In determining what it is that defines success and failure in a person I have wondered; Is it a gene? The lifestyle we grew up with? Was there a pivotal point in our childhood, or for that matter, our adulthood? Were the planets lined up at the certain time of our birth? It is seemingly impossible to say. My experience has shown that all kinds of people, from all different cultures, lifestyles and ages have become exceptionally successful. So what’s the formula? We are in a private league of men and women who caught the dream and would never let go, or perhaps can’t let go. Who persevered to reach their goal no matter what… and succeeded.
In my own experience, I found that an unrelenting drive is the key to extraordinary success. Living, breathing, bleeding and crying that which you do, will take you to a place in your business or career, earned only by a chosen few. It is for this reason you may find many business coaches, telling their clients to get involved in a business or venture that they really love. Only with this, can anyone withstand the “roller coaster ride” of ups and downs inherit of any business endeavor. In my many years as an entrepreneur (all of them to be exact) I strove to be the best in my field. Tapping into my own unrelenting drive, I pushed myself to maintain a high level of productivity and strived to be better and better. Perhaps I should admit to a tinge of stubbornness as a key ingredient in this recipe for exceptional success.
I have seen this rare quality in only a few of the associates I have worked with over the years. I find myself attracted to their drive just as I’m invigorated by my own pursuit of excellence. Many of them I am proud to say, have continued to go on to become multi-millionaires themselves, continuing to push and push themselves with an attitude that does not allow them to surrender to the pressures of the observing world.
It’s commonly believed successful people are of a different culture; one which the rest of the world refers to as “over-achievers”. Often, they also believe entrepreneurs just got lucky or were born different or rich, or are just an over-night success. To which I must reply; “My current venture, as one of the largest developers in Costa Rica, took me 20 years of over-night successes”. Leading me to my fascination with the success of many actors and actresses, whom, when I research their careers, find that they have been obscurely on the movie scene for years and years, only to finally make it big and be ‘insulted’ by the title of “over-night success”.
Each entrepreneur has their own “Make it Big” success story fueled by a raging fire within, which can rarely be extinguished by anything, save self-doubt. It burns boldly inside with the strength to shine like a beacon of courage in the darkest of times. It is a torch of hope that guides and protects us on our journey into the unknown.
Each time an entrepreneur begins a new endeavor, you will find that they focus all of their attention and energy on the project. All of it! Most learn all there was to learn about the task at hand and then find even more information, generally from sources unrelated to the actual project. Through this, they usually create a whole new way of approaching a particular venture and undoubtedly live and breathe that endeavor to its successful end.
I am often asked what my 10 top rules of success are. While my answer sometimes seems vague, to this day it still remains the same. My first rule is “flawless integrity” and while you wrap your brain around that, you can throw away rules 2 through 10. Without integrity to stand as the resolute foundation of who you are and what you do, all the things you do and say in reference to the remaining 9 rules will collapse under an integrity deficient foundation.
The unstable economy is putting a strain on families all over the nation. Unfortunately, not all of the families will make it out of this economical struggle with their family or their marriage still intact. In some cases, it is just too hard for families to cope with or to get through everyday life.
We are all affected by it some sort of way. Maybe we have not lost our job, but there is that fear in that back of everyone’s mind of whether or not they will be laid off or their business will close its doors for good due to the bad economy. The unpredictable economy has affected us all in so many ways, whether it has been that we are more frugal with our spending, started saving more, or we have began using our pocket change instead of laying it down somewhere in the car or elsewhere.
