THE INITIATIVE TO SUCCEED

We always ask ourselves why others are more successful than us, trying to decipher what exactly is that secret formula they have used to alleviate themselves. Numerous guidelines and studies are conducted daily to at least give people a glimpse on how to become successful.

My take is on the personal level regardless of the circumstances surrounding a person. Many people linger in poverty not because they are surrounded by challenging circumstances but because of how they carry themselves as individuals. In deed there is no distinct formula to succeed in life that is why we see school dropouts and PhD holders sometimes on the same level or at times the college dropout or that “dumb guy” in class succeeds more than the one who took the conventional route to success, that is study, get a good job, invest, retire. Being school smart and street smart are two distinct skills, and to succeed one has to master both.

So why do others seem more successful than others? Is it because they are more charismatic, or is it because God bestowed them a charm that they are destined to success? Setting aside the default God settings, when we come to the human adjustable configurations, the answer is more often than not, NO.

One may have all the education in the world and all the means to make it big in life but it is rather disappointing to see that they fail as individuals because of their personalities. Reasons being that some people blatantly lack ambition and are content with what they have. Opportunities may arise but their attitude of fear to take risks hinders them from manipulating the chances to succeed.

Self awareness is by far a fundamental ingredient to start with. It is important that one knows their strengths and weaknesses because some people are so oblivious of their traits that they fail to understand why they don’t succeed.A good example would be that one may lack social skills to interact with others and make meaningful productive conversations or are too arrogant to be approached but because of lack of self awareness they think they are doomed by God. That is not so. Only when you know you have a problem, will you be able to solve it.

The voluntary lack of exposure is another problem to be tackled if at all one wants to explore the options of success. For instance most of us who are in a position of accessing meaningful educative materials on the internet are busy the whole day browsing irrelevant gibberish from the web rather than looking for sustainable business ideas and investment skills which would make us better entrepreneurs in future. Despite challenges like capital and means to achieve your goals, perhaps having an idea is one step to success. Yes we all need destraction from work sometimes to be entertained and whatnot but searching for educative ideas a minute or two won’t hurt a little.

Some people may not be content with what they have yet they do nothing other than whining about it. They lack the initiative to take chances for the fear of the public eye. I can’t say shy is the right word, perhaps they lack motivation. It’s a tough world out there, rejection is part of the process but it doesn’t mean that one should take no for an answer. 

Most of us are so outspoken when it comes to irrelevant matters but stage fright kicks in at the time of articulating the things that matter. Perhaps we should learn to overcome that if at all one wants to succeed. Bill Gates and Oprah didn’t make it to the Forbes list by hiding behind others' shadows.

There is a lot one can say about what to do to succeed and economists and business analysts may come up with brilliant ideas to help one. There is no any breakthrough idea or advice that I or anyone can come up with and change our lives automatically but rather it is worth reminding each other that the drive to succeed has to come from within. As Abraham Lincoln rightly noted, there are so many opportunities out there but because we are not ready to acknowledge their presence by the lack of ambitious personalities makes success to many people still a far cry.