Have you ever come to a point in your life where you realize you only have so much time left? Have you ever felt that you could and should have achieved more? Are you wondering how to succeed in life? I had these questions when I turned 50. This milestone had a profound effect on my life. I probably only had 30 years left. As we get older, the years seem to fly by. Are you striving for more? This article may be for you.

Success in life has many different definitions for different people. For some, the definition of success revolves around achievement. Others view relationships or personal development as true success. Most sensible people will agree that success in life can be boiled down to the following. Not worrying about the things we have no control over and then focusing on the things we can control.

A story comes to mind of an older motorcyclist who pulls into a McDonald’s for a coffee respite because the heavens have opened, and he is getting drenched. As he sipped his dark, hot, caffeinated goodness, he listened to an adjacent table of gentlemen maybe ten years older than himself. They were complaining about the state of the world and how screwed up it was. They were pontificating that the world would be a better place if everyone started behaving the way these gentlemen prescribed.

As he listened to this conversation, he recalled how he had just been battling the wind, rain, and cold temps and was thinking the world is a fantastic place. He was on his motorcycle, living his best life. Yet here are these elderly folks who, even at their advanced age, could not relinquish their futile desire to make the world into something it will never be. This was an example to him of how he did not want to end up.

He recalled how much time he had wasted worrying about things he had no control over as a younger man. Why had it taken him so long to figure things out?  What are some of the steps he and countless others have taken to live a life of success?

In a previous article, I wrote about some basic cellular biology. The latest science tells us that our thoughts and emotions are changing the cells in our bodies. Successful people know that guarding their minds is critical for their journey to success. If you want to be successful, the biggest battle is in your mind.

If you are a science nerd, it is constructive to put some time into learning how our thoughts and emotions are making significant changes in our bodies. How we think and feel is changing our existing cells and impacting around 330 billion of our cells that are replaced daily.

Our cells have receptors designed to pick up specific chemicals flowing through our body. Every thought and emotion has a unique chemical makeup. If we think positive and uplifting thoughts all day, these chemicals will change our cell’s basic structure. Interestingly, when our cells divide, they will build more receptors for these sets of chemicals. The cells will also decrease receptors for other chemical structures they aren’t receiving as often.

In other words, if you keep sending your cells positive thought chemicals, your future cells are programmed and built with more receptors to pick up the positive thought chemicals. At the same time, as your cells split, they also build fewer receptors for negative thought chemical structures. Your body will build cells that find it easier to pick up positive thought chemicals. It will also build cells that find it harder to pick up negative thought chemicals.

Isn’t that amazing?

We also know, through the science of neuroplasticity, that our brains wire cognitive pathways. If you have positive and uplifting thoughts because you choose to see life as an amazing gift, these pathways are ‘grooved’ into your brain. Successful people prioritize controlling their thoughts because they understand this process. They also prioritize what they feed their minds. Similarly, if you constantly give in to anxiousness and worry, these emotions also build neural pathways in your brain. Whatever you allow your mind to think and dwell on, it will create pathways appropriate for those thoughts.

The story of the motorcyclist above is a perfect example of controlling and directing your thought life. The gentleman at the table were complaining about how the world should be. Even in the later stages of their lives, they were still trying to change the world into what they thought it should be. They had all that life experience, but they still sat around a table complaining about things outside of their control. The path to success is not in what you own, possess, or control. To find success, begin in your mind. What good are all the possessions in the world if you can’t enjoy each day?

“Success is peace of mind, which is a direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing you made the effort to become the best of which you are capable,” John Wooden

Your creator gave you the incredible gift of choice. We can choose who we want to be. We can choose to change our careers or where we live. You can choose your friends, even your passions & hobbies. Most importantly, you can decide how you think. Each day can be viewed as problematic and unrewarding, as a chore to get through. Or each day can be an exciting adventure.

You can change your life. God has given us the faculty of choice. You can choose to dwell in the muck and the mire of negative thoughts, or you can work to achieve the life of your dreams. What a beautiful prospect; we can be in the driving seat. It is up to us if we live a successful life; it all starts in our minds.

