“Oh, Ney, Ney, Ney, the throne? Do you know what the throne is, Ney? The throne. . . , is an over-decorated piece of furniture. It’s what’s behind the throne that counts: My brains, my ambitions, my desires, my hope. . . , my imagination, and above all. . . , my will.”

– Napoleon, in the movie, “Waterloo.” (1971).

The paper that you are about to read may be the most important words of your life.

There are three simple steps to success, but before going into them, a few things need to be understood about how success works.

What is success?

Isn’t it interesting that people define success differently, but everyone defines failure the same way? Everyone has their own set of desires, and it could be said that success is achieving what you desire most in life. But how is it done?

How do people really succeed?

Many people go through life thinking that it is impossible to succeed. When they see a successful person, they make excuses for their own failures. These “reasons” are nothing more than a set of myths. Let’s take a look at a few of them. What does it really take to succeed?

Is it a good education?

There are many brilliant people that are failures. How many poor professors do you know?

Is it hard work?

Think about all those people working in the fields picking food. They work very hard, but few of them are very successful.

Is it connections – the people you know?

Many successful people seem to come out of nowhere, don’t they? Most develop connections along the way, or after they become successful. Developing connections is often part of the process of success, but it is rarely the reason why people succeed.

Is it being born into the right family?

Many people that are born into wealthy families are abject failures. And many more successful people were poor at some point in their life.

Is it natural talent?

While it is true that some people are born with natural talent in things, it is even more true that those with talent in something rarely – if ever, develop it. Many of the world’s most successful people lack natural talent.

Is it destiny, fate, astrology, karma?

Some successful people seem to have a sense of destiny or fate, but many successful people do not. What successful people do share, however, is an unshakeable belief in their ability to succeed.

As a child, you wanted to walk and you succeeded, didn’t you? Everyone learns to walk. But why doesn’t everyone learn to succeed? It isn’t the same thing, you say? But it really is.

The Success Model

As a child, you wanted something very badly: To walk.

You then tried to do it, and failed. Everyone fails.

But you tried it again.

And failed again.

And tried it again, and failed again and again and again and again.

But one day, you succeeded.

This is how we learn everything:

o We want something.

o We try to get it.

o We fail.

o We try again.

o We fail again.

o We try and fail again and again…

o Until we finally get what we want.

This strategy is lost as one gets older. In school, we study a subject, get tested, and are given a grade – pass or fail. Everyone exits school with a set of faulty beliefs based on how successful or unsuccessful they were.

Have you ever thought things like this?

o “I’m not any good at math.”

o “I’m not an athlete.”

o “I have no natural talent in this.”

o “I have no coordination.”

o “I’m not a good public speaker.”

o “Computers are too complicated for me.”

o “I have dyslexia and can’t learn.”

You should know that these ideas and attitudes and thoughts are all wrong! They come from the pain of the failures we have had, but if we had continued on, we would have succeeded. In fact, the system we live in (school, life, etc.) teaches us to fail.

Pain & Pleasure

An understanding of the success model is important. Why do people quit?

When you fail, you experience pain. When this happens, your fight or flight mechanism kicks in, and your mind will search for a reason to quit. If there is no logical reason, the mind will invent one. These excuses will all sound very reasonable, but they are simply the mind lying to you so that you will stop trying to achieve your goals.

It is impossible to fail.

There are no failures – there are only quitters. If one looks at the model of success

[goal – attempt – failure – repeat attempts until successful], it is really impossible to fail at anything! So here is a question that you have probably never asked yourself:

What would you do if it were impossible to fail?

As you will soon discover, success depends upon how you use your mind.

Don’t believe me?

Creative Visualization

In 1980, there was a study conducted by Russian scientists with some of their Olympic athletes. They took these athletes and divided them into four groups:

o Group 1 = 100% physical training;

o Group 2 – 75% physical training with 25% mental training;

o Group 3 – 50% physical training with 50% mental training;

o Group 4 – 25% physical training with 75% mental training.

Guess who performed the best? Group 4! The ones that practiced the most mental training! The poorest performers were in group 1 – those with no mental training.

Keep in mind that the athletes did not simply think vaguely about being the best.

They concentrated on specific movements over and over again. They developed their capacity to imagine themselves doing what they needed to do in order to succeed. They used all of their senses (sight, hearing, touch, smell, etc.). When possible, they watched videos of successful performers and imagined themselves in their place, doing the same thing. This type of mental training is well known among athletes today.

How to Use Negative Thoughts

Positive thinking alone, however, is not enough to succeed. Negative thinking is, in fact, essential to success. Think about it this way: You are going somewhere and you take out a map. You need to know two things: Your destination; and where you are now. Negative thoughts tell you where you are now. Use them to determine what you need to do in order to improve your results. Imagine hitting that golf ball and then not looking where it went. You would be lost without taking a measure of where you are. So use your negative thoughts to see where you are on the road to success.

Self Judgment Leads to Failure

Just remember: Withhold judgment. Do not judge yourself when you try something. Many that shoot pool or play chess will immediately make excuses: “I never play this game. I’m not very good at it.” But the successful players always refuse to judge themselves. Instead, they spend all of their time practicing and developing their skills.

When they do this, they disconnect the fight or flight mechanism that causes them to quit.

Persistence & Resolve

So positive thinking needs to be combined with negative thinking, an understanding of the success model, and the persistence that comes from the willpower or resolve to achieve your goals. But where does persistence come from? How do you create willpower?

Understanding how success works is the first step towards building your resolve. After all, everyone will fail again and again and again and again until they finally succeed. But if you knew that failure was impossible, you’d continue to try, wouldn’t you? Willpower is also connected to your ego – your sense of pride. But more importantly, your resolve is directly connected to faith. So where does faith come from and how do you create it?

Building Your Resolve

Faith is composed of three things:

1. Desire.

2. Belief.

3. Expectancy.

When these three things are combined, they create the energy of faith which feeds one’s willpower to succeed.

Desire

As a writer, I was fortunate enough to meet one of my idols, Ray Bradbury. He told me an astonishing thing: He said that he was not born with a talent in writing. Instead, he was born with a desire to write. Ray Bradbury says that successful writers do not write – they burn. Successful people all have a burning desire to do what they do. I am a juggler (hey, everyone needs a hobby, right?). But I was not born with the talent and coordination needed to juggle. So why can I juggle while most people cannot? Because I found a burning desire to learn how to juggle. I remember thinking, “I’m going to learn to juggle or I’ll die trying!” Think of it like a rocket: To shoot for the stars, you need to burn! Many people like to think about why they want something. These reasons can be helpful, but the best way to increase one’s desire is simply to think about it as often as possible. When you think about it frequently, desire will increase.

