Image Credit: © Bindaas Madhavi
We all live in an abundant world. We are surrounded by opportunity and have the freedom to choose to make of it what we will. It seems logical that you should always be happy. Fear, doubt, or worry should be unknown. But this is probably not the case. Unlike other animals, human beings are not content to merely eat, sleep, and reproduce. We seek a purpose in life. Without going into too much detail, that pretty much boils down to: your purpose is to realise your potential. You were given life so that you might make of it a success. But what is success?
Lots of people, maybe even you, tend to measure success by comparing themselves to others. You might consider yourself to be more successful than your brother, or your neighbour, or even more successful than anyone you know. But if you broaden your vision you’ll see an ever-widening world of achievers. Sooner or later you’d find somebody who has achieved more than you have accomplished so far. Your success cannot validly be measured by comparing yourself with some other person. Success is a matter of what you do with your own potential. The only valid comparison is to measure what you have achieved compared to your full potential for achievement.
What is success?
Success is the progressive realisation of worthwhile predetermined goals.
The concept of success as progressive realisation of your goals is one of the most exciting ideas that you can adopt. This means that you do not have to wait until some time in the distant future to be successful. You become successful the moment you choose to work toward a meaningful personal goal. Success is a journey, not a destination.
Progressive realisation means that you set goals for specific achievements that will move you closer to your ultimate life goals. When you reach your first goals, you set other, higher goals. Whenever you reach one goal and fail to set others you cease to be successful. You may have been a success, and a big one at that, but the moment you are without goals you are no longer successful. Likewise, if you set goals but don’t work toward them, you can’t be considered successful. If the goals you set and strive for are not worthwhile in your estimation, success is not your’s. Success involves both the worth of your goals and the use of your own potential. But comparing your goals or achievements to those of anyone else is irrelevant.
Wake Up Your Sleeping Giant
When you do some physical work that you are not used to, you may develop blisters. Continue the work, and you develop calluses. If you begin running, you are soon gasping for breath. But if you continue running, you eventually gain a “second wind”. You have an abundance of hidden physical, mental, and emotional strengths. You are capable of superhuman effort in times of unusual stress or emergency. Most people are capable, if properly motivated, of doubling their work output, at least for a time. Your intelligence and talent, like your physical capacity, consist of a vast pool of untapped potential power. You have far more capabilities than you have ever dared to dream.
The only limitations that bind you are those that you have imposed on yourself. There are many demonstrations of this truth in the sporting world. Probably most famous is Roger Bannister and the 4 minute mile. Until Roger came along in 1954, most people, including respected scientists, believed that it was physically impossible for a human to run a mile in less than 4 minutes. Roger didn’t believe that, and on May 6th, 1954 he ran the mile in 3:59.4. But that’s not the best bit. The amazing thing about Roger’s feat is that once the 4 minute mile barrier had been smashed, it opened the gates and a dozen or more runners surpassed the barrier within a few months.
The key to removing limitations is to discover more of the true nature of your potential and then choose to use that discovery in order to reach your goals. We deplore the wanton waste of water, forests, wildlife, or other natural resources. We spend millions each year on conservation. But, ironically, we hardly ever notice the greatest waste of all… the waste of human resources, the waste of our potential talents and abilities. You have an inexhaustible reservoir of human potential. You can uncover your hidden talents if you recognise them and choose to develop them through effort. This is the greatest possible step toward success.
Personal Motivation
If success is defined as the progressive realisation of worthwhile predetermined goals, then continuing to set goals insures success by providing for continued progress and growth. Now, theoretically, somebody else could work out for you a program of worthwhile, predetermined goals and prod you to work progressively toward their realisation. But that would not make you a success. The success would belong to the person that pushed you into action.
Yes, one person can motivate another, but that kind of motivation is only temporary. It disappears as soon as the pressure is removed. Lasting motivation comes from within and is the only kind that can produce success. Because true success comes through the development of your own potential, allowing someone else to do for you what you should do for yourself actually slows your growth. If you are to be truly successful you must accept personal responsibility for providing your own motivation.
What is motivation? Motivation is a desire held in expectation with the belief that it will be realised. When you develop a burning desire for the achievement of some goal, and when you believe that goal will be achieved, you find within yourself a compelling desire to take action that will assure the attainment of your goal. That inner desire is motivation.
Do You Want To Be Successful?
Do you want to be successful? You can. Right now. Right this very moment. All you have to do is start progressively realising your worthwhile predetermined goals.
Till next time…
Help me write more great articles like this, fuel my mojo with a coffee!
Previous 
Next 
Categories
Tag Cloud
Blog RSS
Comments RSS
Last 50 Posts
Back
Void 
Life 
Earth 
Wind 
Water 
Fire 
RSS
Buzz
Facebook
LinkedIn
Digg
YouTube
Delicious
This is a little gem of a post Steve – well done.
Success is not an end result but a decision you make for your life and the direction you want to take.
Success = goal + massive action.
Most people shy away from trying to achieve success because the idea of massive action frightens them. I’ve been there before I know the feeling. But massive action can be the sum of lots of little actions.
