Is Success A Formula?
Recently I was thinking about my own life and those of people that I know and clients I’ve coached, and I asked myself if there was anything specific, we were doing when we felt that we were creating something successful. After having analyzed this for a while, I realized that, in fact, there were several things we were doing that created a fertile environment for ideas and thoughts to flourish. Just like losing weight for the most part is formulistic—a healthy eating program and exercise—I realized that most things, at the end of the day, follow a specific formula if you want a positive result. Even simply baking a cake requires you to follow a recipe if you want the best tasting cake possible.
Considering this, I have put together the following list of attributes that I feel need to be present, if you want to create success in any area of your life:
Quality Relationships: Much of where you go in life can be attributed to who you surround yourself with. We can’t do much about the parents and relatives we are given in this life, but we can choose if we want to follow in their footprints regarding negative thinking and destructive behaviors. Decisions are ours to make; just as you can make a negative one, you can decide to make a positive one. Next up are life and business partners and friends. The person you choose as your life partner is extremely important to your success; being married to the wrong person is no fun, in case you didn’t know. If you go into business with someone, please do your due diligence on this person. Again, this is a very intimate relationship, and if you go into partnership with the wrong person or people, you could end up really regretting this decision, and it may cost you in ways you can’t even imagine. Ideally, you need friends who build you up and encourage you. Anyone that you consider a friend who drags you down or belittles you needs to go. These people will only sap your energy and enthusiasm. Therefore, you owe it to yourself to choose supportive friends. It’s the normal pattern of life that some people will need to leave your life as you go forward. Instead of feeling sad about this fact, look at it as a sign that that journey has ended. You now have space in your life for new people to enter, and if you are honest with yourself, you will see that they are more appropriate for where you are now.
Passion About What You Do: Another vital part of the success formula is passion. The goal in life is to get to a place where what you do really gets you out of bed because you have so much passion for it. I think a good question to ask ourselves is, “Would you do what you are doing now for free? I love coaching and teaching workshops so much that I would do them for free! I have, in fact, donated my services free of charge for causes that I believe in. I get that sometimes in life, to survive, you may need to work at something that doesn’t light your jets. That’s fine, if you don’t think that it’s the last bus stop. You need to figure out what gives you passion and work towards achieving it.
Willingness to Put in the Work: Successful people are normally not lazy. They are the ones who are willing to do whatever it takes to make something work, while others just give up. While launching several business ideas in my life, I have been the marketer, salesperson, secretary, cleaner, driver, and any other role necessary to get the idea off the ground. The circumstances for the pursuit of success are not always ideal. There are many examples of people who were born with the proverbial silver spoon in their mouth, and never achieved much. Then we have examples of amazing people, born in abject poverty with every reason to be unmotivated, who have gone on to create amazing results. The big difference was their willingness to do the work and go the extra mile!
Constant Learning: Another trait that successful people have in common is that they are ferocious readers and are always learning new things. They are not resting on their laurels, relying on knowledge they acquired years ago. They understand the need to keep current if they want to be valuable to people, which is ultimately what equates to success. Solutions to problems are what keep you relevant and allow you to maintain your success. I am sorry to say this, but if you have not learned anything new in the last thirty days, you are not keeping up to date. The road to success is strewn with examples of businesses that went under because they didn’t stay relevant in their various sectors. Commit to learning at least one new thing per month. That can be a new app, program, or skill—anything that essentially drives movement forward.
The Power of Giving: All the success in the world means very little if you are not giving back in some way to your community or humanity. To be honest, I have been at my happiest when I have assisted in social programs to train individuals in skilling up to find better paying jobs. I genuinely believe that you are truly successful when you are helping others succeed. Successful people, from a very early age, cultivate a mentality of abundance. They don’t believe that if they help others, there will be less for them. They truly have a sense of unlimited possibilities, especially if we work together. A boss who is afraid to help one of their employees grow because they may become more successful than they are fails to realize that he or she is not successful; all they are teaching is fear and a lack of abundance. Genuinely successful and confident people go out of their way to hire people who are smarter and brighter than they are. Helping others grow is a very rewarding way to give back; try it, and you will see!
If you are not practicing these principles daily, try starting to incorporate them into your everyday activities, and you will see that positive results will follow. Of course, there are many things that contribute to being successful in life, but my focus in this article was to bring forth the basis that those who are considered successful, both professionally and personally, have as their core.
