7 Undeniable Reasons Why Some People Fail Where Others Succeed

“Success happens not by chance, but because you were given a chance and took advantage of it.” – Kevin Geary.

To most people, being born in a free country is the greatest gift. To others, it’s a fleeting thought. For the latter, I feel sorry.

Before I go any further, I must admit that not everyone will find success. There will always be those who sit around waiting for success to find them. There will be those who are simply not willing to achieve it. And then there’s the fact that success would not exist without failure. All of these things create what we know; a world where success and failure are experienced by different groups of people.
Everyone in a free country has the opportunity to succeed. So why doesn’t everyone succeed? Because success and failure are choices made consciously and subconsciously and failure is chosen by many for various reasons.

Here are 7 undeniable reasons why some people fail where others succeed:

1. They Define Success Wrong
“Striving for success without hard work is like trying to harvest where you haven’t planted.” – David Bly

Do you believe that success is won, innate, or earned? The answer someone gives can tell you a lot about them, and why they are where they are.
Success is won: if you believe that success is won, you experience animosity and envy toward those you view as lucky or more fortunate than you. You also believe that success is out of your control; it simply depends on a flip of the coin or certain circumstances.
How hard are you willing to work if you believe that success is won rather than earned? Success is innate: people who believe success is innate often feel the same as those who believe it’s won. The only difference is that believers in innate-success have a more pessimistic view of opportunity; it’s trivial to them (we’ll go over this a little later). Why does opportunity matter if success is innate?
How hard are you willing to work if you feel your opportunity doesn’t matter and your chances of success are nil because of your circumstances?
Success is earned: the last group of people believes what we know to be true based on statistical analysis; success is earned. These people understand that in order to succeed, they must earn it. How do they earn it? They climb the mountain and utilize the same process others have used to achieve.
How hard are you willing to work if you believe success must be earned?

2. They Define Opportunity Wrong
“The ladder of success is best climbed by stepping on the rungs of opportunity.” – Ayn Rand

Do you believe that opportunity provides a possibility of success, a probability of success, or that it’s trivial?
Let’s ask the same questions we asked when we discussed success:
•How hard are you willing to work if you believe the opportunity you were born with is trivial?
•How hard are you willing to work if you believe the opportunity you were born with is a possibility?
•How hard are you willing to work if you believe the opportunity you were born with is a probability?

I hope this is coming together for you. I still want to go further though. I want you to see exactly how your views on opportunity and success work together to help determine your outcome.

•People who believe success is won see their opportunity as a possibility, but sometimes as trivial.
•People who believe success is innate see their opportunity as trivial.
•People who believe success is earned see their opportunity as a probability, but sometimes only as a possibility.
In layman’s terms, the rich see success as earned and view their opportunity as probability. The middle class see success as earned and view their opportunity as possibility, but sometimes as probability. The poor class sees success as won or innate and views their opportunity as trivial, or in some cases as a possibility, but not a probability.
Of course, people don’t stay in one class their entire life. The people who move between classes tend to have the same outlook as those of the class they move to.

3. They Define Work Wrong
“The value of a man’s position is often determined by the number of people qualified to fill it.” – Kevin Geary

We just discussed two important terms: success and opportunity. In order to continue our discussion further, we must discuss another, “work.”
“But success doesn’t always come from hard work!”
Inevitably, people will point out that factory employees work harder than CEOs. Of course, this depends on your analysis of the word “work.” Choose a corresponding term:
•Physical Labor
•Mental Labor
•Labor
Those who claim that success doesn’t always come from hard work only acknowledge one aspect of work, physical labor. Of course, work is labor, period. Excluding mental labor from the term work is biased and unfair. CEOs may sit at a desk, wear a suit, and enjoy the air conditioning, but that doesn’t mean they labor any less than the man in the shop room, it’s simply a different type of labor. Not accepting this is like making the argument that one who hates their job labors more than one who enjoys their job and the pay should be altered to make up for it. You see where this is going?
In terms of pay scale, people who run companies are worth a lot more than those who assemble products. Why? Because it’s easy to find people who can assemble products and it’s not very easy to find people who can operate multi-million dollar companies for a profit.
Needless to say, the man in the shop room wouldn’t have a job if the CEO behind the desk wasn’t doing his (and vice versa). The only difference is which job you’d rather be doing, and that depends solely on the choices you make throughout your life.
How do you think the CEO views success and opportunity? How do you think the shop worker views those same terms?

