Today I want to talk about “The 7 Keys to Success.”  As you may know, I don’t teach any get rich quick schemes, or financial shortcuts.  When I write I aim to provide you with a practical guide on how to succeed in any endeavor by utilizing the principles of success.  Like my grandfather use to say, it’s the “slow way,” but it’s the “sure way.”  He would say its “tight,” but it’s “right.”

I’ve based these 7 keys on my personal success story.  Not that I’ve “arrived” but I’ve certainly experienced a degree of success.

I don’t think that you ever arrive, you just keep on growing and developing and succeeding and learning and experiencing and staying committed.

Here are the “7 Keys to Success,” learn them, follow them, and you will succeed:

Key #1: Hard work – Hopefully this doesn’t surprise anyone, more than anything else, successful people do what unsuccessful people are “unwilling” to do.  In other words, successful people aren’t doing what others are “incapable” of doing, but what others are simply too lazy to do…  Just look at people who successfully maintain their weight.  It’s not that they have the market cornered on the secret to weight loss.  They are just willing to do what others aren’t.  Everybody can run, but everyone’s not willing to run everyday!

Success tip “numero uno” is to decide to do the hard work.  The “ugly” work, the work you want to postpone; it’s getting in there and doing it anyway.  Swallow that ugly frog, role up your sleeves and put in the time.  You’re not going to float to success while “sucking lemonade out of a double-straw,” you’re going to have to fight, kick, and scream to succeed.

Key #2: Passion– As a young man I always heard people say, “follow your passion, if you want to succeed,” and I always took that advice with a grain of salt, it sounded quite cliché to say the very least.  I thought, “That sounds good, but that’s not really practical, I need to make some money first, then I can follow my passion.”  Many years later I’ve come full circle, I now know that success comes from growth, and the fastest way to grow is to pursue your passion.

I often talk about passion, and it’s true, your life must be centered around your passion, you need a theme for your life.  You were born for a particular reason.  To fulfill a particular need; you must discover that need and fill it.

The “need” that you were created to fill is associated with your life’s passion; it’s the theme of your life.  If your Donald Trump, then your theme is business, if your Michael Jackson, then your theme is entertainment, if you’re Tony Robbins, then you’re theme is motivation.  Everyone has a theme, and everyone who’s successful knows what their theme is.  If you’re going to be successful you need to know your theme.  What’s your theme?  What do people think about when they think of your name?

Discover your passion and you will unlock the door to success.  Your passion will drive you to learn and to grow; you will only succeed at the speed in which you are learning and growing.  That bears repeating, “You will only succeed at the speed in which you are learning and growing.”  I like that…

Key #3: Time – It takes time, don’t be side-tracked or de-railed by people who appear to have “instant success.”  Often what we are unable to see is the many years of preparation and failure that allowed them to succeed, “overnight.”  You are no exception; it will take you “time” to succeed.

This is why you should do what you love, because in order to succeed you’ll have to do it for a long time.  However, when you do what you love, you’ll enjoy the passage of time. 

Let me repeat, success takes time, it takes years; nothing worth achieving is going to be easy.  As you know, if it was easy…yes, everybody (and their mother) would be doing it.  To succeed you must be willing to put in the time, no matter how long it takes, but if you just keep on going in the right direction, eventually you will get there.

Key #4: Knowledge – Knowledge is critical; you must pursue the wisdom of others.  You must pursue mentors who have done what you’re trying to do.  You can learn more at a dinner table in an hour with the “right person,” then you can learn from 10 years of labor. 

Labor for knowledge, nothing is more costly than ignorance.  I often say, don’t be afraid of failure or rejection, be afraid of being stupid!

Key #5: Support – Who believes in you, who needs you, who wants to see you succeed?  You must develop a support group; you must create an environment suitable for success by surrounding yourself with people who believe in you, people who are going where you want to go.  This may be your spouse, it maybe your mother or the right friend, but you need people.  You can’t do it by yourself. 

You also need to develop and cultivate relationships with people who are doing better than you.  You need to leverage what they know, discover the system they’re using to succeed.

Key #6: A Vision and a Plan – Helen Keller said, “It’s a terrible thing to see, and have no vision.”  How simple, yet how profound.  Isaiah wrote, “Without a vision, the people perish.”  Do you have a clear vision of what you want to be, what you want to become.  Does it consume your mind, both night and day? 

You have to “first” see your future, then you can live into it.  It’s like seeing a doorway, and walking through it…if you don’t see the doorway, you may run “smack” into the wall; think about that the next time you walk through a doorway, “it’s a terrible thing to see, and have no vision!”

If all you see is what’s going on around you, then you will keep on experiencing what you’ve always been experiencing.  I take time daily, to see my life the way I want it to be.  I imagine a greater me, and I will become what I imagine. 

Additionally, you must have a plan; until your desires become plans and those plans are put into action, nothing changes.  Are you following a simple written plan daily?  Well are you?  If you’re not, it’s only a matter of time before you fail.  

Create a simple plan that you are excited about, and work the heck out of the plan “everyday.”  Yes, I said everyday.

Key #7: Commitment – Success is really a decision.  I consider myself successful, not because I think I’ve arrived.  I consider myself successful because I’m committed to success.  I’m committed to achieve every last one of my dreams, and I will just keep on living until I’ve achieved them all.  Success is a decision!  It doesn’t matter if you accomplish your dream at 18 or 108, just stay committed; that commitment is success going somewhere to happen!

Learn these keys, commit them to memory, put them into action, and you will succeed!

Thank you for reading mrselfdevelopment.com where every article expands your mind, increases your faith, and changes your life.

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