When
we say "nearly five percent of men and
women achieve success" then we have to
define success. The following is the best definition
we've found: "Success is the progressive
realization of a worthy ideal."
If a person is working toward a predetermined
goal and knows where to go, then that person
is successful. If a person does not know which
direction they want to go in life, then that
person is a failure.
"Success is the progressive realization
of a worthy ideal."
Therefore, who succeeds?
The only person who succeeds is the person who
is progressively realizing a worthy ideal. The
person who says, "I'm going to become this"…
and then begins to work toward becoming it.
Have you ever wondered why so many men and women
work so hard and honestly without ever achieving
anything in particular? Why others do not seem
to work hard at all and yet get everything?
We sometimes think it is the magic touch or
pure luck. We often say, "Everything they
touch turns to gold." Have you ever noticed
that a person who becomes successful tends to
continue this pattern of success? Or on the
other hand, how a person who fails seems to
continually fail?
Well, the answer is simple -- those who succeed
have established personal goals.
Success is not the result of making money; making
money is the result of success and success is
in direct proportion to our service.
Here are five steps that will help you realize
success:
-
Establish a definite goal.
- Stop
running yourself down.
- Do
not think of all the reasons why you cannot
be successful -- instead think of all the
reasons why you can achieve success.
- Trace
your emotions back to childhood -- discover
where you first got the negative idea you
would not be successful -- face your fears.
- Renew
your self-image by writing a description of
the person you want to become -- Act the part
-- You are that person!
George
Bernard Shaw said:
"People
are always blaming their circumstances for
what they are. I don't believe in circumstances.
The people who get on in this world are the
people who get up and look for the circumstances
they want, and if they can't find them, make
them."
Well,
that is pretty apparent, isn't it? And every
person who discovered this believed – for
a while – that he was the first one to
work it out. We become what we think about.
Now,
it stands to reason that a person who is thinking
about a concrete and worthwhile goal is going
to reach it, because that's what he's thinking
about. And we become what we think about.
Conversely,
the man who has no goal, who doesn't know where
he's going, and whose thoughts must therefore
be thoughts of confusion and anxiety and fear
and worry, becomes what he thinks about. His
life becomes one of frustration and fear and
anxiety and worry.
And
if he thinks about nothing…he becomes nothing.
So
decide now. What is it you want? Plant your
goal in your mind. It's the most important decision
you'll ever make in your entire life. All you've
got to do is plant that seed in your mind, care
for it, and work steadily toward your goal,
and it will become a reality.
How
do you begin?
First:
It is understanding emotionally as well as intellectually
that we literally become what we think about;
that we must control our thoughts if we're to
control our lives. It's understanding fully
that…"as ye sow, so shall ye reap."
Second:
It's cutting away all fetters from the mind
and permitting it to soar as it was divinely
designed to do. It's the realization that your
limitations are self-imposed and that the opportunities
for you today are enormous beyond belief. It's
rising above narrow-minded pettiness and prejudice.
Third:
It's using all your courage to force yourself
to think positively on your own problems, to
set a definite and clearly defined goal for
yourself. To let your marvelous mind think about
your goal from all possible angles; to let your
imagination speculate freely upon many different
possible solutions. To refuse to believe that
there are any circumstances sufficiently strong
to defeat you in the accomplishment of your
purpose. To act promptly and decisively when
your course is clear. And to keep constantly
aware of the fact that you are, at this moment,
standing in the middle of your own "acres
of diamonds."
And
fourth: Save at least 10 percent of every dollar
you earn.
It's
also remembering that, no matter what your present
job, it has enormous possibilities – if,
you're willing to pay the price by keeping these
four points in mind:
- You
will become what you think about.
- Remember
the word "imagination" and let your
mind begin to soar.
- Courageously
concentrate on your goal every day.
- Save
10 percent of what you earn.
Finally,
take action – ideas are worthless unless
we act on them.
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