Success Strategy: Success Doesn’t Happen via a Straight Line

You’re working very hard trying to succeed in a tough industry. You’re surrounded by competition and it’s hard to stand out. You have a lot of pressure to perform and you’re trying your best to exceed everyone’s expectations.

No one who succeeds does so without suffering temporary defeats. The differences between those who succeed and those who don’t is that those who succeed have: a clear objective, persistence, determination, the ability to make quick decisions, and a commitment to continuous action. Success killers include: procrastination, a lack of belief, and fear.

It’s how you deal with the temporary defeats that will determine your success. No, I’m not talking about the little defeats that you incur each day. I’m talking about cumulative defeats, or big defeats that look insurmountable. It’s at the point where temporary defeats aren’t looking so temporary that you can either give up and throw in the towel, or you can dig in and go for broke.

Most people never go for broke. They’re always looking for plan B. Yes, that’s the safe thing to do but it’s also the success killer thing to do. Because when you take your eye off the prize and start looking into ways to save yourself that you’ve already given up and quit you just haven’t accepted that fact yourself.

You’re looking for a backup plan because you don’t believe in yourself or what you’re doing, and without that belief you can’t succeed. You don’t believe in yourself and you’re scared to death. Because you don’t believe in yourself and what you’re doing when you’re faced with a decision rather than confidently making the decision and taking action you procrastinate. And because you procrastinate you miss the very opportunities that would lead you to success. Because you’re scared you procrastinate on making decisions and taking actions. You’re afraid to take action and you’re afraid not to take action, and that leaves you in a state of confusion and inaction. When you allow yourself to lose faith in yourself and be dominated by your own fears you’re sunk. But you can change that by changing your thinking a persistently taking the actions that will earn your success.