Success Stories Can Be Linked To Attitude
In each life, there are challenges and these challenges can be met with the right tools. Some of these tools are reading and internalizing success stories from others who have walked the same path. Success stories have the ability to completely erode any thoughts that your own aspirations can’t be achieved.
One of my own aspirations was to complete a degree; an accomplishment that I was told was beyond my abilities. For years, I actually accepted this opinion as the truth. But, internally I doubted that this opinion was correct. I was convinced that I had the ability, and that if I wanted to succeed I would have the grit to do it. One of my hobbys was always reading and it was through the written word containing motivational sayings that kept nagging at me to {follow my dream|get on with it[/spin] and not procrastinate any longer. But, even though I wanted to achieve what I had only dreamed about, I was unsure as to the path to take. Fortunately, I was introduced to a technique that would give me the road map to follow and that method was goal setting.
goal setting lead me to develop an action plan where each action step creates the next step. Simplistically, all I had to do was follow the steps and I would be able to achieve all I ever wanted. I wondered if this could really happen. The answer, is yes. The easy part, as I found out, was to set a goal, to create an action plan, and to start. The difficult part was in completing each action step because of challenges I faced, or in my own lack of perseverance. I met my first roadblock and was ready to throw in the towel. I didn’t realize that the journey to success, even with a detailed action plan, was going to be so challenging. Fortunately, at the time I doubted myself, I met with an older friend to talk about my problems. This friend had survived the fighting in WWII, had a gift for seeing beyond the immediate, and was more than willing to share some of his wisdom. Part of his wisdom was to point to many people who climbed beyond challenges and turned every obstacle into a learning experience. He pointed out that even the most successful people all had challenges to overcome but what made them different was their ability to persevere with a burning desire to succeed as their personal motivator.
He was right. My attitude toward success would either see me attain what I wanted and desired, or it would be my downfall. I think the inspirational quote by Robert Schuller said it best, “Failure doesn’t mean you are a failure… it just means you haven’t succeeded yet.” Failure, obstacles and roadblocks serve only to test your attitude; serve to give you an opportunity to learn more by dissecting what works and what doesn’t work. Every success means that challenges are overcome through perseverance, dedication, and the burning desire to achieve. There is no easy way, and there are no short cuts. When you realize the necessary requirements to success, the sooner you are able to use these techniques to master whatever you your goals are.
