Timeless Success Recipes – Find your inner strength in 12 steps

How do you achieve success in life? That depends on many different things. Although it is well known that different areas in life requires different kinds of skills, there are some timeless success recipes that can be applied to everything you do in order to create the best possible conditions for success in a lifetime.

It’s not going to be easy. Although many of the tips that are presented below may seem obvious to most of us, it is a completely different thing to day in and day out, with the continuity that is required, apply them to real life. You are going to have both good and bad days. On bad days your mood will probably be swinging and nothing will feel worth doing.

It is during these days that it’s good to have written rules for how to act and think in different situations. A list of life rules for how to act relative to the goals you have in life. Here is an example from the blog Early To Rise.

Below are some of the timeless success tips that you should follow in your life:

1. You are responsible for your own success

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Build your own dreams, or someone else will hire you to build theirs.

– Farrah Gray

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The first lesson in life should be to learn to take responsibility for your own life. This can not be emphasized enough in a society where it has become a norm to blame our own shortcomings on everyone else except ourselves. Everyone feels offended by everything and if things don’t turn out the way we want them to, it’s easy to blame the government, politicians and everything and everyone in our society. Many things in our world don’t work as they should and it’s good that there are committed people out there who do something about it.

However, on a personal level the life that most of us have today is a result of all the choices and sacrifices that we have made earlier in life. To choose how to influence your own life by proactively plan your life, by setting goals, strategies and then implement these in your life should be learned early in life. Without a plan for your life, you will just be a spectator of your own life and you will not ever be able to build a future based on your interests and your inner passion.

2. Learn from your mistakes and never give up.

If there is an ability that it is worth learning early in life, it is how to learn from the mistakes that you make in life. Mistakes and setbacks are inevitable for everyone that wants to learn new things and achieve something in life. The most successful people are usually those who are the most likely to try new things and consequently also the people that make most mistakes in their life. What they have in common is that they don’t let these mistakes prevent them from continuing.

Instead, they learn from the mistakes and become stronger and wiser with time. One thing that is closely connected with this is the ability to stop regretting things that have happened in the past. Regrets will only lead to fear of failure and loss of future opportunities.

3. Focus on your interests

In which situations do you flourish and what is it that you looking forward to doing on your free time? How about making a career of these ideas? There are different kinds of tutorials in most schools, with the idea of guiding you on the right paths in life. However, most schools focus on traditional professions and as we all know how fast the world around us changes.

When there is something that you are really passionate about, whether it is a hobby or something else, it’s important to take these feelings seriously and consider the possibilities to make money from this. In our society it is easier than ever to start a business. Of course it also makes the competition tougher, but the people that are passionate enough will always find a way. The success may not come immediately and at times you will have to take a different direction in your life. But don’t forget your dreams and don’t listen to the people that say that it is impossible. You are the only person that know your inner thoughts and how you could benefit from your ideas.

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4. Money doesn’t make you happy, but it creates freedom.

Those who have money as their only benchmark for success will not become happy or successful in their lives. Nevertheless, money is important as it creates the conditions for realizing your dreams. A person that constantly has to thing about his or her financial obligations will never be completely free to realize his/her dreams.

Therefore, it is a good advice to wait before you buy that dream house or other material things before you have the right financial conditions to do it. Borrowing is easy, especially when the interest rates are at the levels, but having to work to afford living can in the worst case lead to a stress that kills creativity. Some people are triggered by living under pressure, but in the long run it can be a burden that is too difficult to handle.

5. Be proactive and don’t postpone things.

Passivity and waiting for the perfect opportunity to start realizing your dreams gives you a sense of powerlessness, stress and doubt about your own abilities. By being active and doing things right away, you feed your creative sides and you begin thinking about solutions to potential problems that stands between you and your dreams. Most of us have probably sometimes in our lives experienced the “creative flow” when ideas pop up and everything seems possible. This so called “momentum” can only be created through hard work and effort and, above all, by not waiting for the perfect opportunity to show up. By being active you will get tons of new ideas that have the potential to be acted upon.

