Be the one per cent! Unfurl your roadmap to success

Want to be a better person? Want to be in the top 1 per cent even? Then, it’s helpful to work out what separates the successful from the rest of the pack, then we can emulate the traits that they have. This may not be a “guaranteed” method of success, because nothing is, but it offers you the best shot, writes leadership expert Andrew Hackett.

What Makes People Successful?

Research is ongoing as to what makes people a success. This is, probably, because we don’t have a universal definition of success. In fact, the first place to start in a hunt for success – is to firmly define what success will look like. This often widely varies, depending on the individual and what is important in their life.

You have to know where you are going in order to know that you’ve arrived. Many people that we would deem “successful” feel that they are not successful because they’ve not gone through the process of working out where they want to end.

Once you have defined this. You want to write it down. This forms the “map” for your personal journey. There is overwhelming evidence that says if you write down your goals, you are much more likely to succeed.

A Road Map Isn’t Enough, You Need Transport For The Journey

Determining where you want to go isn’t enough. This is true in navigation as it is in the pursuit of success. You might want to visit Beijing but if you don’t have transport then you’re unlikely to get there on foot.

So, the next part of the success puzzle is finding some transport to get us where we want to go. The current literature suggests that people with a sense of purpose, (that is more than being goal-oriented, it is a holistic approach to the way you live your life), are most likely to achieve the results they want in life.

Finding your purpose requires time for introspection, you need to be able to think about what you want and need to drive your life in a positive direction.

Fortunately, finding a sense of purpose doesn’t have to be hard work. The evidence suggests that people who meditate on a regular basis are most likely to have found their purpose in life. Meditation costs no money, can be done in as little as 15 minutes every day and can be done wherever you are.

If you want to get where you want to be, a sense of purpose is the ride you need to get there.

Then All You Need Is Fuel

Buying a car will only get you from A to B if you put fuel in it. You may have a road map, you may have transport, but you’ve got to keep checking where you are and ensuring that you’re heading in the right direction, in the right manner if you want to succeed.

Fortunately, this too isn’t as challenging as it might sound. What you need to do is regularly review your goals and your purpose. Ask yourself each day; “what am I doing to make my dreams reality, today?”

And each time you do anything, ask, “How is this helping me to reach my goals?”

By simply challenging yourself to take action towards your success, you are more likely to achieve it. It is the fuel that moves you forward.

Good News!

This ought to be good news. It means that there are shortcuts to success. These are ethical routes to where you want to be in life. They are tools which cost nothing to use, which are simple and easy to put into practice.

Nobody is promising that the journey will be without challenges but having a map, transport and fuel for the road is what will get you there in the end.