The Building Blocks of Success

What is success? It is what you want to achieve. It is to be the best at whatever you want for yourself; to set a goal for yourself, and constantly strive toward its attainment; to refuse to accept anything other than the achievement of your goal.

You want to become physically fit? Then set a schedule of exercise and physical fitness so that you reach your goal. Then dedicate yourself to a lifetime of exercise so that you will continue to maintain your physical fitness.

You want to become a talented piano or soccer player? Then take lessons, hire a coach, and practice, practice, practice. As you refuse to stop, you achieve your goal.

Perhaps you want to become the best at your job. You focus on increasing your productivity, you develop an agreeable customer-oriented attitude. You enhance your efficiency and the organization of your work area. Others are attracted to you. They seek your counsel.

Once you have started working toward your goal, you are already successful. As you continue your journey to goal achievement, your habit of successful achievement becomes one of the tenets of your life.

Marketing guru Scott Manning suggests the following five tenets of success.

Courtesy. No person who is negative, rude, disrespectful, or just plain mean ever achieves success. Good will tends to attract opportunity.

Integrity. Be true to yourself. Make commitments, and keep them. If you do not take yourself seriously, it will be known by you and everyone else. Integrity means living with honor with yourself and your goals. You are either honest, or your are not.

Perseverance. Do not underestimate the difficulty of the task. Do not expect a huge payoff, if you present little effort. You must be willing to invest the price for success, and commit to the results – long term! You get no where by starting over again, again, and again. There is no room for excuses, if you persevere and refuse nothing less than the achievement of your goal.

Self-Control. Someone once said to me, “discipline is the first order of the universe,” and I believe it. Without controlling yourself, you control nothing. Each person I know who is successful fights to maintain self-control. Time, energy, thinking, beliefs - everything is in play, and must be controlled on a daily basis for you to succeed.

Indomitable Spirit. This is the difference between pretenders, and the serious about achievement. Expecting to win and doing whatever it takes to make it happen. People who stay on course, who are not deterred, who do not give up on their objectives and agenda. Inevitably they conquer what they set out to achieve. But people who lack spirit, will, and the determination to succeed are easily shaken, rattled, and thrown-off-track.

When you refuse to accept anything less than the achievement of your goal, you are already on the road to success, for success is not a destination, it is indeed a journey in your life.

When setting your goal, or goals, make sure they are realistic, and within the realm of possibility. And as you work toward becoming the best for yourself at what you want for yourself, you achieve. You have nothing to lose but success.

What are you waiting for?