If you are like most people, you have spent many years of your life attending school.
In those years, you probably took courses including Math, Science, English, Computers,
Physics, and possibly a host of other courses. Considering how many years most of
us have spent learning, you would think that we would be ready to hit the ground
running the moment we finished our education. You would think that we would be fully
prepared to succeed with our life. But most often, this is not the case. Why? Why
is it so hard to become successful?
Part of the answer lies in the fact that throughout our years of education, most
of us have never taken a single course on “success.” As a result, we have
never understood the essential process it takes to succeed. The good news
is that a process for success does exist, and it can be learned and followed by
all.
The definition of success:
Success: “an event that accomplishes its intended purpose”
With this definition, it becomes obvious that before you can hope to achieve “success”,
you must define your intended purpose. In other words, you must state your Goal.
Your goal is the starting point for which all success is based. Once you have your
goal defined, there are three more steps you must cycle through in order to accomplish
this goal. Together, these steps can be combined to form the basis for all success.
Which brings us to the "Success Cycle.”
The foundation of all success is based on the following process.
Step One: SET YOUR GOAL
Step Two: CREATE YOUR PLAN
Step Three: TAKE ACTION
Step Four: ADJUST
It is this simple process that is the basis for all success. If you truly master
each of these four steps, and you can apply them at will to any area of your life,
then you are guaranteed success. It is the constant repetition of this simple process
that enables people to achieve their dreams and goals. It is the constant repetition
of this simple process that forms the “Success Cycle.” Here is a quick explanation
of how each step works.
Step One: Set Your Goal Before you attempt to succeed at anything in life,
you need to clearly define what it is you’re trying to accomplish. You need to set
your destination. Lots of people in life wander around without a specific destination.
This leads to a lack of direction and, ultimately, failure. Think about your own
life for a minute. Do you know where you are headed and what you want from your
own life?
Step Two: Create Your Plan Once you have specific goal(s), you need to create
a plan that outlines how you are going to get there. Unsuccessful people leave this
part up to chance. That is a big mistake. Don’t expect luck, chance, or fate to
determine your outcome. Create a path that you know will work. Do you have specific
plans for the most important goals in your life?
Step Three: Take Action If you have a plan, then follow it. You need to put
forth the required effort in order to achieve your goals. Don’t wait. Do it. If
you don’t take action, then you cannot make progress. So you must always be taking
action if you want to succeed. Are you taking action for the most important goals
in your life?
Step Four: Adjust If something is not working, recognize that it is not working
and make a change. Don’t just “work harder.” Learn from your mistakes. Adapt. Are
you spinning your wheels and wondering why you’re not making faster progress? If
so, then adjust.
Once the four steps of this simple process are joined together, they create the
“Success Cycle.” This Success Cycle can be applied to any area of your life in order
to achieve success. The final picture of the Success Cycle appears as follows.
Keep in mind that each step is actually a skill. As such, it must be learned, practiced,
and ultimately mastered.
Read the book
Simple Success for a complete
understanding.