Blog for Self Improvement

Success is more than economic gains, titles, and degrees. Planning for success is about mapping out all the aspects of your life. Similar to a map, you need to define the following details: origin, destination, vehicle, backpack, landmarks, and route.

Origin:  Who you are

A map has a starting point. Your origin is who you are right now. Most people when asked to introduce themselves would say, “Hi, I’m Jean and I am a 17-year old, senior highschool student.” It does not tell you about who Jean is; it only tells you her present preoccupation. To gain insights about yourself, you need to look closely at your beliefs, values, and principles aside from your economic, professional, cultural, and civil status. Moreover, you can also reflect on your experiences to give you insights on your good and not-so-good traits, skills, knowledge, strengths, and weaknesses. Upon introspection, Jean realized that she was highly motivated, generous, service-oriented, but impatient. Her inclination was in the biological-medical field. Furthermore, she believed that life must serve a purpose, and that wars were destructive to human dignity.

Destination: A vision of who you want to be

“Who do want to be?” this is your vision. Now it is important that you know yourself so that you would have a clearer idea of who you want to be; and the things you want to change whether they are attitudes, habits, or points of view. If you hardly know yourself, then your vision and targets for the future would also be unclear. Your destination should cover all the aspects of your being: the physical, emotional, intellectual, and spiritual. Continuing Jean’s story, after she defined her beliefs, values, and principles in life, she decided that she wanted to have a life dedicated in serving her fellowmen.

Vehicle: Your Mission

A vehicle is the means by which you can reach your destination. It can be analogized to your mission or vocation in life. To a great extent, your mission would depend on what you know about yourself. Bases on Jean’s self-assessment, she decided that she was suited to become a doctor, and that she wanted to become one. Her chosen vocation was a medical doctor. Describing her vision-mission fully: it was to live a life dedicated to serving her fellowmen as a doctor in conflict-areas.

Travel Bag: Your knowledge, skills, and attitude

Food, drinks, medicines, and other travelling necessities are contained in a bag. Applying this concept to your life map, you also bring with you certain knowledge, skills, and attitudes. These determine your competence and help you in attaining your vision. Given such, there is a need for you to assess what knowledge, skills, and attitudes you have at present and what you need to gain along the way. This two-fold assessment will give you insights on your landmarks or measures of success. Jean realized that she needed to gain professional knowledge and skills on medicine so that she could become a doctor. She knew that she was a bit impatient with people so she realized that this was something she wanted to change.

Landmarks and Route: S.M.A.R.T. objectives

Landmarks confirm if you are on the right track while the route determines the travel time. Thus, in planning out your life, you also need to have landmarks and a route. These landmarks are your measures of success. These measures must be specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and time bound. Thus you cannot set two major landmarks such as earning a master’s degree and a doctorate degree within a period of three years, since the minimum number of years to complete a master’s degree is two years. Going back to Jean as an example, she identified the following landmarks in her life map: completing a bachelor’s degree in biology by the age of 21; completing medicine by the age of 27; earning her specialization in infectious diseases by the age of 30; getting deployed in local public hospitals of their town by the age of 32; and serving as doctor in war-torn areas by the age of 35.

Anticipate Turns, Detours, and Potholes

The purpose of your life map is to minimize hasty and spur-of-the-moment decisions that can make you lose your way. But oftentimes our plans are modified along the way due to some inconveniences, delays, and other situations beyond our control. Like in any path, there are turns, detours, and potholes thus; we must anticipate them and adjust accordingly.

What is Success?

Ask that to 10 people and you'll probably get 10 different answers. Everyone's opinion of success seems to differ.

We must define it because in order to reach success you must first have an understanding of what it is. You'll never get somewhere you don't first see in your mind.

It's probably easier to explain success by first stating what it is not.

It is not a "destination", nor is it a fancy car, jewelry, a giant house or any other type of status (although there is nothing wrong with those things). It's not a certain level of money or a specific job or business.

Success has nothing to do with any of this!

Success is measured by the individual. Nobody can tell you that you are or are not successful because it's different for each of us.

I came across the best definition of success I've ever heard by someone very qualified to give it. With a wall of college basketball records here is coach Wooden's definition of success...

