11 Elements of Success

Success is something mystical for many and some people feel if they think about success it is being selfish. I don't think that is true because no one else can decide what success means to us. It is imperative that we take the time to define exactly what success means to us. For some of us it may mean earning good money, good family, good health, good relationships and making an impact within our sphere of influence. For some it could mean being in the front cover of magazines which is also fine. The only time we will feel out of sorts is when our definition is out of sync with the person we are. Also lets not assume success is reserved only for the superstars and celebrities. We all can plan our success and define what it means for us.

What are the elements of success? What does it take for anyone to succeed? I have come up with 11 elements which if taken care can bring you all the success you want. Here they are

Believe in yourself?– The first quality you need to develop to succeed in life is to have a strong belief in yourself. It doesn’t matter if others don’t believe in you as you can still succeed. However if you don’t believe in yourself there is no way you can succeed. Believe there is something special within you and you can succeed in whatever you choose to do. Of course this has to be followed with action to make the belief work.

Set goals for every area of your life?– This topic has been beaten to death. However goals do help in giving direction to your life. Every success book talks about it and there is some truth to it. Set some goals in all areas of your life like personal, career, financial, social and contribution. This will give you a complete balanced approach to life. Someone said if you are feeling listless make a list. So when you feel down just write down your goals and take some action.

Throw your whole heart into your work?– If you don’t do what you love then love what you do. When you consider that there are many people looking for a job it should be clear that you are lucky to have a job. First define all the things you like about your job. Mention the benefits you get from the job. Look at this daily and you will be energized. Zig Ziglar famously said adopt the day before vacation attitude every work day because you get more work done on that day than any other day.

Manage your time well?– Of course we all get the same 24 hours. What you do with it will ultimately determine if you attain the success you want. First have a list of activities to be done, choose the most important from that list and focus only on that. After that is done go to the next priority and so on. Also ensure you program a bit of recreation in every day if possible.

Have a financial plan?– I get tired of people who say money is not important. Wrong it is vitally important only if you have too much money you can say that. Money is important and so it is imperative you set a financial plan which works for you. There are so many books which have excellent information on this topic.

Read broadly?– It has been well established that when you read broadly you feel better about yourself and you are also well informed. Make sure you read all the business articles and subscribe to Inc. or Fast Company to keep abreast of the trends. You get ideas when you read that you won’t get any other way.

Keep up to date in your industry?– Of course with explosion in information, technology and new trends we have to be on the cutting edge of learning in our chosen profession. The best part is most of the information can be found in books, blogs and podcasts.

Love life?– You have to love life to get the most out of it. We all have faced ups and downs but ultimately viewing life as a gift will get us inspired to give our best. Our life is god’s gift to us and how we live is our gift to god.

Choose to be happy?– Happiness is a personal choice. I have defined my happiness project which involves accepting yourself as you are, defining your purpose, treating every day as the best day of your life, setting goals, staying grateful, and doing something you like every day. Define what will make you happy and do those activities.

Develop Resilience?– Grit is the number one quality needed for success as Angela Duckworth says. It is passion and perseverance towards long term goals. Develop resilience by having a core set of beliefs that nothing can shake, looking for the good into every problem, replacing worry with purposeful action, having a mission statement and always bouncing back from temporary setbacks.

Never Give up?– Finally never give up. You may be down but you are never out. Look at sports stars they lose one game but they come back to the next game renewed to fight another day. This is applicable to our lives as well. Only thing our game is every day and we can’t afford to slip too much.

If we adopt these 11 things we can get the most out of life. Success is within the grasp for all of us. Thanks for reading this post. The views expressed here are my own and do not represent my organization.?