Life is like a pot of stew. We are each given different ingredients. What we create is up to us. Life has its challenges. It is very easy to be influenced by circumstances and situations. The secret to success is how we interpret these and learn from them; i.e. how we use the ingredients. One of the biggest things I have learnt over the years is that you are what you think: ‘as a man thinketh so he is.’ We are able to create our own destiny simply by the things we think about. If we expect to fail and spend time and mental energy worrying about failure, we probably will. If, however, we believe we are going to succeed, then whatever ‘challenges’ we face we will be seen as stepping stones on the way to success.
Financial challenges earlier in life made it difficult for me to gain much confidence in what I was trying to achieve and communicate. My mother supported me but I found that I was very sensitive to the opinions of others. I knew that I had the ability to achieve great things but my expectation was to fail. Therefore, I found that whatever idea I had or actions I started, I would tend to find a reason why it could not work. But I still had this burning desire to understand what life is all about. It is not always easy to let go of negative influences, particularly when they come from loved ones or friends, but doing this is the key to success. It all comes down to your choice of what it is that you allow to influence your life. There are a lot of things we can learn from others, but we need the support of people who are positive minded, if we are to succeed in life.
I have developed the attitude that ‘if it is going to be, it is up to me’, which is the first step I have to taken to assume full responsibility for my life. Taking responsibility for your own actions means success or failure is the direct result of what you do or do not do. Being able to make my own decisive decisions is another attribute that I have found to be important. By ‘decisive’ I mean making a decision and sticking to it. So many times we decide to do something without the necessary conviction to carry it through. If you are not stable in doing anything you will be influenced by the first difficulty that you encounter.
It is good to be aware of all sides of an argument, but not to such an extent that you talk yourself out of doing something. Sometimes you have to just do it and then deal with the consequences, for better or worse. If you want success, you have to find something that you enjoy doing and have a real passion for. Without passion it is hard to stay on track and follow through.
It’s also important to remember that success isn’t just a matter of wealth and fortune. I have met some very successful people who others would see as very poor. The thing is, though they might not have a lot of money, they live their lives with passion, following their dreams and loving every minute of it. I have met other people who have been through unbelievably tough times but considered themselves successful in having survived it all. They looked forward with great expectancy for the future because their past was now behind them.
Life is what you make of it. Perhaps you didn’t choose the ingredients, but the pot of stew you create is up to you. It’s not a matter of ‘luck.’ You create your own ‘luck’ by having the right attitude and allowing the good things to happen. We are all magnets and attract to ourselves people, circumstances and events based on our attitudes and beliefs. How is your ‘attractor factor?” A good test is to ask yourself how much energy you put on thinking or worrying about a problem instead of the possible solutions.
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