I’ve just finished reading a book about success that sums this idea up perfectly. It comments that “if a freighter out at sea makes a change in course of only a single degree then the change will not be seen immediately but over many thousands of miles the difference is immense!”
True isn’t it?
Success – think big and don’t take no for an answer
Ben´s last blog ..Everything I Need to Know About Personal Discovery I Learned from Anime
Thanks, Ben. Glad you liked it.
BTW, what was the book?
Twitter: SteveYoungs
Hey – The Book’s called “Notes from a Friend” by Tony Robbins
Steve,
This is a fantastic post. I like how you took the definition of success and used it to demonstrate that success is a process. Also Like the blisters and calluses. Somehow made me think of James. He must be a walking callus because enough doesn’t seem to be in his vocabulary.
Ralph´s last blog ..Sunday Funnies – Brain Freeze
Hey Ralph!
Thanks mate. Yeah, that is the best definition of success that I’ve ever come across. I was lurking about Darren Monroe’s site the other day and found “The Strangest Secret“. It is a video of the famous Earl Nightingale recording from 1956 that launched the entire personal development industry. I suspect that Earl wasn’t even the first to speak about success in this way, but I’m happy for him to take the credit.
As for James, he is the epitome of one of my favourite books, “All You Can Do Is All You Can Do, But All You Can Do Is Enough” .
Thanks for commenting, Ralph. Now if I could just figure out why Akismet hates you so I could stop your comments from landing in my spam bucket.
Kind regards,
Steve
Twitter: SteveYoungs
I agree Steve that this is a fantastic post. We can succeed if we motivate ourselves.
Rose´s last blog ..Why People use Twitter
Thanks for your kind words, Rose.
Twitter: SteveYoungs
Steve,
You are definately in your mojo now, awesome post, love how you hammered home that we ignore the greatest resource of all, us.
Very very good content here brother. Thanks again for the earlier mention on the other site mate.
TheInfoPreneur´s last blog ..Onward The Brave
Thanks, James. Really happy you liked it.
You are very welcome, mate. When I saw her getting excited about a guy with an Alexa rank of half a million, I just had to tell her about my mate with an Alexa of 60k.
Twitter: SteveYoungs
Yeah man, I think something may come of that now and I’m about to include you in my new post on this very subject.
TheInfoPreneur´s last blog ..Onward The Brave
Excellent! And thank you!
Twitter: SteveYoungs
Hey Steve,
Great article man.
I feel every point you made. The definition of success has been bastardized and I had to go back to the Bible and guys like Norman V. Peale and Earl Nightingale.
In fact I listen to the Earl’s “The Greatest secret” everyday.
I have determined to become a success and I WILL.
Cheers,
Olusegun
Hi Olusegun!
Welcome to my site, man. It’s really great to see a new face in my comments section. Thank you so much for commenting. Glad you enjoyed the article. I think it is terrific that you are constantly filling your mind with positive input like that. We should always make a conscious decision to put in more good stuff than bad.
Kind regards,
Steve.
Twitter: SteveYoungs
Steve,
Good summary of success. As an avid runner, I definitely liked the reference to Sir Roger Bannister. I agree that motivation has to come from within. Nobody is going to tell you what to do. Or push you. To achieve success you have to motivate yourself. Anyway…Re-Tweeted this post. Great stuff here.
Steve Scott Site´s last blog ..7 Steps For Breaking Through Your Comfort Zone
Hi Steve!
Great to see another new face. Welcome to my piece of the blogosphere. Are you a miler like Sir Roger was, mate?
Yes, internal motivation is the only form of motivation that has any permanence to it. I’ve just written a 2 part series on understanding motivation, part 1 came out a couple of hours ago, and part 2 comes out on Saturday morning (UTC+10). Be sure to check it out.
Kind regards,
Steve.
Twitter: SteveYoungs
Was a miler WAY back when. Now I stick to longer races like a marathon. Surprisingly it’s much easier on the body.
Anyway, checking out the 2nd part right now.
Steve Scott Site´s last blog ..Applying the 80/20 Principle in Your Life
Hi Steve!
I find that incredibly surprising that running marathons is easier on you body than running middle distance. I’m not going to dispute it because I’ve never run a marathon.
Twitter: SteveYoungs
[...] successful. If you are a regular reader here you’ll remember that success is defined as the progressive realisation of worthwhile predetermined goals. Now, just as that is a fairly unusual definition, the definition of motivation that I’m [...]
I think a lot of people are actually content with eating, sleeping, and “reproducing.” Kind of sounds like the life of hugh hefner!
I kid.
Well written post Steve, I dig it!
Whats the number one thing you want to be successful at?
Ryan @ Planting Dollars´s last blog ..Why Ideas are Like Sperm
Hi Ryan!
Thanks for stopping by, mate. Great to see a new face (tree in this case) in my comments section.
Yeah, Hef’s got it made, I reckon.
What’s the number one thing I want to be successful at? That’s easy… I want to be the best me I can possibly be. My tombstone reads:
I’m willing to negotiate on that end date.
Thanks for commenting, mate.
Kind regards,
Steve
Twitter: SteveYoungs