The amount of success you have in life is strongly related to the
attitude you have towards success. So what is your attitude towards
success? What does that mean for you? Take the 5-minute test below;
you may be surprised at the results you get.
Select one of the three answers to the questions below, and then
compute your score based on the instructions at the end of the test
TEST
1
(A) I have a clear idea of what success means to me.
(B) I have no idea what success means to me.
(C) I have somewhat of an idea what success means to me.
2
(A) I always seek advice and feedback.
(B) I never seek advice and feedback.
(C) Sometimes I seek advice and feedback.
3
(A) I never give up something I enjoy now, for something better in the
future.
(B) Sometimes I give up something I enjoy now, for something better in
the future
(C) I always give up something I enjoy now, for something better in
the future.
4
(A) When I have a setback or rejection, I give up and quit
(B) When I have a setback or rejection, I learn from it and try again.
(C) Sometime setbacks or rejection causes me to quit, other times I
try again.
5
(A) I believe I will be successful.
(B) I believe I will never be successful.
(C) Maybe I will be successful, maybe I will not.
6
(A) I am always fully prepared for the things I do.
(B) I am never prepared for the things I do.
(C) Sometimes I am prepared and other times I am not.
7
(A) I would never take a risk, I only want sure things.
(B) I am somewhat open to taking risks.
(C) I am willing to take risks if the rewards seem worth it.
8
(A) What happens in my life is not my responsibility.
(B) What happens in my life is somewhat my responsibility.
(C) What happens in my life is totally my responsibility.
9
(A) Change always brings me new opportunities.
(B) Change never brings me new opportunities.
(C) Change sometimes brings me new opportunities.
10
(A) I go all out when I am working on something.
(B) I hold back somewhat when I am working on something.
(C) I never go all out when I am working on something.
Scoring: Give yourself the following points for the answer you chose
on each question.
(1) A +1, B –1, C 0 (2) A +1,B –1,C 0 (3) A +1, B 0, C -1 (4) A -1, B
+1,C 0 (5) A +1, B -1, C 0 (6) A +1, B -1,C 0 (7) A -1, B 0, C +1 (8)A
-1,B 0,C +1(9) A +1,B -1, C 0 (10) A +1, B 0,C –1. Answers with a
plus one, were the correct response if you are to be truly successful.
Now add up you points. If you score was between 6 and 10 you are well
on your way to success. If your score was between 5 and zero, you need
to fine-tune your attitude towards success. If your score was below
zero, you need to give some serious thought to how your attitude
towards success is holding you back.
Here are some things to look at when you consider what attitude you
should have towards success.
The most important thing you can do to have an attitude that will help
you succeed, is to know what success means to you. Success means
different things to different people and only you can define what you
really want. Once you have determined what being successful means to
you, it becomes easier to set goals and take actions that will move
you toward your goal.
In order to maximize your chance of being successful, you will have to
adopt an attitude of taking 100% responsibility for everything that
happens to you in your life. This puts you in the position of taking
control of your life and will force you to make decisions and take
actions you might avoid if you think your fate lies in the hands of
someone else such as the government, fate or your family. You should
even take responsibility for problems you have that you are sure
aren't your fault. This avoids a "victim" mentality and boosts your
self-esteem. A belief that your success is a result of fate, or some
other forces, will stop you from setting goals, making plans or taking
other steps that will put your life on a course of your choosing.
Giving others the power to determine your success, limits your chance
of being happy, and even robs you of any enjoyment of the success you
might have, as you will believe you didn't earn it.
One of the strongest predictors of success has been proven to be the
ability to defer short-term satisfaction, for a larger reward later.
Develop the ability to put off short-term satisfaction that interferes
with your longer-term goals (you do have long term goals don't you?).
Ice cream today doesn't jibe with your long-term weight loss. Keep
your long term goals in mind and constantly ask yourself if the action
you are about to take, will move you closer or further away from your
long term goal.
Change is absolutely required for you to be successful. If you are
not successful now, you and or events have to be different to create
success. If nothing changes, nothing changes and success is something
different, so change is required for it to appear. People, who feel
that the only kind of change they like is the change in their pocket,
are freezing themselves into obscurity. The world changes daily, and
if you are not changing at least at the rate the world changes, you
are falling behind. Thus the status quo becomes the status behind, as
soon as a new day starts. Change is inevitable, you need to find a
way to make it work for you, or it will work against you, even if you
take no action at all.
Success requires enormous preparation and energy, it will not come
easy, so if you are holding back for a sign you are going to be
successful, before you commit, you will never make it. Remember,
everything worthwhile is hard at first, but you have to do it in order
to make it and still there is no guarantee of success. The only
guarantee is that if you don't do it, you are guaranteed not to make it.
You must look into the future and see yourself being successful, if in
fact you are going to be successful. This vision is required to serve
as a guide to show you the path to follow and help you stay on course.
Your belief in this area is self-fulfilling. If you see yourself
failing, you will fail, if you see yourself succeeding, you will
succeed. Your belief sets the course and you can choose which course
it is. Use affirmations and visualizations to help you establish this
positive vision of your success.
Rejection is part of the process of becoming successful. Very few
people have an idea or talent everyone wants. Your job is to work
through the rejections and find those people that are looking for your
idea. Focus on the wins, not the losses. Scoreboards show wins not
losses, as that is what the world cares about and you should be the
same way. It has been said that success lies just beyond the spot you
last fell, and that should be your guiding principle. Learn from your
losses and "fail forward", past the rejection into the success zone.
Ask for help and advice and be open to feedback as you pursue your
success. Don't reinvent the wheel each day. Remember every problem
you have, someone else has had before, and they have put the answer in
a book or on a website, or in the mind of someone near you. The
answer to your problem is out there; all you have to do is ask for it.
Well have you changed you attitude towards success as result of this
article? Perhaps now you will better understand that your thoughts
control your actions and you actions control the outcomes you get in
life. The thoughts you have are under your control, so in many ways
the outcomes you get in life are as well. Remember you are never
given an idea without also being given the ability to make it happen.
Begin looking for the ideas you've been given and find those abilities
you have that go with them. Do that and you'll be on your way to
successes beyond your wildest dreams.
Edward W. Smith is the author of Sixty Seconds To Success, he produces
and hosts the Bright Moment cable TV and internet radio show, is
president of the Bright Moment Seminars, is a motivational speaker,
and publishes the free, daily, email of the One Minute Motivator
(quick peak performance tip). His website is
http://www.brightmoment.com - email edsmith@...
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