What is success

[Anthony Hosking]

What is Success?

This is an all encompassing question, success is many things to many

different people it’s a bit like asking how long is a piece of string. Many

people consider themselves a success just to be able to go do the

shopping. There are thousands of people in the world that find it a real hard

thing to just do the weeks shopping, for one reason or another. A great

deal more people do not think they are a success unless they have a six

figure income and all the trapping to go with it, company car, expense

account etc. What it really boils down too is this: Success can be yours,

based on what you consider success, if you are a success by having a

great relationship, then you are. If you are a success by having a house,

boat, car etc, then you are one.





Are we born successful?



Yes I believe we are all born with that success formula built in, we don’t

even think about it, it is just part of us. Well you may say “Where did I go

wrong”? Answer? “You did not go wrong”, you still have that inbuilt

success formula; you have just let other things override it. Let me explain.

When you came into this world you had nothing, only the will to survive.

Instinct told you when you needed to be changed or needed your daily food

intake, you could not talk as yet, but you soon got your point across. When

you were learning to walk, did you try a couple of times and then give up?

No, you kept at it until you could walk which is why most of the world’s

population walks today. BUT about this time in our lives, we also started to

notice other things. What people said, what people thought, what they

wore etc, in other words we became aware of other stimuli to our senses.

This is where I believe we learnt to cover up our success formula. We did it

bit by bit until we could no longer see it. Why did this happen? Because

we started to listen to our peers. How many times have you heard “What

makes you think you can do that”? Familiar eh. Yes our peers have

downtrodden our success formula, pushed it way back until we don’t even

know it exists.





The world is full of the so called do-gooders, always watching out for our

welfare, instead of getting on with there own. Why do they do this? I

believe that it is because they have very little faith in themselves to be able

to do the very same tasks. They would sooner we did not try, in case we

did it better than them. The human being is a proud species and does not

take too kindly to others being better than him/her. Competitiveness is part

of our being.

How many times have you seen an idea, it many have been yours or a

friends, which sounds great to you, but just watch someone come along

and pour cold water on it, The idea goes from white hot to stone cold in a

very short time. What happens to it? It never sees the light of day again and

that’s very sad, but it is the way we have been conditioned since we were

toddlers.





The world is full of those that continually advise us on everything.

Finances, career choices, the money you can or can not make, and tell you

why this will not work or that has no show of seeing light of day. These

people I call the dream stealers because that just what they do, steal our

dreams. Where are these dream stealers when you need help to pay your

bills etc? You got it, they are nowhere to be found. Sure, they may mean

well, but we can do without them.





From a very early age our senses have been bombarded with negativity.

What we must eat, wear, the way we are expected to act. The fashion

industry tells us how we should look, nice slims bodies, the peak of fitness,

the nice clothes we should be wearing, and on the other hand the food

industry tempts out taste buds with all sort of new tastes. What happens?

We put on weight, and then we have to exercise to get it off again, so as to

look like the super models.





Our whole existence revolves around what we should look like, what others

should look like to us (the so called perfect person) instead of just

accepting the way we are. We start to look different from what the media

say we should look like, we start to doubt ourselves, we feel

inferior, our self esteem goes down the toilet, and with it goes our built in

success formula. Any sort of cold water on our ideas helps to flush our

self esteem even further out to sea.





Ok. I can hear you saying “I see what you mean, but what I can do about it,

how do I change this”? You have just said the magic word “CHANGE”

that’s how you turn your life around, you change. Now I understand this is

not an easy thing to do, and it won’t happen overnight since it has taken a

lifetime to establish itself within, but nevertheless it can be done. We are

blessed with the fact that we all have been a success in someway in our

lives, so the concept of success is not really foreign to us. The very first

thing we have to do is recall when this was. Was it at

School when you won the sports event you were good at, the high marks

you got for a essay? Perhaps it was when you started work, or even

something before you even went to school. Whatever is was we need to

identify it no matter how small it seems now; at the time it was big enough

to make you feel proud.





Remember how it felt to be a winner. Did your friends praise you for a

great job well done? How did that make you feel? Did you feel accepted

by your friends? What did you parents think of you, how did it make them

feel? Yes we all have at least one of those experiences to fall back

On. Relive it in your mind, really live it again, close your eyes and let your

mind go back to when it happened. If you can do it for that time. You will

very soon see other things you were a success at, and you will quickly

believe that you can be a success.





The very next thing to do is get an idea, maybe to buy an item you have

longed for, be it a new dress, car, house, bike etc, BUT this time tell nobody

about it. Remember what happens when you tell your peers? You will

always find at least one that will tell you why you can’t do it; they

will pour cold water on you every time. Keep your little dream to yourself,

whatever the cost, don’t let ANYONE steal it. What do you think will

happen when they find out you have bought this coat or that car etc. Yes

you got it right, they will not put you down anymore. In fact they will most

likely say how cool it is, “I want one of those as well, and where did you get

it?” “What a great idea”, “you look great”, and so forth. Imagine how this

will make you feel. That’s all there is to it. It is my belief that our peers are

always first with the good advice. It’s always free and often that’s about the

value of it as well. Its free, it cost you nothing to listen-or does it? Think

about it. Will those very same people will be also the first to congratulate

you when you just go ahead and do it? No. They will just accept the fact

that you have it. Don’t let anybody steal your dreams.

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