Belief

One thing stopping most people is that they simply don’t believe that they can achieve their desires. They’ll often quote a list of their failures. What’s interesting is that most people will go out and ask unsuccessful people if something is possible. These failures will of course say that success is not possible, and will often have a list of excuses why (it’s a scam, you need money to make money, etc.). More people will go out and find an expert, who they will used to back up their excuses for not trying. But even the experts are wrong.

Consider this:

o Beethoven’s music teacher said that as a composer he was hopeless.

o Einstein was four years old before he could speak.

o Henry Ford went bankrupt before he began to make cars.

o Isaac Newton did poorly in grade school.

o Michael Jordan was cut from his high school basketball team.

o Steven Spielberg dropped out of high school.

o Thomas Edison had a teacher that said he was too stupid to learn anything.

o Winston Churchill failed the 6th grade.

o Walt Disney was fired from an advertising agency because he couldn’t draw.

o The chairman of IBM said, “I think there is a world market for about 5 computers.”

While one group is doing it, the other group will be talking about why it can’t be done.

To increase your belief, think about it frequently.

Expectancy

Expectancy is the hope that you will achieve your desire. It comes from a strong desire, backed up by a strong belief, and from imagining yourself at having arrived at your goal. This is one of the most important steps. You must visualize yourself achieving your desires. Do this frequently – at least once a day.

Success depends on how you use your mind.

When you spend time concentrating on your desires, beliefs and expectations, you will create the energy to acquire what you want. So think about your goals frequently. Spend time every day imagining yourself as having arrived at your goals, as if you already have them.

A Simple Exercise

Here is a simple technique that you can use to achieve your desires:

o Take all of your negative thoughts and emotions and feelings and judgments and let them live and breathe and thrive for a moment.

o Then imagine a giant eraser wiping them out.

o Then imagine your goal, as if you have already achieved it. Feel what it is like. See it, imagine it, and visualize it.

o Repeat this last step every day until you achieve your goals.

Every day, take time to sit down and visualize your goals as if you already have them.

The Three Steps to Success

Now that you understand how the process works, here are the three steps to success, which are based on the ideas previously discussed. In a sense, these three steps are connected to the three factors of desire, belief and expectancy:

1. A Definite Chief Aim

The comment at the beginning of this article was made by Napoleon when he was confronted by his marshals (including Marshal Ney). They were trying to talk him into abdicating the throne of France (quitting). As you can imagine, it took quite a bit to get one of the world’s most successful people to abandon his goals. Always remember that goals have great power in them. No one has ever achieved anything of value without a goal. You cannot build a bridge, you cannot build a house, you cannot paint a painting, without an idea of what you want.

A friend of mine served in the Vietnam war. He related a fascinating story to me. He said that while other people were worrying about dying, he was spending his time drawing. During the war he finished a very detailed portrait of a woman out of his imagination. He said to himself, “This is the woman I’m going to marry.” A year later, he was sitting in a restaurant in Japan and the exact person in the portrait walked it! (I’m still getting chills thinking about this).

People think that the more detailed their goals are, the less likely they are to occur. This is nonsense. The more detailed your goals, the more likely they are to happen. Your goals must be specific and definite.

A definite chief aim, backed up by burning desire, is the first step to success at anything. If you do not have a written list of your goals, you will fail.

2. Daily Visualization

The second step to getting what you want is to use the three components of desire, belief and expectancy to condition your mind for success.

Every day you need to spend some time visualizing your goals, as if you have already achieved them.

When you do this, an astounding thing will begin to happen: People will come out of nowhere, offering to help you. You may find that you will “just happen” to be in the right place at the right time. Situations and circumstances completely beyond your control will begin to help you. This happens because the universe is an abundant place, and it is set up to benefit those striving for a goal.

You will find that there really is no such thing as luck. What we call luck is simply the universe moving in the direction of those who know where they are going. Opportunities will appear to those ready to take advantage of them.

Remember that this is not a form of “positive thinking,” since you must also use your negative thoughts to determine where you are on your road to success. When these negative thoughts, emotions and events occur, simply take a moment to see them in your mind for a moment, and then mentally erase them. Then replace these negative things with an image of your desires. What you are doing is programming your subconscious mind to do what it takes to acquire your goals.

3. Take Action

The third step is often neglected, but you cannot succeed unless you take action. Imagine what would happen if you wrote down a grocery list, thought about what you wanted to get, and then didn’t actually go anywhere. Remember to take some kind of action towards reaching your goals.

Many people fail when they get to this step. This is because they still have fears, which are caused by the pains of their previous failures. Although the second step (imagining having arriving at your goals) will help, you have to realize that the fear is really just an illusion.

Imagine that you are making free throws in basketball. Let’s say that your goal is to make 10 baskets. What no one tells you, however, is that you can take as many shots as you want. After all, who cares if it takes you 10 shots, 20 shots, or even a hundred shots to make those 10 baskets? The only way you will fail is if you quit taking shots. Failure is impossible!

Your desires, beliefs and expectations will help to create the energy you will use to take action, but remember to get in the car and drive when you have somewhere to go. Get out your map (desire), pack your bags (belief, expectation) and then get in the car. If you get lost along the way, don’t worry. That’s what your map is for.

Scientists tell us that that energy and matter are interchangeable. Here is how the process works: First, you set a goal, based on your desires. Then you think about it, constantly visualizing it in your mind. Then you go out and make it happen by taking action.

The researcher Jose Silva (author of The Silva Method) has this to say about imagination:

“Visualization is the beginning of creation. Everything has to be done first in the world of the mind before it can be materialized. The past is composed of materialized thoughts. The present is a process of materializing thoughts. The future is composed of conceived thoughts not yet materialized. The physical world is a duplicate – a shadow of what takes place in the world of the mind. You must strengthen your faculty of visualization.”

Hopefully, this article will have helped you on your road to success.

Feel free to contact me anytime if you have questions.

Enjoy!

As a leader, it is your job to create the most favorable conditions for team success. This includes removing barriers to achievement, helping staff deal with work problems, and acquiring the resources needed to be successful. Here are 5 ways to enhance performance and generate opportunities for success:

1. Obtain the resources the team needs to achieve success. To function effectively, your team will need human, financial, information and physical resources. As the leader, you must procure these assets. While this is often a challenging task, you can make the process easier by answering the following questions:

* What are our primary goals for the next year?

