The 3 Secrets That Have Led Me to Success
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Being a lifetime entrepreneur, one of the most common questions my brother Matthew and I are asked is what we think are the secrets to entrepreneurial success. One of the beautiful things about being an entrepreneur is that this lifestyle is as unique as people themselves: no two stories are alike.
However, I can share with you what have been my secrets to becoming a successful entrepreneur. Your story will be different than mine, but there are definitely some key tricks of the trade that will help you go further, faster.
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Here are my three secrets to entrepreneurial success.
1. Belief
You have to believe in yourself and your ability to be successful, no matter what. You have to believe in your ability to follow through with your vision and to execute on your dream. That doesn't mean you won't have days of trials or moments of distress and doubt, but the consistent practice you need to develop is to always believe in yourself.
Build yourself up. Surround yourself with people who will question you, but never tear you down, so that you can grow. People can sense the right kind of confidence and the belief that you are a success before you have physical proof. You can go far by helping others see your vision so they place their faith, time and even money with you. This is the foundation you build your life and your startup from, so place all your belief in yourself as the number-one secret to success.
2. Perception
Nothing is good or bad -- things are only how you perceive them.
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There's a great line from Ryan Holiday's new book, The Obstacle Is The Way, which says a whole lot about the power of perception: "A deer's brain tells it to run because things are bad. It runs right into traffic."
Your perception is your ability to observe what's happening and consciously decide whether you're going to see it as bad or good and how you're going to handle it. Are you going to allow your animalistic brain to perceive danger, freak out and run straight into traffic? Or will you exercise your human cognitive abilities and take a moment of pause to see the opportunity or solution to any event?
Your attitude and perception are going to lead you either to success or failure. It's that simple. You have to master your mind and that starts with choosing how you perceive the events and circumstances of your life.
3. Perseverance
People like to say that entrepreneurship and success are a marathon, not a sprint. That's only partially true. In my experience entrepreneurship has been both a marathon and a sprint. You have to keep running that marathon day in and day out, but there will be periods of hyper growth and action where you have to sprint during the marathon.
You need to be able to persevere and keep going -- no matter what! Prepare yourself for success by knowing that no matter what, you're going to persevere. A lot of that comes down to your belief in yourself and your perception of your life. These three abilities feed each other in a continuous loop that will lead you inevitably to success.
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The Three Secrets To Success
We’ve all heard the “instant” success stories.
The legends, the trailblazers, the
men and women who
defy
the odds and live the dream
of being an overnight success.
But is that dream beyond reach?
In the Harvard Business Review, Rosabeth Moss Kanter explains that, “New products, people, or ideas that appear to burst on the scene unheralded and soar to the top quickly have often been preceded by a long period of preparation, rehearsal, and trial-and-error experimentation.” In other words, instant success takes time.
I couldn’t agree more. Over the years, I’ve learned a lot about success through my experiences and the work I do as a coach. I’m also a lifelong student of success, having worked with and studied bestselling authors, world-class coaches and well-known thought leaders to uncover insider success secrets. The results of these learnings are captured in what I call the “indisputable laws of success.” Here are the three you should know:
Indisputable Law No. 1: The Feeling Of Success
What does success feel like to you? When I ask my clients or audience, they often look at me in confusion. Some of them shoot back, “Don’t you mean what does success look like?”
Too often, we measure our success based on what it looks like. It’s about what we have: cars, houses, diamonds. We get out there, we hustle and we get those things so that we can say we’re successful. We’re happy for a while until we look over and see the next guy or gal with cars, houses, diamonds and a private jet. Now we no longer think we’re successful because we don’t have a jet. And the cycle of hustle starts all over again. The only way to stop this cycle? Ask yourself, “what makes me feel happy and fulfilled?”
Celebrated author and leading success guru Napoleon Hill define success as “the attainment of your Definite Chief Aim.” In other words, you need to define your chief aim, not someone else’s. I’m not saying you shouldn’t chase after the awesome material things that come with success or get inspired by other people’s accomplishments. However, the only way to achieve success without giving up on your happiness is to understand and define what it feels like for you, not just what it looks like based on what others achieve.
Indisputable Law No. 2: Mastery
Improve your craft until you can create exponential results with very little input. That’s the law of mastery and it can be applied to coaching, teaching, writing, painting, designing, speaking -- any skill on the planet.
However, most people never get to mastery -- they stop short because they think they already know all there is to know about the work they do. When you first learn something new, you’ll see massive improvements in a very short time because you’re starting from zero. You’ll receive lots of validation and approval from the outside world about your newly acquired skill. But the more you learn, the more it will start to feel like you’re making very little external progress. That’s why most people stop and miss the mark on mastery.
