Although this blog is primarily about personal development, self improvement, and the Law of Attraction, I don't know very many people who are not involved in some sort of business venture.
Even people who do not "work" in the traditional sense of the word are still involved in various endeavors that they wish to attain or maintain success in.
If you define success as the attainment of a given goal, whether that goal is personal or professional, understanding the effective success strategies is just as important.
So, whether your "business" is a business in the traditional sense of the word, or if it is merely the day to day plan that your life follows, your success can be assured by knowing the following secret steps:
1) Realizing that the success of your business is not a hard and fast destination.
By considering a point in the future that you will deem yourself as having accomplished the mission or achieved success, you are already limiting the energy that you will put into your efforts to get to that point.
A simple way to demonstrate this is in the physical fitness arena. Almost all exercises are done with a defined stopping point where you have crossed the finished line, finished moving the weight, completed the movement, etc.
In repeated studies, it has been shown that athletes, as they near the end of any particular event or movement, begin to anticipate the completion point, and start to measurably decrease their effort.
Athletes who were made aware of this tendency before their event put forth a more explosive and sustained effort every single time, and as a result lifted more weight, used more muscle fibers, ran faster, etc.
Don't anticipate the "end" of your endeavors. Whether your endeavor is as simple as ordering a cup of coffee, or as complicated as building a multi-national business, never foresee the end.
Play full-out in every single thing that you do, with absolutely no end in site.
Pretend that every action you take is the one single opportunity that you will have to bring success into your life, and give that action the attention and the effort you would give it if that were actually the case.
2) Realizing that it is all about You.
In every single moment of your life there is one person - and only one person - who dictates whether or not that moment is a success. That person is, of course, you.
However, especially when we get involved in larger and more complicated endeavors, we tend to start being critical of how others are performing, even to the point of laying blame when something goes wrong.
Well, things will go wrong. That is just the nature of life. However, it is your individual reaction to both the successes as well as the roadblocks that are part of your project that will deem whether or not that project is ultimately a success.
If you "roll with the punches" as unexpected things happen, and then you get back up with a smile on your face, ready to face the next challenge, then every challenge you face will become something that can be overcome.
However, if you let the performance of other people (or lack thereof) become a defining factor in how you feel about your success, then you instantly put the success of your endeavors (or lack thereof) into the hands of other people.
On the other hand, by remaining calm, centered, still, and strong no matter what happens, you will remain in control of everything that is involved with you attaining success.
3) Focusing on the goal, regardless of the circumstances.
If you have ever worked in a corporate environment, you have probably heard a manager use some sort of buzz-phrase like "team cohesion" or had them refer to the company's "mission" as an end-around way of saying that you need to modify your plan of attack for the "greater good".
Those of you focused on a family or socially-centered goal may have heard this referred to as "taking one for the team".
Ummm….what is the best way to put this?
NO!
Don't do it. A lack of focus on a defined goal is the cause of more sub-par results in life and in business than could reasonably be measured on any scale that I have ever heard of.
By allowing yourself to be distracted by the circumstances and events that unfold after you have gotten started on your path to goal attainment will only allow you to get cleanly and efficiently OFF of that path!
I am not saying that you shouldn't consider the needs of others, or that you should not give time and consideration to the other people who are affected by your actions.
However, there is a difference between throwing your own plan of action out the window vs. modifying your plan so that you can remain focused and effective while also being flexible enough to handle unexpected factors.
Use your "peripheral vision" as needed to adjust the course of your own path, but never take a completely different road because something unexpected happens.
If you take your eyes off the prize, someone may steal it when you aren't looking!
4) Remembering why you are doing it to begin with.
Everyone has great ideas about having success in various endeavors, and there is usually a large amount of excitement in the beginning.
People who start exciting new positions, get involved with a great new weight loss program, or simply decide to start making some positive changes in their lives are all very into the idea at first.
However, it is human nature to not sustain a high level of emotion about anything for any extended period of time. Whether you are talking about extreme happiness or extreme sadness, eventually the "effect" wears off and the feelings aren't as strong as they once were.
In order to combat this issue, you need to remind yourself frequently - preferably on a daily basis - about why it is that you are involved in that endeavor to begin with.
Some people are firm believers in affirmation and visualization techniques, while others think such non-measurable practices are less than effective.
Regardless of which of those camps you fall into, one clear benefit of visualizing and affirming your success is that you are constantly being reminded of what it is that you are working towards.
Someone who is proficient at affirming and visualizing also knows that in order to really get the most bang for their buck, they must also use the power of emotion.
By constantly putting yourself into the feeling place of having accomplished your goals, you will also constantly remind yourself of why you want to accomplish them. There is a certain feeling that goal attainment will bring into your life, and you want that feeling.
Remember, it's not the cars, the houses, and the money that we are after, but rather the way that the cars, the houses, and the money will make us feel.
Find a way to remind yourself daily of what feelings you are trying to bring into your life.
Bringing it all together
As you have seen, these "secret steps" are not tasks that you need to accomplish in order to achieve success, but rather something far more important - your state of mind.
Your state of mind is far and away the most productive tool that you have at your disposal, but if used improperly, it can also be the most destructive tool as well.
Do not allow yourself to be caught up in the day to day details of how to be productive, how to dot your i's and cross your t's, or how to stay on the "right" path to achieve success.
By keeping your state of mind where it needs to be, you will find a way to ensure that every road ultimately leads to your destination!
