“Before success comes in any man’s life, he is sure to meet with much temporary defeat, and, perhaps, some failure. When defeat overtakes a man, the easiest and most logical thing to do is to quit. That is exactly what the majority of men do.
More than five hundred of the most successful men this country has ever known told the author their greatest success came just one step beyond the point at which defeat had overtaken them.”
This comes from Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill.
If you’re facing a challenge, or in spite of all your efforts, feel like giving up, you can get excited! It means that you’re close to the success you’ve been seeking. Perhaps you still have some lessons to learn along the way?
Napoleon Hill interviewed over 500 of the wealthiest individuals in the world between 1900-1920, and even though that was 100 years ago, the principles still apply.
Success doesn’t come easily at first. It’s not about getting the success, it’s about who we become in the process.
If all the money in the world were to be taken away from everyone, divided up exactly equally and given to each person in the world, it apparently wouldn’t take long for it to find it’s way back to where it is now. Interesting thought.
So if it’s monetary success you’re seeking, have you increased your financial education? Have you got an exercise program for your money muscles? Do you have money rules for your investing? Are you letting other people manage your hard-earned money, or are you taking charge of it and seeking advice from experts?
It’s our mindset that is critical in success. Finding opportunities is something successful people focus upon. They see any problem as a challenge to be overcome, or a key to learning for the next step.
Unsuccessful people focus on problems, worst-case scenarios and being what they call realistic. They use the evening news to dictate their mood, and allow negative influences to marinate their mind.
What does success mean to you? What you focus on, you get more of, so doesn’t it make sense to decide what you want you life to look like? Almost anyone can tell me what they don’t want – but can you tell me exactly what you do want?
There are many markers of success, and the measure of success is as individual and personal as you make it. Success could be seen in terms of relationships or health. Some might measure success based on the size of the team they manage, or the success of that team. Your view of success could be measured in how happy you are, or how good you feel, or how many of your goals you’ve achieved. Could it be what you’ve achieved academically? You could use your career, business or investing success as a barometer. What if you measured your success in terms of how relaxed you are, or how you respond to others?
I hope you’re measuring your success based on where you are now, where you’ve been and where you want to go. In other words, I trust you’re measuring your success based on your own markers, not compared to where others are. How do you even know if they’re going in the same direction as you are if you haven’t asked them? If they’re headed in the opposite direction, then they certainly aren’t a good measure of how well you’re doing!
Just for today, take a minute to define success in your own words – what it means to you.
Get clear on what you really, really want – then have a plan of action to get there.
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