10 Critical Success Clues

I don't need to be a gypsy fortune teller to tell your fortune. I can tell with a 95% certainty whether or not a person is (or is going to be) successful.

All I need is 20 minutes of conversation or a few email interactions and I know. It is easy to do. You can do it too. Yes! You can actually predict whether or not someone will have the success they say they want. Better yet, you can tell if you are going to be a success OR not.

The best part about checking to see if you will be a success is that you don't have to 'beat around the bush' in a conversation to discover the clues, as you would normally have to do with another person. The worst part about checking in with yourself is that you will run up against an outright liar. Yes, you will attempt to deceive yourself. Now that you are forewarned about that, you can watch out for your attempts to obscure (or divert yourself from) the truth about yourself.

So, if you want to predict the future of anyone, including yourself, here are the ten most critical clues that you will need to uncover and clarify:

1- Attitude

2- Intention

3- Purpose

4- Passion

5- Plan

6- Resolve

7- Responsibility

8- Words

9- Actions

10-Peers.

Let's take a closer look at each.

Attitude: There is a winner's attitude and there is a loser's attitude. Most people have a mix of the two.

A winner's attitude is characterized by high self-esteem, a positive outlook on life, a general feeling of gratitude, a sense of great personal destiny, a willingness to learn and the will to do what is necessary.

Losers have poor self-esteem, a negative (they say realistic) outlook on life, a general feeling of resentment about the trials and tribulations of life, a sense of impending negative fate, a stubbornness about what they 'know', and lousy will-power or self-discipline.

Intention: As a general rule, things done with intent, produce intended results and things done without specific intent produce unintended results.

It is my experience that most people think, say and do most things in life without any conscious and specific intent. I like to ask people (and especially myself) the following clarifying questions:

What is your intent in holding that belief? What is your intent in thinking that way? What is your intent in doing what you do? Most can't answer. Winners can. More importantly, winners are always asking themselves, "what is my intended result for this chosen action, thought or way of being?".

Purpose: This is so simple it is almost ludicrous... a life without a defined and stated purpose is a life of no purpose and no meaning.

Winners have a purpose. Losers do not. Winners live a life of purpose and 'on purpose'. Losers live accidentally; victims of circumstance instead of creators of circumstance. The sooner you write down the succinct and true purpose of your life, the sooner you will discover success, happiness and personal fulfillment.

Important caveat: your purpose does not have to be altruistic or measure up to anyone's standards except your own. It can be entirely selfish.

Passion: Passion is that fuel that drives you. Passion is also what attracts to you the people and resources that you need to achieve your success.

Passion is magnetic. Desire is the metaphysical equivalent of gravity. It draws to you the elements that you need to succeed. Passionate people attract followers and supporters. Winners are passionate! ! ! ! !

Plan: You've heard before. You've read it many times. Every personal empowerment teacher says it... You must have specific and written goals and a step-by-step plan to enact those goals.

Every business needs a business plan. Your life needs a plan. You must create it. As Ben Franklin pointed out, "Failing to plan is planning to fail." Winners have a game plan. Losers are spectators and armchair quarterbacks. Do you have written goals?

Do you have a specific game plan?

Resolve: It is persistence that creates winners. It takes resolve to reach the top.

There will be obstacles in your path and impediments to your success. Losers allow themselves to be defeated by these barriers. Winners use them to build up strength and/or to learn a better way to do something. I see it all the time... people quit just before the finish line. They lose focus and direction.

Winners persist. Losers desist.

Responsibility: Ask yourself this question, "Why don't I have all the prosperity, happiness, success and fulfillment that I desire?"

If you blame any condition, circumstance, event, person or external thing, then you are a loser. Winners accept responsibility. Losers assess blame.

Step up to the plate and accept responsibility for your life and you will become the winner that you desire to be in your secret heartfelt moments. The wonderful part about accepting responsibility for your failures is that you also get to accept responsibility for your successes. You don't have to say that you were lucky or blessed or had the right breaks... you can say, "I did this."

Words: The words you speak and the way you speak them tell a lot about you. They tell the world what you believe, what you think, where you have been, who you hang around with and where you are likely to end up.

Below average people talk about other people; average people talk about events and circumstances. above average people (winners) talk about ideas and ideals (especially their own).

Winners say what they mean and mean what they say. Losers say what they think will please others or repeat what they have been told.

Actions: And yes, actions speak louder than words. The things you do are a reflection of your character.

Most people tend to do what most others do, in some sort of willful ignorance of the plain fact that most people live mediocre lives and never achieve the success they had idealized for themselves. Actions produces results.

If you want uncommon results, you must undertake to act uncommonly on purpose, with intent, with responsibility, with persistence, with resolve, with passion and according to your plan.

Do what you love. Do what you will.

Peers: Birds of a feather do flock together.

