The Art of Success

“It is never too late to be what you might have been…” (George Elliott)

So what is the art of success??? Successful people have the habit of doing things failures don't like to do. They don't necessarily like doing them either, but their disliking is put into second place to the strength of their purpose. They seem to do things in a different way from the unsuccessful. As the saying goes ‘Success breeds success’, and certainly attitude is a key part of the secret of success.

Successful people have a number of attributes in common, none of which is at all magical. They are conscious choices about how they choose to live and about their attitude toward life. Some of these include:

• A high level of drive and energy.
  
• A long-term vision for the future.
  
• Readiness to learn from your own mistakes and failures.
  
• A clear structure for measuring progress.
  
• The ability to connect and work with people productively.
  
• Enough self-confidence to take carefully calculated, moderate risks.
  
• High but realistic, achievable goals.
  
• A belief that you can control your own destiny.
  
• A desire to achieve excellence, with self-imposed standards.

Key Elements of Success
There is no elusive secret to success, to achieving more in your life/work. Like many things in life the principles of success are simple - we just seem to have the bad habit of making them more complicated than they really are. Detailed below are some of the key elements of achieving greater success in your life… read, absorb and then put them into action - NOW!

Vision
The first and most important element of success is ‘vision’. What is it that you really want? Vision is the place of dreams – think big, don’t settle for less. What would a fulfilling life look like for you? Create an inspiring image of this life – make it a real as possible. Clarity and vision about what you are going to achieve will ensure that your efforts are focused in the right direction.

Accept responsibility
The successful take responsibility for the consequences of their actions. They accept that their current situation is a result of the choices they have made and they acknowledge their part in both their success and failures. They don't blame others. What problems are you blaming others for? Accepting responsibility puts you in a position of power. It gives you the ability to take control of situations and change them, rather than letting them control you.

Self-limiting beliefs
What holds us back are our self-limiting beliefs. Our ability to dream is limited by our willingness to allow our imagination its freedom. Fear of failure is drummed into many of us from an early age and we become apprehensive about mentioning our deepest ambitions. Fear of success is another limiter on what you are willing to do.

What's holding you back? What are you frightened of doing that is stopping you from achieving your ambitions. Most fear is imagined rather than actual. A useful acronym to remember for the word fear is ‘False Evidence Appears Real’. Learn to distinguish between fears that are real and those that are imagined. Most will fit into the latter category – so begin to acknowledge them for what they are and re-connect with your strength and vision to move you forward.

“I’ve missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I have lost almost 300 games. On 26 occasions, I have been entrusted to take the game-winning shot... and missed. I have failed over and over and over again in my life, and that is why... I succeed” – Michael Jordan

Develop a positive attitude
Success is not possible without one –as nothing that you achieve will ever be enough. Your outlook on life is crucial to your success. What you choose to focus on will become your reality. If you look for everything that is wrong in your life – then that is what you will find! Choose to focus on the positive, on your strengths, and on the things that you have achieved – no matter how small they may be. Surround yourself with people and books that stimulate and encourage you to stretch yourself.

Develop a strong personal and professional network
If you surround yourself with negative people you will take on their negativity. Most people are unaware of how much they absorb the attitudes of those around them. Surround yourself with beer-drinkers, and talk about beer and alcohol will soon become the norm. Surround yourself with musicians and talk of music will soon become the norm. Get the picture? Never underestimate the impact that the people around you have on your life. Take a look at your relationships with your friends, family and work colleagues and ask yourself whether they are TOXIC or TONIC? Begin to focus on amplifying the positive and supportive influences in your life and transforming or distancing yourself from those that hold you back and drain your energy. Surrounding yourself with friends, family and colleagues who support you is vital to your success. Do not succumb to the doom merchants who transfer their own sense of inadequacy on to you by pointing out all the reasons why you are going to fail.

Believe in yourself
Self-belief and self-confidence are probably the most important gifts we can give to ourselves and our children. With self-confidence, we are willing to experiment and try out new ideas. We don't measure ourselves by other people's standards. If you don't believe in what you are doing then who will? Take yourself seriously. Build up your confidence; challenge yourself and push yourself to do more than just enough. Don't settle for less – you are capable of achieving far more than you think!

Decide to be successful
Success won't just happen to you. You have to play your part. Whatever you want, you can have it! However you will need to concentrate your efforts to achieve it. Get specific about ‘What is success for you?’ Then start planning how to get there – take positive action!

Manage your time
To be successful, you must manage your time as effectively as possible. Many successful people are habitual planners/list-makers. You need to manage your time effectively and to do that you must have clarity about what you are trying to achieve. Cut out time-wasting activities, decide what is important and concentrate on the activities that give you most benefit. Find a time management strategy that works for you.

Set goals and take action!
List your goals for all areas of your life – for your business, for your career and for your family. What are your goals? What do you want to have achieved in the next three weeks? What do you want to achieve in the next three months? What is it that you want to achieve in the next three years? What will you have to do more of and what will you have to do less of to achieve these goals? And the most important step of all – take action!

“Goals are dreams with deadlines.” - Diana Scharf Hunt

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Working with a Move Beyond Coach is a highly effective way to make the changes you want in your life - it will help you get from a level 5-8 of success, to a level 9-10. You will get support, motivation and most of all accountability - someone who will hold you to your "word" so you follow-through and step-out of your comfort zone to make it real!

We invite you to schedule a free no obligation consultation with one of our coaches to discuss the suitability of our programmes for your needs and find out how we can help you get from where you are, to where you have want to be.

Even if you are on the right track, you will get run over if you just sit there...

(Will Rogers)