4. They Defeat Themselves
“To expect defeat is nine-tenths of defeat itself.” – Henry Mencken

While there is a minority of people who actually choose to fail, the majority that fail simply make poor choices or have a poor outlook. Basically, for the majority, failure is a choice but not a decision.
I can’t possibly list all of the bad choices people make which lead them to failure, but a few to get you headed in the right direction are:
•Abusing drugs or alcohol / addiction.
•Not getting an education.
•Having a poor work ethic.
•Having a child too young or out of wedlock.
•Immaturity / laziness.
•Borrowing too much money.
And the list goes on, and on, and on…..and on.

Of course, there are also those things which are out of someone’s control.
If you’re born into an inner-city family and attend a poor school system, you obviously start out behind others. If you’re handicapped, your road to success may be longer and more difficult. But none of this bars you from success; I’ll elaborate on this later when we discuss circumstances. Lastly, as our quote up top reminds us, many people defeat themselves simply by expecting defeat in the first place. They don’t expect success and it actually becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.

5. They Think Failure is Final
“Success is the ability to go from failure to failure without losing your enthusiasm.” – Winston Churchill

“But, hard work doesn’t always equal success. Some people work really hard, but fail. They tried and didn’t succeed.”
Failure is a key ingredient in success. Those who don’t achieve success most likely quit after their failure. Quitting, of course, is a choice.
If you were to follow in the footsteps of a successful person, you would likely pass the remnants of multiple failures. If you followed in the footsteps of a failure, you would find their lifeless future at the feet of their first opponent.

So the question is, how hard and for how long are you willing to fight? There are no shortcuts, statistically. The vast majority of millionaires are self-made and far too many lottery winners are broke and worse off than they were before they won the lottery. Why? Because wealth is about behavior and money doesn’t protect you from failure. If you want to succeed where other people fail, you have to step right over failure and keep walking. The people who don’t make it let failure defeat them. Failure becomes their end result because they refuse to walk any further.

Look at it this way; if you aren’t dead yet, there’s still hope.

6. They’re a Victim of Their Circumstances
“The first step toward success is taken when you refuse to be a captive of the environment in which you first find yourself.” – Mark Cain

One of the biggest rebuttals given by non-achievers is that they are held back by their circumstances.

I don’t think circumstance is a fair argument though. Yes, you may be subject to circumstances that make it more difficult for you to succeed, but that doesn’t change the fact that you start with the same opportunity as others; the opportunity provided to you by living in a free country. It’s also important to note that some people handle circumstances better than others. For instance, you can’t say that a handicap is a circumstance that prevents you from achieving when others with the same handicap have achieved.

Everyone has issues, circumstances, road blocks, etc. It’s all about how you deal with your circumstances and how hard you’re willing to work to overcome them. But the basics don’t change; you’re still in a free country and nobody is preventing you from achieving except for yourself. Circumstance is also unimportant because it doesn’t determine finality. For example, a trust fund baby can lose his fortune with a series of bad decisions just as easily as a child from the ghetto can acquire a fortune with a series of good decisions.

Don’t be quick to judge others based on their circumstances. Instead, judge them based on their ferocity in overcoming those circumstances.

7. They Take No For an Answer
“Opposition is a natural part of life. Just as we develop our physical muscles through overcoming opposition – such as lifting weights – we develop our character muscles by overcoming challenges and adversity.” – Stephen R. Covey

First, you are given an opportunity. Then, based on that opportunity, you hatch a dream. And when you try to execute that dream, you meet your opposition. It is here on the battleground, facing the opposition, that success is either realized or lost. Everyone faces opposition on their way to the top. The crack babies and the trust fund babies both have their own sets of problems. And you can’t assume that one faces more opposition than the other; everyone’s life and path to success is unique.

