5 Steps to Success

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How to Become Wildly Successful at Anything

Posted: 07 May 2011 04:18 PM PDT

"We are made to persist. That's how we find out who we are." -- Tobias Wolff, Writer

The interesting thing about success is that anyone can do it. If you simply do what successful people do, you are inevitably going to be successful. Right? Well, ok, maybe it's not simply a case of follow the leader. However, I can tell you that settling for 'good enough' is not the way to succeed.

Those that settle for good enough will regret their decision sooner or later and yearn for more. Good enough is simply never, well, be good enough. We are made for adventure, growth, and facing our fears. We are made to overcome challenges...to win.

Despite what the gurus tell you, there is no master secret or plan. There is however something else, something that is easily overlooked. It's your brain, your vision and your passion. The ideal combination of those ingredients will help you supremely in life and believe it or not, success will follow if you figure this out.

Within this process, there are a ton of variables to consider. We're going to talk about five major ones here.

1. Clarity
   First, you have to know what you want. It’s not enough to go after a profession that pays well. Making money your #1 priority will destroy your soul. It will leave you unsatisfied and miserable. Why do you think so many people have seemingly great jobs that pay well, but are still deeply depressed and unfulfilled?
   
   In order to discover what you want, you have to first discover what you don’t want. This can only be accomplished by trying, experimenting, and taking massive action. When you start, you will always be confused and unclear. As you keep moving forward, you will feel inspired to take action in one direction instead of the other.
   
   If you follow your heart, your life will not only become a fascinating adventure, but a journey of personal growth.
   


2. Focus
   Once you become clear about what you want to do, it’s important that you focus on the tasks that help you make the most progress. For example, if you’re building an online business, you can spend all the time you want checking email, but it won’t get you closer to the goals that truly matter in your life.
   
   An online business is not a business until a sale is made. In order to make sales, you have to create products, recommend products, build an email list, and do work that matters. It’s hard work and often uncomfortable, which is why most people avoid it. If you can discipline yourself to work on high-value tasks, your life will change for the better.
   


3. Goal Setting
   Goal setting gives your mind something to focus on. Our brains are goal seeking mechanisms. If you don’t give your mind something to go after, it won’t know what to do.
   
   When you have a goal, you will feel clear, motivated, and inspired to take action, because you know where you are going.
   
   A simple way to set simple goals is to ask yourself where you want to be twelve months from now. Use the SMART criteria for setting goals, which stands for
   
   • Specific
   • Measurable
   • Attainable
   • Realistic
   • Timely
     
   If you’re starting an online business, a good goal might be to get it to $1,000/month in 12 months. After you have that goal, you can start brainstorming how to attain that goal.


4. Action
   Once you’ve set your goal, it’s time to start taking massive action. Most successful people are positive. They face the same amount of challenges as anyone else. The only difference is that they view their failures differently. They know that by trying many things, they will succeed sooner or later, while unsuccessful people tend to give up before they’ve even started.
   
   If you want to succeed at anything, you have to become relentless.
   


5. Trial & Error
   Becoming successful is all about trial and error. The more you fail, the faster you will succeed. Keeping with our online business example, the way I succeeded in creating an online income was to be willing to try different things until I succeeded.
   
   This doesn’t mean you should jump from thing to thing before you’ve given it a chance. Believe me, I’ve been there and done that, and it doesn’t work.
   
   What you should do is pick one thing that has been proven to work, and make it work. It doesn’t matter if you make $50/month or $500/month. The important thing is that you stay focused until you make it work.

Action Steps
I want to leave you with a few action steps you can take right now to improve your life and the probability that you will succeed. So grab a pen and a piece of paper and get ready. By doing the simple exercises below, you will be much more likely to get what you want.

Remember, you can’t get what you want if you don’t know what you want in the first place.

1. Get clear about what you want. What is the final result you are after? Do you want better relationships, financial independence or something else?
   


2. Set a Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Timely goal. Write down 10 things you want to accomplish in the next 12 months.
   


3. Write your most important goal at the top of a blank sheet of paper and brainstorm ways to make it happen. Do this until you feel you can’t come up with any more ways, then push yourself to come up with more.

Anyone can become successful. There are no excuses. You can manifest your wildest dreams if you truly want to.

Written on 5/7/2011 by Henri Junttila. Henri writes at Wake Up Cloud, where he shares his personal tips on how you can live the life you know you deserve. When you feel ready to take action, get his free course: Find Your Passion in 5 Days or Less. And if you liked this article, you will enjoy one of his top articles: 77 Great Quotes That Will Change Your Life.

Photo Credit: baileyraeweaver