Why is it that some people always appear to be more successful than others? Is it because they have more experience or perhaps they are just in the right place at the right time? We all know of someone that we admire because of their successes but how do they do it?
After reading about the successful people who I admire I have found that there tends to be a pattern and from this I have identified what I see as the 3 steps to success that anyone can follow:
- You have to set yourself a target to aim for and the easiest way to do this is to set SMART goals. SMART is an acronym that stands for :
- Specific – that is, it has defined parameters and clearly defines what you are aiming for.
- Measurable – there must be a logical way to measure your progress so you know when you have achieved your goal.
- Attainable – in other words, it must be realistic and achievable with effort.
- Relevant – so it must be important to you so that you are motivated to working toward achieving it.
- Timed – you need to set your goal within a reasonable time limit so that you have a deadline to work toward.
By developing SMART goals, you find ways to achieve them by planning each of the steps and developing the required skills along the way and as you grow and develop your skills, your goal seems to shrink in size and become even more easily achievable than you may have first thought.
- You need to stop being busy and start being more productive. These days, everyone always appears to be so busy, but what are they actually achieving with their time? Take a step back and look objectively at your work load; are you really being as productive with your time as you could be? There is a well known cliché, “work smarter not harder” and while it may be a cliché, this is exactly what successful people are good at doing, working smarter not harder. Forget multi-tasking and do one important thing at a time and do it well.
That being said, you don’t need to strive for perfection. Many of us set ourselves high standards and then get annoyed and frustrated when these standards are not met. These high standards may actually make us less efficient. I have spoken to many people who have delayed starting their business because they weren’t 100% happy with their website – the thing is, they never will be and all they are doing is procrastinating and preventing themselves starting their journey to a successful business. From what I have read, the key achievers go out there and get things done without ever doing things to 100% perfection.
- Follow the KISS principle (Keep It Simple, Stupid) – this is one principle that I try hard to follow. As Leonardo da Vinci supposedly (there is no evidence apparently that he ever did say or write this!) said, “Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.” So why make things complicated as this often just leads to confusion and frustration. High achievers don’t waste their time complicating matters so why should you.
And of course, all successful people have a very positive outlook and know the importance of learning from their mistakes.
Try following these 3 steps that the successful people I have been reading about follow and let me know what you achieve!
© Anne Galloway
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Anne Galloway is the Careers Consultant for those who want to put the fun and passion back into their working week. Find out how Anne can help you along your path to career success at www.power-to-change.eu
