Success In A Few Tasty Nut Shells

Success is a tricky concept because it means different things to different people. It’s important to take the time to think about what success means to you and how you can achieve it.

I have read all the books about success that I could find. I think the best of these was the classic, “Think And Grow Rich” by Napoleon Hill. There are many others. Libraries are filled with them.

I once thought that success meant getting to the place in life where I was rich enough to do anything that I wanted to do … anything and everything that money can buy. I once bragged that I would become a millionaire by age 30. I missed that goal by miles. I was 45 before I realized that I had achieved a credit rating of a million dollars. It was a couple of years later, once I had gone bankrupt, that maybe money was not the ultimate definition of success. Because of the treacherous circumstances that my bankruptcy put me in, I quickly decided that the mere act of surviving would be a very important measure of success.

In the end, I decided that everyone has to work out their own definition of success and everyone has to work their asses off to get on the path that will lead them to their goal.

Here are some tips to help you define success and reach your goals.

1. Get clear on your values. Knowing your core values can help you determine what success looks like for you. Do you value financial freedom? Or do you prioritize relationships and experiences? Your life will be much more fulfilling if you’re working towards goals that align with what matters to you.

In my case, financial freedom was always on top of my list when it came to defining what success would look like for me. Once I had failed at my first attempt and had suffered extreme poverty for a couple of years, the dream of financial independence burned with even greater intensity than ever before. My failure actually became my motivation to overcome my poverty and, in the end, it worked.

2. Identify your goals. Once you’ve identified your values, take some time to think about what you’d like to achieve. Do you want to become a manager at work? Or do you want to start your own business? It’s important to set realistic and attainable goals that you’re motivated to work towards.

Having once been on the mountaintop, setting what other people might consider to be realistic and attainable goals was not how I saw it. I considered accepting realistic and attainable goals to be limiting and a very narrow view of possibilities. I began to embrace the idea that whatever one can conceive, one can actually achieve and that the only limiting factor is the unwillingness of self to believe that achieving the impossible is not only possible but is assured if one develops enough burning desire to make the dream happen.

If you have the courage of your convictions and if you are willing to fail miserably more than once on your journey and if you are stubborn and immoveable in believing in yourself then the definition of “Realistic Goals” becomes what you decide they will be and not what other people tell you they should be.

After bankruptcy and a period of homelessness, my “Realistic Goal” became getting out of the swamp that I had fallen into and getting my feet back on solid ground and, in time, opportunities appeared and I capitalized on them with blind faith but with organized determination and doors opened that might never have opened before and i walked through each one of those doors that held promise.

All through the mess, the depression, the desolation, the povertous state of the bankruptcy, people who claimed to be my friends would constantly drum at me with “You screwed up your life once, you are a failure and that is what you deserve to be because you brought it all on yourself, and a failure is all that you will ever be.”

But instead of internalizing the negativity that was constantly flowing at me, I became angrier each time someone would tell me something like that, and very soon their barbs and their accusations, and insinuations became motivators for me and each negative thrown at me became a match that lit a new fire of determination. It was during those downtimes that I discovered what “Iron Must Pass Through The Fire Before It Can Become Steel” really means.

3. Break down your goals. Break down your goals into smaller, manageable steps. This will help you make progress and stay on track. It’s also helpful to set deadlines for each step so that you stay focused and motivated.

4. Celebrate small successes. Success isn’t just about reaching the finish line. Celebrate the small successes along the way as they will help keep you motivated.

5. Be flexible. Life can be unpredictable and it’s important to be flexible in your approach to success. If things don’t go as planned, don’t get discouraged. Instead, use it as an opportunity to reassess and come up with a new strategy. Success is an individual journey, and by taking the time to define it for yourself and set realistic goals, you can achieve the success you’re looking for.

Been there, done that.

I overcame it all.

Today I have more than I ever had before.

All glory to God.