Three Keys to Your Professional Success

Author : Adam Kimber

Everyone wants to be successful in life. Beginning in childhood, we all dream of being the best at whatever we’re interested in doing. No one grows up with hopes of a baseball career as the worst player on the last place team. We do, however, dream about hitting the game-winning home run and pitching a perfect ball game.

Success is something we all want, but are we willing to do what it takes to reach that goal? Following are three keys necessary to achieving your dreams:

1. Establish a Clearly Defined Vision

Are you familiar with the Winchester Mystery House? Sarah Winchester, widow of gun magnate William Wirt Winchester, spent her time from 1884 to 1922 building this mystery mansion. What is unusual about this house are the features that just do not seem to make sense. There are staircases that lead to ceilings, windows attached to the floor, doors on the second story that lead to a dangerous drop and elevators that do not take you anywhere.

All of these features are necessary components of a house, but they are useless because they do not work together.

Many times we can be busy with a lot of good things, but how are those things working together to build the “house?” A clearly defined vision is essential for success. A wise man once said, “If a man knows not what harbor he seeks, no light will be enough to guide him.”

Successful individuals can clearly articulate their vision. Goals must be established, and everything you do must fit with that vision. You must constantly ask yourself, “Is what I am doing in keeping with my vision?” If the answer is no, then you need to transition to the things that will help you accomplish your plan.

2. Learn from Failure

“Would you like me to give you a formula for success? It’s quite simple, really. Double your rate of failure. You are thinking of failure as the enemy of success. But it isn’t at all. You can be discouraged by failure or you can learn from it, So go ahead and make mistakes. Make all you can. Because remember that’s where you will find success.”
- Thomas J. Watson

If you want to succeed, you need to fail. No one succeeds with just a handful of failures. You won’t be the first person to succeed after only failing three times. You need to fail and fail and fail; failure is the path to success. You stumble until you walk. It is through stumbling that you learn how to succeed. Your stumbles prepare you for success.

3. Be an Optimist

Every day you will face a set of circumstances that will challenge you. Some days are worse than others, and it can become easy to dwell on the negative. Successful people are those who see the positive in any situation. They are the ones who can look past failure and see how to make it into something great.

Dwelling on the negative will never allow you to become successful. Furthermore, it has an adverse affect on the people around you and also has been proven to be directly connected with poor health and stress levels.

Conversely, the optimist is the one who typically has good health, and more importantly, is able to accomplish their goals while inspiring others. Success is almost always found in the most difficult of circumstances, and what makes it impressive to the rest of us is the ability of the person to overcome the challenges they faced. However, that person is only able to do it by maintaining an optimistic outlook on the situation.

While success is something everyone wants, it has proven to be elusive for many because they are unwilling to put the energy into it that it requires. Establishing a clear vision, learning from your failures and being optimistic are not easy things to do; however, if you can implement all three, success will be that much more attainable.

Adam Kimber is the Publisher for AE and P&A Magazines. He has extensive publishing, sales and marketing, and trade show management experience.

For additional articles by Adam Kimber and other authors, please visit http://pa-magazine.com.