15 Fundamentals of Success to Build your Life


Success has been studied for centuries, and every generation has its own definition of what success means—and so does every individual. However, some fundamentals remain constant, irrespective of which era we are in or what technological changes are disrupting us. The aim of this article is to give the fundamentals that can help define your personal version of success applicable to you.

There are 15 fundamentals of success that you would need to achieve your version of success. Here are the 15 fundamentals of success I have identified to get the most out of yourself in the coming decade:

A Clear Mission

When you have a personal mission statement for your life, you feel enthusiastic. You get the big picture of your life. Crafting a personal mission statement is very important. For this, first identify your personal strengths and then see how this can help others. This would give an idea of what your personal mission statement should look like. Also, define how you want to be remembered at the end of your life, and you might find your definition of success is based on that answer.

“Efforts and courage are not enough without purpose and direction.” – John F. Kennedy

A Clear Vision

Vision is not something only reserved for CEOs. All of us need a reason to get out of bed every day. A compelling vision will provide the fire of passion to light up your days. Once you have a compelling vision, you won’t need someone external to pump you up, as you would be charged on your own. Create a vision for your life—not only your career but also your personal life. Your vision might be to be the best in whatever you do for a living, which is great. Some of the best ways to have a vision are to look into it 10 years from now and define where you would like to be in every area of your life. You can do the same over a 1, 3 and 5 year timeline.

“The only thing worse than being blind is having sight but no vision.” – Helen Keller

A Clear Roadmap of Well-Set Goals For a vision to be successful, you need to break it down into goals. Any big goal can be achieved, provided it is broken down into its components. Set 90-day goals and have clarity on all areas of your life—set goals for your business, career and education, personal, spiritual, and contribution. A plan can be simple: I will run a half marathon by July 2025 in 2 hr 40 min.

“Setting goals is the first step in turning the invisible into the visible.” – Tony Robbins

A Clear Plan of Daily Action

Once you have the goals identified, you need to take daily action. Every day, take action towards your goals. This is the only way your life will be aligned with where you want to end up. The main key is the goals have to be your own; they cannot be what someone else thinks you should do. Your success lies in your daily agenda as John Maxwell likes to say. You cannot change something in your life unless you change something you do daily.

“What you do today can improve all your tomorrows.” – Ralph Marston

A Plan for Engaging in Daily Practice

A lot of athletes, once they lose a tournament, don’t sulk. They analyze where they went wrong and then strengthen their practice routines. That’s what all top performers do—they don’t sulk in defeat; they keep practicing even when they have already reached the top. You need to engage in daily practice in your profession to achieve big.

“Champions keep playing until they get it right.” – Billie Jean King

A Habit of Expressing Gratitude Daily

There is a statement that says, “In order to get more, you need to give more.” Give more thanks and come from a place of abundance, and you will enjoy life more. This is not rocket science, but expressing gratitude on a daily basis will put you in a deep state of joy, which is the key to happiness. Whenever I feel a little down, I immediately write down everything I have to be grateful for, and it keeps me happy.

“Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues but the parent of all others.” – Cicero

A Clear Plan to Be a Constant Learner

Learning is truly the antidote to change. Keep learning something in your field daily. Find the experts in your field, connect with them, read their blogs, listen to their podcasts, document what you have learned, share what you have learned, and keep doing this. Beware of anyone who promises overnight success, even if they call themselves an expert. Remember, only the actions we do lead to our success and not what someone tells us is a success.

“Once you stop learning, you start dying.” – Albert Einstein

The Ability to Ignore Your Critics

Whatever vision you have will be met with skepticism, and some of it may be valid. However, if you are committed to your vision, then whatever critics tell you should not matter. Be so committed to what you want to achieve that you don’t bother about what others think of your vision.

“You have enemies? Good. That means you’ve stood up for something in your life.” – Winston Churchill

A Developed Habit of Being Optimistic

Optimism is not some feel-good hype. It is a genuinely positive outlook on life, irrespective of what is happening in your life. Optimism is truly the winner’s edge. If you study any achiever in any field, they are all eternal optimists. They always believe their best is yet to come. If you think about some actors, even in their 60s they want to achieve, and they truly believe their best is yet to come. So have an optimistic view of life, and remember your best years are ahead of you. Take failures in your stride and ride to your crown with optimism in your heart. I have written The Optimist’s Manifesto, which might interest you.

“A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.” – Winston Churchill

The Ability to Persist Till You Succeed

Persistence is the holy grail of all achievers. Instead of writing something new on this, let me just share this amazing quote from Calvin Coolidge:

“Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent.”

A Commitment to Physical and Mental Well-Being Your health is the foundation of your success. Regular exercise, mindfulness, and rest help you maintain focus and energy. A healthy body and mind allow you to give your best.

