What is Success?  How to Be Successful

Author's Perspective:

Success means different things to different people.

What success means to you might be different from what it means to me or other people.

The key is that you define success in your own terms -- as long as you are achieving what you set out to achieve.

The dictionary defines success as "the achievement of something desired, planned, or attempted; or, the gaining of fame or prosperity."

That being said, I think it is useful to discuss the definitions of success because it helps us to analyze whether or not we are moving in the right direction.

Some people may think that I am successful because I have written a book that is saving lives. But, I don't consider that I'm successful, because I haven't reached the 200 million diabetics around the world to make them aware that they have better alternatives to fighting their diabetes.

On the other hand, I may be a little too hard on myself -- because several years ago I never expected to write a book or have strangers actually buy that book. So, at that time, I had defined success as being able to finish writing and publishing a book. But, as time moved on, I changed that definition of success to include being able to have a positive impact on people's lives.

Today, I believe that success is simply being able to help others. Because if you can help someone, they will be successful, and thankful for your help. They, in turn, will be so thankful, that they will help a friend or family member.  And, that family member or friend will help someone they know. If everyone defined success in this manner, the world would be better place for everyone!

If you want to achieve success, you should make sure your dream is bigger than just you. If you're dream is bigger than you, then you will be succesful in life.

Someone once said: “Success always comes when preparation meets opportunity.”

Another quote about success: “Some people dream of success while others wake up and work hard at it.”

So, you see, the definition of success is different for different situations. The definition is dynamic and ever-changing.

In general, most people equate success with money. That is, the more money you make, the more successful you are. But under this definition one could argue that a drug dealer who makes millions of dollars annually is a very successful person.

I agree that the drug dealer is a savvy businessman, but I wouldn’t call him successful, because the impact he has on the lives of other people is actually a very negative one.

It is possible to make a lot of money and have a positive impact in the lives of many people at the same time. Just think about Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Warren Buffett ...

But, I suspect that these folks were first and foremost motivated by the possibility of making something big that would impact many people.  Sure, they were no philanthropists, so the money was welcome too, but I don’t think money was the only nor the main thing they were pursuing.

However, if you plan to be successful in business,, especially the health business,  you must make enough money to clear a profit so that you can reinvest in your business to enable it to grow. When your business grows, you will be able to achieve even more success because you'll be able to help even more people.

How to be Successful in Life

Success is defined by who we are, what we believe in, and what we think it means to be successful. For some it's money; for others it could be relationships, family, jobs, religion, or education. But real success is going beyond yourself and helping others.

Success is having all that you wanted to have for yourself and others. It's finding that you have achieved your goals or fulfilled your plans and it's waking up in the morning feeling victorious rather than feeling beaten up. Success is walking proudly in the streets with your head up high while being happy and satisfied.

Contrary to common beliefs, there are no successful or unsuccessful people, instead there are just people who have the potential to succeed and do things that realize this potential, and people with the same potential who don’t do those things.

Someone once said: "It's okay to think about what you want to do -- until it''s time to do what you're meant to do."  The key is figuring out what you're meant to do ...

The keys to success are the 3 D's:

1. Desire
2. Determination
3. Dedication

Desire is the burning internal quality that pushes you and produces a restlessness with things as they are. Desire empowers you to meet the challenges of life and compels you to fulfill a purpose larger than yourself. The following steps will increase your desire to succeed:

Anticipate rewards. Be aware of the sacrifices and the hardships involved in becoming a winner, but focus on the rewards of success. Knowing what rewards you can earn stimulates your desire and makes you work harder for them.

Learn everything you can about your goal. Read every book and talk to every expert you can on the subject. Read magazines and the section of the newspaper with current events about people in your profession. The more you understand about your chosen profession, the greater your interest will be. The more interest you have, the greater your desire to succeed.

Observe how professionals perform. Take advantage of every chance you have to see and hear the outstanding individuals in your area of interest, in person or on television. The more you study successful people in action, the more familiar you will become with what it takes to succeed.  Identify with an achiever. Select an achiever in your area of interest and study the progression of and reasons for that person's success.

Constantly remind yourself of your dreams. Kindle the flames of desire and light the fires of enthusiasm by reminding yourself daily of your dreams. Envision the summits you can reach, the rewards you can reap, and the heights of happiness you can enjoy -- and, how you can help others live better lives.

Strive continually to activate, nurture, and maintain the kind of desire that will make you succeed. For successful people, intense, burning desire is a habit, a way of life, and a deliberate course of action. In any worthwhile endeavor, ultimate victory goes to the individual with the most desire!

