Without purpose, life is an exercise in existence.  Tasks are completed daily for no other reason than to get to the next day. Some find joy in this, but for me, there has to be a purpose to achieve, a target to be acquired, a goal to be accomplished. It is in the pursuit of accomplishments we find out exactly what we are made of.  To find that holy grail, climb that mountain, sing that song, start that movement, or accomplishing whatever goal lights your fire.  The process is one that we all have to learn from experience to see what works for us. When I was fortunate to reach success, there were a consistent set of influences present.  When a failure has occurred, one or more seem to be absent.  Each of us is an individual, and our stories, beliefs, and needs are different, but these things will only help you.

Build a Solid  Foundation– Not with the goal you pursue, but the one you build in yourself.  Develop honesty, integrity, trust, loyalty, love in yourself for yourself.  Every relationship and experience you experience allows you a chance to become these things. Regardless of your past, you are defined by the actions you take today.  Focus on this and build the foundation for success by making decisions that represent the best of you.  This foundation will not be fancy and isn’t done to make you popular or allow you to brag about your talent or accomplishments. This solid foundation is built in stone and gives you a chance to accomplish anything if you are honing your personal skills and standing for the right things. Honesty, integrity, kindness, gratitude, service, and joy of life seem to be a good place to start.

Commitment– There is a constant and consistent effort needed to move your dream forward to a positive conclusion. There are going to be bumps in the road and challenges to face.  Anything of value comes with challenges attached. That is what gives these things their value. Stick with it through the tough times and keep plugging along toward what you want. The most beautiful, practical, workable philosophy won’t work if you don’t.  Keep taking action toward your goal, and don’t give up.  Be committed. 

Learn the Steps– Goals are not all the same. Some are long-term, some are short-term, and some are intermediate. Learning to break them down into smaller steps and understand what each step means allows you to find meaningful action every day. Nobody goes from beginning to end in one step. It takes several to many steps depending on the size of the thing you want to attain. Be patient with your journey and learn what you need to.  Enjoy the steps, and they are the things you will remember most when success comes your way.

Picture it –  Imagination is not just a tool for daydreaming. It is a tool you can use to bring almost anything into reality.  Imagine your goal as if it is a reality.  See what it looks like, feels like, and picture the world with your goal as a part of it.  All things ever created started this way.  To be an image in someone’s mind brought everything ever created into reality.  Practice using your imagination always; it is a valuable skill that you can lose if you don’t use it. Visualization of something will allow you to bring it into reality, visualize it daily.

Be Accountable- Every day, you have the opportunity to move forward or backward. Only you can be responsible for your actions. If you choose to take a day off, you are accountable for the progress you don’t make on that day. Taking consistent, manageable action every day toward your visualized idea will allow you to move closer to making it a reality.  You are responsible for yourself and the actions you take or don’t take. Remember that nobody else is to blame, only you.  Be accountable to yourself always and accept responsibility for where you are.

Roll With It–  No matter where you are in life, life is always changing. The world around you will always change and forever. Don’t fight it. Go with it always.  It is the difference between positive growth in life and stagnation. Keep moving forward with a positive attitude.  Let go of the things that are outdated and relationships that no longer serve a positive purpose. Change is inevitable and constant, so grow with it.  I know this is easier said than done sometimes, painful experiences are not so easy to roll with, but the choice is yours. Follow the path to success or failure. There is no other direction.

Team Up–  When you set out to accomplish something, it can be an idea in your mind, but it takes others to really make things happen. Build a team that is like-minded, goal-oriented, and change-minded people.  It is going to take support, not fighting to get you to your desired destination. When like minds are employed in a venture, it moves faster, and it is a lot more fun.  Life is a game meant to be played in pairs. Find someone who believes in you and allow them to help you.  Understand what a great gift this is.

Tell Few–  Tell your plans to only those you trust because the first inclination of someone is always to discourage you and tell you what might go wrong or why your dream/goal/desire is unrealistic. Tell only those who will support your efforts. The process is hard enough without hearing negativity from your “support system.”  Better to keep it to yourself. But those of a like mind will support you. Those who care about you and love you will want nothing but the best for you. So tell few and never boast to most.

Write It Down –  Make the goals you are after a checklist and when you can check them off, do it and celebrate the win. No matter how large or small, celebrate it.  Putting it down in ink is a process that will allow the accomplishment to take shape in reality. There is a transformation from thought to reality when you write something down. It starts to become real somehow. Do this to your dreams, and soon they will become a part of your life.

Use Reflection– What you become seeking your goal/destination is far more important than what you get at the end. Skills will be developed that will allow you to achieve other things.  Take time to reflect on all things you do, and ask good questions about what you learned and answer them honestly and completely.  Reflecting on your experience is a powerful teaching tool for yourself.  Never miss a chance to look for personal growth.  Never let a momentary setback be the thing that derails you.  Each “failure” is a gift to accomplishing the ultimate prize. Don’t take failure personally. Take it for what it is, a lesson. Reflect and learn from it, and the perceived weakness of a mistake becomes a strength of your great accomplishments.  Reflect and learn.

There it is,  a simple method for accomplishing success at whatever you are seeking in life. All people have goals at some point. I urge everyone to keep setting them until the day we are no longer a part of this wonderful experience called life.  Whether you follow this process or develop one of your own is not important as long as you find one and know that creation and accomplishment are in your hands.

“You have to remember that the hard days are what make you stronger. The bad days make you realize what a good day is. If you never had any bad days, you would never have that sense of accomplishment!” -Aly Raisman.

“You were designed for accomplishment, engineered for success, and endowed with the seeds of greatness.”- Zig Ziglar.

“Nothing stops the man who desires to achieve. Every obstacle is simply a course to develop his achievement muscle. It’s a strengthening of his powers of accomplishment.”- Thomas Carlyle.