Helping Yourself To Success

The first step towards success is knowing and defining exactly what it is that you are striving to reach. As difficult as it may be, try to be as specific as possible. It is not enough to say, for example, that you want to be successful in business. Take it a step further and explore what exactly it would mean to you be successful in business.

Does it mean that you make $10 million a year? Does it mean that you run a company that employs 50 people? Does it mean that you work for an organization that is working to make the world a better place? The possibilities are endless, but, like with any road trip, if you do not have a final destination in mind, you cannot create a set of directions to get there.

Once you have a clear picture in your mind of what success means to you, you can start considering ways to achieve it. Continuing with our business example, imagine that you have decided that for you to consider yourself successful, your business must bring in revenues of $10 million per year. If you set that goal and then just sit back and wait for it to happen, chances are you will be unsuccessful. Instead, you need to carefully consider everything that is in your power to do to bring in the $10 million.

You can start by making a simple brainstorming list. Open up a Word document and just start listing out every idea you can think of that might help you reach your goal. Even if the idea seems ridiculous, just write it down. You list may include items such as: hire competent and motivated employees, advertise effectively, focus on customer service, etc. After you have completed your list, go back and pick the top three or four items that you think are the most important and on which you want to focus.

Once you have chosen your focus items, make yourself a to-do list of tasks that you can do related to each item. Again, following our example, if you think hiring competent and motivated employees is essential for your success (with success being defined as $10 million in revenues), then your tasks may include something along the lines of finding a high-quality staffing company to assist you in finding stellar employees.

You can then convert your task list into a detailed workplan where you can easily keep track of your progress in each area. Constant referral back to your workplan on a daily basis will remind you of your ultimate goal and will keep you focused and motivated. Seeing how far you have come will motivate you to keep pressing forward. You will also be able to easily identify the items on your list that may not be providing you with the results you need and you can adjust accordingly.

As long as you remember your ultimate definition of success, you can always redefine the tasks as necessary. Realizing and accepting that it is you who is responsible for ensuring that you achieve success is the true key. If you can do that, you are well on your way to much-deserved success.