Dear Friend,
Achieving success is a goal that virtually everyone has. But unfortunately, most people don’t know what success means to them. Success is subjective and varies from person to person but many people have this idea that their success is living someone else’s life.
It’s easy to look around with all the social media platforms to see others living these lives that we envy. It becomes easy to think, “If I had what they had, I would be successful”.
But then it would end at that for most and many do not think to themselves, “What do I need to do in order to reach that level or obtain my own personal goals?”
Often, knowing what it is that you want is half the battle and without a clear direction or vision for what you want, you can’t achieve it. It’s like hopping into your car with no destination and aimlessly driving around and around. Sure, you’ll end up somewhere but is it going to be where you want to be?
It’s amazing how fast time seems to fly by once you’ve graduated school and begun working full-time. You wake up, go to work, come home, eat dinner, watch some TV or do some activities, and repeat the cycle.
How often do you catch yourself saying, “Whoa, it’s 10 pm already?”. Before you know it, 1, 3, 5 years have passed by and you’re no closer to living the life that you desire and the reaching goals you don’t have.
So, I’ve tried to use time as a motivator for me to start moving towards my goals. I have thought about what the three key fundamental steps are one would need to focus on in order to move towards a life they choose. Here’s what I came up with…
1. Decide
Everything that we do is a decision that we make, whether it be consciously or subconsciously. Every decision we do not make can also be viewed as a decision in itself as well.
The first key is deciding on what it is that you want in your life. Whether it be in your career, relationships, business, or health. Knowing or having a concrete idea of the destination is important and from there, you can work backwards and develop a plan as to how to arrive there.
Decide where you want to live, the type of home you want to spend your time in and create memories in, the car you’re driving, the income you’re generating, the lifestyle you have, the health and relationships you possess.
It’s important to focus on multiple areas of your life. If you focus on just one, this will cause you to neglect and lose focus on other areas that are important to living a positive and well-rounded life.
For example, if you focus solely on your business or career but don’t take the time to reach out to friends or family, then those relationships will begin to suffer and more often than not, they’re more important than a job or a business.
In addition to deciding what it is that you want, it’s important to decide on what you do NOT want for yourself in the future. You may be in a position where you aren’t satisfied with your current health, income, social life, etc. So, you also have to decide that you are willing to change and need to change in order to avoid being in the same situation year after year.
2. Believe
After deciding what it is that you want and do not want in your future, you must build belief that your vision is possible for you, that you can obtain it, and that it’s worth pursuing once it is obtained. Without all of these beliefs, you will never take any sort of action to move in right direction.
Most people fail before they get started because they do not believe the life they desire is possible for them. They see others living in the homes they want, with the health they want, driving the cars they want, and enjoying the lifestyle they want. But sadly, they believe that it is only available to those people and not a possibility for them. Therefore, why even try?
So, how do you build belief? This is where having a growth mindset is crucial. You have to be willing to change your current level of thinking, your skills, and your vision in order to build the life you want.
Surround yourself with people who are encouraging, positive, and like-minded. Read books, listen to audio such as podcasts and audiobooks, and watch videos to expand your knowledge and thinking.
Study the people who are living similar lives to what you desire for yourself and model their success and how they got there.
Building belief does not happen overnight and will take some time. Remember, most people are living with limiting beliefs that deter them from even trying reach for the lives they truly want. It’s a conditioning that’s all too common in households, schools, and society in general.
This is something I personally am working deeply and consistently on. I grew up always having low self-esteem and limiting thoughts of my skills and abilities. But I now realize that with a growth mindset, I can continue to build new skills and reshape my beliefs that are conducive to reaching my personal success; you can absolutely do the same.
3. Take Massive Action
As you build belief, it is important to start taking consistent action that moves you towards your goals. Do not wait until you feel like everything has to be perfect before starting. The reality is that there will never be a ‘perfect’ time.
I am guilty of waiting and procrastinating and the truth is, I was fearful. Fear of making mistakes, being judged, looking stupid, and not being ‘ready’.
Accept the fact that along with any journey that stretches you out of your boundaries, mistakes are inevitable and there will always be the critics.
When one decides to stray from the crowd and pursue something different than what is deemed normal, there tends to be push-back and questioning of what you’re doing.
Why are you doing that? Why do you want that? Why do you spend so much time on your goals/projects/business?
It’s not that people have an evil agenda and want to attack or deter you (in most cases). It’s likely because they simply do not understand your vision for what you want to do and become.
Look at any successful person who decided to do something totally different. At first, they were all ridiculed and judged but it was because people could not see what they could see.
If someone told you 30 years ago, that we would all be equipped with supercomputers that fit into our pockets and that we would we access to all this information or make phone calls from, you would have thought that they were nuts!
So, you can’t blame anyone for questioning your goals or vision — accept it as normal and part of your journey. When you get results and achieve what you set out to do, they’ll come around eventually.
The key with taking action is breaking down your larger goals into smaller tasks and objectives that you can focus on a daily or weekly basis.
It’s easy to become overwhelmed with these monstrous goals and wonder how you’ll ever get there. But by focusing on the little things each and every day, this will compound over time to produce the results that move you towards smashing your goals.
Now, it’s important to focus on the process and not just the outcome. Let’s say that you plan to lose 30 pounds over the next several months. It seems difficult and daunting at first because you’ll be spending so much time going to the gym and eating healthy for the first month or so.
You may not see any results during that period and it’s easy to get discouraged and want to quit. But trust that if you continue focusing on the process and being consistent with the time, energy, and effort, the results will come.
Consistency is key over an extended period of time. Most people overestimate what they can do in a year and underestimate what they can do in 10 years. Often times, many will quit after that first year and never get to experience the fruits of the labor they put in.
As you continue to make progress, you begin to see small results which will heighten your belief about your success which will lead you to take more action and this cycle continues and compounds over time.
This will accelerate and catapult you towards your results but you HAVE to stick with it and keep going.
Let’s Review
So I tried to boil down success into 3 key fundamental steps which is pretty tough to do. Obviously, there’s much more to it than that and things that need to happen within each step. Each person’s situation is going to be different for those in-between steps and will vary from person to person and goal to goal.
But I believe those are the 3 overarching phases of achieving any goal you desire…
1. Decide what it is that you want to accomplish as well as what you don’t want. Think about what you have, who you are, or what experiences you’ll have in your future.
2. Believe that it is possible for you to achieve your desired results and that the effort and journey are worth it.
3. As you build your belief, start taking massive action. Even if it’s small steps, it will move you in the direction you want. You can decide and believe as much as you want but without action, you can’t produce the results which are ultimately the goals, lifestyle, and dreams that you are reaching for.
Sincere wishes for a great life,
Dan Lu
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