5 Steps You Need for Success

Discovering the dreams that you have for your life is the easy part. Maybe you envision a comfortable retirement, a successful business, a famous work of art, or a dream job. But where do you really begin? Looking at success (the journey, and the destination) can be intimidating; it's likely part of the reason that so many people quit. Fortunately, there are some simple things that you can put into place to set yourself up to win.

1.) Start smaller

Take baby steps, or you'll look kind of stupid.

There's a reason you clicked on this list in the first place. There are so many large businesses and successful people that started small before becoming the giants they are today. Success is nothing more than a series of small steps, each of which is completely doable. Make your dream doable by splitting it apart. Break down your dream into goals, your goals into steps, and continue until you have a series of 10 minute tasks.

Start at three 10-minute tasks every day. That's just a half an hour every day, but it's half an hour of concentrated, dedicated work toward the life that you want. You can increase it as time goes on, or you can keep that cadence. If possible, try to set a pace that won't exhaust you or interrupt other important aspects of your life, such as time with family.

2.) Study Everything

The second you think you know enough is the second you stagnate; it pretty much means that you will fail. That's why it is so important to seek out new information, and learn. Stay up-to-date on trends, tech, and techniques to get that much further. Often, it is that very knowledge that will help you stay ahead of the competition. And your studies should not only cover your goal; focusing in on self-improvement is also equally as important. On that note:

3.) Check your Attitude

Along the way, you will find flaws in yourself, your ideas, your business, your processes, everything. It's a fact of life that no human being can do something perfectly the first time around. You will make the wrong decisions, over and over, and it will likely feel like failure at times. In reality, the moment you fail is the moment you quit because of those bumps in the road. Check your motivations and your mood often. Why are you doing this? Is your behavior or though process helping or hurting you (or your team)?

4.) Outsmart your willpower

Procrastination is one of the largest enemies of success, and it's often motivated by fear. Whether it's fear of failure, or even fear of success, your inactivity will do nothing for you. You will need to first discover the source of your reluctance or avoidance, and then subvert it with a system of checks and balances (like the red-blooded American you are) to keep you from falling off track.This system is unique to every person, as people have different ways to motivate themselves, but the two basic things you need are accountability and consequences for your actions (or inaction). Make sure the accountability is consistent, and the consequences are strong. For example, let's say you have a goal to go to the gym daily, but you often avoid it because of fear that you will repeat your same mistakes, which will result in failure. To subvert that, you may have a single person to keep you accountable by going with you, and if for every session you skip, you owe them $20. Just make sure you define the parameters of that agreement, so you don't end up broke. We won't be held responsible for your account balance.

5.) Practice

Because later, you'll laugh about it. Or cringe. Same thing.

This is the most basic, and least glamorous side of success. But if you learn to discipline yourself, you will likely beat those with "innate talent" that refused to put in the work. The more you learn, and put that learning to work, the better you will become. So do it over again, even if you don't succeed, even if you make the wrong decision, even if you don't land the deal, even if you don't remember how many times you have tried it. Because eventually, you'll find what works for you, and attract more of it.

Remember the words of Dale Carnegie, one of the most intelligent minds on success and influence:

"Develop success from failures. Discouragement and failure are two of the surest stepping stones to success."

Now get off the internet and make some awesome stuff happen.