Success In Life

5 Fundamentals for Success in Life

By Mark Harrison

What can we do to become more successful? How can we excel in all areas of life, whether professional or personal? A vast body of literature has been written on this subject over the decades, but here are five points which I regard as being fundamental.

5 Fundamentals for Success in Life

1. Be Proactive

Viktor Frankl said that between stimulus and response there is a gap, and within this gap lies all our freedom. Even as he was suffering immense privations in a Nazi concentration camp, he realized that he was responsible for his thoughts and actions and was not simply a bundle of conditioned responses.

Like Frankl, we should strive to be the creators of our own destiny, orchestrating our experience of life. Everything starts in the mind and ripples out, so what happens around us is a reflection of our own inner world. Whether we allow our inner world to grow wild, whether we let weeds spring up and take hold or whether we cultivate a green and pleasant garden – it is all our choice: this is what it means to be proactive.

2. Take Responsibility

Since we have the power to choose our experience, we also need to accept responsibility for this. Perhaps not that everything that comes our way is a direct result of our own thinking (though some might say it is) but what we attract into our life is, largely, a reflection of our thinking. Much of this occurs on a subconscious level, but the subconscious takes its lead from the thinking mind, so changing our thoughts will change our world, and we are responsible for this.

Our behavior is a natural outcome of our mental images, and so we are responsible for our behavior too, and also for the behavior we tolerate in others. If we allow others to ride roughshod over us, then we have ourselves to blame.

3. Be a Good Leader

We cannot be effective in any area of life unless we have good leadership skills. Leadership is an art and each of us needs to find our own approach to it. Primarily, we need to understand how to lead ourselves, and this means having a compass, a direction which guides all our actions. This compass often takes the form of a personal mission statement, a document spelling out the values we live by.

As we lead others, whether as parents, bosses, in families or organizations of which we are a part, we need first and foremost to lead by example, making it clear what our values are and that we live by them. Any inconsistency in our professed values and our behavior will be spotted, seen through and will ruin our effectiveness. Personal complicity and double standards are the nails in the coffin of our ability to lead.

A good leader will lead quietly and subtly, from the rear, without fuss, without fanfare. In the words of the Tao Te Ching,

‘A good soldier does not inspire fear;
A good fighter does not display aggression;
A good conqueror does not engage in battle;
A good leader does not exercise authority.

This is the value of unimportance;
This is how to win the cooperation of others;
This to how to build the same harmony that is in nature.’

4. Don’t Let Fear Stop You

I love the movies of M Night Shyamalan. My favorite is The Village. The film is about facing the fears that haunt us and realizing that, when we do so, they disappear – nothing is as it seems. I heard once (though I can’t remember where) that the most commonly given command in the Bible is ‘do not be afraid.’

Whenever we grow, there is fear. Whenever we do something new, there is fear. Whenever we push ourselves to new heights or expand our comfort zone, there is fear. This is the nature of life. Life is always moving – either we are moving forward, growing, or we are moving back, dying. We have a choice – we can either grow or we can die. Growth and fear go hand in hand. It’s part of a package, and if we fail to embrace the whole package, we will die.

Don’t fear failure – failure is inevitable and necessary. Look at the life of any successful person and you will see a litany of failure. This failure is the foundation of success, so long as we learn from it.

Don’t fear other people. They are as vulnerable and as beautiful as you are – only sometimes they lash out in various ways to protect themselves. Everyone is doing their best, so be gentle on other people and don’t be scared of them.

When you face your fears, they will vanish like smoke.

5. Never Stop Learning

I have come to the conclusion that learning is the fundamental activity in a successful and purposeful life. If we fail to learn, we fail to grow, and this means that we die. Life gives us endless opportunities to learn, and the more difficult the situation, the more we are likely to learn.

We can learn from other people, especially difficult ones – they are like angels sent from heaven to teach us about ourselves. We can learn from the things happening around us. And most of all, we can learn by watching ourselves, seeing how we react and reflecting deeply on what moves us.

These five activities, if they can become habits, will lead to success in all areas of life. They are not a quick fix, but are the foundation of a life lived well.

