Ten Rules for a Successful Life

Why are some people more successful than others? Is it just that some people get all the luck and that’s just the way it is? Or is there more to it? Gary Player the famous golfer once said, “The harder I work, the luckier I get” and I think this statement has a lot of truth to it. I believe that success is a mindset and if I’m right, then that means that anyone can achieve it.

If you listen carefully to people you will notice that they become very adept at providing reasons for their ‘bad luck’. It’s the upbringing, the schooling, the boss, the partner and many other reasons including the fact that there are not enough hours in the day (eh?). I’m of the opinion that these limiting beliefs are a way of avoiding the simple truth; some people just don’t want it enough. It’s a lot easier to sit in your lazyboy chair and proclaim to the world that you didn’t get the breaks, than it is to get up and do something about it.

Now I’m not saying that everyone should want to be the best at everything they do, but I do think that those people who decide to live life in the slow lane forego their right to complain about it. If you really care that much then it’s up to you to change things.

So for those people that want to get out of the rut and move on in life, I’ve put together ten rules. If you follow them, I see no reason why success shouldn’t follow.

1. Nobody else is to blame for the way you are. Those things that happen to you (good or bad) simply create choices. You are a product of your own making.

2. The world owes you nothing. If you want the stars, buy your own ladder and climb. Nobody will give you a leg-up.

3. Thinking is not doing. Good luck rarely comes to the inactive. Hard work is a dream-maker.

4. Failure is progress. Every mistake is a step closer to success, as long as you learn from it.

5. Focus on the important things in life. If you spend too long worrying about the small things, that’s all you’ll end up with.

6. Take pride in what you do. There’s no shame in thinking positively about yourself. If you don’t love you, nobody else will.

7. Celebrate success. If it goes right, shout it from the roof-tops. You can learn from good stuff too.

8. Take what works and build on it. If you find success in one area, model it and apply the learning to other areas.

9. Stick with it. There will be moments when it all seems like too much hard work, that’s when you’re getting closer.

10. Share your success with others, there’s enough to go around. Successful people work together and build winning relationships.

There you have it, ten simple steps to achieving your dreams. So stop looking for reasons not to succeed and start working towards your goals. I’ve never once heard an elderly person complain about the things they did in life, but I’ve heard a few regrets about the things they didn’t.

Visit Trainer Bubble now, where you will find two great training resources on Success; 'Make a Difference to Your Life' and 'Think Your Way to Success'.

Think Your Way to Success

One issue that our subconscious has is that it cannot process negative thoughts. In other words if I were to say to you now…

“Don’t think of a blue duck”

What do you think of? That’s right…

A blue duck.

We commonly make this very mistake with children. Let’s say they have a glass of milk and we say, “Don’t spill that milk.” What happens next?

Of course, in order to think of not spilling the milk they have to first think of spilling it. That’s the exact same time that your carpet gets ruined!

If one small statement like this can have an impact, imagine what happens when we have months or even years of conditioning. Once we realise that our subconscious cannot differentiate between a negative and positive statement it becomes clear why we tend to fail with the goals we set ourselves.

Picture the person that decides to lose weight, every time they look in the mirror they think ‘fat, fat, fat’. Each time they open the fridge they think ‘don’t eat this, don’t eat that.’ Their subconscious is only hearing fat, fat, fat as if that is the way things should be and if it’s receiving a message of ‘don’t eat’ and it can’t process negative thoughts, what is the message it’s getting?

…Eat, exactly. So with this one typical example we realise how our desire to get fit can become an exercise in getting bigger.

You may not even realise it when you use negatives words and phrases. Regardless, if you use them enough, they can condition you to think negatively, too. Before you know it, little negatives will clutter up your mind, as well as your conversation.

You now know that our subconscious needs positives to work on and if you want positive outcomes, then you must…

FOCUS ON WHAT YOU WANT, NOT WHAT YOU DON'T

This short excerpt comes from our training resource, 'Think Your Way to Success', which you can purchase from our website for just £47.

Poems in training - A metaphor for success

Poems and stories can provide powerful metaphors in training, particularly when you are trying to get a motivational point across. If you think about the things you remember from your past education, you will probably note that most of them have come from rhymes or stories of some kind. I mean how did you learn to say your A,B,C's? I bet you're even saying the rhyme in your head right now!

I find that participants respond extremely well when you sum up a topic with a rhyme that fits the occasion and there are so many wonderful examples to be taken from past literature that it really doesn't have to take too much time looking for them either. An example of this for me was the subject of 'procrastination'. I really struggled to get the point across to learners when approaching what is a pretty dry topic. However, once I added the concept of 'Swallow the frog' (shamelessly stolen from Mark Twain's Huckleberry Finn) they really started to get it. Now I quite often here people saying "Come on, just swallow the frog!" In case you are wondering, the phrase relates to a section in the book where Tom Sawyer says, "If you have to swallow a frog, don't look at it too long." (i.e. the more you delay doing a bad task, the worse it gets).

When there is no useful metaphor to be found, I sometimes come up with my own. It really isn't that hard to do and takes me back to my 'poetry time' sessions in school. Here is an example of one of my poems to get you going.

My Friendly Enemy

You pick me up,
You put me down,
I’m controlled by your desire.

You’ve made me friends,
You’ve caused me fights,
I’ve even been your liar.

No solitude when you’re around,
No bitterness or tears,
Cause and solution to my struggles,
Both creating and easing fears.

I think it’s time I took control,
I don’t mean to be rude,
I’m the boss, you have to learn,
My bittersweet attitude.

Try adding poems and stories into your own training sessions, you'll find it really helps the subject stick and if you're struggling for ideas, visit my website and pinch some of mine!