What motivates you to be successful?

Iswandy Ahmad
Sep 8, 2018 · 3 min read

Every time a person asks me the ‘success’ question, I often ask myself internally, “Am I successful?”. I guess it starts with the environment that I grew up with and how it affects how I work until now.

Photo source: https://unsplash.com/Arthur Aldyrkhanov

I came from a middle-class family, and we are definitely not poor or underprivileged, but raised by a single parent since the death of my mom when I was 13 and I have 5 more younger siblings, life was a bit challenging after. I was a paying student and my dad had only enough for me to sit one time only for my O levels (Year 11), and I set a goal to do my best for that, and worked hard for it. I was still like other teenagers, being playful and all, but I had my share of study groups, attending extra classes etc. I passed my O Level with 6O’s in one sitting. I was also a young athlete in fencing and hockey, and in any team sport, the goal is to perform your best and strive to win.

These situations taught me that in everything you do, there should be an end goal (a.k.a being successful), and to reach that goal, we must have the means. I noticed that by working a bit harder than from the average person, the results shows, and that has always been my work ethics ever since.

Definitely, there are times when you are slacking due to whatever reason it may be, but the goals don’t change and you always go back to the means.

While working towards the goals, you also have benchmarks and checkpoints for you monitor your progress. For example, in my line of work as a youth development worker, I benchmark myself by joining awards and competitions to see how well you fare with the other players, or do an analysis how others are doing and how you can deal with the shortcomings you may have and capitalize with the strengths that you have. By doing this, you keep yourself ‘in tune’ with ‘the roads towards success’ (not diverting).

Another tip being successful is to play by and respect the rules; I have seen too many people wanted to become successful but ‘use shortcuts’ and not being ethical. This may reward a quick win but in the long run, is usually not sustainable. It’s like running a 100m race; you can win by tripping other runners, or run as fast as you can.

An important thing in being successful, do remember, you are successful because of the surrounding or environment you are in, and that includes the people around you. They, directly or indirectly, negatively or positively, has influenced and contributed to your growth. In other words, I live by the quote, “What you know is 20%, and who you know is 70%; and the rest is luck”.

Back to the question, “Am I successful?”; I guess I have my share of success but I never see it as an end. As long there’s something new to reach to (and there is always something), I guess, the goal is to continue to grow and that keeps one going and stay motivated.

Welcome to a place where words matter. On Medium, smart voices and original ideas take center stage - with no ads in sight. Watch
Follow all the topics you care about, and we’ll deliver the best stories for you to your homepage and inbox. Explore
Get unlimited access to the best stories on Medium — and support writers while you’re at it. Just $5/month. Upgrade