25 November 2007

The Secret To Lasting Success

As human beings we all seek success, whether it be in our careers or business, the recognition is in part what makes us who we are. So it is a very important part of our makeup. But why is it that some people have success in their lives and long before you know it it is all gone. In the end, these people end up feeling miserable, disheartened and lost, fedup of life itself. On the otherhand, there are other successful people who are full of energy and just can't stop working. The reason should not be surprising as you are surrounded by it each and everyday of your life.

What am i talking about you ask? There have been many books written about success, what makes a person successful? Is a topic that has been debated and had tv producers scrambling for entrepreneurs to take part in various tv programmes. More importantly, i feel we need to be asking how can we have enduring wealth and success, because if you work hard and are prepared to go the extra mile in your job or business then you are bound to experience success. I was recently listening to an audiotape of a very popular American motivational speaker who was discussing ways for creating multiple streams of income, and he said if you earn £25,000 (just above the average UK salary) for the next 40 years then you would have had £1 million pounds run through your bank account! That is success isn't it? After all, you would have earned £1million pounds working on an average salary. The key point he was trying to emphasise is how much is leftover far more important, making sure you keep and save enough money for your future retirement. So it is about what you keep and not what you earn that makes you wealthy.

My point is similar but has another dimension just as significant if not moreso in that if you wish to have lasting success and continue to generate an income you must be prepared to face and solve challenges. There it is, life's challenges are the secret to enduring wealth, both financially and spiritually. If you are in a job or business where things look and feel comfortable you need to be very concerned, just ask any ex IBM employee or Enron director. You see, challenges gives meaning to life and overcoming obstables makes life worth living.

If you take a look all around you, the inventions that have occured, beit the internet, the pc, the electric light bulb and so on these were all challenges being faced by people at one time or another and it took someone bold and courageous enough to step up and develop a solution. As a result, their legacy lives on, you only have to think of Thomas Edison who invented the light bulb way back in the 19th century yet he is still being talked about today! That is true wealth and euduring success. Look at modern times, Bill Gates had the vision and goal that he will make accessible personal computers to everyone in their homes and workplace through his software, do you think he has lasting success? You bet he does. Even though he is very successful, i guess this is putting it mildly, he is still willing and prepared to push the frontiers of the technology world further. In contrast, you will find a lot of successful people who are depressed and at the brink of commiting suicide! Though each case is going to be different, for many their lives have nosedived simply because they stopped being challenged and as a result living felt meaningless.

So how can you and i make an impact and have lasting wealth, well as i mentioned before, you need to look for challenges and see them as opportunities beit in your job or business. If you take any great success story past or present you will find a similar running thread in that they were all willing to solve a problem being faced by others, instead of avoiding the issue and turning away.

I will leave you with a couple of quotations which sum up this article.

"Too many people are thinking of security instead of opportunity." James F. Byrnes

"Your rewards in life are decided by the kinds of problems you are willing to solve for others." American Archbishop

So go out there and be daring, be prepared to face all new challenges that come your way, only then will you have enduring success.

Femi Yusoof