The 7 secrets to Success

I like to keep life simple.  There are enough things in life that I can’t control or influence, that are complicated enough so I say keep it simple where you can. That is why I wrote the book titled The 7 Secrets to Create Your Fate.  What you are about to read is the cliff notes, if you want the full version you can get the book at your favorite bookstore or online at Borders, Barnes and Noble, or Amazon.com.  You can also get it on my website or you can download the audiobook or ebook on my website www.sharspeaks.com.

Step One:  Knowin’ Where You’re Goin’ The first step to success is to know what you want. This means if you don’t know where you want to go, you will likely end up somewhere else.  Think about the optimal desired end result. When you know where you want to go write it down. And that is all there is to step one.

Step Two:  MAP’in.  MAP stands for make-a-plan.  Just knowing where you want to go won’t get you there.  Antoine de Saint-Exupery who was a Writer, Pilot and World War II hero said a goal without a plan is just a wish.  Just like driving or going on a trip somewhere.  If you don’t have a MAP or a set of directions to get you from here to there, you are likely to have a very long and bumpy ride.  If you fly by the seat of your pants, you better expect turbulence.  Put together some basic step by step instructions to get you from here to there. That doesn’t mean be rigid and not be willing to change them around here and there, but any successful person will tell you that success is achieved in planning.

Step Three: Passion Equals Action.  If you are passionate about what you want then you will take action to get it.  If you find yourself not “doing” anything to reach your goal then you likely don’t have a strong desire to obtain it. Perhaps you are doing it to meet the expectations of someone else or you are living someone else’s dream.  You don’t have to have passion for what you want but it certainly helps to keep your momentum going and get you through those tough or trying times. Give some thought to the things you are passionate about.  Think about the perfect job for you and how could spend your day doing something you love and be excited to get up in the morning and go to work.  It’s amazing how work doesn’t so much feel like work when you are doing what you love and have passion for.

Step Four:  Lessin’ Your Stressin’.  Most people get stressed out when they are giving their time and attention to one of two things, the past or the future.  If you take a deep breathe, slow down and get present, you will lessin’ your stressin’.  When you get in the moment you are better able to resolve issues because you are dealing with reality. Now is reality, tomorrow is fiction. It’s fiction because it doesn’t exist yet so don’t project into tomorrow.  Whatever you are thinking about is not real its just your imagination about what might come next.  That makes it fiction not reality. Right now, write down what needs to be done, that’s called a things to do list. Then do the things on the list most important first and least important last.  Simply staying in the moment and writing a things to do list will lessin’ your stressin’. 

Step Five: Say Farewell to Fear.  There are two types of fears in this world.  Real fears and fake fears.  Real fears are things that could literally cause you physical harm or death.  Fake fears are things that only exist in our head.  For example, fear of rejection is a fake fear.  Rejection is a matter of perception.  Fear of Failure is another fake fear.  There is no such thing as failure.  You likely learned something from the experience, so it was an opportunity to learn, not a failure. One way to know if you are being held back due to a fake fear is ask yourself these two questions.  Could “x” cause me physical harm?  Could “x” cause me to die?  Chances are the answer to both those questions is no and if that is the case you are looking at fake fears.  You really have nothing to lose so, take a deep breath and just do it!

Step Six: What You Believe Is What You’ll Receive.  If you say you can or you say you cant you’re right!  Think about the things you say or the thoughts you have.  Are they empowering or destructive?  If you believe you can do something then it is far more likely that you will achieve it. However, the same goes for those negative can’t do thoughts as well.  To help you believe you CAN have what you want create what I call a visual map.  Cut out picture of a house and put a picture of you in the window. I have a check for $1 million from a publisher.  I took a real $100 check I’d received and added some zeros by matching the font on my computer and printing it out and pasting it. Then I made a copy and hung it over my bed so it’s the first and last thing I see every day.  Now that you can see, you will believe it!

Step Seven: Manifest Your Best.  Do your best every single day.  Always give 100% of what you are capable of.  Something to help you is what I call the 3 C’s to Succcess. They are Commit, Communicate and Create.  Get committed to what you want.  Think of it as a legal binding agreement. Once you take that approach you will know if you are really in, or not.  If not, that’s okay but at least you can move on to something that you really do want.  Once you decide that you are 100% committed then you communicate.  Tell everyone you know what you are doing. Write it down, read it out loud, tell other people, email them, fax them, etc.  The more people you tell about what you are working towards the more accountable you will be.  If you keep it quiet and to yourself, you are setting yourself up for failure.  Why would you not tell anyone?  So that when you don’t reach it, you don’t feel like an oaf.  You will work much harder to reach your goal if everyone you know, knows about it.

And those are The 7 Secrets to Create Your Fate.  They are fast, simple steps to help you reach your goal and be, do and have everything you ever wanted!