on to it. This makes it hard for you to accept change no matter how small it is. You are not alone in this.
Many people suffer the same problem worldwide. To them change is also not an easy thing to do because of the fear of losing the one thing that defines them. They also fear that they will not be able to have a stable life if they accept change. The only problem is that you hold on to things that may not be of value to you as you believe
and are only dragging your down on your way to success.
What you need to know is that letting go is very different from giving up. When you let go this does not mean you are giving up part of you. It is best that you understand the difference between the two elements for you to learn how to let go to achieve big things in life.
Letting Go vs. Giving Up
You are not the only person confused about the concepts of letting go and giving up. Many people trying to make meaning in their life often have to make the difference between the two before they can actually move on to bigger things. In any case, in life coaching you have to demystify the truths behind the two ideas.
When you give up this means, you allow yourself to lose hope. It is that point when you let the past get the hold of you to a point that
you lose any desire you may have for being successful. On most cases, giving up has the connotation that you will never return or never have the thing you have given up return to you. It is the thought of giving up that scares many people. Giving up is the main thing that cause you to have fear and grief of not wanting to change. In respect, you try to find ways to ensure you do not have to give up anything in your life. You will try to avoid change, become addicted, fall into depression or even harm yourself.
When you let go, this means that you accept change. It is all
about understanding the things that are not right in your life and letting them pass through you. Here, you do not fight with your thoughts and feelings. It is also a matter of not letting these harmful or unpleasant things take control of your life. You can let go of your past if you do not want it to control you future.
Being able to let go is an art you need to master. This is because it is a future oriented concept as you are making a decision not to have past experiences stunt your future growth. What you should understand is that it is possible to have your thoughts, believes,
attitudes, and behavior work for you and not have them control your life. This way, you can easily choose those that you need in your life and let go that do not have any significance. Moreover, with a stronger emotional state you can easily enjoy the happiness, health, balance and satisfaction that come with letting go.
What you should also know about letting go is that it is a process you practice all your life. Many successful people have mastered this process. They often use it to propel themselves into a successful life. What you need to do
is not let negative thoughts become part of your life. You should be able to let go and allow in positive feelings, thought and beliefs to build yourself a stronger identity.
Letting
Go
of
Attachments
A major part of being human is the kind of attachments your make in your life. The ultimate attachment is the one you have on your life. This attachment gives you the strength to do anything to live. This is why most people can do things they never thought possible just to survive.
However, there are attachments you must let go of from your life. You need to know when to let one attachment go and
when to let in new attachments. What this means is that having attachments in your life is not a bad thing. It is an important aspect of living that is healthy and a must in your life if you are to survive or be in a relationship with others. As you let one attachment in your life go, you are making way for another better one to fill its place.
However, the only problem is that you can easily get to comfortable with a past attachment to a point you do not want to let go. This is because you feel that it is part of what makes you able to survive and feel good about life.
Conflicts
of
Attachments
It is human to have many attachments. These may be both minor and major things in your life. However, when you are not able to make the distinction between a minor attachment and a major one than conflict arises. Your attachment to what is “right” for easily comes in the way of your relationships. The other person obviously also has his or her own attachments that they value. When the two attachments clash conflict arises.
The secret to letting go of an attachment is to define it using your happiness. Happiness is a scale you can use to let go of situations that make you unhappy. It may be a thought, belief or an attitude attachment you can easily let go of using this scale.
Steps to Take to Let Go
of Attachments
Step 1: Write down a list of things that make you unhappy in your life. List down 100 things and include those that touch on your health, work, relationships, social life or friends.
Step 2: Write why you are unhappy against each point you have written down. It is good to write these statements next to your list of 100 positive expectations you want in your life.
have written down has a thought, belief, attitude or behavior attached to it that is the cause of your unhappiness. Find it.
Step 4: Look at the points you have written down with an aim of establishing those that do not happen all the time or are not always true. It may be a small thing such as the times when you think you are obese or when you feel that you do not eat too much. It is these “sometimes” points that you should look for at this point. If you find even one such possibility in your list then you should know you can easily survive anything and it
should be the thought that allows you to let go of your attachment.
