Insights For Success

Strategy, Innovation, Leadership and Security

3 secrets to success at work and in life

GeneralEdward Kiledjian
Image by Chris Potter used under Creative Commons License

Image by Chris Potter used under Creative Commons License

Success means different things to different people but what would  you say if I said the roadmap to success is always the same. 

Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.
— Winston Churchill

Some people are entrepreneurs, some people are intrapreneurs and some people are perfectly happy in a corporate position. So how can the roadmap to success be the same for all 3? It can and it is.

Believe in yourself

Believe you can and you’re halfway there.
— Theodore Roosevelt

You have to believe that you can. That:

  •  you can succeed
  • you can overcome
  • you can execute
  • you can deliver
  • you can learn
  • you can be

You have to believe that you have everything you need to succeed. It doesn't mean you have perfect knowledge but it does mean you know how to learn the skills you need. It doesn't mean you won't experience obstacles but that you will overcome them. It doesn't mean that you won't have doubts but that you will plough through and become what you  are destined to become.

Motivational coaches spend as much as 90% of their time convincing their customers to believe. It is singlehandedly one of the most powerful tools available to anyone. Belief in yourself is not only the foundation to your professional life but the foundation of your personal life. 

I believe that if life gives you lemons, you should make lemonade... And try to find somebody whose life has given them vodka, and have a party.
— Ron White, comedian

Perseverance

Perseverance is the hard work you do after you get tired of doing the hard work you already did.
— Newt Gingrich

Your life is a combination of long marathons and short overwhelming sprints. To succeed you have to be a multi-talented "athlete". You have to remember that sometimes after a long long marathon (which can be extremely tiring) , you may need to perform a last minute sprint to win the game. Many people get to the end of the marathon and just give up when they realize there is a sprint (no realizing that there is a measly 5% left to win).

Perseverance is the ability to keep going even when things are "hard" and have "been hard" for a while. It is important to go into the race (personal or professional) with the belief that regardless of what life throws at you can and will persevere. 

Perseverance, secret of all triumphs.
— Victor Hugo

Perception

Depending on your job, you may see the world as black or white. Accountants are a perfect example, they often see the world as black (losing money) or  white (making money). A proven successful leader will say business isn't black or white but different shades of grey.

This means that nothing in life is inherently [all] good or bad. 

The difference between average people and achieving people is their perception of and response to failure.
— John C. Maxwell

Perception is shapes by our beliefs, our upbringing and our socialization. It is the tint with which you see the world. 2 people can experience the same situation and perceive it differently.

As an example, let's say the person you absolutely love decides to leave you. You can perceive it as the worst thing that has ever happened to you, shut down and destroy yourself. Or you can say he/she probably wasn't the right person for you and now that they are gone, there is room for the right person to come into your life. These are 2 very different outcomes to the exact same situation coloured by your personal perception of the situation.

We are confronted by these types of judgement calls every day. How will you react. Successful people perceive situations positively while negative people perceive them as dark. 

There is no truth. There is only perception.
— Gustave Flaubert

Conclusion

The above 3 points are simple to explain and simple to understand, yet difficult to master. Print them. Read them. Live them. 

You are special. You have the powerful to be everything you have ever wanted. Believe, Persevere and Perceive.