What is your definition of success? If you were to look around your immediate circle who would you say is successful right now? What does it look like? That depends on your definition of success. My definition of success is the ability to make the right choices that enable you to get to where you want to go. The dictionary definition of success is “The favourable or prosperous termination of attempts or endeavours, the accomplishment of ones goals”. A friend of mine asked me to write about success so here is my take. The quotes I use are taken from a book called 1001 ways to success by Arcturus, they have a series of books called 1001 ways to…etc I highly recommend their books, because they are small and concise.

1. “If you commit whole heartedly to your dreams they are much more likely to come true”. As mentioned above success is being able to achieve a goal, that means setting a goal and not diverting or being distracted from your goal until you complete it. Attributes such as hard work, commitment and dedication are not popular these days because we live in a microwave generation and people want things quick and fast. This mentality is detrimental to society because people think because you have something nice that you didn’t work hard to get it, don’t get me wrong some people didn’t work hard to get it at all. The point is set the goal and commit to seeing it through to the end.
2. “Success is prized because it was difficult. If it was easy then nobody would care about becoming successful”. Again hard-work is sort of synonymous with success. There was a debate sometime last year about whether Kyle Jenner is self made, because of the millions she’s made with her makeup brand. Some people said she is because she chose to do something with the money she’s inherited others don’t seem to think that is the definition of self made and even compared her to the late Nipsey Hustle to show what self made looks like.
3. “Success is a habit: small, regular successes lead to larger ones”. I don’t know about you but I get a real sense of satisfaction when I make a list at the beginning of the day of the things I need to do and by the end of the day those things are completed. You should have your main goals (your vision board, bucket list etc) but also be achieving the small day to day goals too. Life is a journey and its not just about the destination but taking time to enjoy the journey.
4. “Invite success by improving your; intelligence, imagination, independence, ideas, influence, intensity, insatiability, and inspiration”. I went to a motivational seminar about two years ago and one of the questions the speaker asked was “How best would you use your time? If you have 80% talent in one area and 20% are the things you are not so good at, would you invest more time in improving the 20% or more time working on the 80% of talent? I chose the latter, which is to work on and invest on the talent I already have and the speaker said that this was the correct thing to do, focus your energy on your craft. Improve it by doing something towards it everyday, taking a new class, networking within that field, whatever   you have to do…cultivate your craft.
5. “Success is contagious: you catch it by surrounding yourself with positive people”. Notice how the quote says with positive people and not the “right” people. Sometimes people just want to rub shoulders with others because they think it’s going to get them somewhere and in some cases, it might, however, I truly believe successful people are happy. Successful people are happy because they have the things they want and this might not always be something materialistic. Positive people are a must in my life, even if its only one person. Sometimes the people who you surround yourself with is a testament to who you are, your vibe attracts your tribe. Anyone who is truly happy is already successful.
6. “Make sure each mistake you make is a mistake you won’t make again”. Life is a learning curve, sometimes behavioural, relationship, substance abuse patterns repeat in our lives because we are not learning from our mistakes Have you learned from your most recent mistake?
7. “A person always doing his or her best becomes a natural leader, just by example” (Joe DiMaggio). You do your best by being the best YOU you can be on a daily basis. I  love the people who stay in their own lane who are focussed on their own goals yet they encourage you to achieve yours. In the world of social media, I’ve definitely come to the conclusion that influence is power and followers are the new currency. Cardi B is a great example of this. Do I think she’s a natural leader because she is always doing her best? Heaven no! However, she is being her authentic self which is the best you you can be.
8. “Success is not measured by what you take from the world but by what you give to the world”. One of the first questions you should ask yourself if you want to start a business is how can I be of service? The most successful businesses provide a service, they meet the needs of others. When you meet the needs of others your service will always be needed.
9. “Other people may consider you successful, but it is whether you consider yourself successful that really matters”. Do you measure your success by what other people have or from how far you’ve come from where you used to be? You should always remind yourself that you’ve come a long way. Whether you’ve taken 1 step or 10 steps you have made progress and progress means you are moving forward. My very first job was in Burger King,  I thank God for that opportunity but at the same time, I remind myself of that every now and again to remember the progress I have made. Don’t forget to pat yourself on the back.
10. “Failure comes when you quit. If you are trying then you are succeeding”. Finally… NEVER GIVE UP.