"Success is peace of mind which is a direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing you did your best to become the best you are capable of becoming." ~ John Wooden

Coach Wooden believed that it was impossible to give 100% effort all the time so he used "knowing you did your best". What's important with this is that it leaves room for ERROR.

Too many people get discouraged if they make mistakes and I'm here to tell you that you WILL make mistakes and you will fall, but what's important is that you GET BACK UP. The only time you lose the fight is if you stay down.

I also believe part of success is finding your passion and "purpose" in life and pursuing it with heart.

>From all this I've come up with my own definition of success…

"Success is peace of mind directly resulting from the self-satisfaction of uncovering your purpose in life and knowing you did your best to become the best you're capable of and then using it to bless others." ~ Fired Up Phil's revised definition of success

Success has everything to do with personal development. How much can you learn and grow and build character so you can be a better husband, wife, father, mother, friend, colleague or business person.

.So you can offer a better product or service and be more valuable to others, changing lives in the marketplace and all around you.

The more that you grow the more you will posses inside to offer others and the better relationships you'll have. This will lead to more happiness and fulfillment since we were created to fellowship with others.

The minute you understand that success is a continual process that never ends and you commit yourself to it, you become successful at that moment.

As far as the car, house, money and all the other things, well those are material goals and everyone has different goals. Not everyone wants to own three Mercedes and a 10,000 sq ft house. Again, not that there's anything wrong with that.

I believe wealth and prosperity are spiritual attributes that everyone should shoot for, but you can be successful without money.

Mother Teresa for example did not drive a Mercedes and yet she was a smashing success in her own right and lifetime.

Goals and desires are different for all people and have nothing to do with success.

You can decide right now that you ARE successful. No other person has any right or validity in telling you otherwise. You are a miracle from birth and have been designed for greatness. As the saying goes "God doesn't make junk".

Don't allow your mind (low self esteem) to tell you otherwise. Don't judge yourself harshly and be your own worst enemy. And especially don't compare what you have to others allowing that to determine yourself worth and value.

YOU determine yourself worth, not others! You are a success…a smashing success at that, the moment you DECIDE you are.

"Success is more about who you are, than what you accomplish"

If you insist on having a benchmark, use this...

"Success is giving your best in growing to reach your God given potential and using it to benefit and contribute to others."

If you're doing that, you ARE successful and it's just a matter of getting focused on what you would like to accomplish in your life and steering in that direction. Find your passion and pursue it.

If you know that you would rather be doing something different in life and you're not pursuing it that is what I call "selling out" on your heart.

I'm not saying you have to jeopardize your family and up and quit your current job or business, but I am saying you should be working on your dreams and passions at least on a part time basis so that you can eventually grab a hold of it and take it to the highest level you can, since that is what you truly dream of.

Wouldn't it be awesome to earn lots of income doing something you're passionate about and truly enjoy instead of from a job you don't really care for? Some people HATE what they do.

To them and maybe to you, making money doing what you love almost sounds too good to be true? Yet, that's the way it's supposed to be. This is called "turning your avocation into your vocation".

When you do this life becomes easy and enjoyable because you begin to utilize your God given talents and abilities instead of just doing what you're used to. This is also when more money usually starts to flow into your life as well.

One of the best ways to "grow" is to choose to earn a LOT of money because of the character it builds in the process. To accomplish this will force you to uncover and develop your gifts.

Income rarely exceeds personal development ~ Jim Rohn

As this happens you will be a good steward with the money because of the character you've built and you will change other people's lives because of who you are.

The world needs more good hearted people who are good stewards and have BIG hearts AND BIG bank accounts to be used for good.

About The Author

Phil Barnao

There are many strategies to becoming successful, making more money and achieving your dreams but nothing makes more sense than doing so through your own business. Business is the quickest, easiest and most effective way to get ahead and live the lifestyle you desire and deserve. Nothing provides more leverage and freedom. Discover how to find your purpose, develop a business around it, earn more money, make a difference and be fired up about life. Sign up right now for my newsletter to find out how to do exactly that – Go here: http://www.SuccessScoop.com

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