Successful entrepreneurs and growth-centered individuals know that becoming better is a continuous process, not a game with an end. This is why they keep going. This is why they experience development and expansion long after everyone else thinks they know everything there is to know. This is why they become masters at what they do and achieve a level of success and a sense of satisfaction of which others can only dream.
Indisputable Law No. 3: Ten Years Or More
If you achieve success only to have it slip through your fingers, you’re left with disappointment and a pile of broken dreams. If you want success that lasts, you need to train yourself to look further than a few months or years. Envision your future 10 years or more down the line. What do you want to do and have at that time? Who do you want to be? How do you want to serve and contribute? When you have that vision, get real with yourself and ask, “What needs to happen now to make that future vision my reality?”
In his popular TEDx Talk, “3 ways to plan for the (very) long-term,” world-class strategist and consultant Ari Wallach explains how making decisions based on short-term goals and gains makes the future more uncertain and less safe. Instead, it’s important to cultivate a mindset that focuses on long-term ways of thinking, acting and being for collective human flourishing in the future.
Yes, making decisions based on a future vision can be hard. Sometimes you need to let go of what you want now to get what you want later. But it’s worth it because you’re playing to win.
Overnight success is a fantasy but real success is within your reach, no matter who you are or where you’re at in your life right now. No one gets to the top without identifying what success feels like for them, without sticking to it for years and without mastery. Real success takes time and effort, but when you finally get there, you’ll look back at your journey and you won’t regret a single moment.
3 Secrets of Success
3 Secrets of Success
Success brings smiles, rewards and a sense of accomplishment which can be shared but can’t be explained. In the same way, the secrets of success can also have a different meaning for everyone.
Although everyone has their own way of finding success, there are certain things that you need to be aware of in order to have more joy and fulfillment.
Success strives for excellence and extracts the best out of us. How? Your first achievement leads to self-learning, knowledge, confidence, and develops the risk-taking capability for non-stop success.
1. Success is a coach – learn from it
The ladder of success rises higher and higher because every experience coaches the person for the next step. Even a fall from the ladder is a step forward towards victory and is an indication that triumph is closer. This is self-gained learning which can’t be taught in closed classrooms or through management books. You have to live it.
In fact it can never be lost or forgotten. This knowledge, if utilized properly, adds success on top of success. The first step in the secrets of success is to be positive. Think success not failure, beware of negative environments.
2. Be confident about your abilities
Be confident about your abilities. Take risks, and put your best foot forward towards a never-ending journey of repeated successes. Literally all world-renowned business tycoons applied this principle in their life and successfully climbed the ladder.
They become legends and are referred to as a mark of success and accomplishment. They are inspirations for people who are taking their first steps on the road of achievement. They proved that for continuous progress, money is not a vital element but a fighting spirit and blind faith to achieve one’s goal certainly is.
Steve Jobs proved it right. He was one of the most successful entrepreneurs of our generation. He was put up for adoption when he was a kid and dropped out of college in a short span. Slept on friends’ floors. Returned coke bottles for 5 cents to buy food. Then went to start Apple Computers and Pixar Animation Studio.
Success is not final. Failure is not fatal. It is the courage to continue that counts. ~ Winston Churchill (Tweet this)
Never wait for others to join. Have the courage to start your journey and the world will join you on the path of success. Success does not merely depend on intelligence or natural traits. It has many factors that work together.
3. Control a negative attitude
If you want to continue this chain of success then you have to control your ego, anger and frustration. Don’t let your success overrule your head. Be humble in your behavior and keep a positive attitude otherwise your downfall is assured.
If you want to build success on top of success then remember the formula:
S : Self belief is the only powerful tool to gain success.
: Self belief is the only powerful tool to gain success. U : Set unprecedented examples by turning adversity to your favor
: Set unprecedented examples by turning adversity to your favor C : Have the courage to take risk
: Have the courage to take risk C : Have confidence to make firm decisions.
: Have confidence to make firm decisions. E : Put in endless effort to achieve your goal
: Put in endless effort to achieve your goal S : Have the stamina to work harder
: Have the stamina to work harder S: Have self-control over negative attitude.
Conclusion: Secrets of Success
One step of success is the benchmark for another step. It is an addiction (but a good one) which leaves a sweet taste. Enjoy it forever by challenging your own success on a daily basis.
Put one brick successfully over the other and a day will come when this building will tell the story of your continuous success the world over. One of the most important secrets of success is that we should not be scared of failure but must learn from our mistakes.