TRUE Success

The major difference between average people and successful people is their perception of and response to failure. To succeed once you must fail a thousand times. True success, however, is not the accomplishment of your goals or recognition from others. It is what you have learned from your failures and applied to your accomplishments. Thoms Edison recognized this in his famous quote… “I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work.”

Forbes Magazine published an article by Thomas Griffin, Co-Founder and President of?OptinMonster, that shared three brutal TRUTHS about success. They are:

1.?????Success is a lonely journey based upon the effort it takes to achieve almost anything.

2.?????You will lose many things average people feel are important such as friends, time, and money.

3.?????You will be disappointed with much of what you accomplish, and you will disappoint others you care about.

After all of this presented in some detail, the article goes on to remind us about a saying by Henry Ward Becher, "One's best success comes after their greatest disappointments." No matter how disappointing times may be, never give up on your dreams. It's one of the most powerful traits of successful people”. ?

Did you ever see the illustration of a miner that quit digging just before finding the treasure? The message is simple.?Finding ways to accomplish your goals is based upon overcoming all hardships that come your way, maintaining the right priorities, focusing on what you have accomplished and what it has taught you, and maintaining your faith. Failures are not final.

Through all the struggles, hardships, and pain there is one other important lesson to remember. We will never know it all and we must learn to live with that fact. Why do bad things happen to good people and how do bad people continue to flourish and get ahead? There is an order to the universe, a certain order and meaning that we may never know. Everything happens for a purpose. This does not mean that we cannot influence the outcome. It just means that we may have to live with certain truths for a time that keep us driven and focused.

The cure for cancer is my best illustration. Trillions of dollars and untold hours spent by some of the brightest minds in our world have been focused on finding a cure for one of the most feared conditions of our time. There have been many successes, but just as many failures. On the other hand, Smallpox was a severe infectious disease that affected humans for thousands of years before its eradication in the late 20th century.

Garrison Wynn in his book, The Real Truth about Success, provides another important insight.?Based upon thousands of interviews and extensive research he concluded that “better brains, a positive attitude, and superior all-around quality rarely drive true success. Rather, the most successful people in the world leverage their unique, distinctive qualities--whatever they may be--to propel themselves to the front of the line.”?According to Wynn, these qualities might include high intelligence, good looks, great connections, listening, personal drive and determination, and a range of other talents or abilities that people have been able to identify, refine, and focus. He contends that “All of us have a personal advantage we can use to stack the cards in our own favor.”

I think that Wynn is on to something here. Based upon his theory, average people like you and I have a shot at success. I would add, however, some other key qualities. Never allow the world and what happens to you crush you. Do not be perplexed by the world and fall into any form of despair. Maintain relationships and realize that you cannot accomplish anything totally on your own. Recognize that you will face setbacks and trials but do not allow them to destroy you. Above everything else, have faith in God and realize that life is at work in us.

There are numerous articles about and examples of hard work, dedication, and perseverance as the drivers of success. There is little question that these factors contribute to success and have been touched on in different ways in this post. I want to believe that we are all capable of great things and can accomplish our goals in life through various means that work best for us. My conclusion is that we must find what works best for each of us. There is no magic solution, no one size fits all approach that if taken will guarantee our success.?