* What steps will we take to achieve each goal?

* What resources are needed to carry out each step?

* What barriers will we encounter during the resource acquisition process?

* How can we overcome these barriers?

2. Recruit members that can help the team achieve success. Another important leadership duty is the recruitment and retention of high quality team members. A team cannot perform at a high level without the right combination of skills, personalities and experience. Answer the following questions to ensure the success of your recruiting efforts:

* What positions do we need to fill?

* What can we offer potential candidates (e.g., salary, benefits, educational opportunities, job flexibility)?

* Can we differentiate ourselves from the competition to gain a competitive advantage?

* Who are we trying to hire and where can we find these candidates?

* How will we let potential candidates know about our job openings and encourage them to apply?

3. Retain members that can help the team achieve success. Once you have a productive team in place, you want to keep your high performing team members. To reduce turnover, it is important to understand how employees make decisions about joining and leaving an organization. Specifically, there are seven factors that people consider when they are deciding whether to accept a particular job offer or stay within a particular organization. These include job location, salary and benefits, organizational prestige, professional development and advancement opportunities, flexibility, organizational support and the work itself. Organizations that do a good job of managing these factors are more likely to keep top performers.

4. Remove organizational barriers that can impede the success of your team. Even when you have a highly productive team, unexpected roadblocks will occasionally hinder your progress. This will not be a major issue if you do a good job of identifying the barrier and dealing with it in a timely fashion. You can do this by determining the specific cause of the problem, and working with team members to identify potential solutions. Make sure you include people who have the power to remove the barrier.

5. Identify and address the most difficult issues you face as a team. All teams face problems that must be addressed in a timely fashion. You can improve the problem-solving process through brainstorming, which is a relatively unstructured small group discussion technique that helps team members identify issues in a proactive manner. You can facilitate team brainstorming sessions by selecting an open-ended question such as, “What is the most significant problem we will have in the next 6 months?” Have team members offer as many ideas as possible and record each response on a flip chart. Participants should continue to build on each other’s ideas and identify areas of consensus. By using brainstorming in this fashion, you can identify issues before they become a significant problem.

The first definition listed in The American Heritage Dictionary states that success is “The achievement of something desired, planned, or attempted.” All and all…that’s a pretty good basic definition of what success means.

I believe that our basic human nature actually propels us to seek and achieve success in life. Obviously, most of us want to obtain our dreams and desires…and be successful in all of our various pursuits.

In fact, in your own quest for personal success, I suspect most of you reading this article now…have spent some time studying various methods for achieving success. Fortunately, there are many excellent resources available for success seekers.

One excellent resource for the devoted success seeker is the huge treatise on success titled “Law of Success” by the renowned early 20th century success teacher and author Napoleon Hill. In this extensive work, Mr. Hill lays out and explains 17 powerful principles that should be applied for optimum success. This classic 1000+ page work is probably a must read for the truly devote student of success.

While there are indeed some who love to delve into the subject of success in depth (myself included)…I suspect that most want to achieve success in the shortest time possible using the least amount of effort necessary.

Not to begrudge or belittle the great works and principles associated with success by any means…I would humbly like to offer a formula for achieving success for all your desires and pursuits…that shouldn’t take years of study to apply.

Breaking the “Success Formula” down to its basic elements. The following steps should be followed and performed in the order listed

1. Obtain a solid vision of what you wish to accomplish…utilizing as many senses as possible.

2. Gain as much knowledge as possible concerning the subject or skill set you want to be successful at.

3. Take all the necessary actions to ensure success in what ever desire or pursuit you wish to succeed in.

Creating a powerful vision of what we want to achieve is a vital first step for the accomplishment of any goal

In our quest for success in any endeavor, it is very important that we truly contemplate what we wish to achieve…and formulate a solid vision of the desired final outcome in our minds before we even begin the process.

When we truly envision the outcome of our desires and pursuits…we create a powerful mental image that will propel us faster towards our goals. A strong mental picture that utilizes as many senses as possible…will both increase the speed of accomplishment, and help keep us motivated along the way.

As we begin to create our visions, it is vital that we really contemplate our goals…to ensure that we are truly pursuing the “right” goal for ourselves. Spending the proper time to truly formulate our desires will become very important when we actually start applying the necessary actions needed to achieve our goals.

To produce the best vision of what we desire to accomplish…we should apply the powerful tools of meditation, affirmations, and visualizations together to create that perfect mental image. As we quietly meditate on our goals…we should begin to quietly soft talk to ourselves the perfect scenario of what we want to achieve.

During this important time of meditation, we should also be visualizing the final outcome we desire… using as many of our senses as possible. Through our “mind’s eye”…we should be able to see, feel, and even smell that which we want to achieve.

All of these powerful tools mentioned…along with the next step in the “Success Formula” will bring into play the powerful forces associated with our subconscious and super-conscious minds.

To achieve true success of our desires and pursuits…it’s imperative that we gain as much knowledge and skills possible concerning that which we hope to succeed at

In truth, there are almost an infinite number of subjects and pursuits out there waiting to be accomplished. We just don’t have enough time in one lifetime to achieve success in every area of endeavor.

That is why it is so important to truly contemplate our goals…and decide which pursuits are most important to us at any given time. Once we have determined our most important desires and pursuits, and formulated a solid vision of our goals…we can then begin to apply the second part of the success equation.

With a firm grasp of what we want to accomplish…we should begin the process of gaining all the necessary knowledge for successful achievement of our goals.

As we pursue our current passion…we should work hard to learn as much about the subject of interest we are currently pursuing. Most likely, there will have been others before you who have also desired to master a similar discipline or achieve the same goal you are currently working towards. You can use their own experiences and knowledge gained to help you on your own journey. Many of these former seekers will have written some valuable material that will be very useful to learn in your own quest for knowledge on any given subject.

If there is new skill set you wish to master…it is also vital that you try to model the behaviors and skills of past achievers in that area. Along with modeling a particular skill set…it is also important to practice the new skill until it becomes habit.

Along with the first step in the “Success Formula”…when we gain as much knowledge and skills associated with our goals as possible, we set in motion, the powerful forces associated with our subconscious and superconscious minds…that will bring forth our desires almost effortlessly.

Action is vital for success in any pursuit…but should definitely be the last step in the “Success Equation”

As the above statement suggest, action is indeed a very important step for achieving success in anything…but action should only be taken after the first two steps are complete.