Newton’s third law of motion: For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. So, for every cause, there is an effect. If you genuinely seek success in your life, focus on your ’cause.’ Dare to take a little peep at your lifestyle:

• Look at the quality of the air you are taking in
• How much time are you spending in the sunshine?
• Are you ingesting lots of sugar, alcohol, MSGs, tobacco, drugs, chemicals, caffeine, mercury, and hybridized wheat?
• How much exercise are you getting?
• Do you get enough sleep?
• Are you drinking enough water?
• What does your diet look like?
• How much time are you spending reading your bible and in prayer?
• What are you feeding your mind each day? Do you wake up and read the news, or do you take care of what goes into your mind?
• Are you making time to play sports or games with friends and family? Do you make an effort to spend time with people?
• Do you put in the time with important relationships? Are you playing with your kids?
• Do you try new things? Are you setting goals in life and stepping out in faith?
• What new skills are you learning? What new ventures are you building?

All these points are your ’cause’. If your cause is messed up, guess what? Your effect will also be messed up. If you are not getting enough sleep, you will find life hard. You won’t have much energy for creating and building. If you aren’t eating well or exercising, your energy levels will also suffer. You will battle to put in extra hours to create or build something new.

You’ll need to pay attention to your ’cause’ because every cause has an effect. This isn’t rocket science; these are things that we already know. Most people know what is good or bad for their bodies. We know what we should be eating, or we know we need to go for a walk. Getting the wind in our faces and sunshine on our bodies is a no-brainer. Not many would disagree with spending time with the people we love. No one would argue that starting the day feeding our minds helpful and uplifting information is better than opening the news and reading about murders, robberies, and heartache.

This is a law. Be very careful with your cause because every single cause has an effect. What do you want in life? If it is to become successful, then you should pay attention to your cause. Start choosing the right cause, and you will automatically have the right effect.

You can find success in life if you are choosing the right cause.

Have you ever heard of a commercial plane taking off without knowing the destination? The pilot needs to have logged the exact course before taking off. Fuel needs to be correctly allocated and all safety checks done. A plane doesn’t take off until hundreds of checks are done and planning complete.

Similarly, have you ever heard of the captain of a ship leaving the safety of the harbor if they don’t know where they are headed? They need to know the exact heading and weather conditions before any captain worth their salt will set off.

Any journey takes planning. If you want success, you need to be willing to put in the planning and strategizing. If you want to achieve more in your life, you need to set a heading and assess your upcoming weather conditions (obstacles). What fuel (resources) will you need?

First of all, decide what exactly it is that you want. Do you even know everything you want in life? I have a more in-depth article on goal setting that you will find helpful. For now, let’s take a simple approach. You can use the three-goal method if you need clarification about what you want.

Give yourself under a minute to do the following: Grab a notepad. Quickly write down the three most important goals you want to achieve now. Whatever three goals you have written down are probably an accurate picture of what you want in life. These will change with time, but the process of putting your mind under pressure and writing down three goals gives you a good start.

Jim Rohn was America’s foremost business philosopher and a rags-to-riches multi-millionaire who helped countless others achieve meaningful and significant success in their lives. His teachings often revolve around daily disciplines. This quote of his has stuck in my mind:

“Success is nothing more than a few simple disciplines, practiced every day.” Jim Rohn

To improve your life and accomplish your goals, you need to do something different tomorrow than what you are doing today. You’ll only succeed if you’re willing to put the hours in. You need to figure out what it will take to get the results you want. Then, get to work doing the actions it will take to achieve your goals. What do you have to do each day to achieve your dream life? Write down the daily disciplines you need to do to reach your goals. Then get to work.

“If you don’t sacrifice for what you want, what you want becomes the sacrifice.” – Ed Mylett

The way to achieve your goals is to drill them down into daily actions. Then, forget about your goals. You concentrate on hitting your daily disciplines. Every so often, you can check in with your bigger goals to see that you are still on track. But your focus, energy, desire, and celebration revolve around doing the daily disciplines.

Our goals will be achievable, even when things get hard if we do the daily disciplines.

Almost every vision of success involves creativity.

The Bible starts with the story of creation. The Bible also tells us we are made in the image of God. We were built to create. To truly feel successful and clearly envision why we were created means working on being creative beings.

