We all have a friend or family member that is always complaining about everything and never seems to get anywhere in life. Then, we have another friend or family member that is always positive about everything and is the most accomplished person we know.
Even though their upbringing, overall circumstances in life from an early age, and education are very similar — one is far more successful than the other; so why is that?
Let’s take a look at the most probable reasons for this…
I believe success is a choice and anyone can be successful if they truly want to. Yes, in certain circumstances, you are born with characteristics that will help you become more successful in a particular field.
For example, if you are 6’5″ tall and weigh 275 pounds in high school then you are far more likely to become a professional football player than your friend who is 5’7″ tall and weighs 140 lbs.
However, that does not necessarily mean one of you will be more successful than the other in life overall.
One might only play in the NFL for a couple years and make a few hundred thousand dollars, then get cut, and struggle to find any meaningful employment for years afterward. While the other might become a big time NYC lawyer earning millions of dollars per year for a 30 year career.
I’d say the “little guy” ended up being FAR more successful in the long run because of the choices he made in life – not because of his size or any particular skill he was born with.
You can also look at two brothers/sisters that were born to the same parents, grew up in the same neighborhood, attended the same school, did mostly all the same things growing up, etc… and one ends up becoming hugely successful while the other struggles throughout adulthood and by most standards is a total failure! This happens all the time with siblings.
So, what separates the successful from the unsuccessful?
This brings me back to my original point in that I believe success is a choice… It’s not about your skill level, talent you may or may not be born with, your education level, or where you grew up. It is about your willpower, habits, determination, commitment, hard work, and belief in yourself!
You’ve read about high school or college dropouts that turned out to be self-made millionaires or even billionaires. These rags to riches stories are abundant and ever-present. There are also just as many stories about people born with all the opportunities in life — money, family, talent, education, etc — who end up being complete failures in every sense of the word.
Therefore, I maintain that success has very little to do with your circumstances and a LOT to do with YOU and what you decide you are going to do with your life!
Your attitude and daily activities will shape your future. If you want a successful future, you have to be a positive person that has a plan, and applies good habits in your daily life.
Obviously it’s not easy to develop smart and desirable habits, or we would all do it and everyone would be successful. However, with unwavering determination and the constant drive to reach your goals, you can achieve whatever you desire in life.
Go through each of the lists in the images above carefully. Be honest with yourself. Look deeply into you and see which of them you share the most traits with. Don’t lie or try to be something you’re not, it’s just you and your conscious doing this exercise, so there’s no need to cheat.
Nobody is completely in one group or the other — we are all human — so none of us can be perfect!
However, looking at those charts should give you a solid idea of where you currently are with your thought process, and what you could be working on to adopt the “successful mindset” right now.
It’s important to remember that successful people will always do what unsuccessful people won’t do.
Two of my favorite quotes that go along nicely with this topic:
“Whatever the mind can conceive and believe, it can achieve.” ~ Napoleon Hill
“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.” ~ Will Durant
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