The 4 Keys to Success

You will agree with me that everyone wants to achieve personal success. We all have one common goal in life. To be successful and live a happy and fulfilling life. Everyone of us wants to learn the ropes of being successful.

We all have a desire to make a difference in the world. But many of us struggle to triumph and live a below average life.

I know that many of us have read on the subject of personal success. Many of us, if not all are students of the success subject. Only a few are good students and are successful. While many of us fall in the category of bad students and are struggling.

It is almost impossible to understand the subject of success in one attempt. However, in all the books I have come across there are similarities. The presentations may be different but most of them have similar themes and methods of achieving success.

I believe that there are basically 4 keys that you need to help you achieve your success and these are:-

Write Down Your Goals

Without writing down your own goals, you will be shooting in the air; you will just be drifting and moving along aimlessly; you will be at the bottom of the park which is crowded. To have meaning success you need to write down your goals and start working on them.

This is the only way to measure your success. Your written down goals have to be measurable and specific. I like to personalise them by saying “I earn so much by such a date; I have done this by such a date.”

You are the only person that can use the “I” for yourself. No one else can use it on you. Making such pronouncements helps me to immediately know the exact target and the expected results. It also sets a deadline for me. Being exact with the goal, gives me motivation every time I read it.

Since the goals are measurable, if by the set date, I have not achieved the target, I simply adjust the date accordingly. However, I do not adjust the goal because by then my mind is already conditioned and working to achieve the set goal.

Remember that the goals you set must be those that are in tandem with your overall life’s objectives. They must help you get closer to achieving your life’s intended purpose.

Do not underestimate the power of writing down your goals. I usually carry around a note book with me. Where I write down ideas and many other personal things. Don’t just rely on your memory, write down your goals.

Set a Deadline

Everything in life has a useful shelf life. Some things have a much longer useful shelf life than others. That is why deadlines are important. They make you work extra hard. We are always working to beat dead lines because we all know that time waits for no one.

Setting reasonable deadlines is also key to ensuring that you achieve your success. Reasonable deadlines are those that give you ample time to be creative, work and stay motivated. I have found that short deadlines can be a source of frustration especially if the goals are not achieved.

Everyone has an optimum point when they give in their best. This is the time when you are full of energy and enthusiasm for life. The time when you can take on any challenge without much of a problem. I believe that this is the best time to ensure that you work extra hard to do the right things.

If you are relatively younger this is the best time to ensure that you put your act together. Stop fooling around. Get to work and you will enjoy the benefits later. I know that a day will come when those energy levels will be a thing of the past. Ask those who are well advanced in age and they will tell you.

The way I set my goals is that they include a deadline in the goal it self so am always in the know if am working beyond my expected deadline date. The thing with having deadlines is that your mind is tuned in and expectant to achieve a result at the set time.

I have noticed that somehow your mind is constantly alert to your deadline and this keeps you working towards achieving or beating the set deadline.

Take Action

They say actions speak louder than words. Yes, its important to set goals and having deadlines. But, setting goals and having deadlines will not achieve anything if you do not take action. Most of our plans die a natural death because we do not act on them. Taking action will ensure that you start moving towards your goals.

Create a habit of taking action that will help you achieve your goals on a daily basis. Take one step at a time. If your goal is to make say US$200,000 by 31 December 2021, decide how you are going to make this money and get started with the process.

We have a habit of just making good pronouncements and leaving everything to God. Look, God is not going to make you rich without you playing your part. God will open an opportunity for you and it is entirely up to you to cease it and make good use of it.

You have a big part to play in God’s picture. I have noticed a tendency especially among us Christians of saying “ I receive in Jesus name “ when a preacher makes certain pronouncements and we leave it at that.

Yes, receive it and start working on actualising the pronouncement by taking action. Get up and go to work. The bible says “the Lord will bless the work of your hands.” Those who succeed are those who try and take action. It is better to die trying.

Persist Until You Succeed

Success does not come easy and does not come cheap. If it were easy, then we would all have been successful. There would have been no need to talk about it. But we talk about because we know the challenges that people will face on the path of success.

Yes, things will not always go according to your plan, and most of the time they never, but when you persist you will triumph over any challenge. Persistence is key to your success. Those who are successful are those who are resilient and persistent. They know that challenges have to be conquered.

Without persistence you are surely doomed to fail. Because along the way of success you will be met with many challenges. Some of these challenges may look to be insurmountable. Your success will be largely determined by your persistence.

The bigger your goals are the more hard work and persistence you need to have. Be prepared that on your journey to succeed you will be greatly tested. You will need to focus on the things that you have influence on, as these are the things that will help you over come your challenges.

Conclusion

There are many ways to succeed but the above are key for me and they seem to work so far. You can devise what works for you but I recon that they will not be very different from mine. We are all wired to succeed and the ball is in our hands. “Successful people tend to become more successful because they are always thinking about their successes” — Brian Tracy.

Originally published at https://www.insakanet.com on January 4, 2021.