A Strategist’s 4 Principles Of Success
In a land of abundance, opportunities lost have more to do with lack of human effort than the whims of fate or destiny. ‘I gave it my 100 percent but luck wasn’t in my favour’ said no one ever. Of course, there are exceptions, if you are an olympic athlete, an examination aspirant or an animal rescuer, luck does play a role. But many a times, it is very convenient to leave things to circumstances. Sometimes, it may be that even if you gave your 100 percent, it was less than someone else’s 100 percent. That’s life.
In this house, ladies and gentlemen, we do not lose. Or procrastinate for that matter. We may whine for a couple of minutes, or days, have a dark cloud over our heads ready to burst, snap at everything and everyone, however good natured, but we owe it to ourselves to move on. One can’t be fixated on defeats in battles when there’s an entire war to win. And your inner self is counting on you to emerge the victor. Better not disappoint!
Condensed from tomes of books and a relatively good life experience, the author wants to share 4 life principles that make the difference in the game of success. These are not by any measurement new, you might be overly familiar with them, to a scale that it may feel literary torture, but good things, like good habits, need to be reinforced again and again, for them to bear fruit.
- Time Management — Yeah, yeah, we hear you. At this point, you might perhaps be able to do a mini PhD on this topic if you are a half decent reader (no judgement!). This topic is overused, overanalysed, over-synthesized, over — well you get the idea. Yet, it can never be over-hyped. Because it is the measurement of our lives. And yes, it is seconds and minutes and hours, and the difference between those who accomplish great things and those who do not.
This is by no means an instructional or educational point. You will not be offered techinques or timetables or ‘how-to-schedule’ blogs. Becuase if you are not already exercising it, chances are, you are a lover of life, untamed by time and would not like to be restrained by anything. If it were to be so easy, the millions, or perhaps billions of instructional media propagating good things would be less over consumed, yet here we are.
So the point offers the easiest solution, you don’t need a timetable, just take a first step, do one thing per day that makes you feel productive, outside of what you already do. Just one thing. For the first week, or the month, nothing spectacular may happen. But it is bound to change your life, one step at a time. It’s your race against the clock. And it’s not fun to lose!
2. Go-getter approach — If you want something, you have to do something about it. That’s the point. You may find it quite simple, but most things in life are. It is us who complicate them. Now the author understands that not everyone may carry the same amount of burning ambition in their hearts. Some may have volcanoes, some might be happy with tiny flames. It is okay to be on either end of the spectrum. But if you really want something, you have to plan and take steps to achieve it. Wishing it into existence is not a superpower all human beings possess, unfortunately.
What stops us from trying something? More often than not, it’s the usual suspects — laziness, circumstances, resources. We cannot change where we are born and the cards dealt to us by life, but for sure we can curate our response to them. Sometimes, what seems impossible or audacious is a few tries (& a lot of hard work) away. We can start small, but start we must. There’s nothing worse than inaction.
3. Self-love — This is not an appeal to sentimentality nor it is throwing an emotional wrench in the utilitarian guide to success. It’s laughable that for all the evolution and woke discussions, this is still somewhat of a fairytale concept. Success, even if one achieves it, might be shallow in the sense that it is built on a pedestal of others’s expectations. It might bring all positive joys, but might not be fulfilling. Loving yourself is not an abstract notion nor it is an invitation to become Narcissus, it is about giving yourself the due importance you ought to give, starting with respect. Only when we value ourselves, can we muster up the courage and determination to follow through on our dreams. Otherwise we may be celebrating laurels devised of society’s minds. Would that success be worth it?
4. Discipline — The author will start with not writing negatives which aligns beautifully with the essence of this point. We may manage our time well, be a go-getter and give ourselves lot of love, but if we don’t have the discipline to be consistent about these, well let’s say, experiments do happen.
True success is cultivated over a lifetime, and this requires a lot out of an individual. In such scenarios, discipline becomes a tool that eases the journey rather than a yardstick to stick to. Persistence pays off, despite the first few tries being the heaviest. This does not mean you sacrifice your life to a regime, but it is more about figuring out what works for you, and doing it over an extended period of time. Few things can top the feeling of accomplishment which is hard earned.
With so many distractions about, alongside the existence of procrastination, it might be surprisingly difficult to follow these relatively simple points. The sun will still shine and the grass will still grow, but you might not be the one enjoying a sunny holiday in the meadows. If you want to be the one, here’s to your first step. May it not be the last!