Determination is having that never-say-die attitude to overcome all challenges and barriers. Self-determination is a combination of skills, knowledge, and beliefs that enable a person to engage in goal-directed, self-regulated, autonomous behavior.

An understanding of one's strengths and limitations together with a belief in oneself as capable and effective are essential to self-determination. When acting on the basis of these skills and attitudes, individuals have greater ability to take control of their lives and assume the role of successful adults.

Desire and Determination are fueled by your motivation.  Motivation is a desire to achieve a goal, combined with the energy to work towards that goal.  Motivation is a driving force. In order to accomplish anything, you need a driving force, otherwise nothing will happen. A wish is not strong enough to make you take action. A wish is a weak desire. Only a strong desire can drive forward, to act and accomplish aims and goals.

Motivation is a strong quality for anyone to possess; and you can only possess it when you set a burning desire to have something in life, i.e. being healthy. No one can give it to you. It can change a person’s life in many ways. It can change the way you think, and when you become involved with personal development and become a much more positive individual, motivation will get you out of your negative environment.

Motivation is the fuel that inspires us to reach our goals and achieve what we truly desire. It also allows us to keep getting up and moving forward when we get knocked down. Getting motivated and staying motivated gives us the energy we require to reach our goals in the shortest amount of time possible. It is required to meet our goals and do anything purposeful in life.

Without motivation you will not want to get out of bed, clean the house, walk the dogs or do anything at all. Being successful in life and motivation go hand in hand. When you learn how to achieve motivation for something you truly desire; nothing can stop you from having it. So think about it; what truly motivates you then take action towards it and watch it become your reality.

In order to get motivated, you need to know exactly what it is that you want, to possess a strong desire, and to be willing to do whatever it takes to accomplish your goal.

Dedication requires a personal internal promise or belief to be devoted to your goals in life. You must personally decide to chase and achieve a specific goal, and you must be committed and dedicated to achieve it until the end, even when the going gets tougher, and confront the situations with guts, confidence, and persistent action. 

Dedication is an internal promise to yourself, to keep on putting honest efforts to perform a particular activity, never to give up and back-down in any circumstance. It is a pledge to complete an assignment with unaffected engagement and involvement. Dedication is patronizing and denigrating oneself for the completion of any activity, for any particular purpose. It is wholehearted devotion and unmoved contribution for the accomplishment of any task or duty.

Dedication (and determination) are born out of a meaningful enthusiasm and passion for achievement, and no one can buy it from others, by simply offering extrinsic rewards.

Dedication, desire, and determination come from within. It is a process beyond the purchase power of an individual. Successful people constantly demonstrate persistence and devotion as an essential element of their tough actions and endeavor. Money cannot pay for honesty and integrity in the context of building trust and maintaining credibility.

Riches surely matters, but it single-handedly cannot be the soul quality to attain a goal. This can leave us questioning your sanity! We must take some comfort in the fact that wealth is not alone the factor to bring success. A serious commitment and dedication are integral factors in shaping or building the success story of an individual or an assignment. An achiever accepts his present situation, dares to volunteer to chase dreams, and faces all the challenges without backpedaling, puts loyal and earnest hard efforts, fostering his abilities to bring a sense of accomplishment, and achieving success.

“The will to win, the desire to succeed, the urge to reach your full potential... these are the keys that will unlock the door to personal excellence.” Confucius

What Makes a Person Unsuccessful?

If you really want to be successful then you should have a solid understanding of certain concepts that can limit your potential and make you unsuccessful. Successful people avoid these harmful concepts and so should you:

