This is the beginning of a series of posts on the core principles of success. I have learned a lot during my life – both by study and by experimentation. I want to pass on the knowledge, ideas, and information to you so that you can adopt and adapt it as you pursue your own path to success.
One of the first fundamental principles of success is self-confidence.
Believing in yourself, no matter what anyone else thinks or says is a major factor in your success.
But you already knew that…
Building a solid foundation for your success and a solid belief in yourself requires an understanding and acknowledgement of your weaknesses. With that insight, you can create a definite plan for overcoming them. “Know thyself”, as inscribed in the Temple of Apollo at Delphi, might be the best — piece of advice handed down through history. Every successful person in history has taken the time to do a self-assessment and recognize their weaknesses.
Do any of these common weaknesses show up on your list?
- Intolerance
- Greed
- Jealousy
- Suspicion
- Revenge
- Egotism
- Conceit
- The tendency to reap where you have not sown
- The habit of spending more than you earn
Most of us suffer from all of these and more. We spend a lifetime working on correcting them or suffering their consequences. Our path to success will, in part, be measured by how well we overcome these obstacles.
I don’t know of anyone who intentionally sets out to acquire negative character traits like these but most of us have them. Why?
The answers to that question range from the fantasies of Sigmund Freud to Flip Wilson’s “The devil made me do it!”
In reality, at least for our purposes, it doesn’t matter. No one has ever found success by dwelling on negative thoughts and whining about their current situation. The main thing is to realize that you face challenges in achieving your goals… and some of them are sitting there in between your own ears. And so are the solutions to the challenges you face.
King Solomon taught that “as a man thinketh in his heart, so is he…” about 950 B.C. That theme has been a common thread in the writings of most philosophers who have pondered why it is that some people are more successful than others. It doesn’t matter what religion you are (or aren’t). It doesn’t matter what school you went to (or didn’t). It doesn’t matter how much money you start with (or without).
It all boils down to the simple truth that Thoughts Become Things.
Napoleon Hill essentially spent his whole life researching and teaching this concept. In 1937, published one of the most popular self-help books ever written – “Think and Grow Rich”. The primary message of this work was “Whatever the mind of a man (or woman) can conceive and believe; it can achieve”. This thought, or concept, has of his has been credited by nearly all of the great motivational speakers and self-help gurus of the past hundred years as their key to success.
One of these popular self-help gurus, Marianne Williamson, expressed her view on our irrational fears, our potential, and our need for self-confidence like this:
Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.
It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us.
We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?
Actually, who are you not to be?
You are a child of God.
Your playing small doesn’t serve the world.
There’s nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you.
We are all meant to shine, as children do.
We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us.
It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone.
And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.
As we’re liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.
– A Return to Love
Think about what it is you want to achieve and start believing in yourself.
I’ll be back with more thoughts on success soon.
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