There are few things that separate those who seem to have it all – the confidence and air of success always around them, or simply put, significance – and those who just don’t quite have the life they want. I’m here to tell you that you can have it all – and it is easier than you think.
When I say you can have it all, what I’m talking about is having the belief in yourself, the confidence, and the unwavering determination to get whatever you truly desire in life – which for many of us includes the feeling of being significant – of having a purpose and fulfilling life.
So how do you get there? I’ve identified some common traits among successful individuals that I’ve studied, and they are not difficult to follow. Commit to these 7 concepts and watch your results skyrocket.
1 – Have a genuine desire to help others. Zig Ziglar says “You can have anything you want if you help others get what they want.” This is the first secret of people who’ve achieved true significance in their lives. They have a purpose higher than themselves, and they pursue it with a passion, helping others to achieve their purpose and significance in one way or another.
2 – Ask BIGGER and BETTER questions. The size of your questions will determine the size of your results because your mind will answer any question you give it – always, without fail. So when you ask low level, survival questions such as “How can I pay my bills” – those are the answers you’ll get. But when you start asking yourself eagle-type questions such as “How can I create an easy-flowing, leveraged business that pays me $10,000 each and every month on auto pilot” – you’ll get a different set of ideas!
3 – Have an investment mentality. Poor people never invest in anything, they just buy stuff. They tend to have big TVs and they’re always asking about the payment. Wealthy people, on the other hand, tend to have big libraries and they’re always asking about the payoff. In other words, they’re focused on the return on their investment (ROI). And this doesn’t always mean dollars. There are 3 valuable and limited resources you have to invest – time, energy and money. The more you think about the returns on your investment in each of these 3 areas, the easier your decisions will be when it comes to who, what, when and where to invest in.
4 – Continue learning. One of my coaches says “If you want to EARN more, you need to LEARN more!” In life, school never lets out. Always remember that your current circumstances can only improve when your skillsets, mindset, and environments improve, and not a moment sooner.
5 – Have a good coach. Significant people don’t ever try to succeed alone. Your life should not be a solo project because you can never solve a problem with the same mind that created the problem in the first place. We all have blind spots, and a good coach will be able to ask the right question to help you stretch your own vision, something we simply can’t do on our own. If you have the ability to empower a lot of people (and YOU do), then you have an OBLIGATION to get help so you can fulfill your purpose as soon as possible.
6 – Become an expert at failing. In John Maxwell’s fabulous book “Failing Forward”, he says “the biggest difference between mediocrity and success is how you think about and respond to failure.” People who’ve achieved significance in their lives have risked and lost, and learned from the lessons in life. They look at the outcomes they got from the actions they took, and if they didn’t like the results, they changed the recipe until they got what they want.
7 – ACT NOW! Stop waiting around to be motivated because motivation’s not necessary. Just continue to do the activities that lead to results, and it’s impossible to fail. Many people live by the philosophy of “Ready, Aim, Fire!” But over the years I’ve learned that people of significance are more apt to follow the “Fire, Aim, Ready!” mantra. They act quickly (FIRE), adjust their actions based on the results (AIM), until finally they get it right (READY).
Adopt these 7 powerful principles in your life and you’ll be on your way toward true significance in all areas.
