First off let’s acknowledge that there are many “definitions” of success. My version of success could be very different than yours. I believe that success is a very individualized kind of thing. 

Whatever your personal definition of success is this much is certain, you’ll have a much better chance of achieving that success if you have goals, objectives, and a real plan. 

Successful people all understand this simple fact: merely wanting something is not a goal. Successful people also know that wishing for something is not an objective and hoping for it is not a plan. 

When it comes to achieving success what you say means very little when it’s compared to what you’re willing to actually do. I hear pie in the sky dreams everyday and the moment I hear “someday” attached to those dreams I know the chances of the person achieving them is very very small. 

It’s small because they spend their time dreaming about something rather than investing their time to make it happen. They do almost nothing except say what they will do while successful people are actually doing it.  The amazing thing is that “doing” is the prerogative of everyone. Regardless of your circumstances you can at least try, you CAN DO something and doing almost anything gives you a greater chance at success than those who do nothing. 

Pretty much everyone is willing to want but successful people are willing to work as well. Their work begins as a dream, from that dream comes a plan with objectives and goals. People who do not achieve the success they desire never get further than the dream. 

So, how do the successful ones build a plan from the dream? Here’s one way: they put themselves into the dream. If you watch closely you’ll see that less successful people dream about having the success of someone else. They say things like “I want to have a house like so and so.” Or “I want to have a bank account like he or she has.” It’s all about having what someone else has earned. 

Successful people on the other hand dream about earning their own success. They say things like “I can do that too.” They say “I can and I will” rather than “I wish I could.” Successful people spend far less time comparing themselves to other people than less successful people. Successful people make their luck while less successful people are waiting for “the big break” to happen upon them.

It’s simple to gauge your own odds of success. Just ask yourself whether you’re wishing or working. Ask yourself if you have a dream or a plan to achieve a dream. Ask yourself if you’re waiting for your ship to come in or if you’re swimming out to meet it. Oh, and while you’re asking yourself these questions remember that honesty isn’t just the best policy, it’s the only policy of successful people. 

If you really expect success then you’d better expect to work for it too. We seldom get everything we want in life but we often get everything we earn. What level of success are you earning today?