Once we have truly contemplated our goals, and obtained all the necessary knowledge and skills needed for successful completion of these goals…then it is time to take the necessary actions to bring our goals into reality. By this point in time, our actions should also occur almost effortlessly.

Dr. Robert Anthony, author of many valuable resources associated with creating our own realities…had this to say in his article titled “The Secret of Doing without Doing”:

“Put simply, you should take no action on anything until you have visualized your desire and made it real enough in your mind that your next action (step), whatever it is, seems like the most logical step. How can you know the next logical step? Here is the test that you can give to yourself before taking any action. If you focus on what you desire and still feel overwhelmed or anxious, then you are not ready for any action. You know you are ready when it feels like the next logical step is effortless. There is no effort, no strain, and no pain.”

With all of this said, it is also important to remember that while our actions should seem almost effortless…there still is a work factor involved in the successful achievement of any goal. Nothing can be achieved with little or no effort on our part. Get rich quick schemes and success without any work or sacrifice are just not going happen.

The trick is to make our actions so desirable that they really don’t feel like “work” at all. When we have done the ground work discussed in the first two steps, we will be so full of passion and knowledge…the action step will just flow naturally, and we will be happy to do it!

The “Success Formula” can be applied to any aspect of our lives…to truly create an Abundant Life full of success and happiness

Whether we desire Financial Freedom, Personal Development, or Optimum Health…utilizing the “Success Formula” is the key to obtaining all these things and more.

We truly are the masters of our own destiny’s…and using the 3 steps just discussed will hopefully provide you a relatively simple way to achieve all your dreams and desires.

A truly Abundant Life can be accomplished through Vision, Knowledge, and Action. Good luck on your own Abundant Life journey!

When I read biographies, autobiographies, or management articles and textbooks, I’m always impressed by one commonality among all successful people: they all set goals. I suppose all normal human beings do that every day; they have a mental plan of what they will accomplish during the day, or in the short run.

For the successful individuals, though, those goals they set for themselves are for the short run and for the long run. And they write those objectives down. This is the secret of success, for plans, goals, and objectives not committed to writing, often are nothing but dreams. A concrete written list will make you a doer, a mental list a wayward dreamer.

While many readers search for the Jay Gatsby’s magic hidden formula for riches and success, I’m sure they simply gloss over Gatsby’s schedule for self-improvement. But let’s not be mistaken; therein we find the roots of his success.

Here’s an exchange between Jay’s father and Nick Carraway, the narrator:

Jay’s father: “Jimmy was bound to get ahead. He always had some resolves like this or something. Do you notice what he’s got about improving his mind? He was always great for that. He told me I et like a hog once and I beat him for it.”

Nick: “He was reluctant to close the book, reading each item aloud and then looking eagerly at me. I think he rather expected me to copy down the list for my own use.”

Nick wasn’t about to copy the list down since he’s already a formed man, well connected, Yale-educated, and wealthy. Not a self-made man. For others, though, we can see that from an early age that Jay Gatsby had contracted with himself to become a success.

Gatsby’s schedule:

Rise from bed………………………………………….6.00……………..A.M.

Dumbell exercise and wall-scaling…………………6.15 – 6.30……….”

Study electricity, etc…………………………………7.15 – 8.15……….”

Work……………………………………………………8.30 – 4.30…….. P.M.

Baseball and sports………………………………….4.30 – 5.00……….”

Practice elocution, poise and how to attain it…..5.00 – 6.00……….”

Study needed inventions……………………………7.00 – 9.00……….”

What can we learn from this schedule? We learn that he’s an early riser; that he takes care of his body as well as his mind. What is poignant is that his vision of success included a persona or an image-a cultivated and well-poised image. As the story develops, we learn that he uses everything that he included in his schedule, from wall-scaling (maybe social climbing) to inventions, and baseball and sports.

His general resolves:

No wasting time at Shafters or [a name, indecipherable].

No more smoking or chewing.

Bath every other day.

Read one improving book or magazine per week.

Save $5.00 [crossed out] $3.00 per week.

Be better to parents.

Conclusion:

That Jay Gatsby set off on a quest to become rich, there’s no doubt. That he achieved wealth by cutting corners and dubious business deals with shady figures, there’s no doubt. The text is quite clear. The question that lingers is, would he have become successful without a written contract with himself?

No architect, builder, or contractor would set off to build a house without the blueprints of the house. Success needs a blueprint.

Did you know that many people are uncomfortable with the prospect of success? When they think of success they become afraid and begin to sabotage themselves?. It’s seems hard to believe but it’s true. Are of one those people? Failure might not be ideal, but it can be more comfortable than the possibility of something more. Eliminating your fear of success could be all you need to do to take your life to the next level. Here are a few tips on how you can do that.

The fear of success can manifest itself in different ways. Procrastination, self-sabotage, and an inability to concentrate on important tasks are signs of discomfort with success. Do you suddenly feel tired when performing a task that could take your career to the next level? These are signs that your subconscious is derailing your efforts. Do you suddenly stop trying to finish tasks you know could lead you to the next level of success?

Reject negative beliefs and attributions. Attack your negative beliefs. Make a list of your negative beliefs regarding success. Question them.

How do you know this belief is true? How do you know others are telling the truth?

Where did this belief originate? What does the data show?

What is your negative belief costing you? Is tit making trust yourself less and doubt yourself more?

Success is more complex than failure. It can seem easier to deal with your life as it is than to become successful. The more successful you become, the more visible you become. You’re more exposed to criticism. You have more responsibility. You may have to live with more pressure. You may have more people blaming for their own failures and struggles. This can be hard to handle and when you think about it, you may simply want to go back to being in a situation where people do not talk about you.

Remind yourself that you’ll have access to more resources if you’re successful. An excess of resources results in more comfort. When you have plenty of money and influence, life becomes easier. The other thing to remember is that if your success as a a result of your living according to your values, your self-worth, happiness and wellness will increase!

Have a vision of success that appeals to you. Are you afraid that massive success will result in a loss of free time? Build a vision of success that allows you to work on the beach for a few hours each day with your laptop. Success won’t happen if your vision of success is unappealing. What is your ideal version of success? What will it take for you to get there? Can success help you have more time for yourself and your family or will it make your time management more challenging? When you make a list about that things that excite about success, your fear of success will begin to fade away. Remind yourself of some of the advantages that success can bring: influence, money, social status, comfort, contribution, and so on.

