006 – ATTACK AND BE SUCCESSFUL
In this article, I will attempt to offer some practical help in facing up to our current situations in life and turning it around. I have so named this article because the journey of success in life is a constant battle and only the skilled and prepared fighters will be able to fight (attack) and destroy the enemies that constantly beset us in the journey to success. Let us look at “ATTACK”! Happy reading.
In the usual tradition I will spell out the meaning of “ATTACK” here before I proceed, to give a summary of the content but I believe you will benefit more if you read the whole article.
A – Accept Responsibility
T – Take stock of your life
T – Thanksgiving for your life
A – Ask for help
C – Commit to success and a new life
K – Keep moving (Persevere)
A – Accept responsibility.
This is a universal first step to solving any problem, whether in corporate or personal lives. Whatever we face today, wherever we find ourselves, we must personally take the responsibility to move ourselves from where we are to where we want to be. Most people find comfort in blaming parents, governments, employees, natural disasters, friends and relatives. The truth is that against all these odds, somebody else has succeeded and continues to do so. It is therefore time to realise that no matter how much you blame others, you will never come out of the situation until you are prepared to take full responsibility. Yes, the listed external bodies and people may be responsible for your situation but I am sure you will agree that they are not responsible for how you react to your situation. This is why I want to encourage you to realise that the foundation of any change is the realisation that it is a personal responsibility. You know what your heart is saying to you; are you really where you want and wished to be? If you are not, then take responsibility to change your situation. Excuses may be valid but that is life, it’s not a bed of roses you will face challenges while you live, it is your responsibility to attack your challenges, knock out the road blocks and achieve the life you wish to have.
T – Take stock of your life
This is about stocktaking, and summarised in this one question, “How exactly did I get here?” Get a piece of paper and write it down. This thing called life is serious business so take it seriously. What have you done and what have you not done that landed you where you are today? This exercise will reveal to you the responsibilities mentioned in “Accept responsibility” above. Take time to do this in a quiet place and journey into your past. As I have said in previous articles, only different actions will produce different results.
T – Thanksgiving for your life
It was Thornton Wilder who said that “We can only be said to be alive in those moments when our hearts are conscious of our treasures.” No matter how bad it is for you today or how you have messed up in the past, there will be many reasons to be thankful. At this stage of thanksgiving, if done properly, the strengths and abilities you have, that have previously been hidden will surface. I bet you will be amazed at the gifts you have, which when transformed from potential to kinetic will produce unique and ground-breaking results that only you would have been able to produce. I say this because; we all naturally possess huge potentials, only those who identify their gifts will be able to harness it for success. So search deep down, locate your potentials and be grateful for all of them.
A – Ask for help
Now that you have identified your gifts, it’s time to look around for help. Find individuals who have succeeded in the areas you aspire to be in and ask them for help. Attend their seminars, write them and seek for mentorship help. If you cannot afford all of the above, look for their books, CDs, Tapes and Videos. You will actually be amazed at the amount of free information you will find online. Your ability to sieve through all the information and extract the helpful ones will make all the difference for you. As you get help or mentored, start sharing, start mentoring and start teaching others who may need help. That way you will practice what you are learning and continue to grow. Stay focused on your goal and be alert at all times. Stand guard of your mind and immediately reject every thought of discouragement that may attempt to highlight the enormity of your goals rather than the glory of your goal. Build a profitable network; you must have heard the saying that a man’s NETWORK determines his NET WORTH. In the same way, there is also need to disconnect from people who will discourage or derail your journey to success.
C – Commit to success and a new life
The quality of a person’s life is in direct proportion to their commitment to excellence, regardless of their chosen field of endeavour – Vince Lombardi. I hope that this quote has done enough to emphasise the importance and consequence of commitment. Set goals; short, medium and long term goals and commit to them. Write it down, where you can see it often and remind yourself every day. Speak to close and trusted friends who will be bold enough to hold you accountable. Decide to succeed whatever it takes. Remember that if it was easy, everybody will be successful. Decide to be better than the average, deviate from the contemporary, chose to take a fresh approach (your authentic approach) and chase your dream. If you really want to be successful, it is necessary that you research the lifestyle of the average people in the country you live in and decide to go beyond that. A good checkpoint question to ask yourself often is “What is it that I am doing that is more than average”. Mediocrity and fear are the greatest enemies of your commitment to a successful new life. Therefore commit to continuous personal development to grow your mind. Commit to continuous physical exercises to strengthen your body, John F Kennedy once said “Physical fitness is not only one of the most important keys to a healthy body; it is the basis of dynamic and creative intellectual activity.” Finally commit to continuous spiritual exercises to strengthen your spirit. Excellence is these 3 areas will guarantee your success.
K – Keep going (Persevere)
Another important fuel for success is to keep going! Success demands persistent action. Remember that failure will happen, but must be viewed as events only, do never see yourself as a failure. Confidence and high performance always result from consistent effort. Keep in mind that even when you achieve your goals and become successful, it is critical that we retain all the discipline that helped us on the way up. Success is not a destination but a journey. Most successful people will tell you that it is even harder to remain successful than to become successful. Therefore it is important that you always pick yourself up when you fail and know that your goals and success in life is worth all the trouble no matter what. When you hit the rocks (please note “when” not “if” because you will), always keep this in mind “Every adversity has the seed of an equivalent or greater benefit” – W Clement-Stone. John D. Rockefeller sums it all up in these words “I do not think that there is any other quality so essential to success of any kind as the quality of perseverance. It overcomes almost everything, even nature.”
I hope this has helped. Again, this is to our success, ATTACK! , defeat and succeed!!
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