[ Chapter
2 ]
[ Success ]
[
Winning Strategies ]
“Successful people don’t do great things;
they only do small things in a great way.”
Definition
of Success: -
Success is not an accident. It is the
result of our attitude and our attitude is a choice. Hence success is a matter
of choice and not chance. Most crackpots keep waiting for a jackpot. But can
that bring success?
“A priest was driving by and saw an exceptionally beautiful
farm. He stopped his car to appreciate the bountiful crop. The farmer was
riding on his tractor and saw the priest at the corner. He drove towards the
Priest and when he got there the priest said, "God has blessed you with a
beautiful farm. You should be grateful for it. The farmer replied, "Yes,
God has blessed me with a beautiful farm and I am grateful for it, but you
should have seen this farm when God had the whole farm to himself!”
We need
to keep our minds on what we want, not on what we don't want.
What is Success?
Simply
success comes from failure, and failure is the evidence that you're trying.
When we observe
the life of successful people, we find that they have certain qualities of
learning from past or in other words they learned how to find success clues
form the past of successful peoples. Success leaves clue every time in the form
of our bad past, we have to just find that clue and implement them in our
present life.
Success is not a mystery but the result
of consistently applying some basic principles. The reserve is just as true:
Failure is simply a result of making a few mistakes repeatedly. All of this
might sound too simplistic, but the fact is that most truths are very simple.
How do we define success?
What makes a person successful?
How
do we recognize success?
To
some people, success might mean wealth. To others, it is recognition, good
health, good family, happiness, satisfaction, and peace of mind. What this
really tells us is that success is subjective. It can mean different things to
different people. The definition that I feel summarizes "success"
well is:
Success is the progressive realization of a
worthy goal.
--Earl Nightingale
Let's
look at these definitions carefully.
"Progressive" means that success is a journey, not a
destination.
We never
arrive. After we reach one goal, we go on to the next and the next and the
next. "Realization" means it is an experience. Outside forces
cannot make me feel successful. I have to feel it within myself. It is internal
not external.
"Worthy" refers to our value
system. Which way are we heading? Positive or negative? Worthiness determines
the quality of the journey. That is what gives meaning and fulfillment. Success
without fulfillment is empty.
Why?
"Goals" are important. Because they give us a sense of direction.
Success and happiness go hand in
hand. Success is getting what you want and happiness is wanting what you get!
Existence
alone is not success! It is a lot more!
Do more than exist –
live
Do more than touch
-- feel
Do more than look –
observe
Do more than read –
absorb
Do more than hear --
listen
Do more than listen
-- understand
John
H. Rhodes
SOME OBSTACLES TO SUCCESS:
-
- Ego
- Fear of failure success
- Lack of self-esteem
- Lack of formalized goals
- Life changes
- Procrastination
- Family responsibility
- Financial security issues
- Lack of focus, being muddled
- Giving up a vision for the promise of money
- Doing too much alone
- Over-commitment
- Lack of commitment
- Lack of training
- Lack of persistenceLack of priorities
Trials in life can be tragedies or triumphs,
depending on how we handle them. Triumphs don't come without effort.
A
biology teacher was teaching his students how a caterpillar turns into a
butterfly. He told the students that in the next couple of hours, the butterfly
would struggle to come out of the cocoon. But no one should help the butterfly.
Then he left.
The students were waiting and it happened.
The butterfly struggled to get out of the cocoon, and one of the students took
pity on it and decided to help the butterfly out of the cocoon against the
advice of his teacher. He broke the cocoon to help the butterfly so it didn't
have to struggle anymore. But shortly afterward the butterfly died.
When the teacher returned, he was told what happened. He explained to
this student that by helping the butterfly, he had actually killed it because
it is a law of nature that the struggle to come out of the cocoon actually
helps develop and strengthen its wings. The boy had deprived the butterfly of
its struggle and the butterfly died.
Apply
this same principle to our lives. Nothing worthwhile in life comes without a
struggle. As parents we tend to hurt the ones we love most because we don't
allow them to struggle to gain strength.
Some people
get disappointed when they can’t succeed but the winners never get disheartened.
The answer is perseverance(persistence).
"A smooth sea never made a skillful
mariner.”
" Everything is difficult before it
becomes easy. We cannot run away from our problems. Only losers quit and give
up.
Suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem.
--Abigail Van Buren
HOW DO WE MEASURE SUCCESS?