If you want to be a winner, hang out with winners. Create your own 'mastermind group'. Try to be involved with people who are smarter than you, more successful than you, have greater aspirations than you. If you can't do it in person, read their books or read their biographies or visit their websites.

Losers like to hang around with other losers, not just because misery loves company, but because their self-esteem is not threatened by comparison to their peers. If you can find the way to love yourself enough to always have a high level of self-esteem, then you won't need to compare yourself to others.

Winners believe in themselves. Losers believe in the world around them.

So now you know my secret to be able to predict the future. All I need to know about a person is:

1- Who they hang around with,

2- What they do day-to-day,

3- The way they speak and what they say,

4- Whether or not they assume responsibility or assess blame,

5- Whether or not they have the resolve (the stick-to-it-tive-ness) to overcome obstacles,

6- If they have a plan to live by,

7- A passion for life and their plans,

8- A self-designed purpose to live for,

9- If they act intentionally or in reaction, and,

10- What their overall attitude is to life and their part in it.

Now that you know, you don't need me, or some gypsy tea leaf reader, to predict your future.

The GREAT good news is that, if you discover, through this self-analysis, that you do not have these 10 necessary characteristics of winners, you can change the way you are and the things you do. So there it is... your destiny is yours, by design or by default. It is up to you.

© Leslie Fieger. All rights reserved worldwide.

Leslie is the author of The DELFIN Knowledge System Trilogy: The Initiation, The Journey and The Quest plus many more success publications. He also the co-author of The End of the World with Hugh Jeffries and Alexandra's DragonFire with his daughter Ashley. Subscribe to his free and ad-free eZine at http://www.ProsperityParadigm.com or http://www.LeslieFieger.com.

Reprinting and republishing of this article is granted only with the above credit included. Permission to reprint or republish does not waive any copyright.

---

The REAL Secret to Success

I used to see a chiropractor who handed out a... Read More

Unlock Your Potential Through Self-Awareness

Signs of DiscontentYou don't need a degree in psychology to... Read More

Insinct Is Your Life-blood - Says Author

Fourteen thousand civilised people died when the tsunami hit Andaman... Read More

Achieving Success with Authentic Joy: 12 Reflections

Success begins with a personal dream that is bigger than... Read More

Expectations

I'll let you in on a little secret...life delivers pretty... Read More

The Arenas of Success

"The credit belongs to the man who is actually in... Read More

How Close Is Your Fortune?

A farmer in Pennsylvania decided to sell his farm, but... Read More

Are You Afraid of Success?

You may not realise it yet but you may have... Read More

Why Are Manhole Covers Round?

Recently I stumbled across a list of Microsoft Interview questions... Read More

An Honest Commitment To Action Is Key To Your Success

With topics in personal development ranging from goal setting to... Read More

How Do You Spell Success

A person who is illiterate can look at a word... Read More

Believing in Oneself is a Daily Commitment

"If you think you can or you think you can't... Read More

Strategy - Personal and Business

Many different daily tasks require a strategic process to be... Read More

The Winner Walk

The Winner's Walk is a key strategy in the sport... Read More

Think of Wealth and Become Wealthy

Our thought are magnetic ! Like a magnet we attract... Read More

Self Improvement and Living in the Present Moment

Having clear goals and desires for our future, and planning... Read More

I Would Give Anything To ?

A couple days ago I was listening to a CD... Read More

Try Honesty as a System of Trust, Success Will Follow

Trust is a cornerstone of human existence. It is interesting... Read More

How I Changed The World

There is no substitute for direct personal application. Information or... Read More

Failures: 2 Types 7 Reasons

We experience failure directly or indirectly. Here we will come... Read More

Can You Think Your Way To Riches?

I am going to tell you something you already know... Read More

Smile Your Way to Success

Smile brings beauty to your face, charm to your personality... Read More

Success ...Whats the Key Ingredient?

Don't expect results over night - what??If you were to... Read More

How To Start, Survive, and Finish Your Journey To Super Success

"The more you hate, the more you love."What an ironic... Read More

7 Things You Can Do To Reach The Success You Truly Desire

Ever have those days where no matter what you try... Read More

Reach Your Goals - Get Professional Help

Get professional help There's no rule that says you have... Read More

You Are What You Think You Are

Think out of the box, they say. But what's a... Read More

Success - Its Never Too Late

Ray Kroc, the founder of McDonalds, was over fifty when... Read More

Identify Your Unique Factor and Succeed

What makes you unique? Answering this question will provide the... Read More

Price of Success

We're all adults, and most of us probably like to... Read More

Attitude Is The Key To Success

We all want success in life. We want success in... Read More

Manifesting Wealth

Many people talk or write about the science of success... Read More

The Secret to Success in 2004 (or any year)

Do you want to achieve your most important goals in... Read More