What Does Success Look Like?

To achieve success in life, you first must know what success is. What does success mean to you? What does it look like in your mind? Everyone must define success in his or her own terms.

Marketing messages bombard us daily trying to define success. Our popular culture works hard to sell a commercial version of “success.”

The images seen every day in the media tell you what you should own if you are truly successful. Clothing companies tell you what you should wear and how you should look. Images and messages of “successful” people and the size and style of home they live in, how big the swimming pool is and all the associated luxuries bombard us constantly.

What is your vision of success? Is it driven by images of movie stars or business tycoons? Maybe you equate success with images of sports figures. Ask people from all around the world about popular movie stars and professional athletes and you will get an immediate and enthusiastic response.

The reason movie stars and professional athletes are successful has very little to do with what they own, where they live or how much television or media coverage they get. They are successful because they decided what they wanted and went out and got it. These people thrive on their definition of success and are passionate about it.

Michael Jordan, considered the most admired sports figure in the world, achieved the highest level of success by knowing what he wanted and pursuing it with passion. However, his success did not come without a lot of hard work and effort.

Jordan was cut from the varsity team as a sophomore at his high school. “Whenever I was working out and got tired and figured I ought to stop, I’d close my eyes and see that list in the locker room without my name on it and that usually got me going again.” He eventually made the team and led it to the state championship. Jordan knew what he wanted and made it his mission to accomplish it. By staying focused on his goal, he ended up leading the Chicago Bulls to six NBA Championship titles.

The common denominator of all successful people is their passion for their dream. They have defined what they want from life and are willing to do what it takes to reach their dreams. Define what you want from your life and be willing to pursue it with the same passion and commitment.

“A successful life is one that is lived through understanding and pursuing one’s path, not chasing after the dreams of others.”
- Chin-Nihn Chu

You could to choose to be like Lily Tomlin who once said, "I've always wanted to be somebody, but I see now I should have been more specific."

A life without vision is a life left to drift and take whatever is thrown your way. If you wait too long to decide what you want from life, you may look back and agree with Ms. Tomlin!

By Dennis A. Kelley

http://www.achievingunlimitedsuccess.com/

Life Can Be the Best Leadership Teacher

In my last post I talked about the importance of strong mentors in life. You can learn so much from good mentors -- especially in the area of leadership. However, the opportunity to learn leadership skills comes to us in many different ways throughout our life.

I was reminded about this today when I spoke to the leader of my son's Student Ambassador program. If you are not familiar with the Student Ambassador program, it was started in 1956 by Dwight D. Eisenhower to promote world peace through personal contacts. The program allows high school students who are selected for the program to travel to other countries and learn more about their cultures and interact with their citizens to promote cultural education.

My son has traveled through Italy, France and will be heading to the U.K. in a few days. My daughter participated in a trip with the Student Ambassadors to Ireland, England, Scotland and Wales a few years ago. This is a wonderful experience for these kids who get to participate. The benefits to these kids will last a lifetime and create memories they will cherish forever.

Today my son is in Paris and we talked to one of his leaders. She was so complimentary of him and how wonderful of a kid he is. How he is liked by everyone and has been such a positive influence on the group. In essence, she was saying that he is acting like a leader and helping to make his experience and those of people he interacts with positive as well. She went on and on about how he has helped others and offered to do things for them. Of course, I couldn't be more proud of him and there might just be a little bit of bragging going on here ... hopefully you can understand.

After this conversation I started thinking about her comments and how what she was describing were the traits of a leader. The fact is, the opportunity to learn leadership skills and practice them is around us all the time. Whenever you are in a situation with others you get to choose how you will react. Whether you are traveling, planning an event, visiting another city or country or even attending a family reunion, you get the opportunity to practice leadership skills. In groups people are always looking for someone to lead. Take advantage of these opportunities to practice how to create an environment where everyone feels important and welcomed and creates an environment of cooperation.

As a business owner, you can create this same work environment in your business. Be conscious of your actions and how you are reacting with your team to make them feel appreciated, a part of the team and motivated to do their best. Take the lead and others will follow.

by Dennis A. Kelley
Author of Achieving Unlimited Success

The Importance of Strong Mentors

Recently I had the privelege of being interviewed for an article in TheStreet.com regarding the importance of mentors in business and some of the things you should look for in a mentor. The article is titled Hunt for the Right Mentor and you can check out the article here -- http://www.thestreet.com/story/10424959/1/hunt-for-the-right-mentor.html.

