Success is not a Destination.
It is not something that you can decide that you will achieve and after that there is nothing more to be achieved further. So once we are convinced that Success is a journey, let us see how one can become successful by navigating towards it.
Successful people keep making more and more goals and keep on achieving them one by one. Let us take the example of Jeff Bezos . Is he stopping after becoming the founder and CEO of Amazon, and the Blue Origin ? No, He flew to space recently. How about Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla, founder of Boeing Company and X.com and now Space X and well the list does not stop here .
Now, since we have realized that success is a journey, let us see what are those ingredients, that one will need in order to start our journey and arrive at our destination.
1) First and foremost is to decide on the destination, which is say your goal. Goals are basically your dreams or desires with a deadline. You can have a big list of wants , desires and dreams that you want to fulfil, but unless you put a date and time by when you want to achieve them, it does not become a goal. They will still remain as dreams.
All of us can decide what our goals should be. For coaches, the goal could be to have a thriving coaching business, making say 5, 6 or 7 figure revenue by a certain date ; or a mission of transforming 10000, 1 Lakh or 1 million individuals by a certain date; for an entrepreneur it could be making a certain amount of Revenue by a certain date; or gaining so many no of clients by a certain date; for an Author it could be completing and publishing his books by a certain date and so on.
As can be seen, success is different for everyone, ie some may want to start a new business or coaching class, some may want to achieve a fat bank balance or a roaring career, some may want to gain name and fame or get a lot of followers, some may want to be healthy, fit and fine, some may want to learn a new skill or win awards and so on, Now the question arises as… how do you make it happen? This article is a how-to guide on how to succeed and achieve your goals !
Now , as can be observed the goals to be achieved, the path leading to success , or even the measures for success in life are different and very personal for each and everyone. Some people look at wealth as the measure of success, while others chose personal happiness, some crave for a flexible work schedule, where as others want good relationships with family and friends. but there are some commonalities that apply across the board.
2)What is the next ingredient you will need to reach the destination?
It is the Route or map with a plan . The plan will have various action points, and the route will have various Milestones, right?
Let us discuss the Plan first
Plan the goals with bite sized chunks or mini goals . Once you have defined your goals with deadline, write down all the steps or actions required to achieve them, with deadlines for each one of them and Prioritize them .
To reach the main destination, you need to cross various mini destinations, which you can achieve one by one in certain no of days based on your mode of travel, and overcoming the problems you may face en-route. Like say you want to reach faster you may take a flight, but if you want to enjoy the sights on the way, or the country side , you may go by road or by rail.
3) After making a plan, you have to start taking action to start the journey. The plan will help you , but it will not give you the motivation to start taking action. Many of us procrastinate, and don’t start, making some excuse or the other. Procrastination prevents us from taking the first step, but once it’s taken, the rest will follow, and we will get the desired motivation to fulfil our dreams. So conquer procrastination, by taking the first step by
a) igniting your passion , and then
b) using the “Swiss cheese” method start moving forward.
a). Start the ignition, or ignite your passion. Think of the ‘WHY ; or purpose , you want to achieve that goal. Having passion for a particular goal, whether personal or professional, will provide the energy and motivation to take the actions you need to achieve any goal. Passion is that intangible component that explains why some people and teams are better able to stick with their plans and achieve their goals and greater levels of success.
b) The ‘Swiss Cheese’ technique is a great tool to defeat the procrastination that results from trying to schedule, or finding that large block of time to complete the job. Essentially, this technique punches holes (like swiss cheese) in a multi task or a complex project. In this method you start with a small task, which takes less than 10 minutes, complete that task, and then continue like that for the remaining tasks, which will help the project to move from the overwhelming one to a reasonable one, in terms of execution.
4.) Now let us take up the next ingredient which is required , and which narrows down to Self motivation. Generally successful people are self motivated as they are passionate about the goal that they want to achieve and that is what distinguishes a successful person from an ordinary person. They motivate themselves, despite setbacks or failures and celebrate after achieving each and every mile stone. Motivation is something that nobody else can give you, it must come from inside you, and you must possess a constant desire to do your very best at all times and under any circumstances. Achieving anything of value requires hard work, discipline, perseverance, commitment and energy but first and foremost is to have a mindset for being self-motivated, which needs the driving force of adequate mental strength.
5) Let us now ponder on what the next requisite is. When you start taking action there may be many distractions, and many temptations. For taking action and continuing to pursue with the action, one major attribute which is required is to become self disciplined.
Discipline is the choice of achieving what we really want by doing things which we don’t want to do. As per Napoleon Hill, “Self-discipline is the ability to make yourself do, what you should do, when you should do it, whether or not you feel like it. Self-discipline is the master key to riches.”
If you look at it in a critical way, what is implied , is that you continuously do what you don’t want to do , or don’t do what you are tempted to do , to achieve the goal you desired. The capability to discipline yourself to delay fulfillment immediately , in order to enjoy greater fruits in future , is the key to becoming triumphant.
This is where the habits that you form and monitor, and the rituals and routines that you follow play a crucial role .
Making a habit of writing daily when you aim to write a book whether you want to or not, Doing your workout daily to become fit whether you like it or not, and so on. Generally you need to have the will power to discipline yourself to take action.
“Disciplining yourself to do what you know is right and important, although difficult, is the highest road to pride, self-esteem, and personal satisfaction.” Brian Tracy
6) Next requirement is to be Laser Focused
Those who are successful are very keen on pursuing what they desire by focusing and taking massive action on the steps required for reaching the goal. They are laser focused . They do not lose sight of what they are aiming for. So when we discipline ourselves, we also train ourselves to be focused and not deviate from our main destination or goal. We need to keep ourselves away from the distractions of Social Media, notifications on cell phones, Binge watching etc to achieve our goals
Other qualities that need to be developed are of being very Productive, Passionate, Persistent, Perseverant , Positive , Hard working and so on
Thus you can navigate your way to success in all the goals that you set for yourself, if you follow the above steps in sequence and take Massive Action. For more details you can be in touch with me .
I am a Success and life transformation strategist and coach young professionals to become successful in achieving their dreams. I have also written 2 international best seller books, first one being “ Skyrocket to new Heights” which provides you guidelines to master a growth mindset, develop empowering habits, do differently and achieve one’s goals . The next book “Skyrocket Teams to incredible Heights” to Motivate and Empower, Improve Group Performance, Sustain Excellent Team Dynamics, Collaborate & Achieve Exceptional Goals is second in the series scaling up the corporate ladder. This provides guidelines, tips, case studies and live examples to make a team, perform exceptionally well. Those desirous of delivering outstanding performance individually or through teams, as well as those who want to bounce their team back from an imminent downfall, or overcome its dysfunctions will find the insights provided in this book, credible enough to take them on a spiraling upward journey of incredible performance. This became a best seller on Amazon India in the first week of its publishing following in the footsteps of “Skyrocket to New Heights” which became an International best seller on Amazon
“Ambition is the path to success. Persistence is the vehicle you arrive in.” — Bill Bradley