Use logic to motivate yourself. Enjoy the process of becoming successful. Success can seem like a lot of work. If you view the work as misery, no success will be attractive enough to motivate you. Find a way to enjoy the process of becoming successful. You might choose to value what you’ll learn or the people you meet along the way. The more successful you become in one aspect or dimension of your life, the easier you can apply it to all aspects or dimensions of your life.

As nursing students journey along the educational pathway to a successful nursing practice, critical thinking is a necessary component. Its use, along with creative strategies to integrate it into all facets of nursing education has taken on more importance than ever. In addition to better defining goals and achievements for meeting critical thinking standards within courses and programs, a shift in thinking needs to occur. As part of a successful nursing education, each student must accept and proactively seek a responsibility for self-integration of critical thought processes. Use of individual information processing and learning styles allows for each and every student to take an active role in successful educational outcomes. This process, which can be individually customized, makes all learning meaningful since it employs methods through which the brain processes, categorizes and associates. Each student holds the key to his or her own success. While a combination of many factors and strategies can be utilized, certain ones take precedence and are quite simply to put into practice. In essence, there are three which serve as the launching point for use or development of additional ones. The three basic components necessary for critical thinking are:

Questioning or inquiry: this component not only includes what questions to ask, but how and why you are asking them. The ability to do this directly relates to comprehension, which is your base of knowledge. Each student needs to perform an honest appraisal about and reflection of this. Remember that all theory roads lead to clinical practice application, so question everything in this format. Association making and pattern recognition are important here.

Self- discipline: this should be fueled by your passion and commitment to nursing. It takes the forms of:

Adequate and meaningful study time

Utilization of learning style in studying and note taking

Goal setting- daily and weekly as well as for the longer term

Using a worksheet or template to organize your thinking

Taking care of yourself so that you can accomplish the goals you set

Maintaining a positive attitude

Creativity: being creative helps you to feed your learning style and can even make the learning and study process more fun. Additionally, the creative process ensures reinforcement of knowledge and assists you in applying it. Some ideas related to creativity (although they are limited only to your imaginations) are:

Solitary study sessions where you talk through your notes out loud

Taking notes using or thinking about descriptive phrases which connect theory with actions you would take

Studying as if you were taking the test- in other words reframing notes or concepts into test questions

Blending more visual and auditory methods into studying and note taking

It is easy to see how all of these concepts fit together and are part of each other. Each blends into the other and mandates that a student has an in-depth self -awareness. As that awareness expands to include critical thinking and the need for proactive acquisition and application of it, educational success and thus a successful transition to practice can surely follow. Mastering this process also leads to improved confidence as well as clinical reasoning and judgment skills.

Someone once asked me how do you know when your successful if you are constantly working to achieve success. I told him that success leaves clues, and even while you are on course, there are guides to keep you on the path. Did YOU know that success leaves clues? And if you don’t know have to recognize the clues, and get in the “draft” so it won’t be as difficult for you to achieve.

Junior Johnson was one of the founding first of NASCAR racing to invent drafting. He noticed that whenever he got right behind another car, he was able to go faster. He suspected the front car lowered wind resistance for the back car by “creating a draft.” His technique helped him win the 1960 Daytona 500, even though his car was significant slower than some other stock cars on the track. When interviewed about his driving, he told them about his technique.

Soon other drivers began imitating Johnson’s technique, and drafting was born. NASCAR racing went from a combination of luck and horsepower to an intensely technological, strategic sport.

What actually happens in drafting?

Basically the front car creates a low-pressure area — a draft — that essentially acts like a vacuum and pulls the back car forward. The combination of the pair of cars can go as much as 5mph faster than either car driving alone. Add more cars to the line and the effects are doubled even tripled.

To draft, you have to know and trust your car’s handling. And if you want to change your position in the line of cars, you have to be strategic. Scientists have proven that when you draft, you exert 30 percent less effort than the person you are tailing.

The same is true in being successful.

If what you are striving to achieve has never been done before, you will suffer the pain, fear, and struggle to accomplish your goal. Just imagine the person that made the first cell phone, or the first television.

But if you know you are following behind someone else who is blazing the trail and creating the draft for you, it will be much easier. And if you wish to become better, you have to know and trust yourself, first, and with this knowing you are able to make sound and strategic decisions that will not only affect you, but others you make connect with.

How to find your Success Draft

For anything you do or wish to achieve, simply find two people that are very successful in what you are doing or would like to do, then devote yourself to learning as much as you can about them and how they got to where they are. Just get in their draft, and that alone will exert 30 percent less emotional efforts and struggles in reaching your goals.

Of course we all strive to be trendsetters and love to be out in forefront leading the way, and you will have every opportunity to do just in your journey by mentoring someone, or hiring an intern. When you teach someone else, it’s an amazing way to boost your learning curve and reignite your passion and purpose in life.

By the time you achieve your goal, you would not only be successful, but you would have helped others that followed in your draft.

Today NASCAR has redefined the shape of the cars to make them aerodynamic and to reduce the accidents that occurs on the racetrack, but drafting still remains. Find those clues that success leaves behind and get into that draft, that alone will take the stress and worry out of how it can be done because the trail has been blazed before you.

Remember success leaves clues – seek the draft that others left behind to give you, inspiration, courage, and strength for you to accomplish your goals. In fact, seeing what others have done gives you positive anticipation in what you will achieve.

This is your life – make the most of it – begin working with the power of drafting by never giving up, being consistent and finishing strong. You’ll be glad you did.

I look forward to connecting with you soon

Realize your Potential

In order to succeed at anything, you need to see that you have the potential to reach your goals. For example, if you want to be a recording artist but have no singing ability, having success in this field is not likely. However, if you love working on cars and have a real talent for fixing engines and transmissions, and to you, success would mean working for NASCAR, you have potential to learn and achieve that success.

Don’t Look Back

Everyone has failures or mistakes from the past. To have success, you need to learn from your past and value those difficult lessons but do not every dwell on the past. Simply move forward and make better, more educated decisions from the lessons learned.

Dare to Dream

To succeed, you need to have dreams and aspirations. Be honest with yourself as to what you want out of life and what you want to give of your life. Allow your mind to dream and think big.

Don’t Give Up

To reach success, you have to persevere. Even Thomas Edison had to learn this. When he was creating the incandescent light bulb, it took him more than 10,000 times to get it right. Keep striving even when it becomes challenging.

Have an Unstoppable Attitude

You need to have determination. With good intentions, there may be a close friend or family member that feels it would be better if you focused your attention in another direction. Uphold your unstoppable attitude, determined to succeed.

