Defining Success

Once you’ve established what’s holding you back, you’re prepared to move forward into pushing yourself beyond your limits.

Well, let me stop here.

 I realize I just said that like it just requires the snap of your fingers and you’ll be ready to move on. I don’t want to trivialize the work you need to do before you get to this point. If you haven’t connected with any of the reasons I shared in the previous chapter, take a moment and re-read it.

The purpose of this isn’t for you to focus on your challenges but you have to identify them in order to overcome them. So if there isn’t one specific reason that’s hitting you, look for two. It’s entirely possible that there is more than one thing holding you back. You could be stuck in a rut and dealing with fear of success. You could also be facing fear of failure and lack of confidence.

If that’s the case, it’s perfectly fine. Identify those reasons and keep them in mind. In fact, you should write them down. Put them in a place where you can see them while you work on moving past them. By confronting your challenges head on it’s the best way to get past them.

Yes, I know it’s not pleasant but it’s necessary. I told you this wouldn’t be easy. So now that you’ve identified your challenges, it’s time to identify success.

Setting Goals  

Success is marked by the accomplishment of a task or the meeting of a goal. If you don’t set a goal, you will find yourself hard pressed to determine whether you’ve been successful. This is where many people struggle. They don’t do a great job of setting goals.

I know you probably have a whole list of goals you’ve been working towards since you were young. The problem with most goals outside of the standard ones is that they’re too vague and ultimately impractical. Here are some of the standard, All American goals:

1. Go to college

2. Get a job

3. Buy a car

4. Buy a house

5. Vacation on a tropical island

These goals are all fairly tangible. You can easily determine what it takes to accomplish each one and then do those things. You’re often given a social blueprint to use. Plus everyone around you is often pursuing these same goals. Even if they’re not extremely important to you, achieving them can be as easy as following the crowd.

However, if you’re reading this book I’m pretty sure that you’ve either already accomplished all of these goals or are in the process of doing so. I’m also fairly certain that going to a tropical island isn’t something you consider outside of your comfort zone. Unless that tropical island has a nude beach you want to visit.

So I feel very comfortable saying that the goals that inspired you to read this book are probably too vague, broad or ultimately impractical. Proper goal setting is necessary for achieving success. 

Don’t worry. This doesn’t mean I’m going to tell you to completely scrap the list of goals you’ve created. It just means that you have to apply the tips I’m about to share to make those goals more reachable.