The one thing they do have in common is the opportunity for success. But, as you try to succeed, there will be people and circumstances around every corner that try to tell you no. The disability you were born with tells you no, your abusive parents tell you no, your pessimistic friends tell you no, your lack of self esteem causes you to say no to yourself, addiction tells you no, and so on.
The people who succeed are those who don’t take no for an answer. They shrug off the pessimism, they choose better friends, they put up boundaries with their family, and they surround themselves with positive people and things.

Conclusion
Success is possible for anyone who is willing to achieve it. There are many who want success, but there is a huge difference between wanting-to and willing-to. You have to be willing…
The other thing to remember is that your outlook and the way you define success, opportunity, and work play a large role in determining your outcome.
If you aren’t achieving, the first person you should always look to first is yourself.

Interesting Story.. MUST READ!!!

An elderly carpenter was ready to retire. He told his employer/contractor of his plans to leave the house building business and live a more leisurely life with his wife enjoying his extended family. He would miss the paycheck, but he needed to retire. They could get by.

The contractor was sorry to see his good worker go and asked if he could build just one more house as a personal favor.

The carpenter said yes, but in time it was easy to see that his heart was not in his work. He resorted to shoddy workmanship and used inferior materials. It was an unfortunate way to end his career. When the carpenter finished his work and the builder came to inspect the house, the contractor handed the front-door key to the carpenter. "This is your house, my gift to you" he said.

"What a shock! What a shame! If he had only known he was building his own house, he would have done it all so differently. Now he had to live in the home he had built none too well. So it is with us. We build our lives in a distracted way, reacting rather than acting, willing to put up less than the best.

At important points we do not give the job our best effort. Then with a shock we look at the situation we have created and find that we are now living in the house we have built. If we had realized, we would have done it differently.

Think of yourself as the carpenter. Think about your house. Each day you hammer a nail, place a board, or erect a wall. Build wisely. It is the only life you will ever build. Even if you live it for only one day more, that day deserves to be lived graciously and with dignity.

The plaque on the wall says, "Life is a do-it-yourself project."

Who could say it more clearly?

Your life today is the result of your attitudes and choices in the past. Your life tomorrow will be the result of your attitudes and the choices you make today.

The 3 Keys to Financial Independence

Today we are seeing more self made millionaires than ever before. Today it is easier than you might think to accomplish your goals. From my studies of successful people, my work with different individuals and my own experiences I have found 3 simple keys to financial independence.

Spend less then you earn
This is so obvious but most people live paycheck to paycheck hoping to win the lottery (even if they don’t buy tickets) without a thought of building their way to financial independence.
Start saving a part of your income. I know it can be tough, but start with just a little. 20 dollars per month is a start and as time goes by hopefully you can increase that amount slowly but surely.

Invest Your Money – Make it work for you
Now that you are saving money, make it work for you. Spend time learning to invest it. Try to get a good secure interest off the money and let that interest grow your savings into the money machine you deserve.

One part of your savings becomes your “financial fortress” you don’t touch it for anything ever.
Your financial fortress is what keeps you safe. It lets you know that you are always safe and it generates a steady income each year. The money in the fortress you never touch, you can use the interest, but the point is to build that interest into a stream that can take care of you for years to come. Vow to put some of your saving into the fortress and let it grow steadily.
This methodology is being used by thousands and thousands around the world. As you can see the techniques are simple, accessible to anyone, but often overlooked.

Most of the self made millionaires today live in areas and with neighbors who have no idea they are millionaires. They have a strong financial fortress that gives them freedom to do what they wish and not have to see money as a problem. On the other hand they don’t waste their money; they know what they spend it on and make sure to get as much out of each penny as possible.
I do not believe in the minimalistic life many self made millionaires live, I think that you should spend the money you have earned on what you care about, but make sure to make smart decisions with your economy and make sure you keep that financial fortress safe and secure.