True success is measured by
the feeling of knowing you have done a job well and have achieved your
objective.
Success is not measured by
our position in life but by the obstacles we overcame to get there.
Success in life is not determined by how we
are doing compared with others, but by how we are doing compared with what we
are capable of doing. Successful people compete against themselves. They better
their own record and keep improving constantly.
Success is not measured by how high we go up
in life but by how many times we bounce back when we fall down. It is this
bounce-back ability that determines success
EVERY SUCCESS STORY IS ALSO A FAILURE: -
Failure is the highway to success.
Tom Watson Sr. said “if you want to succeed, double your failure rate”.
if we refer history, we get that every successful
people was a failure in one time, but they don’t see the failures, they only
see one side of the picture and they say that person got lucky. “He must have
been at the right place at the right time”.
Below are some examples of the failure of successful
people;
- Thomas Edison failed approximately 10,000
times while he was working on the light bulb.
[ When an interviewer ask him what is the
opinion about that failures Thomas
Edison said that “I didn’t fail 10,000 times; I got the ways, in which way bulb
never be discovered. That is the Attitude of success and mindset of a successful
people.]
- Henry ford was broken at the age of 40.
- Lee Iacocca was fired by Henry Ford II at
the age of 54.
- Young Beethoven was told that he had no
talent for music, but he gave some of the best music to the world.
- Steve Jobs was fired from almost every
company regarding the job.
- Bill Gates was a Harvard dropout. He co-owned
a business called Traf-O-Data which was a true failure.
And more examples are there
on the internet like Michael Jordan, Abraham Lincoln, Albert Einstein, and so on. We
need to learn to become victors, not victims. Fear and doubt short-circuit the
mind. So clear the doubtful thoughts from your mind and get success soon.
IF YOU THINK
If you think you are beaten, you are.
If you think you dare not, you don't!
If you like to win, but think you can't, It's almost a
cinch you won't.
You think you'll lose; you're lost; For out in the world we
find.
Success begins with
a fellow's will; It's all in the state of mind.
If you think you are outclassed, you are,
You've got to think high to rise, you’ve got to be sure of
yourself before You can ever win a prize.
Life's battles don't
always go to the stronger and faster man, But sooner or later the man who wins
It is the man who thinks he can.
Qualities that make a person Successful: -
1.
Desire
The motivation for success comes from the
burning desire to achieve a purpose.
Napoleon Hill wrote,
“Whatever the mind of man can conceive and believe, the mind can achieve”.
A young man asked Socrates the secret to success. Socrates told
the young man to meet him near the river the next morning. They met. Socrates
asked the young man to walk with him toward the river. When the water got up to
their neck, Socrates took the young man by surprise and ducked him into the
water. The boy struggled to get out but Socrates was strong and kept him there
until the boy started turning blue. Socrates pulled his head out of the water
and the first thing the young man did was to gasp and take a deep breath of
air. Socrates asked, 'What did you want the most when you were there?" The
boy replied, "Air." Socrates said, "That is the secret to success.
When you want success as badly as you wanted the air, then you
will get it." There is no other secret.
A burning desire is the starting point of all accomplishments.
Just like a small fire cannot give much heat, a weak desire cannot produce
great results.
2.
Commitment
To build and keep commitments two pillars
are important are Integrity and Wisdom. Integrity is keeping your
commitment even if you lose money and wisdom is not to make such foolish
commitments.
Positive
thoughts and decisions are given results as Prosperity and Success. Success is
not an accident; it is the result of our attitude.
There
is a big difference between playing to win and playing not to lose. When we
play to win, we play with the enthusiasm and commitments which push the player
towards winning/ success. Whereas when playing not to lose, we are playing from
a position of weakness. When we play not to lose, we are playing to avoid
failure which maybe through us towards failure. When it starts the game in our
mind we have only one thing which is “ I am going to win the game” nothing
else, then only we can win the game.
When I'd get tired and want
to stop, I'd wonder what my next opponent was doing. When I could see him still
working, I'd start pushing myself. When I see him in the shower, I'd push
myself harder.
-Dan Gable, Olympic gold medallist
in wrestling
Success
is not in the achievement but in the achieving. Some people never try because
they are afraid to lose. At the same time, they don't want to stay where they
are because they are afraid to be left behind. There is a risk either way.
Ships that go out into the open water face
risk from a storm. But if they sit in the harbor, they would rust and that is
not what they were built for.
