I have found that, on my journey to developing a legacy of success, there are five initial steps that need to be taken in order to set you on the right path. In later blogs I will break down each one of these in more detail to show easy ways to develop these steps into habits of success.
Step 1, Be a Dream Catcher
Become a dream catcher of ideas. Collect good ideas and store them. One of my mentors, Jim Rohn, taught me to never rely on memory when it is just as easy to write it down. Mr. Rohn taught me the importance of keeping a journal. Not only does this help in the collection of ideas, but also it adds to the physical legacy that you leave behind. They will be passed down to your children and grandchildren. If you hear a good health idea, catch it, write it down and never lose it.
Then, at least once a year, once a month, or whenever else that it may strike your fancy, go back through your journal and read through the ideas that you have jotted down; ideas that may have changed your life, that may have saved your marriage, the ideas that bailed you out of a tight situation, the ideas that helped you become the success that you are, the ideas that made you the person that future generations will look up to.
Step 2, Become a Planner
Have a good plan, not only for the day, but a good plan for the future. Building a successful life is like creating just about anything. If you just throw it together it may go up and it may stay steady, but it may not go the direction that you want it to and may, in fact, come crashing down around you. Or you can build from a plan and know that it is well constructed and will weather any storm or situation.
Planning helps you control time. When should you start the day? As soon as you have it finished on paper. Brian Tracy would always say “Don't start the day until it is pretty established or at least outlined on paper.” In fact, most successful leaders will tell you to plan out your days, weeks, and months in advance. Leave some room to improvise. Leave some room for extra strategies, unexpected events, etc., but plan it before you get started.
It's also not a bad idea to sit down at the end of the year, review the previous year and then map out the coming year and don’t forget to do this for every area of your life.
Too often, people will do this level of planning for their business, but forget about other areas of their life.
It is important that every area of your life be planned out. Set down with your family and work out a family plan for the year, places to visit, vacations, hobbies, etc.
Step 3, Become a Problem Solver
Become a problem solver. Business problems, family problems, financial problems, emotional problems, etc, being able to solve problems as they arise makes you invaluable in the work place, at home and in life. I have found that one of the best ways to treat a problem is to view it as an opportunity to grow. Mr. Rohn quoted his mentor as saying, “if you will change, everything will change for you." I have personally taken this statement to heart, and, sure enough, the more I change, the more I can see everything changing for me.
By being able to solve my own problems without a lot of fight or fanfare, I find others coming to me to help them with situations and problems which then opens up doors that allows others to help me with my problems; a circle of mutual assistance.
Step 4, Become Patient
The fourth step to a legacy of success can be really challenging for some. It’s learning to handle the passing of time. Know that it takes time to build a career, it takes time lose weight, it takes time to grow a family, it takes time to make any changes that will bring you success, and it takes time to build a legacy, so give yourself time.
It takes time to master something new. It takes time to make changes and figure out or refine your philosophy as well as the activities that develop them. Give yourself time. I have found that it is far too easy for us to be impatient with ourselves. Just remember the first time that you tried to ride a bike. Heck, for me, the fine art of mastering shoestrings seemed to take forever, but, finally, I got it. It seemed like for a while I'd never learn, did the loop go over or under? Now , not only can I tie my shoes with the best of them, but I can also tie neck ties (another great challenge of mine) with the greatest of ease.
Give yourself time, and you will become better at what ever you are working toward.
Step 5, Be an Overlooker
I know that sounds odd, but one thing that stops people in their tracks and keep them from, in some cases, even starting on their journey of success is the naysayer. The fifth step on your journey to build and grow a legacy of success is to limit your time around or even avoid those people who discourage you from reaching for your dreams.
All of us have these people in our lives, the ones who have something negative to say about every idea that you have. They try to talk you out of decisions that will benefit you.
This isn’t always the case, but many times I have seen that these people see you succeeding or on your way to success and have to reevaluate their lives and ask “why is he/she successful and I’m not?” and the answer is usually a harsh reality that they have a difficult time facing, so they find it easier to pull you down to their level than to pull themselves up to yours.
I realize some of these people are family and it’s difficult to just cut them out of your life, but you can limit your exposure to them and surround yourself with people who will support your actions and help you develop. Soon you will notice that the input from these people will become less and less. Eventually they may even come to you for advice.
So learn to master good ideas, have good plans, solve problems, handle the passing of time and learn to overlook the naysayers, and you will be on your way to more success than you could ever imagine!
Again, I will break each one of these down in future blog posts and give you action steps to take that will help you on your journey to be being the success that you are meant to be.
The purpose of these blog posts is to help you strive to be more successful and to create a life worth living, so I never want to end a post without giving your some sort of “power question” to ponder over. Answering these questions will help you to take action.
Power Question for the day:
What could you work on now that would make the biggest difference in your life?
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