HOW DO YOU DEFINE SUCCESS?

Success. What is success? How does one define success? Some may define success as a goal to be achieved. Others may view success in monetary terms: the richer one is, the more successful they are. Some may measure success by the level of happiness and contentment they have in their lives. Many people look upon success as a “finish line” in life, that once it is crossed, your life’s race or journey is over.

Personally, I view success in terms of a mindset or an attitude. One can either have the mindset of a loser or of a success. I choose the latter. Sure, we all have goals in life we aim for, but without the right mindset, one will never reach the goals they set for themselves. Success must be more than just about material or monetary gain. Success must be a way a life. The way you live your life determines what you will achieve in life. If you go through life with a losing or defeatist attitude, chances are you will not achieve a whole lot in your life. Losers lose because they quit with the first taste of adversity. Losers don’t take control of their time or make decisions that will better their lives. They just tend to drift through life reacting to whatever life throws their way. But someone with a success mindset knows what he or she wants and creates a plan of action to make things happen. They live their lives with purpose. People with a purpose have enthusiasm and charisma. As such, they attract success to them.

Jim Rohn once said, “Your level of success will seldom exceed your level of personal development because success is something you attract by the person you become.”

?Living successfully means making necessary sacrifices. Some of these sacrifices are going to be harder to make than others. One of the hardest to make is deciding that it’s time to move on from a particular crowd of people you may have associated yourself with for years. If your old friends are holding you back, then make new friends who will uplift and encourage you to become the best version of yourself possible. Personal growth is something we should all strive for our entire lives. Once we stop growing, we become stagnant.

A successful way of living also includes developing success habits that we do every day without fail. It means doing those things that average people don’t do. For me, it means having a daily routine that I stick to each morning to start my days off right and get my head into a positive frame of mind to face the day ahead. It also includes eating a proper diet to energize my body. One should also dress for success. People make first impressions of you depending on your appearance. Even if you’re not conducting business, try to maintain a professional appearance.

One of the best ways to maintain a success mindset is to read books about being the best person you can be. Reading good positive books written by successful people will not only keep your mindset right, but you can learn so many powerful lessons about how to overcome adversity. My favorite such writer is Napoleon Hill. His books are a “must read” for anyone who wants to learn the secrets of success.

Living successfully doesn’t mean that negativity won’t come into your life. But the more we practice daily success habits, the easier it will be to overcome all the negatives that creep into our lives.

When I envision myself living successfully, I see myself arising each morning at 5:00 am and going through my morning routine which includes daily devotions and prayer time, reading my affirmations, exercising 20 – 30 minutes, eating breakfast, and reading something positive --- all this before I head out the door to go to work. When I get home from work, I fix dinner, enjoy a little “me time”, and then perform some business-building activities. Afterward, I read some more (both affirmations and books) just before retiring to bed. This provides my subconscious mind with something positive to sleep on.

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To reiterate, living successfully is a:

1.?????Mindset

2.???Series of habits

3.???Way of living