The Four Keys to Success
Would you believe that the formula for personal and professional success only contains four different elements? That's it. It is worth mentioning however that those four components require some mastery though. But if we focus on these keys daily happiness and success are sure to follow.
Positive thinking
First and foremost positive thinking is the cornerstone for success in every facet of our life. When we are able to minimize negative self-talk we begin to see all the opportunities that exist around us. Every situation contains an opportunity for growth. When we are able to extract that lesson we begin to see that nothing is as dire as we assume. For every situation when we focus on the positive we are focusing on solutions and answers, not crippled with worry.
Eliminating fear
One of the things that holds us back daily, and unfortunately at times our entire life, is fear. Fear paralyzes us. It keeps us from taking chances. It keeps us from reaching for the dreams we cherish. Fear is the irrational belief that negative consequences will arise when we step outside our comfort zone. By focusing on fear we increase our level of self-doubt and increase our worry. It is one of the leading reasons we procrastinate. One of the best acronyms for FEAR is "false evidence appearing real". When we embrace courage and push forward through fear we are freed from the shackles of worry. It's important to note that courage isn't the absence of fear but the ability to see fear and power through it.
Goals and vision
In order to be successful it's important to define what success is. It's not important to define it on a global level but more importantly on a personal level. For many people success is elusive because they haven't defined what it is for them. One of the best ways to achieve success is to write down attainable goals and work daily to achieve them. The important fact here is to literally write them down. Dreams and goals that stay in our head never make their way out into the real world. Goals are dreams with a purpose. The other important key to success in regards to goals is making sure that all our actions are in alignment with those goals. Perhaps you want to teach yourself a new language. Spending an hour a night watching television will not lead to that goal. Waking up an hour earlier and reviewing an audio CD about learning that language will.
Self-confidence
When we have total confidence in our abilities we are able to take on the world. When we are strong in our convictions that we have intelligence, dedication and resourcefulness then no situation good or bad is insurmountable. Self-confidence also makes us more able to weather failures are setbacks that occur in realizing our dreams. No successful man or woman ever became noteworthy without failure. They persevered. They were passionate about what they believed in and knew that they had the ability to make it a reality. We all have that ability. We simply need to discover it.
It seems widely simplistic to believe that success lies in these four keys. Yet simplistic or not it is the truth. When we become positive passionate people with a goal we are well on our way to living the life of happiness and success. That happiness and success is guaranteed when we have a clear vision of what we want to achieve and have the self-confidence in knowing it is within our grasp. It bears repeating that these four keys may present challenges for some people. But as we mentioned before, stepping outside our comfort zone is where our greatest successes lie. When we are stagnant and comfortable we are not growing. When we embrace and focus on these four elements there is no end to what we can achieve.