Personal Development and Growth

Secrets To Success Part 3

In Part 3 of my ongoing series, I want to share with you yet another tip on how to be successful. I hope you have thus far enjoyed parts 1 and 2.

The next secret to success is:

You must be willing to pay the price for success.

I think if you ask practically anyone if they would like to have 10 million dollars, chances are they would all respond with an emphatic “Yes!”.  If that is true, why doesn’t every have tons of money? Is it because they are incapable of getting it?

The simple answer is: most people aren’t willing to do what it takes to get there.  The fact of the matter is, there is no shortcut to riches or success in life.  Being willing to pay the price is one of the things that separates the successful from the unsuccessful. Successful people think long and hard about what it will take to reach their goals, and weigh out the cost versus the benefits carefully. If you do this upfront, you will have a better understanding of what to expect going in. You wouldn’t want to work hard all day, day in and day out, only to find that the payout is not worth the time. To use an example we discussed before, if weight loss is your goal, you will know going in that you won’t be able to go out to eat every night at your favorite pasta restaurant. That means you will be making some sacrifices. You will also have to buy healthier food, and not fast food.  No matter what your goal in life, you will need to make sacrifices in order to achieve it.

I think many people lose sight of this when setting their mind on their goals, with visions of grandeur dancing in their heads. They may have pictured the house of their dreams, and even chosen the furnishings, yet they have not thought about what they will need to do to get it. Have you ever started a project, then found it was much larger than you anticipated, which discouraged you? I know a couple that bought a nice, 80 year old house. They expected that with some paint and wallpaper, the house would be perfect. What they didn’t expect was that it would also need foundation work, electrical work, new counter tops, and new flooring. After assessing the need, they became discouraged over the huge ordeal necessary to get the house to their liking. This would not have happened, had they expected this going in. Had this couple done a thorough evaluation up front, they would have discovered all the hidden expenses, and perhaps chosen a different house. My point is simple – do a thorough assessment of your goal before you plunge in, and make sure you are willing to pay the price before you start. If not, you will most likely end up discouraged, disappointed, and not succeed in that goal.

I am not, by any means, saying not to aim to achieve lofty goals. I encourage everyone to shoot for the stars in life. I just want to make sure you have calculated the price of achieving your goals, as there will be sacrifices to get there. Whether that sacrifice is time, money, effort, or all three, you will have to give in order to get. Don’t forget to calculate the cost before setting a goal, so you will be prepared to pay the cost. Keep that cost in mind while you are trying to achieve that goal, and most of all, remember why you set the goal in the first place.

The bottom line: you can achieve practically anything, if you are willing to pay the cost to get it. I hope this helps you on your journey to success.

Stay tuned for Part 4 tomorrow.

Monday, March 16th, 2009, by bp and is filed under "Self-Improvement, doubt, Self Esteem, self help, self-doubt, success ". You can leave a response here, or send a Trackback from your own site.