• False Beliefs: False beliefs are incorrect ideas you hold about something or about yourself. An example of a false belief could be “I can never find a job in such a country”. "Because of my race (or my sex), I can't be successful." False beliefs act as limiters to your true potential  and so to your success. Getting rid of false beliefs and knowing more about them is the most important task that you should do if you are serious about success. False beliefs can not only limit your success potential but they can even ruin your life, some people stay broken for years after a breakup just because they had some false beliefs about love that they acquired from the media
• Lack of passion: If you don't have any passion in your life, it will be difficult to be successful in whatever you do.  You must find your purpose in life, then, you will find your passion for living.
• External Locus of Control: This is the way of thinking that makes a person assume that everything that happens to him is due to external factors. For example: saying an exam was too hard when you don't do well or claiming high unemployment is the reason you can't find a job. The flip side to that is Internal Locus of Control which is thinking that you are in charge and in control of everything that happens to you. None who are successful have an external locus of control, so if you are serious about success you should learn how to change your way of thinking from having an external locus of control to having an internal locus of control. 
• Lack of Persistence: What good is it to have many qualities and skills if you lose hope after failing once or twice? The only people who succeed in life are the persistent, those who continue working right to the end until they get what they want, even if everything was against them and even if they fail many times. If you want to be successful then, you need to learn how to stand up again even if you failed hundreds of times.
• Lack of Flexibility: Flexibility is the ability to adapt to external conditions, it's the ability to try something else or another method when your current method fails. The more flexible you are, the more you will become adaptable and the higher chances of success you'll have. You need to learn how to be flexible and how to shape yourself and change your tools and methods when they don't work.
• Lack of Planning: If you don’t have goals or plans then you are going to be a part of other people's plans. If you don’t plan to be the team leader at your work then someone else in your team will do and if you don't plan to get that high-paying job someone else who planned and worked for it will take it from you. If you don’t plan you will get swept away by the people who do. They will fill the positions, make the money and get the fame while you'll just be a spectator, as such, planning is an essential item in the success toolkit. You must learn everything you can about planning and goal setting.
• Lack of Self-confidence: If you don't have self-confidence then probably you will be too shy of presenting your ideas and you may give up your dreams as soon as someone tells you that they are not possible. You may fear taking any risks  and so ignore many opportunities that could have made you successful. If you want to increase your chances of being a successful person, then you must build your self-confidence. You can build it from scratch once you learn how to build your self-confidence.
• Thinking that you lack resources: It's a myth that you need a lot of money to make a lot of money. Don't fool yourself by thinking that you lack resources because if you are serious about success, you will do it without having any resources. You need the right knowledge and motivation.
• Success related Fears: I am not talking about normal fears, but the types of fears that can affect your ability to succeed are fear of failure and fear of success. While they both seem to be complete opposites still they do have the same effect on you, which is preventing you from trying and so leading you to failure. You need to deal with the fear of success as well as the fear of failure.

The Road to Success

The road to success will probably be full of rejection, pain, hard work, disappointment as well as many other discouraging things, but in the end, you will feel like you control the world. You will feel proud of yourself for overcoming all of these obstacles and for reaching your goals in spite of the many things that stood in your way. You will be tremendously happy and satisfied and you will experience the feelings described at the beginning of this article. In short, you will receive the rightful reward of being successful.

Being successful in life means that you achieve all or at least most of your major goals to the extent that you become really satisfied with your life and the positive impact you're having on others' lives. 

The Secrets to Being Successful                                

If you don't know how to turn a knob of a certain door then you will never manage to open it. People keep trying to open the door in a wrong way then wonder why can't they open it.

The reason the majority of people never succeed is that they have got incorrect beliefs about success that prevents them from taking the right path. The following are the keys to success that would enable any person to achieve his goals and to be successful if he followed them. These keys are critical whether you're trying to improve your physical health or your financial health.

• The number of tries: Babies learn how to hold objects correctly by first holding them in all incorrect ways. Each time the baby holds the object it falls off his hands and so it learns something new about the correct way to hold it. After sufficient number of tries the baby learns how to hold the object correctly. The same goes for any learning process and for success. If you want to be successful then you must understand that you have to keep failing until you discover what works.
• Be flexible: When you fail be flexible and change your method, try something new or a different approach. Try to find out why you failed so that you fix it when trying the next time. Each time you fail you will discover one new thing that was preventing you from succeeding and after enough number of failures you will find nothing standing in your way.
• Be 100% sure that you are going to reach your goals: When Edison was asked how he managed to try 1000 times to invent the lamp without losing hope  even though everyone was making fun of him he said "whenever someone told me you failed to invent the lamp i used to reply saying, i didn't fail, i just found another way how not to invent the lamp". So Edison was 100% sure that he was going to succeed and he understood that it was a matter of time and the number of tries.
• Learn to learn: Most people who aren't successful feel helpless or stuck and that's because they usually don't know what to do in order to be successful and to reach their goals. After their first few failures or even the first failure they feel down instead of learning the reasons for the failure. Whenever you fail learn what went wrong, learn how to ask experts about the reason for your failure and learn how to browse the internet for solutions. In short you must learn how to learn else you will never be successful and you will end up feeling helpless
• Be prepared psychologically for: People are going to criticize you, make fun of you, put you down, shake your belief in yourself and reject you. In addition you might fail many times before you succeed and you will face numerous obstacles. If you want to be successful then you must be prepared psychologically for all this so that you don't collapse.
• Find your purpose in life (your Gift), Be passionate and enthusiastic: Find your purpose in life or the Gift you were given by God. Once you find your Gift or your purpose in life (why you were put on this planet), then, you will discover your real passion. How do you find your Gift or purpose in life? Think about what you do well. Think about what your parents, relatives, or teachers told you that you were good at when you were a child. That's your Gift! For example, I knew that I was always good with math and numbers. That's why I became an engineer. And, I used that Gift to become a math volunteer for the Urban League for more than 20 years. Then, when I got sick, I used my Gift to analyze my blood glucose readings and figure out how to improve my health.
• Start your own business: Use your passion and Purpose in Life to help others and to help your family prosper. Get the How to Start a Small Business ebook/PDF to help you get started to set up your business. This ebook explains how to start a small business and an Internet business. This ebook also explains how to develop a business plan and a marketing plan for your business. In addition, this ebook defines success and how to be successful in life and business; and, how to find your passion and purpose in life.