That
is the difference between playing to win and playing not to lose. Losers want security, winners seek
opportunity. Losers are more afraid of life than death. Failing is not a crime
but lack of effort is.
3.
Responsibility
A duty which
becomes a desire will ultimately become a delight.
--George Gritter
Successful people always accept responsibility, they choose their own way and destiny in life
and they achieve that in their own strategy. This nature of people never step
back to take the risk which is being accountable in this society. Many people live
in their comfort zone and live passive without accepting any risk and responsibility,
these type of people never be successful in their life.
You cannot bring about
prosperity by discouraging thrift.
You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening
the strong.
You cannot enrich the poor by
impoverishing the rich.
You cannot establish sound security on
borrowed money.
You cannot help the wage earner by pulling
down the wage payor.
You cannot build character and courage by
taking away man's initiative and independence.
You cannot further the brotherhood of man by
inciting class hatred.
You cannot keep out of
trouble by spending more than you earn.
You cannot help men permanently by doing for
them what they could and should do for themselves.
--Abraham Lincoln
Responsible
people accept and learn from their mistakes. Some people never learn. We can do
three things about mistakes:
¨
Ignore them
¨
Deny them
¨
Accept and learn from them
Choice
is ours…!!
4.
Hard
work
Success is not luck that you
can achieve that in mistakenly. It takes a lot of effort and a lot of preparation
and patience too. Everyone likes to win but how many people are ready to give that
much effort and time to achieve that? Who is given that much of the time and potential
they are achievers?
Once
Henry Ford said
“The Harder You
Work, The Luckier You Get”.
I like to work half a day. I don't care if
it is the first 12 hours or the second 12 hours.
--Kammons Wilson, CEO of Holiday Inn
One cannot increase their capacity
and potential without doing hard work, professionals make things look easy because
they have mastered the fundamentals of whatever they do with their hard work
and risk-taking ability. Excellence is not luck; it is the
result of a lot of hard work and practice. Hard work and practice make a person
better at whatever he is doing.
Things may come to those who
wait, but only the things left by those who hustle.
--Abraham Lincoln
Hard work is both a
beginning and an end in itself. The harder a person works, the better he feels;
and the better he feels, the harder he works. The best ideas will not work
unless you work the ideas. Great talent without will power and hard work is a
waste.
5.
Character
Character
is the sum total of a person's values, beliefs, and personality. It is reflected
in our behavior, in our actions. It needs to be preserved more than the
richest jewel in the world. To be a winner takes character. George Washington
said, "I hope I shall always possess firmness and virtue enough to
maintain what I consider the most valuable of all titles, the character of an
honest man."
Character
is the combination of integrity, unselfishness, understanding, conviction,
courage, loyalty, and respect. What is a pleasant personality with character?
Ø It is a class by itself.
Ø It is composure.
Ø It is poise.
Ø It is surefootedness and confidence without
arrogance.
Ø It is being considered.
Ø It is never making excuses.
Ø It works wonders.
Ø It accomplishes miracles.
Ø It is easy to recognize, hard to define.
Ø It is accepting responsibility.
Ø It is humility.
Ø It is graciousness in victory and defeat.
Ø It is not fame and fortune.
Ø It is not a plaque.
Ø It is permanent.
Ø It is intangible.
Ø It is being courteous and polite without
being subservient.
Ø It is being classy without being corky.
Ø It is self-discipline and knowledge.
Ø It is self-contained.
Ø It is a gracious winner and an
understanding loser.
6.
Positive
Believing
Positive belief is a lot
more than positive thinking. It is having a reason to believe that positive
thinking will work. Positive belief is an attitude of confidence that comes
with preparation. Having a positive attitude without making the effort is
nothing more than having a wishful dream. The following illustrates a positive
belief.
7.
Give
more than you get
It is easy
to succeed today. We have no competition. If you want to get ahead in life, go
the extra mile. There is no competition on the extra mile. Are you willing to
do a little more than you get paid for? How many people you know are willing to
do a little bit more than what they get paid for? Hardly any. Most people don't
want to do what they get paid for and there is a second category of people who
only want to do what they can get by with. They fulfill their quota just to keep
their jobs. There is a small fraction who are willing to do a little bit more
than what they get paid for. Why do they do more? If you fall into the last
category, then where is your competition?
The
advantages of doing more than you get paid for are :
¨ You make yourself more
valuable, regardless of what you do and where you work.
