How To Succeed in Life
Everybody wants to succeed in life.
Ask a drunkard or drug addict and they’ll both tell you that the reason they took to drinking or drugs was perhaps because they failed at something.
Why does everyone desire success?
Because we are afraid to be left behind. We’re afraid to be laughed at. We’re afraid of dying poor. That’s why.
But what is success, really?
Success means different things to different people. However, for most people, success only means one thing—having lots of money. The reason for this is simple. With money, you can get almost anything you want in life. Without money you’re nobody.
Most people define success as something to be achieved sometime in the future. This definition seems to be emanating from the belief that success is some kind of goal, achievement, or target to be hit sometime in the future.
Well, let me shock you.
SUCCESS IS SOMETHING YOU ACHIEVE NOW! THE FUTURE IS THE RESULT!
The future is something that you MUST become now. If you do not become what you wish to be in the future, the future you desire will not happen.
However, that futuristic way of thinking has a negative effect on your present life. It tends to defer everything from the present to the future. It tends to postpone the action you should take now. It tends to focus on the outcome instead of the present action, which draws in procrastination. Most people will think this as an absurd way of thinking, but this is actually the way the brain is programmed to work.
The brain is programmed to react to present situations and circumstances. It is not designed to plan for the future. Planning for the future is something that you MUST train your brain.
For example, the desire of most people is to be financially successful sometime in the future. However, the actions of most people today, tend to go contrary to their future aspirations. This defeats their ability to plan for the future.
One of the most touted definitions of success is financial success. As a result, most people are denying themselves the happiness they need now in order to obtain something they don’t see now. Therefore most people would rather defer their happiness for something they don’t have.
Success is not an end to a means, but a means to an end. In fact, without happiness, you cannot consider yourself successful.
If this is hard for you to understand, try this:
The process is more important than the result, for the process is where the fun is at. It is what keeps you going and makes you happy. It is the most intriguing, adventurous and happiest moment of your life. The end result is NOT important. It’s like reaching the peak of Mount Everest, where there are only snow and fierce winds—And no fun.
Here are a few ways to become successful:
Train yourself to wake up when you don’t feel like, go to the bathroom when you don’t feel like, brush your teeth when you don’t feel like, go to work when you don’t feel like and do something when you don’t feel like until this routine becomes second nature.
Transform your body, mind, and spirit into a powerful machine that can take you to the next bend. The body is the weakest part in the link and also the laziest. Your body, therefore, requires the most training. There are so many bends, some pleasant, some unpleasant. When you turn a pleasant bend, don’t dwell there, but keep pushing until you reach an unpleasant bend. Success is waiting for you just around the unpleasant bend.
Do something that creates value for other people and other people will give you the money to live comfortably for the rest of your life. Exponential growth is simply the art and science of creating value for many people.
The first step toward success is happiness. Happiness precedes success—not the other way round. Train yourself to be happy, always. Smile even if you don’t feel like it. Laugh even if you don’t feel like it. Smile at random people in the street. People will think you’re crazy, but you will infect them without them even knowing it. This is an old psychological hack that tricks the brain into thinking that you’re happy. It even goes further by commanding you to do things that you won’t otherwise have done if you were sad.
Affirm what you want to become. Start like this: "I am happy and I enjoy life", "I have a good career", "I am secure", "I love myself", "I am loved", “ I am rich”, “I love people”, “People love me”, “I have a good life”, “There’s abundance in my life”, etc... Say these affirmations daily each morning and before you go to sleep. Do it like the way you take pills. Be serious about it. I can't recommend it if I knew it doesn't work.
Afformations work faster than affirmations, but what are afformations? The English dictionary complains when I write the word and even declares that my spelling is wrong. Most of us let our minds go adrift wherever a situation pops up and grabs our attention. That is because we’re not trained to ask the right questions wherever situations arise. If human thought is really the process of asking and searching for answers to questions, then why are we still going around making statements we don’t believe in? Instead of asking questions like, “How can I be more successful in my life and business?”, or “Why can’t I find what I’m looking for?”, or “Why can’t I meet the person of my dreams?” or “Why can’t I find a well-paying job?”, or “Why can’t I find happiness?”, ask questions like: “Why I’m I more successful in my life and business?”, or “Why do I always find what I’m looking for?”, or “Why did I meet the person of my dreams?” or “Why do I always find a well-paying job?”, or “Why I’m I always happy?” SEE THE DIFFERENCE?
Do not strive to become successful. Strive to become a valuable person. This line of thought was advanced by Albert Einstein decades ago and is still as relevant today as it was in the 1950s. Success follows a valuable person. Goes without saying—doesn’t it?
Success is not about deferring your happiness. It is about living your dream. It is about expressing appreciation and living your dream now instead of complaining. Complaining has the effect of deferring what you want to become, and inviting trouble. It is evidence that you don’t believe in yourself and you don’t believe in God. If you defer happiness you will also defer success. Many times we don’t appreciate the little milestones we have made, but are quick to complain and blame the situation about what we don’t have. Most of us do not appreciate small beginnings but chase away our big dreams because we complain too much instead of appreciating what life has to offer.
Things don’t just happen on their own. They happen because they’re moved. Nothing on earth is static. Everything is on the move—even dead things. For example, if you travel from your city and come back after 20 years, you will be shocked. You will not be able to remember where your home was. The buildings that you left will have been demolished and replaced with modern skyscrapers. If dead things can change, then it is inevitable that you must also move. Success follows proactive action. PERIOD. Change to embrace new things. Change to advance. Change to remain relevant.
Work on yourself every day in order to make an impact around your circumstances and surroundings. Read continually and consistently to exercise and grow your brain. Read continually and consistently to learn new ways of doing things. Read continually and consistently to train others. Remember, you are always a few steps behind someone and millions of people don’t know what you know.
Your body and mind are not independent of your spirit. People who are spiritually conscious are also much happier, more satisfied with life, and more life-fulfilled. You must realize that the key to success is contentment. And contentment comes as a result of the fulfillment of your inner self through spiritual enlightenment, which comes as a result of continuous and consistent spiritual exercise such as meditation and prayer.
Share the love. Share whatever little you have. Remember, whatever little bread you have there’s someone with nothing; whatever few clothes you have, there’s someone with no clothes; whatever little knowledge you have, there’s someone out there with no knowledge.