Key To Success: 10 Success Tips For Maximum Achievement

Key to Success

Success… We all aspire to it, talk about it, envy those who achieve it, we think about it, fight for it. It is really worth it. Success comes with reaching our aims and it brings us incomparable satisfaction and happiness. That gives us a unique opportunity to be happy every day, if we achieve small goals every day and step by step we will be approaching our GREAT dream.

Recollect your studies at college, when you had to combine work and study; when you had a very tense schedule, when your only solution was a custom term paper to get through the semester. But you stood it. By achieving mini goals every term, at last you reached the main aim – successful graduation. And that is why you are a successful person. But one of the qualities of a prosperous person is that he is always striving for perfection and will never rest on his laurels. So, let’s go further and develop ourselves…Close your eyes for a minute and imagine a successful person. Is he rich or poor? Surely, most of us associate success with rich people. So, success and wealth are inseparable from each other? Yes, it’s likely to be so. But wealth is not a target for a successful person. It is just one of the steps to reach a global aim.

What do you think are there any objective reasons, hindering success? It is a fact that there some outer reasons, not depending on you, for example war, flood and so on. And what about objective sound reasons? If you find one, we will debate it with you. But so far I dare say there is none!!!! All the reasons are subjective (inner) and thus – every one can get rid of these reasons, changing something in himself. We create the greatest obstacle in achieving success with our fears, complexes and diffidence. And then, what are the keys to success? Read through the following features and think which of them you have and which you still have to acquire.

1)Clear objective. Without the aim, no achievement is possible. A thoroughly equipped ship with wonderful crew will arrive nowhere if it hasn’t any course of direction.

2) Accurate strategy. Unplanned success is a planned defeat. Accurate and logical strategy helps to realize the grandest projects. A successful person fulfills a small portion of his great plan every day. If you stick to your plan, then you will be able to realize everything you want. And if you want, you have a potential.

3)Positive attitude. Positive thinking, positive attitude to the world work wonders. You live in the world you create for yourself. You want to live in a wonderful world – think about something wonderful! Stop being afraid of failures and you will reach your success.

4) Faith in success. Faith strengthens your potential, and doubts destroy it. If you have some desire, leave all your doubts behind. Just believe in the possibility of its realization and you will have not so many obstacles in your way.

5)Education and training.Being aware of your desires without any action will lead to nothing. Only actions, supported by knowledge will result in great success. Constant training, constant improvement of your professional knowledge, - these are the features that distinguish a successful person. Our world is ever changing, and only on condition of applying your new knowledge you can keep pace with time.

6) Self –improvement. It helps us to change for better, overcome our complexes and fears, get rid of diffidence. Remember, that everything depends only on you; you are master of your fate, your success and happiness. And if you don’t possess all the listed above qualities, then you will be able to develop these features improving yourself. The only thing that does not depend on you is strong desire; it is given to us by Nature.

7) Self –confidence helps us to get top results where there is no premise for it. Fighting with your complexes, the person is approaching the ideal and makes the best of the work.

This article is merely a presentation of philosophy of success. These are only words, though wise and true. But you are able to turn this philosophy into a powerful tool for improving your life from now on. And then the philosophy will revive and you will benefit from it greatly. This simple philosophy will become your strategy, your guiding thread in achieving success. I am sure it will lead you to great success.

Key To Success: 10 Success Tips For Maximum Achievement

First off, I would echo the voice of 18th century French philosopher Voltaire, made popular and relevant in today’s leadership lexicon by "Good to Great" author Jim Collins, who said, "Good is the Enemy of Great."

1. "Good is the Enemy of Great." Get rid of the good to make room for the great in your life. Instead of keeping the main thing the main thing, we major in too many minor things. In other words, many people do a few things that are good, a lot of things that are mediocre, but nothing that is GREAT.

Find the ONE thing you can be the best in the world at and focus unrelentingly on improving that one thing, polishing it to perfection.

Choose great over good in ALL areas of your life! It is far better to have a few great things than a lot of good or mediocre things.

Instead of having six cheap shirts that you don’t feel so great in, have one fine quality shirt that you can feel proud to wear and that makes you feel like a million bucks! Instead of having five or six ho-hum paintings to decorate your walls, invest in ONE magnificent masterpiece that leaves you breathless and enriches your soul every time you look at it! Instead of going to the usual cottage retreat every long-weekend, save up your money and go on one GREAT vacation that you’ve always dreamed of like going on a European boat-cruise, snorkeling in the Red Sea, or taking an art class in Paris. Instead of many mediocre friendships, have a few great friendships that energize and inspire you and that you can spend quality time fostering deeper relationships. You get the point.

Greatness is a choice! And choice is the democratic equalizer of all people. Everyone, regardless of their rank, social status or income level has the power to choose great over good.

2. Commit to an annual theme. Instead of making and breaking a number of well-wished but half-hearted New Year’s Resolutions, commit to an annual or lifetime theme. Pick a theme that defines your singular life purpose or what you are most passionate about and stick to it.

For example, my theme is: "Write First!" I have this theme posted right in front of me above my computer. My purpose is to write.

I write first and ask questions later. I focus on writing (or things related to developing my writing) first and then worry about the urgent but non-important interruptions (paying bills, answering calls and emails, responding to invitations, etc.) that plague everyone. This theme takes precedence over everything else except my spiritual relationship with my Creator. The only exception to this rule would be a genuinely important priority that falls in one of my top values in life or attending to a family emergency.



