Today I want to talk about five critical lessons in success.  These lessons reveal things that I’ve learned over the past few years. 

I probably could have written an entire article about each of them, but I’ve decided to condense these five success lessons into two articles.  Enjoy!

5 Critical Lessons in Success:

Success Lesson Number 1: How to Make Important Decisions

I was in the mall not too long ago and someone came up to me and asked if I was a model, and I said no, then they asked if I would be interested in trying out for a show in New York, and I said no; I didn’t think about it, I didn’t ponder it for a second, I just said no and I walked away.  The person seemed a little taken back by my response, but that’s okay.

Was this a real opportunity for me to become a model?  I don’t know, but more importantly, I don’t care! Why?  Because there is one thing that I do know, and that’s how to make a decision.

You see, I know where I’m headed, and a modeling agency in New York is not the place.  What good would it do to make a stop “on the journey of life” in a direction that it is almost completely opposite of where I’m headed.

If my goal is to get from London to Los Angeles as quickly as possible, it is not in my best interest to stop in Thailand for a week to enjoy the beautiful scenery.  Thailand is not my goal, and a trip to Thailand does not support my goal.  So if someone asked me to go to Thailand while I’m on my way to Los Angeles, there would be no hesitation, my answer would be no.

When you’re faced with a difficult decision, you must always ask yourself, which decision best supports my long-term goals.  Which decision builds on where I’m trying to go?  It’s like good debt versus bad debt.  Debt that is good is debt that can produce for your future, things like stocks and bonds.  A good decision will produce good results in your future. 

A bad decision is like bad debt, long after the decision is made, or the money is spent, it can still cause problems…

So critical success lesson number one is to make decisions that support your long-term goals.  Someone asked me the other day to help them make a decision, I said you have to make a decision based on the final result that you want to have.  Everyday should be lived as to build on something, and then eventually you will have built a solid life.

How do you know if you’re spending your time well?  If it’s building on what you’re trying to accomplish.

Success Lesson Number 2: Realize That Decisions Decide Destinies

“Decisions decide health, decisions decide wealth.” – Mike Murdock

It’s not the family you grew up in that’s holding you back, it’s not life’s situations.  It’s your decisions.  That’s it!  Your decisions are deciding your wealth, and your decisions are deciding your health.  Your decisions are deciding your success, and your decisions are deciding your happiness!

Your decisions are deciding your destiny.  Your decisions!  Your decision to go to college, your decision of where you work, your decision of who you marry, your decision to follow your passion, your decision of what you read, your decision to write a book, your decision of what to eat, your decision to never give up.  More than any other factor, your decisions are deciding exactly where you end up in life.  Changing your decisions will change you life!

It’s true; your destiny is in your hand, because you are in control of your decisions. 

How simple, yet how profound… Your decisions will determine if you become rich or poor, happy or depressed, healthy or sick, thick or thin…

You are in control, never forget that…

So success lessons number two is to recognize that your decisions are deciding your destiny.  That concludes this article, be sure to check out tomorrow’s article: “5 Critical Lessons in Success – Part II”

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