“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma – which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition.” –Steve Jobs
In this article we will apply the Apple founder’s words, to the thing we each desire most in life – success.
“… don’t waste (time) living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma – which is living with the results of other people’s thinking.”
Do not try to copy someone else’s success story, since what they have achieved or hope to achieve defines them not you. The best approach for you to take is finding motivation in the philosophies, behaviors and attitudes of people you think of as successful. Identifying your personal success goal is crucial to achieving it, realizing you have attained it, and enjoying it.
Take an honest look at your life and where you want it to go. Determine what ultimate success means to you and how you can go about reaching it. You may need to break it down into smaller achievements to help you envision its attainment. Write it down! Seeing your desired success goal on paper makes it more tangible, taking the idea out of your head and setting its actualization into motion. But, it is not cast in stone. Expect and accept that you will need to tweak it here and there as time and experiences pass by. Many successful people note that when they review their successes, it is the journey to success that they treasure most.
“Don’t let the noise of other’s opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition.”
This is not suggesting that you should shut out the world and ignore the input of others. On the contrary, you must share your desired success goal with those around as they can provide valuable encouragement and help you to remain focused. You must have the presence of mind to weigh their suggestions and discard those that do not mesh with what you are hoping to achieve and how you wish to achieve it. Do not ignore your inner voice reminding you of what you have set out to achieve. Ultimately, your success depends on how strongly you believe in it.
Conclusion
You cannot follow someone else to your success, but at the same time the road to success is best traveled in the company of a strong supportive group of family and friends. Welcome the support they offer but be confident in the choices you have made.