About the author: Mark Harrison writes at http://effortlessabundance.com

This entry was posted on February 17, 2009 and is filed under: Success - 29 Comments »

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29 Comments

kannan viswagandhi
February 17th, 2009 at 7:07 am

Hi Michael,

Great fundamentals on success.
Fundas won’t change anytime.
Thanks for sharing.

Thanks,
Kannan

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LifeMadeGreat | Juliet
February 17th, 2009 at 7:25 am

Hi

I also think it is important to enjoy the process, try to be in the moment. Don’t want to always be chasing the success.

Juliet

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Jonathan | EnlightenYourDay.com
February 17th, 2009 at 9:05 am

Excellent post, I really enjoyed the intro and content. In addition to the great photo… Pura Vida

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Nicholas Powiull
February 17th, 2009 at 4:14 pm

I totally agree with this article. In order to expand into another perspective for more value, I would like to contributing my perspective of these five things

1. Be Proactive- The body was never designed to be put into action where your desire is not found. The body was designed for the purpose of you experiencing the action of your desire already manifested, your thoughts/imagination were deigned to call forth what you desire that will manifest, and your feelings were designed to tell you how close your thoughts are to what you desire in experiencing the manifestation.

We live in such an action-based world, that we think we must take action to get results and taking action is part of it, but only the actions that are inspired by the desire itself (the actions inspired by the visualizational process). Hence the reason why people don’t like work, the body was never designed for that (there is no desire in it).

2. Take Responsibility- There is a doctor named Dr. Joe Vitale (http://www.mrfire.com/article-.....apist.html) who heals patients without ever seeing them in person. Dr. Joe Vitale heals them by healing the part of his Self that created them in the first place. He takes the responsibility of creating not only his life but also everyone in it including everything he sees, hears, tastes, touches, or in any way experiences, because he realizes that there is no out there. In other words, when I receive negative feedback it is still part of my consciousness and reality. When I take responsibility for all of reality then I give myself the power to change anything within reality. It is the meaning or reason you give this for being in your consciousness and reality is what will determine the difference of how it will change.

3. Be a Good Leader- “A true leader is not the one with the most followers, but one who creates the most leaders.” ~Neale Donald Walsch

4. Don’t Let Fear Stop You- I heard once that the real sense and meaning of the word FEAR could be broken down like this:
F=False E=Evidence A=Appearing R=Real
When I first heard that description of fear a long time ago, I said to myself “That seems to speak truth within me, but if fear is false then why does it seem so real?

I determined that real is just a sense (a belief, a perspective, a expectation, which gives rise to what is experienced), it means nothing “in and of” itself. Like a dream seems real while you are having it, until you wake up.

5. Never Stop Learning – There are no positive, negative, or neutral ways to meet the need of growth. You are either growing or you are not. Everything in life is like the cycle of plants. Plants are always growing or they are dieing. If you are not growing as a person (to reach beyond your current understanding), then you are slowly dieing. The essence of all life, is growth. Everything in this world serves a purpose and if it does not serve, then it will eventual die and something else will grow in its place. All of nature runs on this circle. Growth is the essence of life itself. Without growth in a changing world, you will not succeed. Stop growing and you will definitely be unhappy.

Yet, If nobody is growing with you, then you are not serving growth. Knowledge that is experienced, is not wisdom until it is shared. Individual growth, is not expressive without contributing.

….
Thank you for contributing and thank you for the opportunity to express my contribute through a comment.

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Michael Miles
February 17th, 2009 at 6:51 pm
@Nicholas Powiull, Thanks so much for your thoughtful comments, Nicholas.

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Evelyn Lim
February 17th, 2009 at 8:56 pm

It’s all about Being. As Julie said, it’s less about about chasing. I’d like to add to what Nicholas said with: it’s about being that creates the leader in you that creates more leaders.

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Mike King
February 17th, 2009 at 9:03 pm

Hmm. I really like your point #1. Proactive in action and thought drives change among other things. If you live by that you will not be following others, you will be leading which bleeds into the other points as well. Great article!

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Isaac Yassar
February 17th, 2009 at 9:36 pm

I find the opening of this post is really nice: a combo of questions. I have to try it for myself someday. Good job Mike!