Stop the Complaining

You might think there is no correlation between complaining and success when in fact there is a connection. When you are spending time complaining about the obstacles you are facing, you are wasting so much time being negative that you are actually losing chances to move forward. Instead of thinking of challenges as problems, think of them as opportunities.

Focus on Something you Like

To increase your chance of succeeding, you should concentrate your efforts on something you enjoy. When you start out, make a list of everything you find interesting. Then in a second column, write down the skills you have in relation to each of those items. This will help you narrow choices down based on interest and skill, which gets you started in the right direction for success.

Accept Responsibility

You need to accept responsibility if you make a bad decision or fall behind in your plan. Let us say that you have set some firm milestones that need to be accomplished in order for you to move to the next step. However, you got tired of working hard and took some time to play, which is fine as long as it does not affect your goals. Now months have passed and you are way behind schedule. This delay has closed several doors of opportunities. Who is to blame?

Be Happy

A positive mind and happy, upbeat attitude will help you succeed. It has been proven in many studies that a person living in a happy state generally gets much further in just about everything they do. This relates to attitude. Just as bad attitude can pull you down, good attitude and a happy, healthy mind will help you meet your objectives.

No Shortcuts

An old cliche states, “Anything worth doing is worth doing well.” This should be your motto. When you want to succeed, you cannot afford to take shortcuts. Taking shortcuts leads to imperfection and inadequacies. Always strive for the best, even if it requires a little more time and effort.

Have Courage

Depending on what your specific success is, it may take courage to arrive at your desired destination. For example, if you have a dream of being a writer and to you, that is success, but according to your long line of family members who have all gone on to be doctors, the only success in their minds is if you follow down the medical path. This means you will have to have courage to stand up for what you believe and desire to do, even if it means disappointing family.

Be Excited to Learn

Referring back to the analogy of Edison, when asked about his failures by a young boy, Edison commented, “Young man, I didn’t fail 9,999 times, I discovered 9,999 ways not to invent the light bulb.” As you work toward your specific success, always enjoy opportunities to learn, even if it takes longer than you think it should.

Share your Success

Although this may be more at the end of the process, it is important. When you finally do reach your success, use your experience to teach, guide, and mentor others so that they too might succeed.

Seek Input

Whatever your idea of success, conduct a “sanity check” throughout the process of reaching your goal. This should be done with someone you trust and who is themselves successful. Ask them to provide honest feedback about your success and as you move through different milestones, bounce concerns or new ideas off them to help keep you on the right track.

Be a Good Listener

To succeed, you need to learn how to listen first. Pay attention to other people who have enjoyed successes in their life, attend seminars given by people that can motivate and encourage, or be open to hearing that a particular idea is not a good one. Good listening takes time to learn but in the end, it will be your greatest tool.

Be Proactive

While it may take time to learn how to identify ways to avoid obstacles or failures, get into the habit of tackling problems before they arise. This will help you avoid wasting precious time on your road to success.

Stay Motivated

When striving for the big goal of success, it is critical to stay motivated. Find inspiring and motivational tapes, seminars, books, movies; whatever you are able to get your hands on. When you start to feel a little down and out and doubt starts to creep in, turn to these motivational tools to help you keep on track. A few excellent motivators include Tony Robbins, Norman Vincent Peale, Jim Rohn, Zig Ziglar, and Les Brown.

Give Yourself a Break

While being determined is important, do not be so hard on yourself that you become critical of every move you make. Give yourself some room to make mistakes and be flexible with you. That does not mean you can miss goals but it does mean that if you do, you find out how to avoid that from happening again and then get back to work.

Be Passionate

Fall in love with what your success. Okay, although that sounds funny, you need to have an intimate passion with your interest. You can do this regardless of what your success is. By having passion for what you are doing and driving toward, you will automatically put more effort into it. Passion is a good thing as long as it does not become an obsession.

Don’t Settle

If you have a goal of becoming a world-famous chef and you know you have both desire and skill, do not just settle to become a short order cook at your local family ¬style restaurant. While that may be good training ground, do not allow yourself to lose sight of your ultimate goal.

No Excuses

Many famous actors, music artists, inventors, etc., had special challenges ranging from learning disabilities to physical disabilities. Take Beethoven for example. He was born deaf yet he went on to be one of the world’s greatest composers or Joni Erickson who was paralyzed from the neck down yet she learned to paint with her mouth. Today, her paintings are famous around the world and worth millions. If you are faced with a special challenge of your own, while you may have to adjust things from time to time, do not use excuses. If you want something bad enough, there is a way!

Getting Past Fear of Failure

Being afraid of failure is a normal emotion for every person on the planet. How you get past that fear is the determining factor between failing and succeeding. You can do that by setting realistic goals and then examining those goals on occasion to do any necessary realignment. Above all, believe in yourself and the desire burning within.

Patience and Dues

Succeeding takes time. A goal worth setting will take time to achieve. Be patient with yourself, the people around you, and the process it takes to become successful, also referred to as “paying your dues.” Just like the chef scenario, it takes time to be a master chef. Pay your dues by learning and working your way up the ladder to success.

Good Time / Resource Management

Being successful also means keeping to a schedule. In addition, you need to learn how much is too much. Good time and resource management will help you ensure that you use your time wisely and that you are not adding third portions onto a plate still overflowing with seconds.

Attitude

Putting yourself in the right attitude for success should be at the top of your list. Staying positive and surrounding yourself with friends, that share a positive attitude will help you succeed. Do not allow negative thoughts to slip into your mind. Attend motivational seminars and find ways to enjoy life. A good attitude will allow you to turn any bad situation into a learning experience. You have heard the saying, “The glass is either half-full or half-empty.” You need to adopt the attitude that life is half¬ full. The result is that you will feel better, have more energy, and have a much higher opportunity for success.

Be Thankful

You need to be thankful for not only your accomplishments but also your failures. Having a grateful attitude is important. It will help you stay humble, which in turn, will help you continue striving for the ultimate in success.

Keep a Journal

As you work hard to reach success, regardless of what you consider that success to be, you need to be able to see your accomplishments. Start a journal and track every thing you have conquered. When you feel discouraged or frustrated, reflect on what you have achieved, and rejuvenate yourself.

Rewards

When children do something great, parents will reward them with something nice, whether a kind word of encouragement or a new toy. When people do well in their job, they get raises. As you surpass your milestones, reward yourself. Treat yourself to something nice – a new dress, a new fishing pole, whatever you like, be sure to award yourself for a job well done.