Step 5: This step requires you to rewrite your attachment points so that you can become the source of your happiness. You should do this by finding a positive way of expressing your statements. As you do this focus on what things you want to achieve in the future. It is also good to understand the things you want to avoid. You should then focus on all those things you want. In most cases, what you put your focus on is what you get in life.
you follow them to the latter. However, it is also possible to feel happy if you adopt a positive way of thinking. If positive thinking does not work for you, you can come up with new attachments. These are alternative attachments and they have to be forgiving, empowering and flexible.
How to Let Go of Your
Attachment to Money
It is not wrong to visualize financial abundance that you get by winning a lottery ticket, a huge business deal or getting a job with higher pay. In most cases, the feeling that you deserve financial freedom is most eminent at this point. The problem comes when your visualization of your success and living a full life does not materialize even when you do all that is required of you, the first thought you get will be that of wanting to give up.
However, this is not the only solution that you have. For the most part, this is the best time for you to find out what is making you not reach your potential. You should be curious to find out what is it that is hindering you from getting the kind of success you want in your life.
One main hindrance to your financial abundance is the attachments you have in your life. This is one this that will continuously create a big barrier between you and your success if you do not do something about it.
You know your attachment to money is wrong when:
" You desire money more that the intimacy of a loved one. " The
manifestation of a desire or dream is the only thing that can make you happy " The need to
make more money for your fulfillment of life in incessant
All these are negative energies that hinder the manifestation of your visualization. They influence
you ability to capitalize on your divine being that is more powerful than anything in your life is.
The greatest law of detachment is that you must become unattached to the thing you want most in your life for you to realize it. It is about letting go of the attachment and keeping the intention to create wealth and you desire for it to be alive. The other thing you need to know is that the more you are able to visualize your prosperity the easier it is to become a reality. This is because your conscience determines the flow of money into your life and not money
that should determine your thoughts of it.
The secret to having an abundant life is to be at peace with yourself, your dreams and the universe. You can do this by becoming detached from money. Through detachment, you become open and receptive and this attracts new and better opportunities to you and brings people into your life to help you get the financial abundance you desire. It is through the act of detachment that you easily let the universe support your financial visualization and make it a reality faster and in an easy
Chapter
4:
To
Be
Successful
You
Must
Have Fun
Fun is not a luxury it is the very essence you need to sustain your success. Therefore, if you are the kind of person who views having fun as a waste of time, you need to rethink your life. You should be able have fun in all situations in your work or home life. This makes it easy for you to be successful and more relaxed as you progress to your success.
people as a way of making is easy to become successful. It is for this reason why you may do all that is required of you to become successful but reach a stagnating point where you cannot move forward. Many people who have taken the step to become successful and are committed often feel like they need to up their game from time to time. They often seek a sense of balance and harmony in their life for them to accomplish bigger goals. What most of these individuals do not know is that fun is the key to unlocking the deadlock they have gotten into.
The Importance of Fun
a) It keeps you going during tough times – It is not enough to have your goals aligned with your value and making sure there is absolute accountability. In any case, concentrating on only these aspects can become laborious. You need to have fun. This gives you the drive to press on.
b) Fun is a binding force – You need people in your life if you are to become successful. These may be an
indispensible team of friends, your family, a loved one or your colleagues. With the help of a binding relationship, you can have them help you have the best time getting to your success. Fun is a good way for you to create strong bonds and respect. These qualities come in handy during difficult times.
c) It refills your energy – It is easy to replenish your energy by having fun. This gives you the drive to move forward even when things
seem impossible and you are tired of trying. What you need to do is find a way to build up on your energy. This energy you distribute to your family, friends, colleagues and various other projects you are involved in can bring progress to your success.
Even when you are busy and think there is no time for you to have fun, it is important you understand how the act of having fun is the key you need to propel yourself to that success you have been aiming for. It refills your life
and helps you gain the strength to continue working towards your dream. Spend as much time as you can to refill your life and take care of yourself. This is a great step towards success and it also allows you to be the best you can be for others.
Chapter
5:
To
Be
Successful Don’t Take
Yourself Too Seriously
The concept of having fun in life even as you work towards reaching your goal is all about being less serious with your life. Life is a game that you can only win if you know how to play it. Therefore, stop worrying too much, constantly planning and driving yourself too hard. It is not that these are bad qualities to have in you. The only problem is that too much concentration on your goals and
success can become destructive with time.
