Monday, July 20, 2009

What is Success?

We hear a great deal about being successful, we’re told that we should be successful from a early age, we’re conditioned as to what success might or should be and finally most of us seek success our entire lives. So, what is the definition of success?

Earl Nightingale defined success as “The Progressive Realization of a Worthy Ideal.” Let’s take a moment to understand this a little bit better. After all, understanding success is one of the keys to actually achieving it.

1. Progressive – We are always (or should be) developing, growing and improving. There is never a time when we “have arrived.” We should always be striving for more and moving forward, the moment that we stop growing, we start going in the opposite direction. “Create or Disintegrate” as Bob Proctor likes to say.

2. Realization – As we develop and grow we gain a new understanding and an increased awareness. As we progress, we begin to expand our knowledge, understanding and consciousness and as a result attainment or achievement of our goals appears to be much simpler than we originally believed possible. Fulfillment.

3. Worthy – This is something that you want. A goal is that which you desire more than anything else. There is no inspiration in needs, ensure your goal is inspirational and that it is of benefit to not only yourself, but also those around you.

4. Ideal – An ideal is an idea that you fell in love with. This is your goal, your destination and you will need to have a clear goal in order to reach your destination. Napoleon Hill makes mention that your goal must become a near obsession and a burning desire. Keep in mind, without a goal (your ideal) you cannot achieve what it is that you truly desire. You must have a destination!

Did you know that only around 5% percent of people will end up be truly successful by the time they reach retirement age? This is astounding! Why do so many people fail? Conformity! They conform to the wrong percentage group. They conform to the 95%, and what is the other reason, because they don’t know where they are going. They have no predetermined goal!

Earl Nightingale mentions that, a true success is someone who is doing exactly what they want to do, deliberately, and is therefore realizing a worthy predetermined ideal.

Do you have a predetermined goal? Do you know where you are going? If you do not, you may want to become a Goal Achiever. Start today.


Shawn Shewchuk is the President and Founder of Change Your Results! go to www.changeyourresults.com