No matter how old you are, where you’re from, or what your background is, there’s one thing each and every one of us have in common — a desire to be successful.
But, success does have a different meaning to each person. For some, being successful may mean waking up happy and healthy each morning. Others may measure success based on their job or title. Regardless of what you’re looking to achieve, there are some universal tips that will help you achieve anything you want in life.
1. Create an action plan.
An action plan takes one, giant goal and breaks it down into smaller, more manageable steps to take.
2. Tell others about your plan and goal.
When other people know about the goal you’re trying to accomplish they can 1. Help encourage you along the way and 2. Hold you responsible if they notice you’re starting to slip off the right track.
3. Don’t be afraid to fail.
In the words of Thomas Edison, “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.”
4. Get rid of distractions.
Whether mental or physical, get rid of unnecessary things that will prevent you from achieving your goals. To help you understand where you’re wasting time, write down an hour-by-hour list of how you spend your days for an entire week. At the end of the week, look for areas that are clear time wasters, like time spent watching TV, playing video games, or surfing social media sites.
5. Be careful not to “burnout.”
It’s common for highly motivated people to dedicate every ounce of energy towards achieving their goal. While that’s good in some respects, it can also cause people to quickly burnout.
6. Reward yourself for each step in the right direction.
Another way to fight burnout is to reward yourself. After you’ve taken a concrete step towards your ultimate goal, reward yourself with something you enjoy, but that won’t hurt your progress (i.e. if your goal is to lose weight, don’t reward yourself for going to the gym with a candy bar).
7. Believe in yourself.
Never be afraid to go too big or reach too far. In the words of Steve Jobs, “the people who are crazy enough to think that they can change the world, are the ones who do.”
Are you looking to navigate your path to success? Debra Solomon of Spectrum Strategies helps young adults with autism and other learning challenges improve time management and organizational skills and guides them toward personal and professional goals by breaking larger goals into smaller, more manageable tasks. Her coaching is geared to facilitating the transition from school to college or employment. For more information and fees, call Debra at (516) 510-7637.