A Personal Success Exercise

Let me offer a suggestion in case you haven’t come up with your own definition. Grab a pad of paper,  a pencil and find a quiet, comfortable location. Yes, I realize that using a pad and pencil makes me a Luddite, but just trust me on this. Title the page “Successful People”. Then giving yourself only 5 minutes, jot down the names of all the people who you think of as successful. Spelling and neatness doesn’t count.;-) Once the 5 minutes are up, stop and return to the top of the list.

Then next to each name write why  or what makes that person is successful. For example, if you named Henry Ford you might note “perfected assembly line, build huge auto company, never gave up, made fortune after going broke twice”. If Mother Theresa is there you might list “suffered with the poor, tended to the sick and dying, worked in places where no one else would, doubted her own faith – but never gave up”.

Lastly, look to see what characteristics and attributes these successful people have in common. Forget the actual accomplishments and focus on their characters. See if there is some type of common denominator that made you think of these individuals as successful. If you can find a common thread running through your list, you’ll have the raw material for your definition of personal success.

Wishing you a larger life,
BB

Technorati Tags: Bob Dylan, personal success, success