There’s a saying… success leaves clues. When we are successful, there are usually strategies, steps, and processes that helped lead us to those wins. If we pay attention, we can note what worked, and what didn’t, and utilize that data to ensure more consistent success in the future.
There are hundreds of books loaded with the “secrets” to success. The list of strategies is long. Jack Canfield, in his book, The Success Principles: How to Get From Where You Are to Where You Want to Be, lists and explains 67 success principles, all of which are good. I believe there is merit to almost any tip on how to succeed, but everyone is different, and one technique won’t work for everyone. I’m a big fan of self-experimentation, trial and error, and dabbling to find what works.
Someone asked me what my three most powerful success strategies have been. Great question! After some thought, I teased out what I believe to be my top three. Here they are…
#3 – Delayed Gratification. I’ve always known that vegetables are good for me, but I never really loved eating them. I like them now more than I used to, but I still don’t love them. I eat them primarily because I know they provide me with nutrients that my body needs. Because they are not my favorite, I usually clear my plate of veggies before eating everything else. Why? Because I enjoy the other food more, so I delay my gratification. Delaying gratification is a powerful tool to get things done and to be more successful. If you have a to-do list, doing the hardest, least appealing thing first is a great strategy. It ensures that you get it done (as you might otherwise keep putting it off), it gives you greater satisfaction (getting harder things done is more gratifying than getting the easier things done), and it makes the other things on the list seem easier. For many years, I have used this strategy, and it has helped me a ton. I almost always do the things I like least first to get those things out of the way and to delay my gratification.
#2 – Associating Pain or Pleasure. Humans make decisions based on two things… to avoid pain or to gain pleasure. Once I set a goal, I associate incredible pleasure with achieving that goal, or massive pain with falling short. Avoiding pain tends to be a better motivator for most, but seeking pleasure works just as well, or better, for me. When I think about a goal or something I want to achieve, I think about all the good I will get from accomplishing it. While visualization is a success principle in itself, I visualize the outcome as clearly as possible. I experience the feelings as if I have already achieved it. These elated feelings get me going, keep me motivated, and act as the carrot at the end of the stick. If I want to avoid negative behaviors, I associate massive pain with acting that way. That perceived pain is a great deterrent and helps me avoid heading down destructive paths. Life-shattering decisions usually occur because a person fails to look down the road and see the massive pain those decisions will bring. They get caught up in the short-term pleasure (drugs, overeating, affairs, overspending, etc.) and let that drive their destructive behavior. Associating pain or pleasure to the behaviors you want to incorporate or avoid is the most powerful way to dictate your behavior.
#1 – Modeling. My most impactful success strategy is modeling. When I want to achieve something, I try to find the person doing it the best, and do exactly what they are doing. Why try to reinvent the wheel, make unnecessary mistakes, or blaze a new path if one has already been cleared? If you see someone having achieved something you want to achieve, or that has something you want to have, find out how they did it, or got it, and do that same thing. The key? Do exactly what they did. Most people will modify the steps, change the routine, or alter the behavior, and then act surprised when they fail to get those same results. It helps to not only take the steps that person took, but to think like them, breath like them, and emulate them. If you wanted a recipe to turn out just like the person who makes it best, you would use the exact ingredients, in the exact amounts. To be more precise, you would even use the exact brand of ingredients. You’d watch how that person added them, mixed them, and timed things out. And if you wanted it to be even more precise, you’d make it at their house, using their tools and oven. Find someone doing what you want to do, find out what they are doing and how they have done it, then do that exactly.
I’ve tried just about everything to help ensure a good life. There are hundreds of success strategies, and all can work. The key is to understand that by consciously applying strategies, actions, and behaviors, your likelihood of success goes way up. Ultra-successful people don’t stumble upon success. They set goals, lay out a plan, delay gratification, utilize pain and pleasure to drive their behavior, model those who have succeeded before them, and work very, very hard until they get what they want. The three strategies that I listed above are among my most utilized, and most successful strategies. Think about something that you really, really want. Apply one of the three principles above (or all three!) and see what happens.
