Monday, May 9, 2011

7 KEYS FOR ACHIEVING SUCCESS

From www.FinishStrong.com:

1. Goals
"The trouble with not having a goal is that you can spend your life running up and down the field and never scoring." -Bill Copeland

Goals shove you toward your dreams. They nudge you when you feel sluggish. Goals force you to focus on moving forward when the easiest thing to do is watch from the sidelines.

2. Commitment
"Once you make a decision, the universe conspires to make it happen." -Ralph Waldo Emerson

An important key to commitment is accountability. Have you openly expressed your goals to others? Or have you hidden them within yourself?

3. Purpose
"Strong lives are motivated by dynamic purposes." -Kenneth Hildebrand

Your purpose helps guide your actions towards your goal. Without a purpose you can drift aimlessly from task to task, never accomplishing anything. By establishing your purpose and working backward, you can create small steps that lead you to your purpose.

4. Patience
"I didn't just jump back on the bike and win. There were a lot of ups and downs, good results and bad results. But this time I didn't let the lows get to me." -Lance Armstrong

Use your patience to enjoy the process of what you are doing. Take a moment to reflect on your accomplishment after you've finished an exercise. Embrace that moment in time as a building block in the skyscraper of your vision; knowing that you are one step closer to your goal.

5. Passion
"The most important thing is to love your sport. Never do it to please someone else - it has to be yours." -Peggy Flemming

Enthusiasm provides the energy, but passion provides the emotion. When you combine the two, then great things are possible. You will FINISH STRONG!

6. Strength
"Strength does not come from physical capacity; it comes from an indomitable will." -Mahatma Ghandi

The physical expression of strength can be an impressive display. But strength is much more than size and power. Strength is your character, your will to success, your mental toughness, your ability to forgive, and what makes you a leader.

7. Integrity
"Be more concerned with your character than your reputation, because your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are." -John Wooden

Your integrity is the centerpiece of your character. The slightest compromise of your integrity will leave your character flawed in some way. So choose your thoughts, your words and your actions carefully, always staying on the path of integrity.