“Man was designed for accomplishment, engineered for success, and endowed with the seeds of greatness”
Zig Ziegler
One of the most challenging things to do in life is achieve a level of success that appears impossible. Whether it is reaching the pinnacle in business or becoming a world-class athlete, every person is capable of attaining greatness. The lack of a plan, short memory and self-discipline keep many from taking that first step on the road to excellence. However, to reach success in any area of life requires a vision, motivation and the desire to reject mediocrity.
Reaching success in personal finance is no different than the examples listed above. Almost everyone on this earth dreams of becoming wealthy; however, the number of people who have a vision and the determination to reach that level of financial success is much smaller. For many, poor financial decisions from the past cloud their vision of the future. Rather than continuing to make poor decisions and allowing them to dictate the future, mistakes should be used as a learning opportunity – as mere stumbling blocks on the road to success. The key to overcoming these mistakes is to develop a vision and a winner’s mindset.
A dream without a vision is just that: a dream. However, by developing a vision, we allow ourselves to visualize the realization of our dreams. For example, instead of just dreaming of becoming wealthy, write down a specific financial goal, such as saving $1,000,000 dollars by the age of 30. To completely devote yourself to achieving your vision, develop step-by-step goals explaining the specific actions you are going to take to achieve your vision.
Once you have your vision and goals in place, life will inevitably put obstacles in your path to test your determination. Keeping with the example above, unforeseen life circumstances, such as losing your job or wrecking your car, may come along and try to keep you from achieving your dreams. However, to fully realize your dreams, you must cultivate the right mindset.
In his New York Times bestselling book, The School of Greatness, Lewis Howes discusses how developing a winner’s mindset will keep you committed to your vision. Lewis refers to this champion’s mindset as getting in the flow. In short, “the flow is how you perceive your situation and how you receive information. To be in the flow, to sidestep adversity like it is nothing and vault yourself toward your vision, you need to have a champion’s mindset.” Later, Lewis goes on to define the champion’s mindset as being fundamentally about belief. Simply put, our belief in being able to accomplish our goals will afford us the discipline to overcome any adversity we face along the way. (Yes, we will face adversity at some point along the path to success!). In our example, we must believe our vision of saving $1,000,000 by the age of 30 is greater than any obstacle, no matter how difficult that obstacle may be.
Achieving success will not be easy. Rather, it is going to be a difficult journey filled with adversity and challenges along the way. However, by developing a vision and cultivating a winner’s mindset, you will be able to summon the discipline and motivation needed to reject mediocrity and achieve your goals. And in the end, the pain and struggle experienced to reach your goal will become a distant memory, as you will have reached the next level of greatness. Be reminded however, this will only be the beginning in a constant journey to reach for higher, and more “impossible”, levels of greatness.
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As an intern at the General Leadership Foundation, Nik takes an active role in increasing member subscription on social media outlets such as Twitter and Facebook. He also assists with article review, editing and publication. Finally, he delivers a verbal presentation to each Board of Directors meeting.