Make the Best of Each Day

Try to live every day as though it were your last. Make the most of every day and accomplish something. Even if it is something small, every baby step adds up to a huge success in the end.

Make the Process and Adventure

You should look at every angle of your journey as an exciting adventure. When you think of your childhood years, you loved investigating the unknown. Carry this with you as you strive toward success. Anticipate the excitement of each accomplishment – make it a real adventure.

Don’t Neglect Things

Especially when things are small and do not appear to have a major impact on the big picture, you need to ensure you follow through and complete your tasks. Those little things can quickly add up to a big mess if not taken care of in a timely and efficient manner.

Offer Praise

If you have people helping you out, whether on a volunteer basis or a full-time employee, always offer praise. These people are an important part of your success and by providing praise and support; in return, they will show dedication and work hard to help you reach your goal.

Accept Responsibility

You and you alone are responsible for your success. While you will have help in many instances, the bottom line is that you are responsible. You need to be surrounded by the right people, working with the right investors, going about meeting your success in the right way. It is you that will make the choices and therefore, your responsibility to make the right choices. In other words, your desire for success must always be greater that any obstacle that stands in your way.

Be Open to Improvement

Sometimes, people get into the habit of thinking they have the answers needed. You need to accept that you do not have all the answers and more importantly, be open to recommendations from other people. That does not mean you have to agree or even follow those suggestions, but it does mean to listen. You never know when someone will have an idea that will make things easier and more functional, ultimately helping you arrive at your goal more efficiently.

Participate

If attending seminars or lectures that will help you get ahead, if there is the opportunity, participate by asking questions or making valid points. Participation is a great way to remember what is being taught.

Be Serious

Take your efforts to success seriously. Success is a serious thing and it takes serious dedication. You have to have the mindset that this is not going to be all play, at least not in the beginning.

Don’t Make Quick Decisions

When things in your plan need to change, unless necessary, do not make quick decisions. Just as it took time to plan in the beginning, it will take time to change. You want to make sure you are making the right decisions when changes come up. Do your research just as you did in the beginning and then make educated choices.

Avoid Stress

When you strive to be successful, stress is a natural part of the process. Do everything you can to avoid stress. Adding in unnecessary stress into the equation will take focus away from accomplishing your goals. You can listen to relaxing tapes, get a professional massage, take a walk, or whatever helps you to relax. When you start feeling overwhelmed, stop, change direction, and avoid stress. The only thing stress accomplishes is draining your think power and creativity.

Be Logical

Okay, you may be thinking that logic itself is logical. However, being logic in many cases means having some level of analytical ability. Regardless of the way you think, find the logic in it. This will help you think and plan clearly and honestly.

Give 100% Effort

If you are going to succeed, you have to be able to get through tough times. You will have to rise to challenges and not quit. You have to plan to go the extra mile and make personal sacrifices. Succeeding means giving 100% effort. Stay focused while keeping your performance on a consistent basis.

Understand your Goal

A great challenge is to prove to yourself that you can do it. One of the ways to prove this to you is to take on responsibility. If your goal for success involves opening a restaurant, work in a restaurant as a server to get a perspective of all the jobs involved to make the restaurant a success. Understand the entire business from the ground up.

Appreciate Life

Do not burn any bridges in life. Appreciate life, people, everything around you. Learn as much as you can from every person you meet. Do not turn people away just because you do not agree with them. You never know, the very people you turn away may be the very people that come to your rescue during a time of difficulty.

Just Do It

Okay, so Nike coined that phrase but it is so accurate. Quit putting things off and just do it. If you want it bad enough, go for it!

For you to start living the life you desire, get into the habit of planning your day the night before – yet always allow room for the unexpected.

Plan tomorrow tonight. That’s the first step of the power of choice.

Daily planning and organising your days are critical in developing your successful life.

Some results may seem slow to surface at first, perhaps they may even be unrecognisable to you, but rest assured as you continue to take action the success you have a burning desire for will be yours.

On your great expedition to success, you will come across some things that you will enjoy, some you will see as fun, interesting or entertaining. That’s part of the learning process to success.

However, there will be some things that you won’t enjoy or even want to do; your inner voice – the voice who is scared of change and progress – will try to stop you. You will have to be stronger than that: thank your inner voice and strive on.

Jim Rohn, a highly respected motivational speaker, once said, “You can’t hire someone else to do your push-ups for you.” You are going to have to do it.

It’s totally up to you now! Just do it, commit to your present and future. You owe it to yourself to do, be, have and become all that you want.

“The obstacles you face are mental barriers that can be broken by adopting a more positive approach.” Clarence Blasier

What is the power of choice?

How can you live the life that may exceed your expectations? Is it by choice? Can you choose to live the life you want and live it?

Absolutely!

How do you want your world to be?

Picture it. Imagine it. Dream it. Napoleon Hill’s famous quote reads: What the mind can conceive and believe, the mind can achieve.

If you can conceive your dream, and if you believe in your dream and you believe in your ability to achieve that dream, it’s as good as done.

You can have it all if you really want to.

The question is: Do you want it?

How much do you want it?

Are you ready to do whatever it takes to have it?

It’s your choice and only yours.

The power of choice – the choices you make will determine the life you live.

Every action has a result. Every choice has its consequences.

Look around you; everything you see, everything in your life at the moment is the result of the choices you have made in the past, and the choices you are currently making.

You always have a choice, whether you want it or not.

In the end it’s up to you.

You are responsible for you. You are totally responsible for everything you create in your life, and that responsibility is reflected in the choices that you make.

Can you see what the power of choice can make on your life?

Life can be a wonderful opportunity, full of joy, happiness, wealth, and fulfilment, full of success in every area of your life; from your business or career, to your relationships, to your health, to your wealth – only if you choose it to be.

Again, we come full circle; back to the choices you make.

You always have a choice.

You can choose to stay tucked safely within your comfort zone and have your life remain the same, as it is now, or you can choose to venture out and take part in life, your life, and make it better.

Your choice.

You can choose the power of choice as the easy way out and remain where you are, or you can choose to step up and enjoy what life has to offer.

You’re not reading this article because you are happy with the way your life is going, you are reading it because you want a better life, yet you don’t know how to get it.

“To live is to choose. But to choose well, you must know who you are and what you stand for, where you want to go and why you want to get there.” – Kofi Annan

Your success starts now.

You have made the choice that enough is enough.

It’s time to move on and put forth some real, effective effort to live your life by choice, by design, the exact way you want to. You can now live your successful life as you want it to be.

