Success

Success and achievement in life--from parenting to fitness
to money or time management, to wealth, fame, power or
athletic prowess--is the result of mastering the
fundamentals. It's about approaching the task as a problem
to be solved, as a set of skills to be learned and applied.
In that sense, as long as we live in a predictable, orderly
universe, success is basically an engineering problem. What
a concept!

I anticipate expanding on this in many ways, for a long time
to come. I don't know where it will lead but here are some
of my initial thoughts on the Who, What, Why and How of
success:

1. Success comes to those who are prepared. Success comes
to some people more readily than others, but the difference
has nothing (nothing!) to do with luck or genetic talent or
family background. It comes to people who are balanced,
healthy, and structured. It is not attracted to scenes of
chaos, drama, confusion or impulsivity. Success in the outer
world is built on mastering one's own inner world. Get good
at living on purpose, with balance, enthusiasm, focus and
energy.

2. Success comes to those who know what it is. Success
comes to those who have defined their outcomes in advance,
who know their purpose and are committed to their goals.
Success is not about "a little of this and some of that."
It's not about starting over or giving up when things get
hard. Success is about defining what you want, knowing where
you're going, and pursuing your goals with creative,
persistent determination.

3. Success comes to those who know why they want it.
Success comes from purpose and passion, from having powerful
reasons for success. Successful people are described as
"driven" by a dream or "pulled" by their sense of mission.
They are rarely distracted, seldom confused and they never
give up. It's often impossible to tell whether they have a
dream or the dream has them. They stay the course because
it's important. They have their reasons.

4. Success comes to those who know how. Success requires
effective strategies, solid plans, a budget, a schedule and
talented partners, coaches and teammates. Success is not
random! We live in a orderly, predictable world and
successful people often spend more time developing their
"blueprint" or "path" than it takes to achieve their goals
once they get into action. Eager, impulsive failures tend to
launch before they are ready. Winners focus on the plan.
They know how their plan is going to work, and they work
their plan.