Why not take your life as easy as it comes? You need to understand the main reasons why you have a big chance of success if you take life less seriously:
a) A serious life makes you miserable – Life is not all about stresses, unhappiness and depression. This is not a good way to live. Injecting fun into your life makes it more meaningful.
b) A serious life is the cause of health problems – You
make your life short each time you do not take time to have some fun or relax. Stress and anxiety are the main causes of most health problems and this will hinder you from moving forward. c) A serious life is too
strenuous – You spend energy everyday trying to accomplish the day’s tasks and projects you need for you to succeed. However, without taking life easy you can easily become a fanatic trying to accomplish more in areas that do not really
matter. This means you will not have the energy for things important in your life. Much of your energy should be on your loved ones as they are what matter most.
How to Loosen Up From
Your Serious Self
1. Live for Today
It is easy to be obsessed about the past or the future and forget to live for the day. This is the reason why you are not able to avoid or get rid of obstacles you have in your life.
You should know that when you think about your past you stunt your growth with missing gaps and items that will never determine your future. This is because you spend more time trying to make
sense of experiences or filling in the gaps in your life forgetting that what you felt in the past is not what you are feeling now. Furthermore, if you constantly think about the future, you tend to blow things out of proportion. Many of the things you expect by thinking about your future almost never happen.
2. Understand that you are mortal
No human being is immortal. You will die someday no matter how hard you work to gain all the fame and success you can get in life. Therefore, what you should be
building more on is the time you spend with loved ones and creating memories that last. This should be your main end goal and take as much time as you possibly can to live a happy life with family, friends and most of all yourself.
3. It is okay to have fun
Although it is possible to measure fun differently according to an individual, it is easy to see that people who are most happy and having the most fun are the ones that are successful. Therefore, why should you feel guilty having fun?
Taking time out to have fun is not a waste of time. There is really not point in working hard and trying to be productive if you cannot have fun while doing it. In any case, you will most probably have more success in those areas of your life that you have fun.
Chapter
6:
To
Be
Successful
Learn
to
Relax
Problems are everywhere. Burdens, stresses and unwanted problems are common in everyday activities you do at home and at work. It is possible to feel like you cannot take it anymore and the only thing for you is to give up.
Learning to relax is the best way to let your mind power attract success, money and friends into your life. You need to know how to open your mind to draw these
elements into your life through positive thinking. The main function of positive thinking is that it helps you relieve your body of stress and let your relax. Through this process, you get enough sleep and have a frame of mind that can make good decisions. It is also the best way to help you communicate well with others.
The ability to get rid of stress in your life is a skill you have to practice before you can master it. It requires a lot of patience and practice. Once you have mastered it, you can easily use your mind power to get rid of stressful issues
in your life and many other things that only work to hinder your success.
Take Control of Your
Life
You only get to achieve success in your life when you learn how to relive stress in your life. It is the best way to use to attract wealth into your life by making our work easier and fun and to get friends who enjoy being in your presence because of your happiness. To do this you need to take control of your life.
There are various things to do to take active control of your life to be able to enjoy happiness and
success.
Step 1: Make a list of all stressful things you do not want in your life. Although it is likely, there are some issues that you have no control over try as much as possible to list down what you can get rid of. Step 2: From your list determine those issues you can solve easily and work on them. It could be that your family is making too many demands on you causing you stress, you have no time for yourself or the activities you plan to do are stressful. Such stressful situations are easy to work out. All you need
to do is to tell your family you need some time alone and make it a routine to take that time off to replenish yourself.
Step 3: Once you know the problem, its cause and how to solve some of them you need to have an open mind and use positive thinking to take care of the difficult stressful situations. This will help you come up with creative ways that work to relive stress.
As you take time to be by yourself, it is good to engage in things that you like. It does not matter what it is you do so long as
it relieves stress. You could listen to music in a quiet environment, lie on the grass and visualize yourself off somewhere else. Whatever activity you take up should help your forget your earlier troubles of things you have to do and think only of you. This is a good way to replenish your mind and body and gain the energy to continue working towards a successful life, career and relationship with family and friends.
