Everyone’s looking for a magic bullet to propel them to success. But
success is no easy road. It’s not even a straight line. Success is a
tricky matter. Hard to pin down. Not that easy to define.
Have you even thought about what success means for you?
Success can mean a lot of different things depending on who you ask.
So why not ask for the
keys to success from someone who’s REALLY successful?
Someone like Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple. One of the biggest success stories of the last decade.
Well I didn’t get a chance to interview Steve personally but I did
come across an interesting bit of advice that he had given outlining
five keys that lead to success.
“Your time is limited. Don’t waste it living someone
else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma, which is living the result of
other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions
drowned your own inner voice. And, most important, have the courage to
follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you
truly want to become.” Steve Jobs
Let’s look at these success strategies a little deeper…
5 Keys To Success
You’re Running Out of Time – Use It Wisely
Steve Jobs channels Buddhist monks from all over the world for this piece of advice.
We
barely ever really think about how little time we have on this planet.
That within a blink of an eye everything could be gone.
The Buddha recognized this fact and used it as one of his motivations for enlightenment.
Don’t wait for tomorrow because tomorrow may never come.
Start right now, in this instance, to work on your success.
Dreaming of it. Crafting it. Creating it.
Don’t wait for the kids to go off to college, the stars to align, or until everything is just right.
Don’t Live Someone Else’s Life
If you truly buy into Steve’s first key to success. Or you’ve recently
had tea with the Dalai Lama and he swayed you to the dark side of
realizing that we all have a fixed amount of time, then why would you
waste it living someone else’s life.
You’ve got dreams of your own. They may have been beaten into
silence, but you know they’re still there. Waiting patiently for you to
remember them. To nurture them. And have the courage to share them with
the world.
Break Free From Dogma
According to wikipedia:
“Dogma is the established belief or
doctrine held by a religion, ideology or any kind of organization: it
is authoritative and not to be disputed.”
I don’t mean to come back to Buddha, but he had this to say about Dogma,
“Believe
nothing, no matter where you read it, or who said it, no matter if I
have said it, unless it agrees with your own reason and your own common
sense.”
Is Steve Jobs Buddhist?
He seems to be really channeling him so far.
Have the courage to be yourself.
What are your dreams?
What do you want?
What make YOU happy?
Dive deep into the mystery and miracle of who you are. There’s never
going to be another person like you on the face of this planet. EVER.
Think about that for a second. Embrace it. And get on out there and discover who you are.
Ignore Other People’s Opinions
Abraham Maslow said that the happiest people are the ones that are,
“Oblivious of the good opinions of others.”
Now I don’t think Mr. Jobs is saying to steer clear of wise council.
It’s good to have other people perspective on things. And I’m sure that
apple has a lot of geniuses, clairvoyants and witch doctors to help
Mr. Jobs divine the future.
But there’s a lot of people out there who will tell you that it can’t
be done. Or you’re not the right person for the job. Or some other form
of baloney.
Thank them for their concern and keep pressing on with your dreams.
Listen and ask for the opinions of people who have more experience than you. But keep far away from dream stealer’s.
Follow Your Heart
So often we choose to ignore the
“still small voice within.” We get that gut feeling. We know something is up.
We hear our dreams calling out to us but for whatever reason we suppress them, ignore them, and shove them down deep inside.
Maybe we’re trying to keep up with Jones’. Maybe we buy into the “get
a good job, keep your head down, and work hard” story they sell us in
school.
Whatever the reason the truth is when we stuff those dreams away and lock them deep within our hearts we suffer.
Silently we ache. An agony most of us take quietly to our graves.
The only cure is to dream again. To follow our hearts. To go where
life is calling you. To run through fields of wide open possibility.
A quote I love and have adapted slightly from Frederick Buechner is,
“Success is found through marrying the worlds deep hunger with your hearts deep gladness.”
It’s no wonder that Steve Jobs has been successful.
So what do you want to be successful at?