Stick to these keys and you will certainly be successful

It won't happen overnight, it will require dedication and hard work but in the end you will make it.

How to be successful in your life

The formula has always been the same and the only difference between those who succeed and those who don't is the extent to which they apply it.

Lots of people want to be successful and most of them believe that success can be achieved through some kind of superstitions power (The secret?) while in fact becoming successful in life is all about sticking to five things that are listed below.

If you managed to do the following 7 points you will surely be successful in your life and the reason lots of people aren't successful is that they don't manage to stick to all of them.

The formula for (real) success

• Success is all about the number of trails: some people succeed from the second attempt, some people do it from the third while others have to try tens of methods before they succeed. If you want to be successful in your life then you must understand that trial and error is the only way
• Commitment even when there is a war going on: If you intend to commit to a task for less than your lifetime then forget about success. Success is all about committing to your tasks even if you were feeling bad, sad, not in the mood or even if there was a war going on -- don't procrastinate!
• Flexibility: After all you don't want to try to do something the same way 10 times and fail each time. You need to be flexible enough to change the method you use if you discovered that it doesn't work
• Going against everyone: Do you know why most people aren't successful? its not because they tried and failed but because they never tried!! friends, relatives and your society might put you down or make you believe that success is not possible. If you believed anyone then you will never be successful in your life while if you went against them all you will reach what you want.
• Having thick skin: If you want to be successful in life then put in mind that you will be rejected, criticized and discouraged all the time. Success is all about understanding that these things are a normal part of the price you pay for success.
• Find your purpose in life (your Gift): Find your purpose in life or the Gift you were given by God. Once you find your Gift or your purpose in life (why you were put on this planet), then, you will discover your real passion. How do you find your Gift or purpose in life? Think about what you do well. Think about what your parents, relatives, or teachers told you that you were good at when you were a child. That's your Gift! Then, use that Gift to serve Mankind and help other people.
• Help your fellow man: Join a community group, become a teacher, participate in a support group,  become a community volunteer. Figure out a way to help others in need. Use your Gift to help improve the lives of others.
• Develop a plan: People who fail to plan are people who plan to fail. Don't underestimate the importance of a good business plan or marketing plan.

How to Find Your "Purpose in Life" (or Your Gift)

Everyone has a Purpose in Life. Everyone has a Gift. Unfortunately, we are so busy living our lives that we don't have time to shape our lives and help others.

If you have a job and a family, you find that you just don't have time for anything else.

If you don't have a job or a way to make some money, you find that you really don't have time to help anyone else.

Most of us live our lives without ever discovering their "Purpose in Life" or their true Gift.

I was fortunate because I discovered mine after almost dying from a diabetic coma.

So, how do you find your Purpose in Life. Please read this web page to help you find your Purpose in Life.

Programming your mind for success

Have you ever thought about the impact that watching television everyday for 10 years have on your belief system? Defiantly the programming is much more powerful than the ones that happen at the universities because of the following reasons:

1) You watch television everyday while you don’t attend lectures everyday (for masters you may only attend 2 times/week)

2) You can keep watching the same things that you like for 10 years or more!! (some people are addicted to horror movies others to violence...etc)

3) While watching television your mind is almost in the state of hypnosis because of the excitement you are experiencing (this allows the beliefs to bypass your conscious filters much easier)

So, what if drama was your favorite?
What if horror movies were your favorite ones?

The result of watching something for years is being programmed by it.  Don’t wonder why do you have a certain belief system or why do you sometimes become a negative thinker -- its because you may have been programming yourself to think that way since years.