Chapter
7:
To
Be
Successful Accept There
Are Things Beyond Your
Control
It is not bad to dream big. However, if you make goals on things that you are not likely to achieve because of things that are beyond your control you are only wasting your life. It is only good to give your all to those things in life that you can change and those that will not destroy you in the process.
As you take action over your life and looking beyond what you have
now you are taking responsibility over your life. However, you also need to accept that there are things you cannot change in your life but you can get the courage to change what is possible and to gain the wisdom to know how to make out the difference between things that are easy to change and unchangeable circumstances.
How
to
Differentiate
Between
Changeable
and
Unchangeable
Things
When you see a loved one destroying their life, it is normal to want to help. However, what should you do if that person does not want to accept the help or change you are proposing? Furthermore, if you know you have the power to bring peace into your life and that of your family or society, should you remain in a state of apathy?
into a state where you do not believe that anything can change and remain complacent towards life. Living in apathy is a sure way of blocking yourself out of the many changes you can make to be successful. Individuals who have closed themselves out of change only concentrate on limited areas of their life like the closest relationships they have. What you need to know is there are many things you can do to bring change in the world. Therefore, you should never close yourself up to changes that come your way. You need to believe in change.
Even as you believe in change, you should never forget there are also those things you have no control over. Therefore, just as you accept the things you can change, you must accept others are beyond your control. Aspects such as behavior and thinking are not easy to change. If you are able to change the behavior and way of thinking of another individual then you should know when to give up.
It is often hard to accept that you cannot change everything in your life or in that of a loved one. However, the secret is to realize the situation is unchangeable,
accept it and let it be. Failure to do this leads to your own destruction.
Chapter 8: There Is No
Single Path to Success
When you are thinking of the path to take to make your life a success you need to ask yourself what is the best way to make your life story interesting. There is no single straightforward pathway to success. It is all about finding a system that works for you and making good use of it. You may decide to take further educational learning to get you to your career of choice or you may decide to become self-taught. You should know that both of these strategies
work effectively. Many people have become successful using one of the two tactics or both.
However, the one that works best for you will be that which makes your story unique and is what gives you your signature style. It does not matter what kind of career line you choose for yourself or the kind of business you get into so long as you are happy with it and it shows signs of making you reach your goal. Never let anyone dictate what strategy you should take. Ensure you are ready to take that step before you commit yourself.
Whatever path you take is a valid one, as it will help you in the future even if you are not sure when you choose to take it. Along this path, it is easy to find interesting things you can learn from to help you in whatever plan you have in mind or will have in the future. Take up as much as you can with your current plan and when the right time comes you can easily recognize opportunities where to use the knowledge and skill you have gained.
Once you have decided on a path, it is good to evaluate its
effects and how far you have come. Taking such action is important. It will help you recognize the value you bring not only into your life but also into your work or project.
Make Your Own Path to
Success
One question that you may be asking yourself today is which way you think is best for you to create your path to success, especially in these uncertain times. The world over, there seems to be a big disparity between the need to draw from prescribed paths that everyone uses or whether you should make your own way to success. Even as majorities of people still believe that the collective prescribed paths are the way to go, the young generation
seems to look for its own way, to pursue its aspirations and to keep hope alive. This debate is getting fiercer by the day. It can also be very confusing for you if you are trying to find your own way.
How can you best assuage your hunger for approval, prestige, safety, achievement and various other needs you have in your life?
There are two ways for you to become successful. You can choose to get employment in a corporate institution or you can strike it out on your own as an entrepreneur. There is no one-size–fit-all method
and it is up to you to decide which of the two is best for you.
a) Corporate Employment It is common to find students and graduates queuing for a chance to get either an internship or a job. This is still the most preferred that is recommended by most people to start your career. One reason for this is that most of these institutions are powerful and command a great deal of respect. Taking this path ensures that you have an opportunity to gain experience in whatever line of work you have chosen. It also provides
you with connections and a reliable salary or a coveted internship position with a posh company. It is a safe choice. However, you will need to carve your own space and be innovative if you are to make a mark in your life and that of others.
b) Entrepreneurship
Although this still is, a risky endeavor to take it is increasingly becoming the best way for you to tackle any social and economic problems. This is the best path for you to take to make your own success if you are looking for change from the corporate world.
