5 Steps That You Should Take To Be Successful

Recently, I just finished reading T. Harv Eker’s “Secrets of the millionaire mind”. It’s an extraordinary book which I recommend to anyone that truly wants to get rich, not only materially, but mentally and emotionally also.

The book unveils the secrets of getting rich by showing the 17 principles that make the difference between rich people and poor people. Out of the 17 principles, 3 of them caught my eye and represent the basis for 5 actionable steps that you can take in order to become successful.

a. Create your own life

T. Harv Eker notices a fundamental difference between the way in which rich people and poor people think: For rich people, life is something within their control while poor people suffer the consequences of life.

Rich people have a sense of entitlement of their lives. They feel that they have the power to control their earnings. Poor people (and the mediocre, lacking in success and purpose) feel that they have no power over the money that they make and that someone else is responsible for their lives and income. Poor people may often resent and blame others for their unsuccessful career paths or general state of unhappiness.

Step 1. Believe That You Have The Power To Become Rich and Successful

Convince yourself that you alone can be held accountable for your own success or failure. Don’t expect help from nobody, because nobody can truly help you. You are the only one that can achieve your objectives. If you can’t see the immense power that is in your hands: the power to build the life that you want to live, then you won’t ever come near becoming wealthy or successful. Jim Carrey once said that he felt rich years before actually becoming rich, this is yet more proof of how mindset plays the biggest role when talking about success.

Step 2. Create The Ideal Image Of Your Future

Unlike mediocre people that simply pass through life, not knowing for sure what they want out of it, every rich and successful person permanently idealizes the future, by deciding what they want to become, to achieve and to have in every aspect of their professional, financial, social and personal lives.

When you paint the ideal picture of your future, it is best that you visualize it as a true masterpiece, with yourself as the artistic genius behind it. Just as an artist has many colors at his disposal, so do you have a multitude of potential abilities and opportunities to choose from.

If you are going to project a clear and ideal vision of how your future is going to look like, you should use the well-known method of goal setting. Make sure that your objectives are S.M.A.R.T: specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and time-based.

b. Think Rich Before Becoming Rich

The second principle from Eker’s book that impressed me very much criticizes poor people for thinking “they already know”, as opposed to rich people that “constantly learn and grow”. Rich people know that there is still so much to learn, both professionally and personally, which brings us to step number three.

Step 3. Become The Right Person

That doesn’t mean that you have to change who you are at the core of your being. You have to understand that your present skill-set, level of experience and personality traits are insufficient to realize the objectives that you have set for yourself. Doing this will require you to be totally honest with yourself. You will need to leave aside your pride and see the bigger picture. It is okay not to be good at something and it doesn’t matter if you are not emotionally and mentally where you would like to be. What’s not okay is for you to be living in denial.

You must then determine what traits you must possess in order to become the best version of yourself and act in a way that reinforces the successful traits that you want to develop.

Step 4. Pay The Price

If you want to reach another level of success and financial freedom, you will have to pay the price ahead of time. Nothing worthwhile comes for free and you need to know the cost of your journey.

Planning is the first action that you take in your journey. You must be as detailed as possible with your future actions. There’s only so much that your brain can remember. You must understand that, especially when starting out,  that you will get easily distracted.

This will be your number one enemy: to stay focused on your long-term goals. It’s going to be a lot easier to stay focused when you have a detailed plan that you can go through when you are feeling confused and “not-in-the-zone”.

Following through with your plan is the most important part that sets apart the thinkers from the doers.

c. Focus on opportunities

The third principle from Eker’s book that caught my attention affirms that poor people have a tendency to focus on obstacles, whereas rich people see beyond them and focus on opportunities. To gain a better understanding of the many shortcuts, potholes and rocky roads that lie ahead of you, you have to be ready for one final step:

Step 5. Be Ready For Obstacles

You must be conscious of the fact that you will encounter many obstacles along the road to success. The higher the goals, the bigger the obstacles. You must be on guard at all times.

You might face a personal issue which will make it hard for you to function.

Laziness might creep in, a family member may get sick, somebody might demoralize you, and the list can go on and on.

This will be your test and is the proof that nothing worthwhile comes easy.

Being ready and on-guard will make it easier for you to successfully overcome obstacles, which will make you stronger as you prove that, no matter what life throws in front of you, you have the strength to keep on going.

Don’t get discouraged when you find yourself experiencing temporary failures. While the light might seem dim from time to time, you can use these moments to learn valuable things which will make you wiser and more ready to rock the road to success.

Author bio

Michael Schoeff is a pet product designer and entrepreneur with over 10 years of experience in business development. He owns a successful business and loves to write about personal development.