Take action now so you can live your dream life

And since we are talking about the power of choice, choose not to allow your past to dictate your future; what is gone is gone.

Acknowledge it, learn from it and leave it behind. Move on. Do not dwell on it.

If you spill a drink at a bar, you wipe the spillage or have it wiped, learn not to elbow your drink and move on. Lesson learned. Leave the past behind.

Suppose you sit down now and write a simple plan for your life; for the next three months. Once done, have a look at the plan and begin to see the opportunities as they unfold around you.

You might see people or resources that can start you on the track to success.

You will begin to see people who can support you in your endeavours, you will be at the right place and at the right time, you can unexpectedly get that phone call that will lift your business up several steps.

“If we want to direct our lives, we must take control of our consistent actions. It’s not what we do once in a while that shapes our lives, but what we do consistently.” – Anthony Robbins

Your success has already started. No more excuses!

Practically all your daily actions are the choices that you make. If you choose to be a public speaker, the choices that you make will be geared towards becoming a public speaker.

You choose to attend Toastmaster classes, you choose to purchase products on the subject. You choose to affirm and visualise yourself as a public speaker.

Whether you choose to act or not act to realise your intention, your goal, is a matter of choice, a decision that you make.

An intention that is followed up with committed massive action can have the tremendous power to transform you and your life into something truly spectacular.

There are millions of people alive today who are living their dream lives. They decided to advance their life by setting intentions and utilising the power of choice by choosing to take consistent action to manifest them, one by one.

You, too, can be one of them, no matter how old or young you are.

Success knows no race, creed or sex. It only knows inspired action, commitment, passion, and persistence. You have the ability to create the life that you want and also enrich the world in the process.

Today is your day.

Today you are going to muster your courage to do what you’ve been aching to do.

From today you will make that unrelenting choice, the unquenchable thirst for setting intentions, the “I will never back down” decision to go forward in your life, to do whatever it takes to claim that success that is rightly yours.

There’s no backing down. Today is your day to win!

Success is an expression of your mind. It is a representation of your inner thoughts and beliefs. If you want to change your life, you must change your thinking and your beliefs.

The quality of your life reflects the quality of your thoughts.

“To change who you are, change who you think you are.” – Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Everything starts with an intention – a thought. It all starts in your mind. It all begins by knowing, accepting and understanding that there is another way. The direction that you are heading on now can be changed.

Success is a process that starts with your mind, setting a solid intention, and following it through with consistent massive action, determination and perseverance.

Successful people think about their goals most of the time. As a result, they are continually moving toward their goals and their goals are moving towards them.

No one is better than you and no one is smarter than you.

Everyone who is doing well was once doing poorly. Your life only gets better when you intend it to get better. And since there is no limit to how much better you can become, there is no limit to how much improvement you can make in your life.

Make the power of choice an integral part of your everyday life.

Your choice, your decision to become successful is the turning point in your life.

If you consistently and persistently do the things that other successful people do, there is nothing in the world that can stop you from becoming a big success yourself.

The power of choice may be a massive architect that will allow you to design your destiny, where you will be the master of your fate.

Remember, it is not enough to know about things. You need to practice them – you need to take consistent action.

Do not live life passively, as a spectator.

There is little value for you in doing this.

Be open to experimentation.

Be open to live life through the power of choice. Make the choices that will bring about the success that you desire.

Is your success worth having? Choose it. Name it. Claim it. And it can be yours. It is yours.

“Beyond plants are animals, Beyond animals is man, Beyond man is the universe. The Big Light, Let the Big Light in!” – Jean Toomer

Every marketing plan needs to include an industry analysis. Why? Because it is of critical importance to understand the industry you operate in, and to identify and track your performance to key business success factors (KSFs) for your organization.

Understanding your industry and identifying your KSFs will help in building a successful marketing plan; one that is based on measurable progress and results. A key success factor is an element of a whole that affects your business’ ability to do well in your market.

Most businesses focus on between three and five of the most important (to their business) success factors. From time to time, or year to year, these key success factors may change, as the industry or the market changes.

15 Examples of Key Business Success Factors (and this is not a comprehensive list) are:

1. Number of new customers per year;
2. Number of lost customers per year OR the number of customers retained (it is important to understand and measure the potential customer lifetime value for each customer on a regular basis);
3. Hire and retain excellent employees (measured by employee turn-over, job vacancies, customer satisfaction);
4. Successful new product introductions (measured by sales and costs);
5. Successful promotional programs (measured by sales and costs);
6. Good/healthy financial indicators: for example, working capital, acceptable ratios (in particular debt to equity ratios), profit margins, cash flow, receivables and more;
7. If in the manufacturing industry, high operating capacity utilization;
8. Strong supplier network;
9. Strong distribution network or channel;
10. Successful product positioning;
11. Low cost structure;
12. Niche product/service – track the number of competitors entering and/or leaving the niche. Is the cost of entry into the market high or low?
13. Market leader or follower or challenger, and is your relative market position and why? Are you able to support that position if under ‘attack’?
14. Product differentiation: Do you have technology or service advantages that others can’t easily copy? How unique and differentiated is your product or service?
15. Time to market: is your product or service able to be delivered quickly and easily; from the first point of contact to the time shipped and subsequently invoiced?

Once you have identified your specific KSFs, build strategies around those factors and integrate those strategies into your marketing and business plans to ensure business success. Develop measurement programs to help you track your progress against your success factors. You also need to assess your competition and see if your competitors’ key success factors are similar or different than yours (depending on your strengths and weaknesses and your marketing and business strategies, they might be very different). One way of comparing and assessing is to do a competitive strength analysis; find out what your competitors’ strengths and weaknesses are and build your competitive strategy accordingly. (A sample swot analysis can show you how to analyze the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats that your business faces.)

For example, if retaining your existing customers is a key success factor, your business objective must be to grow sales with your existing customers. How do you do that? First, do a customer satisfaction survey to assess how satisfied your existing customers are (or aren’t). Then determine what needs to be changed and what you need to focus on. Make sure that you understand how your customers chose between competitors: is it price, service, quality, knowledge, reliability, relationships, or all of these factors? What product or service attributes are most important to your customers? What is the unique difference between your product or service and your competition’s product or service (from your customer’s perspective)?

Once you have identified your key success factors; built measurement devices to track them; assessed and compared your competitors’ KSFs – and the industry’s; built your strategies and objectives into your marketing and business plans(phew!); you need to act! Build your business on these key success factors.