Having a mentor to help you in business can be such a tremendous benefit and jump start your journey to success. Having someone who can give you an outsiders perspective, hold you accountable to accomplishing your goals, and keep you focused on what is important is a very powerful way to accomplish more than you thought possible.

My partner, Ralph Berge and I are here to help mentor you in your pursuit of your dreams. Just give us a call or send an email and let's us know how we can help.

by Coach Dennis Kelley
Author of Achieving Unlimited Success

5 Reasons Most People Fail at Goal Setting

Have you set any goals in your business or for your life that you just haven’t managed to accomplish? Or, maybe you started to set some goals but never went back and finished them or checked to see if you really accomplished them? Many people avoid setting goals because they tried it once and when they didn’t achieve them, they decided goal setting just doesn’t work.

The fact is the people who are most successful in the world are avid goal setters. They are driven to accomplish what they set out to achieve and they know what they are aiming for. That is what goal setting really does for you – it gives you a clear target to aim for. You are much more likely to hit a target if you have one to aim for.

So, why don’t goals work for most people? The reason goal setting fails is because the goal setter has not followed the steps necessary to establish clear, focused goals that create a roadmap for success. Here are the five reasons most goals don’t work and how you can avoid these mistakes to create powerful goals that lead you to the wealth, success, happiness and prosperity you seek.

1. Generic goals - many people set very generic goals that do not create a vision of what they are trying to accomplish. Goals such as, “buy a new house,” “increase my profits,” “save money for vacation,” do not inspire action and do not give you a specific target to achieve. If you want to buy a new house then set a specific goal for what kind of house your want to buy, where it is located, how much it will cost, what it will look like, how big it is and what amenities it has. Create a very clear picture of what you want and write your goal accordingly. Determine what your goals are and BE SPECIFIC. That is the key to avoiding the mistake of generic goals.

Be as specific as possible. Create a clear vision of what you are aiming for. Whatever it is, be specific when setting the goal. If you are trying to increase the profits of your business – decide exactly how much more you want to produce. Pick a dollar amount or a percentage increase you are determined to make. If you are planning a vacation and want to save for the vacation, then determine an exact amount, where you will go and what you will do.

No matter what the goal is, the more specific you are the better chance you have of achieving it. Why? Because the more clearly you define what you want the more solidly it will be locked into your subconscious mind. Locking your goals into your subconscious is a critical component of achievement. Once you have created a clear vision of the goal and locked it into your subconscious then you will find that the actions you take tend to lead you toward the accomplishment of the goal.

2. Inability to measure results – if the goal you set does not allow you to measure your progress then how will you know if you are getting closer? Specific goals will make it much easier for you to measure progress. Generic goals that cannot be measured are doomed to fail. Measuring your progress allows you to make adjustments along the way so you stay on track. Make your goals measurable and they will be more powerful.

3. Setting unachievable goals – if the goals you set are so outlandish that you simply cannot reach them in a reasonable time period then you will become discouraged and give up. Establish stretch goals but not unachievable ones. It is good to establish goals that make you learn and grow and challenge you to reach them. However, don’t hurt your chances of succeeding by being unrealistic. Strong goals are those that are realistic and achievable.

4. Setting goals that are not relevant– make sure the goals you set tie into your long-term plans and mission for your career and life. Too many times people set goals that sound good in the moment or are relevant to someone else’s plans but not yours. Make sure your goals support what you are trying to accomplish or else why pursue them at all? Don’t waste your time chasing unimportant goals.

5. Not setting a timeframe for achievement – if you set goals that are not time bound then it is easy to let yourself off the hook and not take action. Setting a timeframe to meet the goal creates an accountability to take action. It also allows you to adjust your activity and make corrections along the way. If you create a goal to save enough money for a dream vacation in June two years from today then you can regularly check your progress and adjust as needed. If you didn’t set a timeframe and waited until you were ready to go then you may be surprised by not having the money and have to delay your dream. That would be a shame.

Avoid these five common mistakes and you will find that you accomplish more than you thought possible. Another important point is to make sure you put your goals in writing. Once you commit your goals to paper they move from a thought to an action and you create a commitment. Share them with someone else and the accountability increases dramatically.

Visit me at www.AchievingUnlimitedsuccess.com.