I guess the best place to start is to define success.
I believe success is just a fleeting moment when your realities match your expectations.
I also realize, for many, the number of those moments they experience overtime defines what they (and perhaps others) see as a successful life.
So why are some people more successful than others?
I have met many people in many lands over my life and although opportunities for some seem limited, even amongst those in the direst of circumstances, there are some people that make a great success of their life. I am talking about success when it is measured against the relative or real opportunities that exist for individuals due to the circumstances of their existence.
What is it that helps some rise whilst others languish in mediocrity?
Obviously there is no simple answer however I have noticed some common traits in those that succeed.
The first pillar of success (or trait that successful people seem to have) is that: “those who succeed invariably believe that SUCCESS IS A CHOICE”.
I read an article titled “SUCCESS IS A CHOICE!! It is that simple…” by a Jim McGilvary where he told a story of business woman who could not get her business to where she wanted it to be. He said in the article:
“I told her and I am telling you:
• Make no more excuses for not having success
• Hold yourself accountable for the good and the bad
• STOP the negative thinking
• STOP worrying about the “naysayers”
• Laugh in the face of the unknown and…
• Make the choice right now, that you will do what it takes to have success.
He goes on by saying:
“I will leave you with one last thought: To fail is to have tried. To try [in itself] is to have success. You cannot have success without some failure. Choose to try, whether you fail or succeed. You cannot have success without trying. Keep choosing to have success and you will have it. It is as simple as that.”
Now perhaps his advice is a little glib and it is not quite “as simple as that” particularly for those who are very in difficult situations, however if you think about it the logic is quite sound.
So point one is you must choose to succeed.
The second pillar is:
The need to have a STRONG PERSONAL VISION
In the video “The Power of Vision” Joel Barker explores the value of having a strong personal vision of a positive future. He stresses that this is a key, not only to success, but in some cases to survival itself. In one segment he tells the story of Viktor Frankl and says; “this remarkable man is the author of the outstanding book Man’s Search for Meaning.” Frankl he explains was a prisoner in Ausweise and Barker tells how “his strong sense of having a future saved both his life and the life of others.” The survivors had a common trait and he says… and I quote: “all of those who made it through had [or at least believed they had] something significant yet to do in their future”. A vision of a positive future is a powerful driver in us all.
The third pillar is competence.
All people will naturally gravitate to those whom are competent. So what is competence? “ Competence is: ‘the ability to create and apply a solution to a particular problem’. Whether the problem is a leaky tap or a brain tumour competent people will always be sought after and success usually follows them. How do you become competent, learn, fail, re-learn, adjust, practice and hone your skill and build your knowledge and experience. There are no shortcuts.
The fourth pillar of success (or personal trait) is the ability to win during times of change and uncertainty.
Notice I didn’t say cope. Coping is just not good enough for success, we need to find ways to excel in a constantly changing universe. The skills you will need to do that are primarily an ability to stay focussed on your goals, a willingness to remain optimistic and an attitude of persistence and high levels of commitment. You need to have the strength of character to stay true to your vision even in times of great uncertainty. You will also need to develop an ability to analyze situations, deal with half-truths and minimal information and with all that still seek out and grasp opportunities to thrive.
Finally the fifth pillar is: To be able to work well with others.
That means you have to become a student of (and reach some reasonable level of understanding of) human nature. You must to succeed be willing to engage in politics. Politics is always present when humans are together whether at social outings or in the workplace. As part of working well with others you must become expert in communication… particularly the “learning to listen” part of communication. The are many articles and posts on this website covering the issues (or art) of communication and I commend them to you.
So what is success, other than what I have said so far it’s a lot of hard work, which of course is the reality of our existence… because… nobody… truly gets a free ride. Wait you say what about those that are born into successful rich families. Well they have the same problem as the rest of us, often their realities just do not match up to their (or even others) expectations.
32 comments
Anne Thomas says:
December 14, 2011 at 1:00 pm (UTC 0)
Thanks Ric, Success & attitude are most definitely a choice!
rictownsend says:
December 17, 2011 at 9:42 am (UTC 0)
Thank you Anne
Roy Scribner says:
December 14, 2011 at 1:21 pm (UTC 0)
Great read, Richard, I like those guideposts – the five pillars.
rictownsend says:
December 17, 2011 at 9:42 am (UTC 0)
Thanks Roy
Z Nicholas says:
December 14, 2011 at 2:32 pm (UTC 0)
Have to agree with you Ric! and Attitude to life!
rictownsend says:
December 17, 2011 at 9:43 am (UTC 0)
Yes it it a lot to do with attitude Ric
Vitus Feldmann says:
December 14, 2011 at 3:04 pm (UTC 0)
Life is like a soccer game. If you want to win you need to be good, determined, wait for your chance (patience), able to “sack” a beating or multiple and if you have all that, keep doing what you are doing. Eventually the resistance will break down and you win. If the season has 30 games, with that attitude you will win the most games. Only the first is what you practice on the field, the rest is a mental game. In order to be successful, you need to fire yourself up in the mental department, based on the qualities you improved in practice. Makes sense?
