Tips for success


What is Success?

Simply put, it is happiness or satisfaction derived from a goal accomplished or a purpose realized. It can be of a personal nature, such as losing weight or giving up smoking, or it can be of a professional nature, as in winning an election or securing a job promotion. It can be small, or big, something as palpable as becoming a millionaire or as intangible as waking up happy every morning.

Learn From Your Mistakes

The first common thread in the fabric of failure is that failures almost never learn from their mistakes. They repeat them again and again. People who land on their feet even when they stumble are those who learn from mistakes, make positive changes, and succeed in avoiding subsequent calamities.

Be Willing to Take Advice

A second common trait in failures, related to the first, is that failures refuse to take advice. When circumstances warrant, being able to solicit counsel and listen to what others have to say is important. A willingness to listen to others, and being humble enough to take advice, is important for success.

Don't Delay

Procrastination is a common attribute of failures. Deliberation is fine, but in chronic delay are the seeds of failure. First, a task becomes more difficult to undertake with each successive postponement. Second, in this world, real opportunity often has a shelf life.

Finish What You Start

Related to the advice on delay is the admonition to finish what you start. Successful people will see tasks through to completion, even through difficult times. They are not short-termers, they keep their eyes on the goal even though they have to suffer some temporary pain to get to it.

Stop Running Around in Circles

One common trait of failures is that they are almost always inefficient.

Don't Be a Victim

Chronic whining wastes productive time and underscores one's impotence. It's a fairly common trait among failures--the focus on assigning blame rather than rectifying the situation.

Beware of the Company You Keep

Failures always seem to attract failures; likewise, successful people tend to migrate towards other successful people.