This doesn’t stop at the movies but it also extends to include games. What titles do you always buy for your game console? Be it Playstation or Xbox, it doesn’t matter, what matters is that this game will have the same impact on your mind as the media. 

Warning: Know that the media can program your mind much powerfully than any other source so don’t allow junk to enter into your subconscious mind. Simply filter it, before you watch a movie, open the television or buy a game ask yourself one question, what is the impact that this might have on my subconscious mind and my belief system?

How to Reach Your True Potential

Every human being, regardless of race, sex or spiritual belief, has the incredible capacity to accomplish far beyond what they think their limits are.

Follow these steps to reach your potential. You can also use these steps to improve your health or to increase your wealth.

Every day, new business ventures are created. Some of these businesses will succeed, but many will fall by the wayside. Others will be able to take-off to a great start, given their ample resources and capital, but will falter along the way. Some ventures may be on a shaky ground at the start, but with perseverance and careful planning will prevail in the end.

Will your business thrive, or will it join thousands of others that have faltered along the way? Here are ten rules to make sure your business grows and prospers:

1. Find a Niche. For small businesses, it is best to find a niche. A small company with limited resources can efficiently serve niche markets. Concentrate your efforts on a fairly narrow market offering. This entails sticking to what you do best, and becoming an expert in that field. Realize that it is not possible to be good at everything. By concentrating on a fairly narrow market niche, you may be able to avoid head-on collision with bigger competitors. If you are a hardware store selling everything from paints to lumber, the entry of giant retailers like Home Depot in your area can spell the end for your business. However, you can try to limit your offering, for example, to construction of porches and decks and be the best retailer for this segment. 

2. Be small, yet think big. The most common question of small business start-ups is How can I compete with my big competitors?

Small businesses have inherent advantages over big businesses, including flexibility, ability to respond quickly, able to provide a more personalized service. Make sure that your business takes maximum advantage of those areas that represent the strengths of small companies. 

3. Differentiate your products. Present the benefits of your products and services to your customers, highlighting the unique solutions it offers to their problems. Avoid being a copycat; rarely do imitators succeed in the market. Study, but do not copy your competitors, and package your products distinctly. 

4. First impression counts. Strive for accuracy and quality the first time around. You often do not have a second chance to make a good first impression. This entails a well-laid out store, courteous staff, and personable voice over the phone, etc. However, if you are a one-person business working in a home office, remember that you are the center of your business and marketing efforts. Everyone you come in touch with is potentially a client or a referral to another client because they are either impressed with you as a person, impressed with your skill at providing a certain service or product. Make sure that you are always presentable, professional in your ways and knowledgeable about your business. 

5. Good reputation. Your business hinges on its reputation. It is imperative that you build a good reputation for the quality of your products and support services. Remember that two things guarantee success: high quality goods and superior service. Always aim for quality. If you are a tax consultant, strive to prepare a totally accurate, perfectly done tax returns for your clients. 

6. Constant improvement. Entrepreneurs know that they should not be rigid in their ways of thinking in their quest to improve their best products and services. You risk being left behind by the fast-paced competition if you cling to the "this is how we've always done it" kind of thinking. The business environment today demands that you need to come up with new solutions fast! 

7. Listen to your customers. Be market driven: listen and react to your customer's needs. Customers need to feel that they are important to you because they are! When you focus on your customers and gain their trust, they will not only recommend you but they will also remain loyal to you. Remember, personal recommendation and word-of-mouth are the least costly yet most effective marketing strategy for your business. 

8. Plan for success. An entrepreneur should understand the power of planning. A good plan helps you increase your chances of succeeding and can help you define your business concepts, estimate costs, predict sales and control your risks. It tells you where you are going and how to get there. Going into business without a plan is like driving into a foreign land without a road map. 

9. Be innovative. Innovate your offerings constantly, keeping pace with technological changes. Use change as a springboard to improve your products, procedures or reputation. Innovation should also cover your operations from pricing, promotion, customer service, distribution, etc. Keep your eyes for new ways of doing things, and apply those that can improve the quality of your products and efficiency of your operations. 

10. Work smart. As an entrepreneur, you need to possess self-confidence, plus a never-ending sense of urgency to develop your ideas. Studies have shown that the individuals who succeed in entrepreneurship are far-sighted and can accept things as they are and deal with them accordingly. They know how to manage their time, realizing the importance of leisure in as much as work. These people are oftentimes quick to change directions when they see their plans are not working. More importantly, they recognize their weak points and move on to nurture alliances and acquire the skills they need to put their business on the right track. They realize the importance of working smart, knowing that it is not the quantity of work you do, but what you do and how well you do it.