Conclusion
Anyone can make themselves financially independent. Depending on how much you are able to save each month and how much you feel you need to be financially independent, it will take different amounts of time.
The good news is that you can start today and work steadily towards your goals gathering more and more momentum as you go because your money machine and fortress start working for you. We as Indians, do believe in God of Wealth (Laxmi) and pray upon prosperity and wealth accumulations... Whatever the prayers etc, without a single effort nothing can be done no matter what. So, friends lets put effort and be millionaire with our own decision and attitude...

4 Ways To Turn Failures Into Success

The word failure is so often misinterpreted. Failing doesn’t mean that you have failed. It is an opportunity to learn on your path to success.

No one ever succeeds on their first attempt, they always face situations they didn’t expect and often end up somewhere completely different then they initially thought.

Your job is to work hard and smart, adapting to change and situations, learning from your mistakes to turn the inevitable failures you will face into a grand success.

1000 failures
The difference between successful people and unsuccessful people isn’t how often they fail; it is how many times they try. Successful people fail just as often, if not more, then everyone else. The difference is that they keep picking themselves up again and again, try new things and at last find something that works.
Just look at one of the best inventors of all time, Thomas A. Edison. While he was trying to invent the light bulb he failed over 1000 times. Most of us would have quit at about 100 (or maybe after just 1 failure) but he kept going and going, learning every time until he at last got his breakthrough.
This was Edison’s whole philosophy, he believed the human mind was capable of anything, if you put your mind to it and worked long enough, hard enough and were determined enough, you would make it.

To look at another genius from the past, Einstein, Einstein failed in school. To most of us this failure would mean that all academic success is out of reach and we would move on to other realms of work. Not Einstein he kept working and learning and is now the founder of modern physics.

My background isn’t as incredible as those above, but I have had my fair share of failures and had a few successes. From these experiences I have learned a lot. I want to share with you the 4 steps I have found, and seen so many others take, to turn failure into success.

Learn from your mistakes
Don’t see failing as anything but a chance to improve and learn. Every time you fail in an attempt ask yourself the 2 questions “What did I do well?” and “What will I do differently?” and then move on with your new found knowledge.

Believe In Yourself
Edison’s belief in himself and the human race is an inspiration to us all. Know that you will succeed one way or another and you will. Never forget that your capacity is almost unlimited.

Reevaluate your situation
When you have met an obstacle you have a great chance ahead of you, you can learn, take a new path and move on into territory that was completely unknown to you before with lots of new possibilities.
Before you dive right in, evaluate your situation. Is this new line and endeavor in line with your goals? If not it is not worth to pursue.


Try Again
The most important lesson is not to give up. If you find that the opportunities match your goals. Go for it! Don’t ever give up, the most successful people in the world weren’t successful because they didn’t fail as often, they failed more, many, many times more. But they picked themselves up and tried again over and over until they found the right mix.

Conclusion
Your potential is limitless.
What you can do is only limited by your belief. Try, try and try again until you find your way and start moving on towards your dreams!

Seeds of Thought

ShareOne of the most important principals for achieving success is to understand that your mind is like a garden bed where you cultivate and grow the seeds of thought.

When you plant a positive seed of thought in your mind and nurture it carefully, it germinates and grows until it leads you to take action.


As soon as you begin acting on your idea, your seed of positive thought becomes a seedling of positive action.

If you continue to feed and encourage this seedling, it gradually develops into a tree of positive habit.

Once this habit has become solid and immovable, it is then only a matter of time before it blossoms to produce the fruits of success.

However it is important to be aware that the garden of your mind does not discriminate between positive and negative seeds of thought.

A negative seed of thought planted within your mind often leads you to take negative actions. These actions gradually develop into negative habits that will inevitably produce the fruits of failure.

When you understand that your thoughts lead to actions and your actions develop into habits and that it is your habits that determine your results in life, then you’ll appreciate why it’s so important to be careful about the seeds of thought that you plant within your mind.

