Explore Your Potential for Greatness

It goes without saying that all human beings dream of and struggle for a successful life. But the understanding or definition of success is not the same for all; it differs from person to person, and in the same person, from age to age. It is also obvious that there is no single or common formula for being successful in life. Taking this difference into consideration, I’m focussing on some familiar issues and insights, which may imbue positive initiative and change.

Dream big and have faith in yourself
Dreams are what drive us. Dreams bring speed to our lives. At our best, our work should be meaningful, purposeful and fulfilling. We should not go out and look for a successful personality and duplicate it. Always try to be yourself. Dreams have to be complemented with faith. We have to have faith in ourselves.

Do what you love with a clear sense of direction

Having clear goals means your work is half-done. It is a pre-condition for being successful in life. We need to have a clear understanding of what we love to do (passion) and ensure the means of our survival (necessity). It sounds easy, but is extremely difficult in reality. Combining hard work and passion with persistence guarantees success and greatness.

Commit to excellence

Being in the top 10% is highly important. You will have to put your whole heart and soul into it. You have to remember that even the top 10% started off in the bottom 10. Only by producing excellent results in everything can you go from the bottom 10% to the top 10 in your field. For some, it may take a little longer than others.

Refuse to consider the possibility of failure

We have to keep in mind that not everything works from the first go and success does not happen by accident. Fear of failure is a major obstacle to success. All successful personalities experience failure over and over again, but it does not stop them. Failure is a learning opportunity to move forward. Every failure is a beacon for something good.

We need courage to begin and courage to endeavour. Your optimism must be unshakable. Keep in mind that success is like our own shadow: if we try to catch it, we will never succeed. We have to ignore it and do our own thing—it will follow us in the process.

                (This write up was publised in The Daily Star, Friday, April 22, 2016. We publish it with the consent of the writer)