Everyone wants to succeed but not everyone
- knows how to succeed and
- not everyone despite knowing wants to do what it takes to succeed.
You can sue me if it doesn't work.
There are 4 things which guarantee success:
Run behind excellence not success - Reminds me of a dialogue from 3 Idiots "Kaabil bano, kaamyabi jhak marake tumhare peeche aayegi". "Try not to become a man of success. Rather become a man of value" How much time do you invest in building yourself? Do you know where you're heading? What you want to become? Or are you on autopilot? Excellence is habit. You will have to commit to it. When you reach it, raise the bar. I remember being part of a team which was managing a strategy conference for 1000+ leaders. We had one goal : To define excellence in what we do. The entire team rallied to give nothing but our best. That conference was called the best ever.
Consistent and Persistent - Success doesn't come overnight. It takes a lot of effort consistently in face of challenges. Do what you're good at. Consistently. The market will come to you. Believe in the process. Believe in your vision. Don't give up in the face of challenges or criticisms. Tough times don't last. Tough people do. Cliche. Yes. But it's true.
Take Risks - Nothing comes on a platter. And no good thing ever comes easily. A lot of us want rewards but don't want to take risks. The equation just fails there. If you invest where everyone is investing, the reward will average out. For outstanding reward, you need to take unusual chances. A friend of mine left her job which she was paying her well to become an independent consultant. She believes in herself and pushes herself to add value to her clients. She is now being asked to be on the board of a company. Unusual path. Outstanding reward.
Don't take yourself too seriously - Define what is happiness for you. Live in the moment. No one cares if you succeed or fail. Experience life. It's your journey. Your story. There are things beyond just effort and plan that contributes to the outcomes. Luck. Embrace it.
This is tough. But this will guarantee success. For sure.
And yes, success for me is : Y * E * A * H
Where,
Y = Being the best version of Yourself.
E = Experiencing Life. Living in the moment.
A = Avoiding attachment to outcomes. Take risks.
H = Having a sense that we are just a dot in the universe but have the capability to impact.
Success is not in the outcome. It is in the process. Internalize it.