How to Succeed in Life

by Scott Cofer

success formula,make a differenceHave you ever wondered why some people seem to succeed so early in life, and why you haven’t enjoyed that kind of “luck” yourself?

Does it “rub you the wrong way” at times?

If you are anything like me, the answer to both of these questions is a resounding “yes!” In all honesty, I have to admit that I’ve been angered at times by the sense that there was some type of “unfair” advantage that these folks seem to have that I do not. Certainly not a good mental space to be in, especially when you’re trying to create a successful life!

But eventually I realized something that completely changed my outlook and perspective. In fact, I now believe that there is a very logical reason for this “fast success phenomenon”, and I’d like to share that with you in this post.

Upon closer examination, I began to notice that in almost all of these early (or fast) success stories, there is a common thread that exists … and it has almost nothing to do with “luck”. Quite simply, these successful people have all done one critical thing in common, and many of them probably had no idea they were doing it. And it made all the difference.

What is this common, seemingly “magical” thread?

They all did a fantastic job, whether they were conscious of it or not, of leveraging their blessings.

What do I mean by that? Well, let me give you some real world examples:

Sports – It is no secret that professional athletes are some of the highest paid individuals on the planet, and some go on to create successful businesses after their career is over. Yes, they worked very hard to get there. But they were smart enough to recognize their physical blessings and focus all of their efforts (i.e. leverage) their God-given physical abilities.

Business – The business journals and news reports are filled with success stories of young entrepreneurs that seemingly came out of nowhere. But the common point of leverage for many of these individuals is the access to high quality education, a family of history of business success, and the contacts and connections that are inherent with both of these powerful social circles.

Entertainment – Like sports figures, entertainers in the music and film/television industries are extremely well paid. It is hard not to notice that most of these individuals that achieve massive success are very good at leveraging their above average physical attributes. Subsequently, their children often will then leverage their parent’s success and become successful very quickly themselves. And those that “do it the hard way” are people that have enough of a burning desire to succeed that they are willing to wait tables, while studying their craft with excellent teachers and mentors (i.e. leveraging their expertise), until their big break finally comes.

And here is the best part. Even if you don’t have extraordinary physical talents, super-successful parents, or high-powered contacts and connections … you can do this too.

How? By simply taking a personal inventory of the assets in your life that you’ve been blessed with.

As blogger Daniel Darling suggests, dig deep and ask yourself questions such as, “What am I good at? What do I enjoy doing? Where do I think I can have the most impact in the world? What do others say I am good at? Who do I know that can help me?

I can promise you that if you will commit to going through this process, you will discover what you were truly meant to do (i.e. your life purpose) and you will succeed in life … quickly. In fact, in may almost seem effortless.

But always remember that true success in life is measured in your contribution … not in your accumulation. “Things” will always fade away, but your contribution to the world can last for generations.

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