Today, it is no longer a foolish venture to go out on your own. Moreover, it has gained prestige and you can now have the same status as that individual working in a corporate institution. This is possible by the fact that the corporate life is not as secure as it was before. However, you should remember that to be successful with this path you must consistently build your connections, be able to influence and find a way to expand, if possible join the mainstream industry.
cases there is a degree of uncertainty. However, the two paths also have some level of prestige in them. This means it does not really matter what path you take. The main factor to consider as you choose which of the two to follow is whether it is what you need to lead you to your success. If you are a conformist then the corporate world will work best for you and can be a way to follow your passion and gain recognition. However, if you are not a conformist you can still serve others and prove to yourself that you can be something by creating
your own path.
As you work out a plan to use, always remember that it is not about the choice of workplace that determines your success. It all about the goals you have in mind that you want to achieve and how you think the path makes it possible to reach your goals.
It is good for you to consider both sides and keep this debate within you. It is the best way to ensure you fuel you creative side to make breakthroughs.
Chapter
9:
To
Be
Successful Know When
to Quit
One way to be successful is to be proactive. It does not matter what path you choose to create your own success. If you can have fun, enjoy great benefits and always have something interesting to work on then keep at it. However, it may reach a time when the rewards you once enjoyed and the excitement of the job wears off and you feel nothing but tired and in need of a change. How do you
know it is time to quit?
There are countless stories of people who made it in life and became successful because they never threw in the towel. These individuals are often quoted to have overcome all kinds of adversities and rejection but never lost sight of the goal they had in mind. You may have heard of:
" Vincent Van Gogh, the famous posthumously celebrated painter who never stopped painting
George Orwell and Jack Kerouau books rejected by the Alfred A. Knopf publishing house yet they are best authors today. " Stephen Kings
30 rejections for his first novel but his wife encouraged him to submit it again
You hear about it all the time, that winners never quit and quitters never win or that it took Thomas Edison more than 1000 failures for him to invent the light bulb you are using today. Is it true that winners never quit? These are all good
pointer to help you push on in life. However, they are not very true. What you need to know is that life is not all about winning and never quitting. The secret is to know when to quit and what to quit. When you hit a dead end it is time you move on.
You will know that you have reached the dip, the minute the excitement of learning new things, having fun and the energy you hard in the initial phase of starting the job fades. This is when you realize that you are getting more than what you bargained for.
If you want to know when the right time to quit, you should keep in mind that it is when you are in the dip that you get to know the difference between your beginner’s luck and the real accomplishment you are aiming for. The dip is more of a barrier that differentiates you from successful people. To use whatever dip you are in effectively it is not about riding it out or trying to survive through it. You need to know how to lean into the dip. Instead of weathering trough your dip, you should push harder and change the rules of your game as you move forward. This not only
shortens your time in the dip but also ensures you get the stamina to continue pursuing your goal.
How to Be a Strategic
Quitter
Winners are strategic quitters and not serial or reactive quitters. Once you know and understand the concept, you are on the right path to taking control of your life and your success. Although quitting is good for you when you are on a dead end, you should avoid reactive or serial quitting as they never get you anywhere in life. Other than knowing when to quit, and the right things to quit is only the beginning. You should also be able to know when and how to use the dips in
your life. In any case, most of the things worth doing often have dips.
What you should know is that most successful people have also done stupid things believing they were right. However, instead of shying away in fear or complacency most of them have managed to come through their tribulations through quitting at the right time. They have also redefined their goals and refined their attainability. What you should learn from these successful individuals is how to determine the best time to throw in the towel. The best way to do this is to ask some very important
Questions
to
Ask
Yourself before You Quit
a) Are your emotions running high? If you are in a panic state, you should never make any decisions to quit. This is a decision you only make with a calm and rational mind.
b) Do you know whom to influence? One of the best ways to be successful involves influencing others to accept your concept or
goal and have them work with you towards attaining it. Therefore, you must know the kind of audience to aim for and to understand that it is much easier to influence more people together than an individual.
c) How measureable is your progress? It does not matter whether it is your relationships, career or finances that you want to succeed in, you still need to measure your progress.
