10 Tips for Personal and Professional Success

10 Tips to Personal and Professional Success

Know exactly what you want
Unsuccessful people go through life with a foggy idea of what they want, but in order to create success on any level you must know exactly what you want. You don't need to know all the details and every step you need to take, but you must be extremely clear about the end result. You need to know where you are going in order to arrive at your destination. It's only when you have a clear picture of what it is that you are striving to attain that you have any chance of actually getting it. When you can see it clearly with your mind, clarify it with your words and feel your desired outcome in every cell in your body, you are creating the energy and mentality necessary for your success.

Commit to your vision
Being committed to your vision means that NOTHING will stop you. Those who truly succeed have made a commitment to themselves to keep going until they reach their goal. They believe that what they intend already exists and they just have to keep taking one step after another until they arrive at their destination. It doesn't matter how long it takes or the amount of effort required - nothing can stop them. There will always be challenges and delays on the path of success and most people give up and take another road, but those who persevere no matter the challenge are virtually guaranteed their heart's desire.

Adjust courses if needed
It's important to be committed to our end result but sometimes as we go along our path, we gain more knowledge, insight and unexpected opportunities appear. Success has peripheral vision. It keeps its eye on the goal, but is aware enough to spot unknown possibilities, a better route to the destination or even a better destination. It's important to add a bit of flexibility to any plan for success to flow. Be clear about what you want, but wise enough to know when a shift in perspective, direction or intention is most beneficial.

Take chances
Greater success only exists outside your comfort zone. As long as we stay within our current comfort zones, our success will stay limited as well. What we want always exists outside our comfort zone - otherwise we would already have it. Your comfort zone is as far as you will go without feeling anxious, unsure or fearful. These same feelings are emotional guards that keep you from moving towards what you want. When most people hit upon them, they turn back to situations where they feel more secure and confident, but if you really want to be successful, you must learn how to move past your fears and insecurities - you must have the courage and willingness to expand your current comfort zone to include your possible potential.

Fake it until you make it
In everything that I have ever succeeded at, I jumped in the water and then figured out how to swim. I'm not saying that you shouldn't prepare and have all your ducks in a row - certainly you should. But, there will come a time when you find yourself out on the diving board uncertain if you can stay afloat once you dive in. These are the turning points in your success. You can either turn back or you can take a chance and dive right in, having faith and confidence that you will somehow figure out how to swim. The point is that you won't be able to predict or prepare for every step of your journey towards success - there will come a time when you are asked to do more than you think you can. Do it anyway and be willing to learn as go. You don't have to be an expert at everything you do, but you do have to be willing to become one in the process of learning. The most successful people are the ones who are willing to learn as they go and willing to go all the way.

Treat your time and energy as valuable commodities
Your time and energy are your greatest resources and must be treated as such. Are you someone who gives your time and energy away to things and/or people when you don't really want to? If so, it is time to take it back. You may be able to create unlimited amounts of money and other resources, but there is only so much time and energy in one life-time. Where you put your time and energy will determine the amount of success that you will create in all areas of your life. People who give their time away unconsciously to mindless dead-ends like TV and video games are throwing away time that could go to achieving their dreams. People who also put the needs of others before their own are giving valuable energy away that can be channeled into great success. If you treat your time and energy as the valuable, limited resources that they are, your choices will become much more conscious and intentional and move you closer to the success that you desire.

Be yourself
Your greatest success will always come as a result of being who you really are. The only job that you have on this planet is to be yourself. Of all the people who have ever lived and will ever live, there is only one unique you. You offer gifts that only you can offer. Your greatest success will come from the fullest and most authentic expression of who you really are. When you allow your gifts and talents to shine forth, magic begins and success follows.

Connect with people
Success does not happen in a vacuum. Success happens because we are all part of an integrated web. In order to be truly successful, we must utilize our connections and human resources. We must let the world know who we are and be willing to share whatever it is we are called to share. It also means knowing when to ask for help - and doing so frequently. Every time we make a connection both professional and personally we open up thousands of possibilities. You never know who knows who, and they just might know the perfect person to help you take the next step.

People before profits
It's not about the money. In the end, prosperity and success is measured by the amount of good you can contribute to others. On our deathbeds, we won't be counting the amount of money we have accumulated or the number of degrees on our wall. What we will be adding up is the amount of good we did in the world and the number of people we helped to succeed in whatever way we could. People know when you are in business to only make money and when you are in business because you sincerely want to help. Most people are likely to give their business where they are most appreciated. If you make contribution your priority, material success will likely follow and you'll enjoy it so much more.

Expect Miracles
When we are clear about what we want, totally committed to the outcome, and willing to take chances, we create the space for miracles to happen. There is a great force "out there" that wants for us what we want for ourselves and when we do our part, "it" can do its part. This might look like being in the right place at the right time, accidentally meeting just the right person to help us succeed, unexpected support coming out of no where, an amazing resource magically appearing, or all the wonderful synchronicities that make success happen. If you were to interview just about any successful person, you would discover that it was the miraculous synchronicities that made the difference in their success. This miraculous energy, which conspires on our part, can bring us exactly what we need when we need it. When we live in a space of expecting miracles, we open ourselves to possibilities and opportunities we might otherwise not see. The bottom line is that the more we set our energies in any one direction, the more unseen energies can support us in creating exactly what we want.

In grace & gratitude,
Nanice