rictownsend says:
December 17, 2011 at 9:48 am (UTC 0)
Yep I think you’re right! Ric
Arnie Fulmer says:
December 14, 2011 at 3:05 pm (UTC 0)
Richard,
This is a very well written article. You are spot on with your philosopy. To bad not enough people take this advice. Develop your skills, build a foundation and do what ever it takes to find solutions necessary to move you forward. Brilliant!
rictownsend says:
December 17, 2011 at 9:47 am (UTC 0)
Thanks you so much… not many people can take advice
Ric
Ron Romero says:
December 14, 2011 at 7:31 pm (UTC 0)
Great article Ric.
rictownsend says:
December 17, 2011 at 9:46 am (UTC 0)
Thank you!
Vickie Wyman says:
December 15, 2011 at 12:27 am (UTC 0)
Great read Ric, very well written, love the five pillars and completely agree that success is a choice!
rictownsend says:
December 17, 2011 at 9:46 am (UTC 0)
Thank you Vickie, I appreciate you dropping by. Ric
Cole Ruddick says:
December 15, 2011 at 3:55 am (UTC 0)
Richard, you’ve covered this amazingly well. I truly appreciate your well-thought articles
This is very inspiring & I’ve been happy to promote it along my networks. Thank you so much!
rictownsend says:
December 17, 2011 at 9:45 am (UTC 0)
Thanks you Cole.
99 Percent Monkeys says:
December 16, 2011 at 4:55 am (UTC 0)
Hi Richard,
Great post! Thanks for stopping by my blog earlier, and wishing us both success in future favor exchanges. Tom
rictownsend says:
December 17, 2011 at 9:44 am (UTC 0)
Yes collaboration seems the only wat to grow! Ric
KedTaz says:
December 23, 2011 at 12:23 pm (UTC 0)
The key to success is ambition, followed by the skill and some luck
Greg says:
December 23, 2011 at 12:44 pm (UTC 0)
Great post… straightforward and simple to understand… in particular I like the first part of the post where you define success itself… “when your realities match your expectations”… of course couched in the fact that a ‘successful’ life is essentially composed of a continuous occurrence of these moments…
In particular this definition is absent the premise that ‘money’ or ‘wealth’ are pre-requisites… even though I certainly have the continued acquisition of wealth as a part of my overall game plan I have many friends whose lives beat to a different drum…
Kevin says:
December 23, 2011 at 1:05 pm (UTC 0)
shared
txwikinger says:
December 23, 2011 at 1:23 pm (UTC 0)
It is refreshing that someone stresses hard work for a change again. Unfortunately a lot of the popular entertainment like for instance the survivor reality show, and a lot of other reality shows as well seem to give people the conclusion that scheming and playing people against each other is the way to success. While such can be successful for a while, in real life it will eventually lead to disaster, while hard work and good ethics will prevail in the end.
Thanks for this comprehensive article that teaches so much!
Laura Sykes says:
December 23, 2011 at 1:30 pm (UTC 0)
Ric, I think what you offer is very good advice. It is partly something I was told early on – ‘Keep on an even keel’, in other words, try to play steadily, return the ball (to change metaphors midstream!), keep the rally going and so on. Great!
Jeroen says:
December 23, 2011 at 1:53 pm (UTC 0)
Great post Ric, very well written indeed. I like your definition of success – that makes it a very personal perception, independent of the opinion of others. To me the first and the fifth pillar stand out. These are the ones that make all the difference!
Dana J Lange says:
December 23, 2011 at 2:14 pm (UTC 0)
You’ve hit the nail on the head! Great breakdown of some of the keys to success.
tincanman2010 says:
December 23, 2011 at 2:51 pm (UTC 0)
Good practical advice here.
For me the critical element is planning the first step. Once I have confidence in it, I’m more likely to proceed with the entire project.
Nicolas Liu says:
December 23, 2011 at 3:10 pm (UTC 0)
Nice one. Richard.
All five pillars are important. However, I think action is important also even when I don’t have a perfect plan or polished pillars behind me. Often, one could improve on principles since this should be a active learning process.
Paulo Mealha says:
December 23, 2011 at 3:24 pm (UTC 0)
No doubt a positive attitude is the first step to success. Excellent topic!
Stephen Blake says:
December 23, 2011 at 5:52 pm (UTC 0)
Excellent, Ric – Attitude IS everything!
Shannon says:
December 24, 2011 at 4:24 am (UTC 0)
Everyone has a different understanding of what success is. Thanks for sharing your point of view.
Lucky says:
December 24, 2011 at 7:45 am (UTC 0)
Great post, Ric. Thanks for the advice!
JPPeron says:
January 21, 2012 at 7:56 pm (UTC 0)
That was a good post. Thank you for the advice. JP