own your life | Cherie Roe Dirksen

In a world where almost everything seems to be competitive and the yearning for success is rife, take heart in knowing that you can benefit greatly by learning from others and how they manage and maintain success in order to establish a winning formula for your life.

First things first, what does success actually mean?

“Strive not to be a success, but rather to be of value.” — Albert Einstein

Success can vary according to the individual. It can be measured in relationships, love, money, career, purpose, spirit, attitude and the list goes on.

There are some simple qualities you can take onboard to excel in all of the above. If you know someone whom you or society deems as successful and they don’t quite make the grade with the many attributes listed below, you may want to question their overall success — they may have the money and career in the bag but success in life should tick all the boxes.

Let’s take a look at what sets some people apart from the rest:

Talk Positive — Successful people always communicate confidently to others and themselves. You can’t thrive on a negative dialogue. Aim to encourage, motivate and inspire all you meet including yourself.

Move On — Never dwell on your mistakes. Failure should always be used as feedback. Being stuck in the past only ensures that you will not be able to effectively work in the present. Take your blunders and learn from them — there are always hidden gems to be found in boo-boos.

Look out for No.1 — Efficacious people know that they need to take care of themselves first and foremost. This is not a selfish act; it is an action of necessity. Besides, no-one appreciates a self-declared martyr — there’s no brownie points in it for you, believe me. Acting the martyr will lead you to harbor resentment and will alienate people around you, especially those of you who do everything with a mumble under your breath. When you take care of your own needs first, you will have the ability to help others with a gratified smile on your face.

Set Boundaries — Don’t be a pushover. Know your limits and draw the line in the sand for others when you need to preserve your energy and time. Learn how to distinguish what you need to address and what you need to let alone.

Philanthropy — The Buddha mentioned that one should tithe a percentage (Judaism stipulates 10%) of their earnings to benefit their community. This is a no-brainer. You want to see your society thrive because you are a part of it — it’s a symbiotic relationship. You wouldn’t take a dump on your own doorstep now would you?

Remain Grounded — Remember your roots and always practice humility in the face of any position. Be a lone, content stallion rather than a prancing pony — ponies get ridden at fairgrounds. Strut and you’re likely to stumble, be humble and you’ll always be firmly footed.

Be Open to New Ideas — Bend like a reed in the wind. When you give in to complacency, you stop listening to others and their thoughts — big mistake. You don’t know everything, no matter how old and experienced you are. The universe is ever-expanding so what gives you the right to stand still? Nothing ages you like rigid conceit — your passport to entropy.

Own It — Prosperous people own their lives, where they are, how they got there and what they stand for. Embody your experience and live your truth. Be an original and not a copy. There’s nothing worse than a cheap fake. Everyone has something unique to offer the world — your job is to uncover your diamond.

Admit to Mistakes — Successful people aren’t afraid to acknowledge they’re wrong. True courage lies in integrity — your ability to recognize the truth and concede when appropriate. To err is human.

Think Creatively — Fruitful endeavors are usually sparked by thinking out-of-the-box, stretching beyond what is the norm and testing the limits. If you want to play it safe you’re going to be average. Pushing boundaries is where resilience leads to triumph. Inject colour, passion, vitality and true-grit into everything you do and you will succeed.

Exercise Criticism Immunity — Success lies in your ability to detect constructive from destructive critique. When you can master the skill of not taking things personally, you will be able to clearly see what opinions you can take aboard your ship to steer you in the right direction and which thoughts need to be left on the dock lest they sink your ship. Discernment is one of your handiest tools for gauging the worth of alternate views.

Enjoy Life — Finding joy and fulfillment in everyday activities is another sign of a successful person. Can you take any situation and turn it into a gift? Can you find the beauty in the chaos? The delight in the mundane? If your life is a bore, you need to take a long hard look at who’s making it boring — let me give you a clue: Go stand in front of the mirror. Boring is as boring does. Use your time on this planet wisely, there is a hidden microcosm of treasure in any situation — you just need to view things from a different perspective. A recent study just reported that adventure and travel (another activity you see successful people adhering to) seems to lead to longevity. If there is just one thing you must take from this list let it be to enjoy your life.