One of the real secrets of success is to become a watchful caretaker over the garden of your mind and make sure that you only plant and cultivate thoughts that will develop into the positive habits necessary for making your dreams a reality.

So what does this mean in the real world?

It means that you should carefully monitor the thoughts that you are planting within your mind each day. Whenever you catch yourself planting or nurturing a negative thought, make the conscious decision to uproot and discard it.

For example, when Andrew went to see his doctor, he was told that he had high cholesterol and needed to lose 10kg. In response to this advice, Andrew joined his local gym and started exercising three days a week.

A few weeks later Andrew stood in front of his bed room mirror and assessed his reflection.

His first thought was, “I look exactly the same! All that hard work and I don’t look any different. This isn’t working at all.”

Then he stopped and realized that this was a negative seed of thought.
He knew that if he continued to nurture this negative perspective it wouldn’t be long before he started skipping sessions and pretty soon his exercise program would be a thing of the past.

Having recognized his negative seed of thought, Andrew made the conscious decision to uproot and discard it before it took hold in his mind.
He took a second look at his reflection and told himself, “Every training session is making me fitter.” This was a positive seed of thought that made him feel good about the action he was taking.
Over time, Andrew continued his training program while protecting his mind from the disempowering seeds of negativity. Eventually he reached his goal weight and brought his cholesterol level down to a healthy level.
So today I’d like to encourage you to become a watchful caretaker of your mind. Whenever you identify a seed of negative thought, uproot and discard it.
Remember, it is much easier to uproot a seed of negative thought than it is to chop down a tree of negative habit that has taken root over many years.
By planting and cultivating seeds of positive thought, you will set in motion a truly remarkable process.
In the same way that a tiny acorn develops into a mighty oak tree, your positive seeds of thought will germinate into the actions and habits that will ultimately lead you to success.

Until next time,
Dare to Dream!
Anthony

A Success Story

          A business executive was deep in debt and could see no way out. Creditors were closing in on him. Suppliers were demanding payment. He sat on the park bench, head in hands, wondering if anything could save his company from bankruptcy.


Suddenly an old man appeared before him. "I can see that something is troubling you," he said. After listening to the executive's woes, the old man said, "I believe I can help you." He asked the man his name, wrote out a check, and pushed it into his hand saying, "Take this money. Meet me here exactly one year from today, and you can pay me back at that time." Then he turned and disappeared as quickly as he had come.

The business executive saw in his hand a check for $500,000, signed by John D. Rockefeller, then one of the richest men in the world!

"I can erase my money worries in an instant!" he realized.Nonetheless, the executive decided to put the check in his safe first. Just knowing it was there, would give him the strength to work out away to save his business, he thought.

With renewed optimism, he negotiated better deals and got extended terms of payment from creditors. Soon he could close some big sales. Within a few months, he was out of debt and making money once again.

Exactly a year later, he returned to the park with that uncashed check. The old man did not appear for some time yet the business executive decided to wait for a while more. A while late the old man came along the way but seemed to be unmindful of the business executive. He stopped the old man and was about the hand over the cheque with a few words of thanks as well as share his success story.

At the same time, he saw a nurse come running up and grabbing the old man. "I'm so glad I caught him!" she cried. "I hope he hasn't been bothering you. He's always escaping from the rest home and telling people he's John D. Rockefeller." And she led the old man away by the arm.

The astonished executive just stood there, stunned. All year long he'd been wheeling and dealing, buying and selling, convinced he had half a million dollars behind him. Suddenly, he realized that it wasn't the money, real or imagined, that had turned his life around. It was his new found self-confidence that gave him the power to achieve anything he went after. He understood that Confidence is nothing but the distant vision held positively no matter what comes in between. It comes from one's own commitment and dedication and entirely internal.

