Some Thoughts on Success

“Create a success mindset,” they say.

“Just go after the things you want in life,” they say!

“Take risks,” they say…

It’s not always that easy, right? The road to success is fraught with obstacles, and many of them are things that nobody likes to talk about. It doesn’t fit the narrative. So, I want to address some of them right here.

You don’t know what you want. This surprisingly common issue rarely gets brought up. How can you go after what makes you happy if you don’t really know what that is? How can you find a goal and stick to it when you fear commitment?

You have unusual goals. What if you know what you want in life, but your goals are unusual or seem unattainable? What if you don’t want to start a business, travel, or start a family? What if you want to be an acrobat? And you’re 60? What if everyone laughs at you?

You’re conflicted. What if your heart is genuinely pulling you in two different directions? Are you pulled between a life of travel and settling down with the person you love? What if going after your dream, means saying goodbye to people you love, or turning your back on the things that made you who you are?

You’re afraid of being honest with yourself. We are prideful creatures. Our psychology is wired in such a way as to protect our fragile egos. We don’t want to admit to our failures, and we don’t want to feel like we’re going backward. When we realize that we’re unhappy with what we have in life, it can be very hard for us to be honest and admit that – to ourselves or to others!

You have a responsibility to others. It’s easy to say that you should take a leap and apologize later, but what if people are really relying on you to be mature and stable? What if your goal is to travel, but a very close family member who depends upon you was just diagnosed with a major health concern? There can be ways around situations like this, but they don’t always work.

 So, are you ready to start getting more out of your life? To start getting the results you want? For many of us, success is a very slow process, one that involves a huge amount of work and effort. For others, though, it seems to come very naturally. We all know those people, the ones who seem to have the Midas touch – who seem to strike lucky no matter what they do. What’s their secret?

There are many answers to this question, but the biggest thing these people often have going for them is a success mindset. Once they change the way they think, they can change their fortunes – and the rest just falls into place.

Making that cognitive shift will help you to start making the progress you want to see in your life. And here are some ways that changing your outlook can change your fortune.

You see problems as challenges to be overcome. A success mindset turns problems into challenges. It means you stop seeing setbacks as the end of the world and start seeing them as new opportunities to kick ass and take names! When you take this approach, nothing can stand in your way!

For you, failures are learning experiences. You might have the idea in your head that highly successful people can never put a foot wrong or make a mistake. That’s far from the truth. What makes failure very different for those with a success mindset is that they don’t see it as a failure. They see it as a chance to try again – and with new information!

You feel amazing! When you genuinely believe you can do anything, it doesn’t just affect the way you walk around the office and conduct yourself in business. It changes the way you present yourself and feel about yourself. In short, you feel awesome.

You become more attractive. Did you know that the secret to attractiveness in both genders is confidence?

You start getting what you want. When you adopt a success mindset and everything that comes with it, you’ll finally start to get what you want. Better yet, it won’t seem like an impossible task anymore. Once you give off that iron self-belief, others will start to believe in you too. When you have a clear goal and mission, anything becomes possible. It’s just a matter of time.

 So, do you want to start changing your life? Then, you need to change yourself. You’re in the position you’re in right now because you chose to be there. You might not realize that you chose it, but even through your inaction, you, in fact, did. The job you have right now, your financial circumstances and nearly every other aspect of your life is a matter of choice. If you wanted to, you could go out there and change everything today. You just need to act!

But if you really want to make a change and you want to start by changing your mindset, how do you know where to start? What do you need to change to achieve a successful mindset? Here are some tips that will help you’re your transformation much easier.

Find your own path. Most of us have a clear idea of what success means, but this is generally an idea we have inherited from our schools and our parents. It’s not really our version of success, and as such, it’s not going to be what we’re passionate about. And it won’t give us that fire and drive to wake up early in the morning to work on our projects.

To be truly successful, you need to find your own path, and that is going to mean forgetting what others think and finding out – and doing - what makes you happy.

You’ll need to take some risks. Learning to take risks can be difficult. Most people are very averse to change and risk. Yet, if you’re going to achieve the things you really want in life, you need to take the leap sometimes. Learn to take measured, calculated risks.

Be prepared to fail. When you take risks, you must be prepared to fail. You’ll need to learn how to manage failure and take it on the chin. You’ll need to be ready to pick up the pieces and go again for round two! Become tenacious.

Figure out what drives you. Sometimes success doesn’t come in the form we expect. Sometimes we don’t know what we need to be happy. That’s why it can be useful to break down our dreams to their essence. What is it about that idea that appeals to you, and what’s the easiest way to get there? It’s always worth trying the easy way first but be prepared for the speed bumps that will inevitably show up in your path.

Invest in yourself. Knowing how important your passion is to you, you’ve got to invest in yourself. You must be willing to spend both time and money on everything from your appearance to your skill set. The best investment you’ll ever make is in yourself!

 Sometimes we know that something must change in our lives. That need often gives birth to a dream. The problem is that we often succumb to the fear of the unknown and turn our backs on the doors that are opening to us.

Life was different back in the 1800s. Charles Tiffany was 15 when he completed his formal education and went to work managing a general store for his father, who owned a Connecticut cotton mill. He worked long, hard hours - learning new things every day. At 25, he still had nothing to call his own - and very little money.

Charles decided it was time to change his life, time to create his own success. I can imagine the conversation he had with his friend, and new partner, John Young.

"We're going to New York!"

"To do what?" John asked warily.

"We're going to open our very own stationery and notions store on Broadway!"

By now, John was looking at him like he'd lost his mind, "With what money?"

"I've talked my father into loaning us $1,000."

"$1,000! That's all? How are we supposed to start a new business and have money to live on with just $1,000?"

Charles had the perfect answer. "It's either that or be stuck here for the rest of our lives."

The two young men went to New York. It was 1837.

History reveals that their first three days of business were not promising. Tiffany & Young raked in a dismal $4.98 in sales. No matter. With their sights set on success, the young men worked hard to provide products people wanted. Within two years, they were selling glassware, cutlery, porcelain, clocks, and jewelry.

They also learned a tremendous amount. They searched for every opportunity, taking advantage of ways to expand their business. Each year brought new challenges and opportunities. But Charles still had no idea what they would become.

In 1841 they added a new partner - someone to travel abroad to increase their purchasing power. Six years later, they recognized a growing market for quality gold jewelry and began to manufacture their own. And, as Europe was rocked by political turmoil, they saw the price of diamonds decline significantly. They took advantage of the situation to acquire huge amounts – creating enormous profits for their business.

All the while, they moved into bigger and better storefronts. The young man who left Connecticut to open a stationery store became the owner of a two-million-dollar business (the equivalent of a multi-billion dollar business today) that became acknowledged as the greatest jewelry company in North America.

Sometimes your original dream may be just a shadow of its true potential.

Tiffany never dreamed of creating the greatest jewelry company in North America. He simply moved toward every opportunity - keeping his mind and heart open to every possibility.

Follow your dream. Take the steps to bring it to reality. But don't let your own ability to dream limit you.

Give your dream room to grow. Give it every opportunity to become more. Take advantage of your lessons learned and continue to forge ahead.