“Take care of your body. It’s the only place you have to live.” – Jim Rohn

The Ability to Build Strong Relationships

Cultivating meaningful relationships based on trust, respect, and shared goals is critical to success. Collaborate, connect, and create a supportive network that helps you thrive.

“Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.” – Helen Keller A Mindset of Innovation and Adaptability

Success requires innovation and the ability to adapt to new circumstances. Embrace change as an opportunity to grow and improve.

“The measure of intelligence is the ability to change.” – Albert Einstein

The Discipline to Stay Focused

In today’s world of distractions, focus is a superpower. Prioritize tasks that align with your goals and cut out distractions that don’t serve your mission.

“You will never reach your destination if you stop and throw stones at every dog that barks.” – Winston Churchill

A Strong Sense of Accountability

Success is built on accountability. Take ownership of your actions, outcomes, and the process. Self-discipline and responsibility are key.

“Responsibility is the price of greatness.” – Winston Churchill

There you have it—the 15 fundamentals of success, which, when followed, can help you achieve your personal vision in the coming years. The main thesis is that success must be defined by you and not by anyone else. Let’s not fall prey to quick-fix formulas that don’t stand the test of time. It takes consistent work, daily learning, daily practice and constant review to reach any form of success.

Thank you for reading this post.

The views expressed here are my own and do not represent my organization.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

10 Tips to Develop a Pleasing Personality

Image
A pleasing personality is very important to develop as we move forward in our career. It can also help us in our personal lives. In the book Believe and Achieve by W.Clement Stone he gives some great tips on developing a pleasing personality. Here are the 10 tips I liked with my take on each. Take an inventory – The first step in developing a pleasing personality is to first be happy in your own skin. Take an inventory of all the wonderful qualities you are bestowed with. Some of the qualities you may have are self-discipline, honesty, character, integrity and passion. Even if you don’t have some of these qualities you can put together a plan to be the person who has all the qualities you desire. By dreaming of your ideal self you will steadily move towards becoming that person in reality. Observe yourself  – All top athletes replay their performance to see where they have done well and where they can improve. Similarly after each major interaction you can evaluate wh...
Read more

12 Guidelines to Effective Communication

Image
The number one skill required to succeed in the current job environment is communication. All things being equal communication is what will distinguish you from others. The reason is with the explosion of outsourcing and project teams being in diverse locations the ability to communicate and collaborate are essential skills to have. The key to better collaboration is communication. Here are 12 guidelines to communicate better. Be Clear  - The first step in communication is to make your message short and crisp. Simplify your message. Clarity is an absolute must. Use Simple Words  - Be wary of using bombastic words and use simple words instead which relate with the audience or person. Simplicity connects people. Be other centered  - Make your interactions with people more about them and take the focus off yourself. A key to effective communication is having a genuine interest in other people. Pay attention to where you focus when you communicate. Think about other...
Read more

The 5 P's of Ethical Power

The book “The Power of Ethical Management” by Ken Blanchard and Norman Vincent Peale was published in 1988. The principles laid out in this book are still relevant today. It consists of information which is of timeless value and serves as a worthy reminder on ethics and its importance. I particularly liked the 5 core principles of ethical decision making mentioned in the book. Here are the 5P’s of Ethical Power Purpose  – The authors define purpose as ongoing. It is something an individual lives by. A personal mission statement of an individual can serve as the purpose. It is the vision you have for yourself and what you would like to be known for. The authors mention something called the mirror test where you look at yourself in the mirror and ask yourself if everything you are doing is aligned to your purpose. If there is anything not aligned to your purpose ignore it. I like this line  “There is no pillow as soft as a clear conscience.” Pride  – A healthy self...
Read more

Life is like a Test Match in Cricket

Image
I love the game of cricket. I was an avid cricket follower at least till the time Rahul Dravid retired. The five-day test match is the true test of patience. Believe it or not even after 5 days you can have a game with no result which is perplexing to some. To me the 5 days that a cricketer goes through is the same all of us go through during our work. We all get usually five days in a week to perform at our best. The only difference is while cricketers may not play test matches throughout the year or even a life we all will get easily 40 years of playing test matches week after week. With the advent of Twenty Twenty the viewership for test matches are dwindling but the drama of a test match is something that can never be replaced. Imran Khan once said to succeed in 20-20 you need a lot of talent, a little technique and not much temperament. However, for test matches you need all the other T’s in abundance. The epitome of a test match player for me is Rahul Dravid. He had an abu...
Read more