"Our duty is to encourage everyone in his struggle to live up to his own highest idea, and strive at the same time to make the ideal as near as possible to the truth"- Swami Vivekananda

** Thanks for the wonderful story Web Vision Team.

10 Traits Of A Successful Human Being

There’s a lot of talk about what you should do to become successful, but I would argue that it’s more about who you are that makes the biggest impact. It’s the decisions we make on a daily basis, the habits we naturally form in our lives that determine the level of success we can achieve. Who we are determines how we react to life, even when we’re not consciously in the act of ‘being successful’.

So here are 10 traits that I’ve seen as essential for obtaining lasting success in any endeavor.

1. An Independent Nature
If we rely too much on those around us for assistance and/or support we will be setting ourselves up for disappointment in the future. This is not to say that we shouldn’t look to others for help when the time is right, but crafting our pursuits in such a way that requires the intervention of another is like handing over the keys and getting in the back seat. Our friends and colleagues may help open the doors of opportunity, but it is our own responsibility to take the wheel.


2. Self Confidence
Every decision we make in life will have some kind of effect on future outcomes. If our choices our filtered through fear and doubt, we can be assured of the life we are trying to avoid. Trust your instincts and listen to your heart. When you make a mistake, don’t look at it as reason for doubt, but instead, realize the opportunity for wisdom as you continue to push ahead.

3. Persistence
It’s been 5 years since I started my consulting business. 5 years of long hours and hard work. Many times did I consider throwing in the towel when things didn’t go my way. But every year that’s gone by, every road block I’ve pushed through, my business has grown as my resolve to make it a success has strengthened. Persistence is not an optional trait for those who desire success, but an essential attitude that must be embraced!

4. A Big Imagination
When I think of some of the greatest ‘achievers’ in American history I see great innovators and people of purpose. Names like Henry Ford, Walt Disney and Bill Gates come to mind. From cars to cartoons to computers, their personalities were as diverse as their pursuits. But one thing they share is the wonderful ability to see what’s not yet visible to the naked eye. It was the imagination of Henry Ford that first painted the picture of a car in every garage, and Bill Gates, a computer in every home. And it was Walt Disney who continues to inspire millions with the idea that ‘anything is possible’.

Those with inevitable success can see the unseen. They’ve become successful in their minds before they laid their first brick.

5. A Thick Skin
I’m a people pleaser at heart and can be devastated by disappointment. But as a necessity in business, I’ve grown a thick skin that allows me to deflect defeat while maintaining my focus. Whether in corporate conflict or the liabilities of life, it is those with a strong armor who will maintain their momentum.

6. Clarity Of Self Understanding
If you don’t know who you are, you will never truly know what you’re capable of. It is in our daily pursuits that we need accurate information on our strengths and weaknesses to succeed. Because being blind sided by your own inability or missing out on your true talents will bring nothing more than failure and frustration.

7. Clarity Of Intent
Continuing with the analogy of Ford, Disney and Gates, we can see three individuals with very clear intentions. No one ever questioned Ford’s intentions of filling the roads with his Model T’s. Disney was never far from his pursuits of capturing our imaginations. And even when no one believed in his dream of populating every home with a PC, there was never a question of Gates greatest goal.

8. Focus
There’s a lot of talk about multi-tasking and single tasking when it comes to getting things done. But however you go about accomplishing your goals, focus must be at the core of your character. Successful people have the knack for deflecting distraction and keeping their nose to the grindstone. It is our drive that pushes us forward and keeps our momentum, but without focus we will just be moving for the sake of motion.


9. Optimism
Many of the traits mentioned thus far would not be possible without this key ingredient. Without being able to constantly see the cup as half full, we would never be able to stay focused. Being blind to that silver lining would paralyze our persistence. So it is absolutely crucial that our minds maintain a positive outlook on life and never give in to the destruction of defeat. Optimism is at the heart of a successful human being!


10. Passion
Success can be obtained by many, but maintaining the drive to reach our goals requires a passion for pursuit and a lust for life. We can create a to-do list and set our goals with the best of them, but without this necessary habitual hunger, we will most certainly fail to bring to the table the results we imagined.- A wonderful writing from Eric Hamm