Success is different for everyone, but we can all agree success is working on things we can control. Building and creating are deep needs within our souls.

You have the ability to achieve what you want. It is so easy to get caught up in negativity and doubt. Do not believe these imposters. Get to work. If you doubt yourself, start work anyway; the work will soon give you the confidence you need. You take steps toward building and creating the life you want and stand back to be amazed at how you begin to change. You will become a person who doesn’t scare so easily. If you do the daily disciplines, you become somebody new. A stronger you.

Take the daily disciplines seriously and start working toward your goals, and guess what? Soon, you become a successful person. You may not have reached your goals yet, and you may not have what you want, but inside, you are transforming into a successful person.

“What you become is far more important than what you get. What you get will be influenced by what you become.” Jim Rohn

It is challenging to build anything meaningful without first letting go. Your chances of success and happiness often mean you need to get to a place of forgiveness. 

Have you been hurt, unfairly treated, or crushed? Life can be complicated at times. It certainly isn’t fair or even rational. One of the keys to living your dreams is letting go of the past. If we want to find peace, joy, and happiness, we need to forgive those who have hurt us in the past. 

Spend time with God. Ask him to help you forgive those who have hurt you. Let God take the burden of justice. For some of us, the treatment we have received at the hands of others may be extremely serious and vile. Hand this over to our savior, who has promised to bring retribution and justice. If you hand God your burden, you will start to see and live a new life. This is your life. Letting somebody have a hold over your life because of how they treated you is not how you want to live. Let it go, forgive, and surround yourself with people who want the best for you.

We also need to learn to forgive ourselves. Sometimes, guilt is a significant hindrance to our success. We all have sinned and fallen short of God’s standard. But God has made a way for us to be cleansed. To be made as white as newly fallen snow. Bring it all to God, place it at his feet. He is faithful and just to forgive our sins. After this, we must forgive ourselves and start building a new life, creating our best life.

Even if you get everything you want but still feel anxious, discouraged, and scared, then are you truly successful?

The Bible commands us not to be anxious or discouraged. We are commanded to trust God and then move through the day with confidence and determination.

‘Do not be anxious or worried about anything, but in everything, every circumstance and situation, by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, continue to make your specific requests known to God. And the peace of God, that peace which reassures the heart, that peace which transcends all understanding, that peace which stands guard over your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus is yours’ Philippians 4:6

Success is based on our thoughts. You will achieve your goals if you can control your thoughts throughout your life. Success is inevitable. The battle is in the mind.

Nobody has started a new venture or project without, at the very least, thinking that success is one possible outcome. Nobody plans, strategizes, and begins some new venture if they believe they will fail. Failure is, however, also one possible outcome.

Even if we fail, we never give up if we control our thoughts. Old sayings like “When there is a will, there is a way” are true. If we fail, we know it is just one step closer to success. We fight and claw our way to our goals. We steel ourselves and tell ourselves we will never give up. No matter what.

Success comes from controlling our thoughts and actions. As Jim Rohn says, success is just a few simple disciplines practiced every day.

Finally, we need to learn how to get back up. If we know how to get back up quickly, we will win. Nobody achieves success in a straight line. There will be setbacks and obstacles, and we will mess up. The one skill to learn is getting back up the next day. Didn’t go for that run, or did you eat what you shouldn’t have? Don’t give in; be gentle with yourself. You messed up, so what? Tomorrow, you are back, almost like today didn’t happen. Do not let your mind talk you out of success.

Successful people have learned the art of getting back up. Refrain from letting some small failure unravel your plans and goals. Take control; don’t let one mess up become two or three. Forgive yourself quickly and move on. Do not let a few missed disciplines become your routine.

One of my strategies is waking up at 04:30 each morning to get more work done. I have learned over time to forgive myself if I sleep in. Sometimes, I don’t feel like getting up. This is okay. The next day, I make sure I get enough sleep. I make sure one missed alarm doesn’t become two or three. I don’t beat myself up.

This skill is so important. It is a learned skill. It will give you a sense of comfort knowing you don’t always have to be on top form. There will be days when you don’t take everything you can out of the day. Get back up, don’t give in.

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