Beside your main theme, make a list of your top values such as love, health, giving, peace, wealth, etc. to ground yourself and distinguish between important and non-important but urgent matters. In his autobiography, Benjamin Franklin listed thirteen virtues (Temperance, Silence, Order, Resolution, Frugality, Industry, Sincerity, Justice, Moderation, Cleanliness, Tranquility, Chastity, and Humility) to which he governed his life and gave a week’s strict attention to mastering one virtue at a time repeating the list in order every thirteen weeks.

3. Practice a policy of planned neglect. In other words, once you have established your theme or singular purpose (the one thing you can be the best in the world at) get into the habit of practicing your main habit FIRST before anything else.

Everything else that’s non-important can get neglected and keep getting put-off. In other words, your daily to-do list will keep changing around your main theme which will remain constant – with very few exceptions.

4. Make a stop doing list. I’m not sure where I first heard this idea, but I borrowed it most recently from Jim Collin’s book, "Good to Great." Too many people have important to-do lists that keep getting longer and longer. But very few people have ‘stop-doing’ lists. Make a list of everything you are doing that is not contributing to your core genius or main purpose and core values – and stop doing it! Forget about your image and what other people will think, and STOP doing what’s not great in your life.

5. Be Simple. Get rid of the good to make room for the great. Literally! Get rid of the junk in your basement and file folders!

Anything you haven’t touched or looked at in a year you probably need to get rid of it. Donate books and magazines you haven’t read and clothes you know you’re never going to wear. Empty your mind and physical space of unnecessary clutter and make room for abundance! (Daily meditation is a great way to empty the mind and allow new inspiration).

6. Make HEALTH a priority NOW! Get a full physical check-up at least once a year. If something’s bothering you or you don’t feel right about something, get it checked out IMMEDIATELY! Don’t wait, until it’s too late. Take a proactive approach to your health by taking preventative measures, eating healthy and exercising regularly. And make LOVE a top priority. If you haven’t taken the time to tell your loved ones how deeply you value and love them, then make time for it now.

Are you still reading this article? WHY? Pick-up your phone, right now, and call your doctor to make that appointment! Call your loved ones now and book some real quality time together. Life is short and fragile. You may never get the chance again.

7. Dreams. The dream is a window into your soul, a gateway into the unseen world, giving access to the unknown and revealing the invisible behind all that is visible. In my book, "Psychology of the Hero Soul," I mention the importance of dreams and how to harness your dreams to awaken your creative potential. I can’t stress enough how important it is to get into the habit of jotting down your dreams and making an effort to interpret them. It is a great way to develop self-awareness and self-understanding and will enrich your life in many, many unforeseen ways.

Self-awareness and self-acceptance is so important in developing your self-esteem. Take the time to seriously ask yourself, "Who am I and what’s my purpose in life?" Write down your strengths and weakness, your highest ambitions and deepest fears, and make a list of everything you enjoy doing and all your hobbies. Take some personality tests to gain deeper understanding of who you are.

8. Face the brutal facts! Never hide from reality. Always get the hard facts about any situation you are facing. It doesn’t matter if you have a Harvard MBA and are the world’s greatest optimist if you pick the wrong location to open up a retail business!

Likewise, face the brutal facts about yourself. If you haven’t even come close to achieving your dreams and goals, you need to honestly ask yourself why you haven’t reached your goals and figure out what has been preventing you. A great way to accomplish this is to ask a few friends you trust and who know you the following question: "How do you see me limiting myself?" (I have Jack Canfield to thank for this great question).

Once you have the facts and fully understand the problem, spend over eighty percent of your time focusing on the solution.

9. ASK for help! If you need help, ask for it. If you don’t ask, you don’t get. Ask for the sale, ask for the date, ask for support. Stop worrying about your image, reject the rejection, and ASK!

But don’t just be a taker. Please also give. Earn the right to ask by being a giver. Be a generous giver because whatever you put out into the world will return multiplied. The hero’s journey is about following your bliss, and doing what you love to do in service to others. "Service above self," is a great motto to adopt.

10. Take Action! In my Hero Soul book, I have dedicated an entire chapter on taking action. The great succeed by taking continuous and concerted action toward a singular objective. And they continue to take unrelenting, consistent action for a period of years before becoming overnight successes.

If you do just five new things every day towards achieving your biggest dream, you will one day be living your dream and as Thoreau once said, ‘meet with a success unexpected in common hours.’

But if you aren’t going to take action on the advice in this article, why the heck are you reading it? Move on to something else!

One of my favorite movies is "The Shawshank Redemption" (based on Stephen King’s short story, Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption) about a successful banker, Andy Dufresne, who is convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of his wife. I’m sure many of you have seen it.

For nineteen years Dufresne quietly chips away at his goal to escape by literally chipping the wall in his cell – a little bit every day – until one day he reaches his goal and escapes.

His jail buddy, Red, comments that all it took "was pressure and time."

I don’t think I’ve ever seen any movie replayed so many times on TV. It really intrigued me. So I did some research and found out that according to IMDB, The Shawshank Redemption is the second most popular movie of all time with The Godfather taking first place! That’s quite the accomplishment given how long The Godfather has been out.

Why is this movie so popular? I don’t really know the answer. But I think it’s because many people feel like they’re living in a prison and have been given a life sentence to doing work they really hate. They want to break free from their shackles.

More than anything else, they want FREEDOM! And Shawshank delivers that moment of freedom. It’s a beautiful story that makes the soul weep with joy and provides the hope and promise of being human.

The great thing about Shawshank is that it also provides a solution: by quietly chipping away at your main goal and consistently taking action everyday, you will achieve the success and freedom you have been longing for. With ‘pressure and time’ you can take the darkest coal and turn it into the most brilliant, most magnificent diamond the world has ever seen.