You need to determine whether you are in the moving forward stage of your success. If you find that you are either lagging behind or standing still, it is time to reconsider your success strategy. All you have to do is know how to quit strategically.
However, you should know that quitting is much more than being fed up with sales that have been down for a few months, or when you feel your relationship is not working. It is a decision you must
think carefully about. Moreover, you should never see it as failure. This helps you decide to either refocus your strategy or find an alternative approach that works. These are also ways for you to quit when in a stand still. They allow you to have options to choose from and greater opportunities of still being successful.
Chapter
10:
To
Be
Successful,
Take
a
Break
The pressures of work today have increased. Currently, expectations for you to put more time at work to perform and realize greater profits are very high. Therefore, this means spending more time behind your desk with no time for yourself or your family. The result is an emotional, physical and mental stress.
If you are to achieve greater success at work on your personal
life, you should take a break. The well-being of your physical, emotional and mental health is very important. You can only be in a position to achieve more if you are relaxed. You need a release from all the pressures of work and life. This is well-achieved by giving yourself sometime off. It is a good way to renew your inspiration and motivation to not only return to your desk but also work hard on your projects.
When taking time from work or any activity that gives you stress you should know this does not mean disregarding your role or
work. The secret is to get more time for you. Whatever activity you do on your time out should be able to provide you with mental release from the pressures of life. During this time, you should never allow yourself to think of work you have left on your desk. Let it be a few hours or days of complete escape.
Ideas on What to Do to
Take a Break
Walking –A thirty minutes walk during your lunch break or when you have time can easily make your relax. To forget about any pressures you have, you can take note of the details of your scenery or even enjoy the beauty of your surroundings. Taking a walk is a good way to refresh your mind and is the best way to get your body system invigorated by the exercise. When you return to your desk, you will have more energy to continue with your project and renewed spirit
to meet your deadlines.
1. Take a day off – You can take a free day off from your work and spend this time with your family. It is good to take this time to do activities that you do not normally do. The idea is to find something to do that takes you away from the pressures and cares of your daily life. Some ideas on how to spend your day off is to take your family to an amusement park, the beach or go for a picnic.
few minutes of pumping iron to feel rejuvenated. This will increase your confidence and feel in shape at the same time. If you have membership to a gym that you have neglected, it is time to activate it and make use of its benefits. If you have been skipping gym because of too much work you need to find a few minutes to improve your strength and fitness. A little exercise for a few hours is a good way to energize your body for the day’s work. The
confidence you gain in the process also makes you work towards your success. Activities to take up to fill time taken off are many. It can be any activity that makes your relax and gives you the stamina to work towards your success. Some of the benefits you get in the process include: " Feeling better about yourself " Increased motivation to achieve more " Increased effort
for you achieve your goals " A much happier
outlook on life in general Taking a walk or doing exercises ensures you improve the production of endorphins in your system. Therefore, you can easily clear your mind and stir up your mood. You will then say goodbye to depression and cases of anxiety. In the process, you easily invigorate your body, mind and heart. This is a good way to have the confidence to overcome small and great obstacles.
Chapter 11: Successful
People Create Their Own
Opportunities
Most people always wait for the perfect opportunity to come their way before they make a move towards achieving their dreams. They believe they can have an easy life by waiting for a break to come their way. This is a wrong thing to do. If you want to be successful, you must know that you need to create your own opportunity. Opportunities will never come your way easily if you cannot create
them for yourself. You need to learn how to create and attract the prefect opportunities your way.
What you may not know is that you can easily have the perfect opportunity to make a difference in your life pass you by just because you were waiting for it. It is best you start getting busy creating a break for yourself. Along the way, more opportunities will come your way. It is by taking the initiative to do something for yourself that you open the door of opportunities and ensure you never run of new chances to take advantage of to reach your dream goal.
This is not to say that occasionally a good opportunity will never come your way. However, if you consider your path towards that opportunity critically you will realize that you never got to where you are by waiting rather a result of you diligence, perseverance and using the little you have.
Why You Should Not
Wait for the Perfect
Opportunity
Being in a state on inertia waiting for opportunities to come your way never works. At times, you have to look for the opportunities yourself. This may take time and a lot of hard work on your part. However, if you believe that your change is waiting for you, you are very wrong because:
i. It is self-deception