“Action is the foundational key to all success.” — Pablo Picasso

The road to success needn’t be a difficult one; your perspective of your given obstacles and victories will determine how you use them to free yourself. The moment you get out of your own way, you will find the happiness you seek.

You can supplement the word ‘happy’ with success — they are one and the same as the definition of success is merely to have a favourable or desired outcome. Ultimately, everyone just wants to be happy.

So, I want to end this off by saying that success is a state of mind, if you let others dictate to you what it looks like then you are doomed to failure. Strive to be happy and content right now and you will be on your way. Take action now to live with the conviction to be happy and you can only be prosperous.

Next stop — success!

Other articles you may enjoy:

12 things successful people do by Cherie Roe Dirksen — Did you enjoy this article? Don’t forget to pin it 😀

10 Tips Designed to Keep You Happy

How Trust Can Bring You Abundance

7 Helpful Pointers To Activate The Flow Of Abundance

6 Techniques to Stop Worrying

Why is Gratitude so Important When Creating Abundance?

3 Silver Bullets to Eliminate Fear

Is Social Networking Stifling Your Creative Juices?

Are you Creating the Life of your Dreams?

6 Ways to Alleviate Stress Now

The Secret to Excellent Living

Books by this author that you may enjoy:

“When you take a stand out of deep conviction, people know. They may not even agree, but they ask, ‘Do I want someone who is willing to take a hard stand and someone I can trust to do that when the chips are down?’ They want that”. ~Barbara Boxer

Thumb-Sucking in Society

So many people today seem to be mulling about — scampering hither and thither with no real purpose in life. I’m not implying that you need to have one, two or even three main drives in life, your primary purpose should really only entail the betterment of yourself and, if you can manage it (but usually comes with the package of self-improvement), the betterment of other people’s lives as well.

This does not necessarily mean that you need to don a nun’s outfit and become the next Mother Theresa. It simply means to live with integrity and to let that little light of yours shine, shine, shine.

For want of not breaking out into song at this point, I will swiftly move on.

So many ‘self-help’ writers (including myself) bang on about purpose but let’s take a look at another word today — conviction.

What does it Mean to Live with Conviction?

Simply put, conviction is a firmly held belief. You can start to act upon your convictions today by ascertaining:

What is it that you stand for? Is it love, world peace, justice, having a jolly good time, a particular cause, educating the next generation, spreading your particular brand of creativity, etcetera? Get clear on your legacy. How would you want to be remembered? This can usually point you in the right direction.

Then ask yourself how you are embodying this? In other words, how are you walking the talk in your everyday life? You can either take giant or baby steps to stand in the light of your convictions or you can just talk about them. If you choose the latter, you’re not going to be judged by me, but you need to then own that decision too.

Conviction is worthless unless it is converted into conduct. ~Thomas Carlyle

Living your conviction, in my tangy opinion, just means to go for what you believe in guns blazing (not literally, of course). Own your choices. The golden rule is to not infringe on anyone elses free will.

Are you Wishy-Washing Your Life Away?

Conviction is a way of taking responsibility for your actions no matter what you are doing. If you can’t take responsibility, then you shouldn’t be doing it. Chances are that you are going to end up blaming everyone else but yourself for any future repercussions.

Don’t be a ‘poor me’, be an ‘I-know-what-I’m-doing’ kind of chap/lass.

Own your life, own what you want to get out of it, own that you are still learning and growing, own who you are and what you stand for and most of all own the fact that it won’t last forever.

We are in this theatrical production of life together, we will come and we will go — make the most of it while you can.

Hello, Steven Spielberg!

We can write and act out a drama, comedy, romance, horror, sci-fi (if you have the relevant props and celestial connections) or a feel-good script (heck, it could even be a combination of all!) — this is your God-given free-choice. Live it with conviction and your life story will not only make it onto the Top ranking DVD list but could also end up on Blu-ray.

Own it, be it, do it and then, when it is your time to exit — depart knowing that you truly lived. If you leave this plane of existence having touched just one person’s life, you have made a difference!

Live like you mean it.