6. Talent is overrated

Interest and motivation are more important than intelligence and talent. The world is full of talented people that still don’t succeed. On the other hand, it is significantly more rare with dedicated and determined people that haven’t reached some kind of success in their lives. The problem with talented people is that they often get too much for free, too early in life. They never really learn the importance of hard work and dedication and how it all is connected to success in life. Therefore, don’t let your doubts on your own abilities hold you back from realizing your dreams.

7. Hang out with the right people

This point may be perceived as a bit harsh for some. Don’t all people around you have the right to your full attention? The fact is that our lives take us in different directions and sometimes the very persons that have previously been an indispensable support can become a burden in our personal development. If you find out that you are hanging out with people who don’t support you in your dreams and don’t care for your best, you should seriously consider whether it is worth spending time with them.

You are under no obligation to hang out with people, just because you have known them for all of your life, if you don’t feel that you are getting anything out of the relationship. Your time here on earth is valuable. Make use of it by spending time with the people that support you and endeavors instead of criticizing and finding flaws in your dreams.

8. Get inspired by role models

We all have our role models. These don’t necessarily have to be in areas where you want to succeed or even possess the same qualities that you want to have. The most important thing is to identify certain success factors in these individuals and to find inspiration from it. I myself can be inspired by a successful athlete and the methods he/she uses to succeed, although I don’t have particularly big ambitions as an athlete. It is the perfectionism that is often found in athletes that appeals me. From how they are setting their goals and strategies, to how they following their own progress.

9. Get healthy habits.

We have all heard of so-called “super humans” that sleep 4-5 hours a night and still keep their work rate all day. The message is that you can get more done during a day if you work more and sleep less.

For most of us it isn’t, however, very smart to neglect the body’s signals. I also belong to the category of people who like to extend the day by waking up really early. If you want to get up early, it’s ok. But then it should be combined with going early to bed. Sleeping 5-6 hours every night punishes you in the long run, even if you in other parts of life have healthy habits and even if you are highly motivated and living your dream.

There is no job or anything else in life that is so important that it is worth neglecting your health. A healthy life style will make you feel better and help you stay positive throughout the day. No revolutionary news maybe, but if it feels like both the will and the creativity are missing to accomplish something valuable, it’s usually in this part of your life that you can search for the explanations.

10. Respect the value of money

This advice may seem a bit old-fashioned given the view on borrowing that exists in today’s society. Nowadays, it seems as if it’s rather a rule than an exception non-repayment mortgages and credit card usage for cars and other expenses. It may be understandable given the non-existent interest rate and with a whole generation of baby boomers and millennials that grew up with advices from people like Donald Trump, that essentially suggest leverage as a way to get rich.

However, it is important to understand the difference between personal finance and business. In business you take risks in order to succeed. On a personal level it is important to have the right attitude towards money. The trend to reward oneself in advance with the use of credit cards and high-interest loans is the ultimate proof of lack of respect for money. Having some play room with cash available is essential not just in business, it can also be the difference between wealth and a life in poverty in your life.

11. Go against the tide.

This is about learning the art of questioning the society in which we live. All inventions around us have begun from a single idea in the minds of individuals. Also in investments and the stock market, it is a well-known fact that those who go their own way have best conditions to succeed. It’s the law on which all wealth is based. It’s about not getting too comfortable in your life and acting like everyone else.

Most of us have enough intelligence to make successful decisions even in a complex environment. The reason why we most of the time make decisions based on the opinions of others, is due to laziness and perceived lack of time. Rely on your gut to make decisions for you and don’t be afraid to do the opposite of what is considered as normal. Avoid the herd mentality if you want to be successful in life.

12. Be humble in everything you do.

One of the simplest ways of determining the degree of wisdom of a person is to observe how he reacts to success as well as defeats. It’s easy to be humble in success, but it’s when things don’t go as planned that a person’s character is really tested. A wise person who understands that the difference between success and defeat lies in the small details.

Therefore, you can’t afford to be cocky even when everything seems to be going your way. Be happy, but never satisfied is a well known quote from Bruce Lee which at the same time summarizes what self-development is all about. You should be happy and live for the moment, but at the same time always strive for development. The moment you are too satisfied with yourself, is also the moment when you stop developing as a person.

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