My Success Strategies - Essay Example

 My Success Strategies Introduction The Oxford English dictionary defines success as ‘the accomplishment of an aim or purpose’ or ‘the attainment of fame, wealth or social status’. Generally, success means different things to different individuals. To me success has two elements. On one hand success is when I achieve a goal or goals within a given period of time subject to the available resources. The great satisfaction that comes with the achievement is success. On the other hand the recognition of the achievement of the goal(s) by others is an important element of success to me. That does not mean that I should never fail. My ability to rise from failure, learn lessons from it and try all over again to me is success. If however I keep making the same mistakes over and over again that is failure. That is why I have to come up with a strategy to ensure success. In its simplest form, strategy is a bridge for getting from where you are today to where you want to go. Whether in business or in your personal life, strategy is how you plan to get from your current position to your desired goals. Just as we need strategy for business and academic success, we need to plan for our lives to be successful. Without a strategy to success, we allow all kinds of forces to push, pull, twist, and turn us into mental and emotional pretzels. Our inability to say “no” pushes us into time-wasting activities; a lack of strategic direction allows we to be pulled down a career path we never wanted; good intentions to volunteer in the community are twisted into negative comments when we’re not able to meet the time commitments; and we’re emotionally turned around when the relationship we let wither finally ends. With a solid strategy in place, however, we can harness the everyday forces to lead us where we want to go. I like to think of strategy as a bridge—a way to get from where you are to where you want to be. A bridge provides passage over a gap—something that’s missing. For many of us, there are gaps in our lives—things that are missing, things that we’d like to have more of, such as more time with family and friends, more purposeful work, a healthier lifestyle, and greater spirituality. Strategy can help us fill those gaps. I have created a five-step plan to achieve the kind of life that I want. This framework takes the foundational principles of business strategy and helps you apply them to your life. The result is a simple plan you can follow to become effective, successful, and happy at work and at home. The five-step plan includes the following elements: Discovering what I want, where, how and when. Just as you can’t build a bridge without first determining the starting and finishing points, you can’t build a strategy for your life without understanding where you’re now and where you want to go. The Discover step is the process of determining my purpose—what I want and why. Purpose in this case refers to my mission, vision, goals, and objectives. The Discover step is where you embark on the journey of uncovering your purpose—what you want out of life, and why (Rohn and Vic, 56-71). Creating the exact picture of what I want. Like when you are building a bridge this is like imagining Your Bridge’s Style. Bridges come in all shapes and sizes, from small, wood covered structures to shiny, sweeping waves of metal. Their differences begin in the mind of the designer. This step will require me to identify the unique characteristics of my personal bridge. These elements include your individual combination of strengths, weaknesses, background, and abilities that set you apart from the pack. To differentiate means to deviate from the norm in ways that people value. Deciding What I will use to get where I want. Before a bridge can be built, the designer must decide which materials to use, based on functional needs, the size of the span to be crossed, and desired aesthetics. All these choices require trade-offs. The Decide step involves the process of allocating your resources; time, talent, and money to achieve your goals. The act of deciding requires you to make trade-offs, choosing what to do and what not to do. Develop an action plan or in the case of a bridge actually build the bridge. It’s one thing to think about a bridge. It’s another to actually build that bridge. While natural bridges like logs over streams exist, the majority of functional bridges are man-made. The Design step asks you to develop an action plan that will help you reach the goals you’ve set, using the appropriate resources. Just as a designer creates a blueprint for a bridge, we can design a Strategy Print for life. Put the action plan into practice. In the bridge analogy use the bridge built. Once the bridge has been designed and built, the true test begins. Can you move across this bridge, from one side to the other? A bridge that looks good but crumbles when used is of little value. The Drive step guides your actions and moves you forward on a daily basis according to the strategy you have designed. It includes the ability to execute your plan without becoming distracted and taken off task by “urgent” but unimportant things that eat away at your time. Summary The above mentioned are my five strategies to success. I am aware that there are challenges to be encountered as dreaming is not as hard as realizing the dream. I have been defining my purpose in this life; my vision and mission, goals and objectives. I am already in the process of achieving some of the goals though some need more time and resources to be achieved. I know exactly what I want in life and with the right attitude I am confident I will achieve it. I am happy I am no longer a directionless ship as I search for resources as I already know what kind of bridge I will build with them. Work Cited Rohn, E J, and Vic Johnson. My Philosophy for Successful Living. Melrose, Fla: No Dream Too Big Publishing, 2011. Print. . Read More