We are not all born with a silver spoon in our mouths, so that means we have to set ourselves up for success on our own. We have to create habits that reflect the life we want and attain a strong enough mindset to be resilient to any challenge it will come across. However, simply following these guidelines alone is not enough to guarantee a successful life. So what is the secret formula to set yourself up to be successful and win on a consistent basis? In this week’s blog, I want to share with you the process of growing into your success.

The process of growing into your success starts with having a reason to attain the success you seek. This reason should answer, “Why do you want to be successful?” The determination for success will be different from person to person, but when you attain it, then you should feel good. The goal behind your success should have some emotional connection to make it personal to you. It should be attached to emotion because our emotions are one of the strongest drivers and motivators for change in our life. If you are just going through the process and have no emotional ties to your goal, then the likelihood of you achieving it will diminish. This is especially true if you are faced with failure or challenges along the way.

Once you know the drive for your success, the next step is to develop an action plan. This action plan is the road map that will guide you from start to finish. You want to have this formulated because you have to know what you should be doing. You do not see home builders building homes without blueprints, so you also need a plan to build a successful life. Your action plan should be as detailed as possible. Starting, it might not be as clear, but eventually, you want your plan to highlight all the things to do and not to do. This is why having a teacher, coach, or mentor is extremely helpful. They can help you create the plan you need or fill in any holes your current plan has.

After you have your plan created, you have to make sure you have the appropriate skills to succeed. Imagine if you were in first grade again. The teacher asks you to do multiplication problems, but you have not even learned addition yet. Lacking specific skills, traits, and tools can be overcome, but I would rather see you be equipped with the proper tools to get the job done. When you have the right tools and knowledge for any given job, it becomes easier. Repetition is your friend and will provide you with more valuable experience than any amount of knowledge. To prove my point, tell a kid to read a book about riding a bike. Will they be able to ride a bike instantly after reading the book? No, their body needs to learn the feelings of balance and momentum to go along with the basic knowledge obtained from the books.

Success is similar to riding a bike. Most of us will fail and fall off when we start. However, if we remain resilient and untouched by the feeling of failure, we can gain a new skill. Just like how we can learn to ride a bike, we can learn to be successful. Success is not some far out-of-reach life, only promised to a small group of people in the world. The majority of people fail to achieve significant amounts of success in their life because of comfort. People would instead choose to be comfortable than live at their fullest potential. This potential doesn’t have to be significant amounts of money or a picture-perfect physique. What matters the most is how you feel. Are you content where you are? If so, great. However, if you are dreaming of a new house/car, more money in the bank, winning the lotto, or simply finding a meaningful relationship, then you still have more to do. The job is not done, and to complete it, you must gain the skills needed to finish the job.

Once you have started to acquire the skills needed for your success, you have to learn the habits conducive to you reaching your goals. Your habits will have a direct reflection of where you excel and where you can make some improvements. What I do as a coach is identify the patterns that I hold. I separate the good and bad and find a blend of what will work for my clients to give them the best result in the most effortless fashion. For example, if I have a client who loves to eat desserts but wants to get in shape. I will not tell them to stop eating sweets. What I would do is give them a guideline as to when they can eat their sweets. The only thing I did was modify their habit, not take it away.

The habits you need to attain will again be personal to the goals you want to seek. One of my specialties is focusing on how you think, how you talk, and how you represent yourself. Those three things make up a considerable part of a strong mindset. I find, especially working with new clients, that their mindset is not aligned with their goals. If that is the case, then there has to be a conversation to unravel the knots in their mind. Once everything is untangled, we begin the process of separation and organizing. We separate from the thoughts that do not bring us any closer to our success. We organize the parts of our mind and life needed to progress further toward our goals. Lastly, we solidify what has been working and what has not been working. Together, that will help form habits that lead directly to growing into your success.

The last and most important part is to understand that you are the hero of your story. You are the person who will make all your dreams and wishes come true. What needs to be done here is to stop pushing it off onto other people and hope they have your best interest at heart. Even if a person is all about you, they cannot do what you can do. You have to be willing to go after success and your goals relentlessly. You cannot give up for any reason. If you are told no, or you fail, you have to get up and find another way. Failure is when you give up because of difficulty. Success is when you don’t give up, and that is done by modifying your plan or pivoting to a new focus. The goal is the same regardless of the plan changes. However, you want some focus when going after your dreams. For example, you do not want to start a photography business and say it’s not for you because people do not buy your art.

In Closing, failure means that you have not succeeded yet. If you fail 1000 times and succeed on the 1001st attempt, you are a success. Do not allow yourself to become stagnant because of hardship and falling short of victory. With hard work and consistency, you will get there. I recommend investing in yourself and getting a coach to simplify your journey toward success. Do not become complacent after you have reached your goal. Your mindset should be to continue to grow and reach new milestones frequently. Become more ambitious and go after the life you were always meant to have. When you get there, remember what it took to help you grow into that success.

Until then,

Michael Rearden

Founder of Reven LLC.