¨ It gives you more confidence.
¨ People start looking at you as a leader.
¨ Others start trusting you.
¨ Superiors start respecting you.
¨ It breeds loyalty from both your subordinates and your superiors.
¨ It generates cooperation. If you work for a man for heaven's sake
work for him.
--Kim Hubbard
8.
The
power of Persistence
Persistence is the ability to stick
with something, that you really want to make it. Persistence is the fact of continuing
in an opinion or course of action in spite of difficulty or opposition.
Sometimes you may encounter what seems to be an overwhelming odd in your life.
The going may be hard, but you have to always note that these are exams that
many successful people have taken over and over again.
Persistence allows you to keep taking action even when you don’t
feel motivated to do so, and therefore you keep producing results. Yes, there
is a direct relationship between persistence and major successes.
Success involves taking calculated risks. Risk-taking does not
mean gambling foolishly and behaving irresponsibly. People sometimes mistake irresponsible
and rash behavior as risk-taking. They end up with negative results and blame
it on bad luck. Responsible risk-taking is based on knowledge, training,
careful study, confidence, and competence which give a person the courage to act
while facing fear.
A man is a hero not because he is braver than anyone else, but
because he is brave for ten minutes longer.
--Ralph Waldo Emerson
Success
is a mater of laws and these are the laws of nature. Change is natures law. We are
either moving forward or we are going to backward. We are either creating or
disintegrating.
In order
to succeed, we need to understand the law of cause and effect and the
relationship between actions and results. For every effect, there is a cause. The
law of cause and effect is the same as the law of sowing and reaping. The law of
sowing and reaping says five things:
·
We must have the desire to sow. Desire
is the starting point.
·
What we sow, so shall we reap. If
we sow potatoes, we are only going to reap potatoes, not tomatoes.
·
We must
sow before we reap. Sowing takes place before reaping; we must give before we
get. We cannot expect the fireplace to give us heat before we put in the fuel. Some
people are constantly looking to get before they give. It does not work this
way.
·
When we sow a seed, we do not reap a
fruit--our harvest is manifold. If we sow a positive seed our harvest will be
manifold in the positive, and if we sow a negative one the harvest shall be
manifold in the negative. It is not uncommon to see people going against
nature's law.
·
A farmer knows that we cannot sow and reap in
the same day. There is always a period of gestation.
Everyone has a will to win but very few have the will
to prepare to win.
--Vince Lombardi
For being success we have to make some equation
like qualities within us which is;
Purpose + Principle + Planning + Practice + Perseverance + Patience
+ Pride = Preparation
Preparation means tolerating failure but
never accepting it. It means having the courage to face defeat without feeling
defeated, being disappointed without being discouraged. Preparation means
learning from our mistakes. There is nothing wrong with making mistakes. We all
do. A fool is one who makes the same mistake twice. A person who makes a
mistake and doesn't correct it, commits a bigger one. The best way to handle a
mistake is to
¨
admit it quickly
¨ does not dwell on it
¨ learn from it
¨ not repeat it
¨ not assign blame or make excuses
Fear can be real or imaginary but it has
the ability to handle your dream/success, it can through towards failure. The some
of the common failures are
Fear of failing
Fear of the unknown
Fear of being unprepared
Fear of making the wrong decision
Fear of rejection
Luck Shines on the Deserving Alexander
Graham Bell was desperately trying to invent a hearing aid for his partially
deaf wife. He failed at inventing a hearing aid but in the process discovered
the principles of the telephone. You wouldn't call someone like that lucky,
would you? Good luck is when
opportunity meets preparation. Without effort and preparation, lucky
coincidences don't happen.
There are some steps we should consider
that are;
1.
Unwillingness
to take risks
2.
Lack of
persistence
3.
Instant gratification
4.
Lack of
priorities
5.
Looking for
shortcuts
6.
Selfishness
and greed
7.
Lack of
conviction
8.
Lack of
understanding of nature’s law
9.
Unwillingness
to plan and prepare
10.
Rationalizing
11.
Not learning
from past mistakes
12.
Inability
to recognize opportunity
13.
Fear
14.
Inability
to use talent
15.
Lack of
discipline
16.
Poor self-esteem
17.
Lack of knowledge
18.
Fatalistic
attitude
19.
Lack of
purpose
That’s all about the chapter 2 Success.
If there any queries please comment below. Wishing you happy reading.
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Thank you.
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