“Only a little of the challenges of life are as a result of ignorance. Many know what to do yet lack the basic discipline and will to do it. We are potentially our own best friend or our greatest enemy.”

– Mind Convos

There are more than 13 million books and articles  on success and personal development (source: brandongaille.com) that tell us just how to go about becoming successful in various areas of life.

Some even go as far as interviewing or researching those who have been there or are currently there on the success lane, telling us their mistakes and success stories, giving us the necessary lessons to be learnt from them, and basically spoon-feeding us with the ingredients for success yet only a few have been able to climb the ladder of success and all round excellence.

In the quest for success, many fail even before they begin…

Where have we gone wrong?

– WE HAVE A CONFUSED DEFINITION OF SUCCESS

What’s your definition of success?

Many define success as the attainment of financial freedom or the acquisition of wealth and material abundance. However, wouldn’t it be weird to call someone who is wealthy yet depressed and frustrated a success?

Many make the mistake of allowing the society they live in define what success means for them.

A lot of people fail to truly analyse and define what success means to them before embarking on the struggle to achieve it and when they get it eventually, they still feel empty or even worse like a failure after obtaining it.

What does success mean to you? Is it getting to the top of the ladder in your career? Having a beautiful family who love and appreciate you? Sponsoring your children through school and watching them start their own family?

Success in this world cannot just be limited to the acquisition of wealth, ask yourself what success truly means to you before you embark on the journey to acquire it.

Don’t forget that even as we go on in life, our definition of success is liable to change. Our experiences, mistakes and lessons learnt along the way can influence how we define success eventually.

– WE EXPECT TOO MUCH AND GIVE TOO LITTLE

It takes a lot to acquire success. Success is not freely obtained like a birth right or acquired through inheritance. We have to give something of ourselves to acquire it.

In most cases, hard work is what we need to give however hard work alone does not guarantee success in any endeavour.

Sometimes it takes investing in meaningful relationships, sometimes being selfless and aware of the needs of those around us is what we need to acquire success.

Many are often lazy and selfish in their quest for success. They would rather jump queues to get to the front than wait patiently for their turn. They hold unrealistic expectations and therefore end up with disappointment and failure eventually.

We should be careful not to exaggerate our expectations and instead focus more on what we can give, what efforts we can make to achieve the kind of success we would be proud of.

So what do we do?

 – SEEK GOD

Many times in our struggle to make something meaningful out of life we forget the One who gave us that life in the first place. We forget the One who decides our destiny, who determines whether we achieve that success eventually or not.

In our hustle to make it out here, life could get really overwhelming. We need God’s divine inspiration and wisdom to guide us through the countless yet important decisions we make on a daily basis.

It is okay to work hard and expect our hustle to yield fruits of success however one cannot compare that to the level of success unlimited grace from God will bring into our lives.

Sometimes being in the right place at the right time is all we need to obtain our breakthrough. How do we know for sure which of the opportunities around us would be our stepping stone to success?

There are a lot of possibilities we are not even aware of because we are only humans and are quite limited in our knowledge of the universe and how it runs.

Therefore it is only wise to seek God in our quest for success and excellence so we can have a jolly good ride in unwavering gratitude and hope even in the face of life’s unpredictable challenges.

– MAKE REFLECTION AND MEDITATION OUR FAVORITE PAST TIME

“A man who does not reflect lives a life full of mistakes and zero lessons”

– Mind Convos

Do not under estimate the power of reflection and/or meditation in your quest to achieve success in life.

You are only human and are about as flawed as every other human out there. However, in a moment of reflection, your mistakes become lessons and your failures become stepping stones to success.

In this busy world, it is very easy to get overwhelmed, distracted and frustrated. Reflection and meditation helps you to stay on track and keep your occasionally tight muscles relaxed while you strategize your next move for success.

Lastly…

– STEP UP TO THE CHALLENGE

Leave the comfort zone: leave your bed, leave your couch, leave your comfort zone. Get up and get going. There’s a lot to be done!

– Mind Convos

There are unlimited possibilities and opportunities available to us but you must know that they are not for the chicken-hearted. They are not for the lazy bones who can’t lift a finger to save their lives. They are not for those who wait till everything lines up in their favour before they take action.

Wishing for success would definitely not make it happen, envying or being jealous of those who have made it wouldn’t get you up there either.

You must begin to take relevant action to move your life forward. Do not wait to be pushed, push yourself to success. Take up that challenge to be better than you’ve ever been. All the world loves a go getter and a man/woman of excellence.

Be one.