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Arswino
February 17th, 2009 at 11:02 pm

Hi Michael, great stuff here. I love when you described about Don’t Let Fear Stop You and Never Stop Learning. They are my favorite topics.
Thanks for sharing, Michael.

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Vincent
February 18th, 2009 at 1:14 am

Hi Michael,

Fear is a great obstacle that stops us in our tracks. In order to achieve success, there may times that we need to take a leap into an area that we are unsure of, but most of the time many failed at that point because people are fearful of the gray area that is filled with so much uncertainty.

Being able to conquer fear is definitely one of the trait that we need to have in order to achieve success in life.

Cheers
Vincent
Personal Development Blogger

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Kent @ The Financial Philosopher
February 18th, 2009 at 4:49 am

I’m a big fan of Frankl and the Tao Te Ching so you had me at #1. With that said, however, I would say that your entire list could lead an individual down the wrong path if that individual had not first defined their meaning or measure of success.

I have found that many individuals make the mistake of following social conventions and realize (if ever) that they were following the paved road and not their own path.

Great list. Just remember that words, such as strength, weakness, rich, poor, and success can be quite misleading without individual definitions.

“No wind serves him who addresses his voyage to no certain port.” ~ Michel de Montaigne

Thanks for provoking thought…

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Nathalie Lussier
February 18th, 2009 at 6:23 am

Taking responsibility is an often overlooked factor of success. I’m glad you mentioned it. It takes guts to take a cold hard look at what you’ve been putting into your goal, especially if it’s not as much as you’d liked.

Some say chasing success is not a good idea, because it can lead to let downs. Why not reach for the sun, if we fail, we’ll land among the stars.

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Les
February 18th, 2009 at 6:56 am

What is Frankl that said that? I thought it was Covey.

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Michael Miles
February 19th, 2009 at 4:05 am
@Les, Covey draws on the work of Frankl.

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Amanda Linehan
February 18th, 2009 at 3:26 pm

Great overview of “how to be successful” advice. In some ways you could summarize all the above by saying do all the things you can do, and when you come across something you can’t do anything about, just accept it.

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Peter Sinclair
February 18th, 2009 at 10:10 pm

I had the privilege of meeting up with my father’s youngest sister Dawn Lawrence, along with her partner John Allan, the other day.

Now John has an operatic background, and at one point, early on in his career, was the understudy for Placido Domingo who became world-renowned as one of ‘The Three Tenors’.

John recounted some advice that he was given by the great singer that rang true to me and it went like this:

Whenever you come to the opera house to do what we love to do – you leave your hat, your coat and your ego with the concierge at the door. When you have performed you pick up your hat, your coat but leave your ego there. It is now up to your audience and the press to tell you how good you were.

No wonder he became such a world famous performer who commanded such love and respect.

And as I have previously written – ‘your trumpet is always only for others to blow.’

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Coryelle Kramer~Animal Communicator
February 20th, 2009 at 11:22 am

“Don’t fear failure”- ABSOLUTELY it took me awhile to get that one down. Wish i had read your post a few years ago! There is no failure, everything is a learning experience. Thanks!

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Bret
February 21st, 2009 at 1:21 pm

I think the most important aspect of success is to BELIEVE.

The initial vision of an accomplishment and the belief that it is achievable is the impetus for almost everything great that has happened in the world.

I first learned this from Think and Grow Rich, but it has been written about many times.

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Happiness Is Better
March 7th, 2009 at 3:16 pm

I agree with Juliet. You want to make sure you enjoy the journey. I would also like to add that the most successful people I know are also humble. It doesn’t matter what sort of product or idea someone has, if they are arrogant, there is no way I’m going to work with them.
Great post!

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Alex Brooks
April 23rd, 2009 at 4:36 am

Once again, another brilliant artcile!

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Rajeev Sharma
August 1st, 2009 at 2:42 am

HI,Michael

i totally agree all those points who describes above. because all of points are necessary for success life.
.

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Mark Harrison
December 15th, 2009 at 4:42 am

Thanks to all for your brilliant comments, and to Peter, as always, for his generosity in posting the article.

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John
January 30th, 2010 at 3:28 am

Great article. Keep up the good work. I posted this article on http://www.optimistlist.com for other readers to enjoy!

All the best,
John

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