10 Qualities of a True Champion

Image
Champions are born but they are also made by relentless practice, clear goals, never say die attitude and a willingness to learn something new every day. I loved the book “The Way of the Champion” by Jerry Lynch. It has a lot of examples from sports but a lot of it can be applicable to us as well. Here are the lessons I gleaned. Self-acceptance : The first step in being a champion is being comfortable with who you are. Accept yourself unconditionally and remember all champions have weaknesses. Understand your strengths focusing on those while complementing your weakness are with the strengths of others. Self-definition : Define what you want to be known for. For example, you may want to be known for your discipline, passion, persistence and ask yourself every day if you are doing these things. Decide what message you want to send to your team or stakeholders. Modesty:   If you know you are a champion you don’t need to show off. You will be totally comfortable with yourself a...
Read more

7 Inspiring Lessons from Elon Musk

Image
Elon Musk is one of the greatest business icons of the 21st century. With the passing of Steve Jobs he has rightly taken the pole position in the realm of business leaders who are considered visionaries. I read the book on Elon Musk by Ashlee Vance and it is a wonderful inspiring read. Here are the lessons I gleaned.  Be in it for the long haul – Irrespective of what our aim is unless we have decided to be in it for the long haul it is very difficult for us to scale the heights that we are capable of. Elon Musk in 2008 was in dire straits. Space X and Tesla were both running out of money but the man was in it for the long haul. He didn’t care about short term setbacks. He always looked to the future with hope and was over optimistic in most cases. He set unrealistic deadlines as that’s the way he thinks.  Everything he does is fast and he is always in a hurry. He pays an obsessive attention to detail and for SpaceX he wants to reduce the cost of lau...
Read more

Mastery by Robert Greene - An Inspirational Book

Image
Biographies can really inspire us. Imagine reading around 15 mini biographies at the same time. This is what Robert Greene has done with Mastery. This is one of the best books I have ever read and goes deep into what it takes to reach mastery in your field. I have read this book multiple times and it is a worthy addition to your library. This summary is only an appetizer and you really need to read this book in its entirety to get the full satisfaction. Yes it is not an easy read but well worth your effort. Here is a very high level review on what the book contains. Don’t separate your work from your personal life it is a sad separation since most of our time is spent at work so we can’t be miserable there. He also says masters felt a sense of destiny. For example Albert Einstein was immediately moved when his father gave him a compass when he was just 5 years old. Discover your calling. Each of us has a purpose to fulfill so discovering that is the first step towards mastery....
Read more

The Dream is Free but the Journey Isn't

Image
I was discussing with my daughter some time back about dreams and it got me thinking that we always encourage our kids to dream big while encouraging them that they can achieve anything they want. However is that really good solid advice. I thought deeply about what do dreams signify and how can I explain to kids that you cannot achieve anything you want but you must think big while working towards your dreams. It also got me thinking that some of the adults have stopped dreaming so I really wanted to write this piece addressing what it takes to do your dreams. The word dreams project an excitement that no other word can. Dreams are a vision for your future which pulls you to wake up every morning with a smile and look forward to each day with excitement. In my opinion get excited about your life first and then you can truly wake up with a smile. Just read this wonderful article from Larsen Jensen  Positive Psychology Lessons from an Olympic Medalist and Navy SEAL . He says h...
Read more

Never ending journey of Success and Goals

The first step to understand about success is that it is not a destination but a wonderful journey that never ends. The best definition of success I have come across is by Earl Nightingale "Success is the progressive realization of a worthy ideal/goal." It is the process that’s actually exciting. Most of the times once we reach goals like getting the promotion or losing the weight we can’t keep up momentum but it is the process that actually keeps us energized. Once we achieve our goals we feel good for that moment but in order to keep that feeling ongoing we need to keep setting new goals. The important thing to remember is that goal setting is a lifelong activity and it does energize our lives. People talk a lot about dreams but there has to be a distinction between outrageous dreams and dreams that ignite. I can have a dream to be the greatest tennis player that ever lived but that dream is surely not going to be realized and it is very much outrageous. I think when we s...
Read more

Talent is Never Enough - 13 Factors to Maximise your Talent

Image
Talent is not something that is gifted at birth. Of course there are a few exceptions that make things look so easy and we tend to believe that they are born with a certain gift. However if we go deeper they reached their Everest by harnessing their talent and get the best out of themselves. Talent is never enough by John Maxwell is one of the best books I have read. It is quite motivational and inspirational. He identifies thirteen factors that can help maximise your talent. Here is brief overview of them with my take on each. Belief lifts your talent    – The first step is to believe in yourself. You can’t go far without believing in your talent. We can all agree that we have enormous untapped potential and we have to believe first before we get the most out of ourselves. Have a personal mission statement that is exciting. My mission statement is to maximise my potential and help others maximise theirs. Passion energizes your talent – Obviously if you want to mak...
Read more