If you were to ask many successful people what the key to success is, I’m sure you will receive various different responses. For example, some may say that it takes a positive attitude. You’ll probably hear others talk about the importance of goal setting. Some will simply define it as going to work and never giving up. It’s been my experience that all of these answers are correct.
A positive attitude is extremely important in achieving long-term success, along with knowing exactly what you want. Goal-setting is certainly a big part. Being specific in your goals and knowing exactly what you would like to achieve will increase chances of success. There is no doubt about it, working hard over a period of time is vital. There are no such thing as overnight successes.
Sometimes, you may hear others say that you have to be in the right place at the right time and it involves luck. That may be true but it all boils down to how you define what luck really is. Luck is when preparation meets opportunity. On the road to success, opportunities will come your way but you have to be fully prepared to take advantage of them. I have a picture in my office that simply states “ The harder I work, the luckier I get.“
I heard a phrase the other day when someone was discussing success and as soon as I heard it, my eyes lit up. Now, I’ve heard these words separately and I have talked about both words probably thousands of times. Those words are consistent and discipline. These are words that will describe pretty much all successful people. Successful people are consistent and they have self-discipline. Now, when you put both of those words together, you now have CONSISTENT DISCIPLINE.
When someone is consistent, they have a steadfast adherence to the same principles. They hold firmly true to their goals and they understand that success is simply doing the things each day that are necessary to achieve them. How about discipline? When you have discipline, you have self-control. Discipline also means learning. When you really get down to it, discipline requires going through some sort of pain. Here is the most important lesson of discipline… You will receive pain either way, you have to pay a price. When it comes down to discipline, you are now paying a price for it which will benefit you in the future. If you do not pay the price for discipline, unfortunately you will pay an even more painful price. That price is called the pain of regret.
So going forward, when someone asks me what is it going to take for them to be successful, I will simply answer them by saying that it is going to take consistent discipline. Remember, each of us have opportunities staring at us right in the face. You can accomplish anything that you want to. Learn everything you can. Find people that are in life where you want to be and do what they do. Ask yourself this question daily, “What is it going to take for me to have great success?” You now know the answer to this question. Are you ready to make it happen? Are you ready to do what it takes? If so, you now understand that it is going to take…
CONSISTENT DISCIPLINE.
Let’s do this! Have a super fantastic week!
RICH NORTON
Photo by Dave Lowe on Unsplash