5 Strategies for Success

"Success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which one has overcome while trying to succeed." - Booker T. Washington

1. Be persistent

What most successful people describe their road to success was because they stand up after they fail to try again and again.  Each fall is a mistake or a lesson that you can learn from and gauge what to do next.  Make use of your mistakes or other people's mistakes to gain inspiration and ideas.  Don't let the devastation and discouragement from failing linger too long.  Acknowledge and approach the problem with new insights!

2. Do something that scares you every day

Doing a little bit outside of your comfort zone every day will make you eventually be comfortable at the task.  The key is to persistently try a little bit at a time.  Tell yourself, "I'm going to do one thing differently today" and do it.

A trip of a thousand miles begins with just a single step.  Of course you will be scared looking how far, difficult and thorny at the end of the road, but if you just try and take the first step and evaluate one step at a time, the whole task won't be as daunting.  By the time you look back, you may be amazed how far you have come and not how far you still have to go.

It is important to pause and evaluate each step of the way before taking the second.

3. Don't procrastinate

There's two types of procrastination: deliberate procrastination and productive procrastination.  Deliberate procrastination is the when you deliberately or consciously decide and delay the task til a later time.  Many people often say "I work under pressure", which in actuality seldom works.  Postponing work to a later date may eliminate your choices and availability to be helped by others.  On the other hand, productive procrastination is much harder to notice.  It is when you get "too busy" or too consume with doing mundane chores, and get a false sense of accomplishment (doing everything else on the list except the single most important one).

To combat procrastination, you must first understand why you procrastinate.  Often fear is a strong contributing factor.  Some people fear failure, while some people fear success.  The fear of failure involves feelings of rejection, judgement, and lack of confidence.  People also fear success for the added responsibilities, risks, and giving up what you have. Then you have to understand and outline the steps towards the project goal, breaking the daunting task into multiple mini baby steps.  Then whether you have to learn new information or ask for help will become more manageable.  And finally create a deadline for each step to help get yourself on time and create a beautiful, organize for a productive working environment.

4. Don't be afraid to ask for help and Give back and help others

As human beings, we are wired genetically to live as a group and help each other.  We find a sense of belonging to be part of a group, community, or nation.  This broader sense of self is a very powerful motivator.  Every job is essentially to provide a service to help others.  Take action to ask for help, no sense in being shy about it.  Every person knows something you don't, and people generally are happy to help and share with their expertise.  And when you are successful, give back and help others.  The internal satisfaction that your service has helped others in some way is tremendously satisfying.

5. Find balance

A successful career is not the only recipe to creating a satisfying life.  There are many things in life that is also very important.  Relationships, family, hobbies, daily chores, travel, entertainment, and spiritual concerns.  This is also the basis of whole-hearted living.

Don't forget to spend time to meditate, pray, or other things that help to clear and calm your mind.  These exercises will help you reflect on the tasks at hand with better understanding.