In order to become successful you must understand what is holding you back. If you are not willing to change your behaviors now, you will have a very hard time gaining the success you want.

1. Failure to Understand Success

   You need to understand what success means to you. Is it money, is it “things”, is it fame? Each of us measures success differently. Many people consider themselves to be successful, if, at the end of the day they can walk into a home they own and sit comfortably in their chair while they watch TV. To these people success is measured by personal happiness and peace of mind. Others feel a need to own darn near everything, to them success is measured by “stuff”. The car, the boat, the trips. Another group of people want to be famous. Fame is harder to achieve than the other two measures, simply because it relies on the reaction of other people. Either people accept you as popular, or they don’t. To these people success is measured in other peoples eyes.

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   You need to make a list of what success means to you. How will you know when you have it?

2. Slow Start

   Start young, or start now. Most people do not start reaching for their goal soon enough. They assume it will somehow fall in their lap. You cannot sit back and wait for the lottery win. You must be active in making your own reality. If you want to be a veterinarian, you must start by taking the right courses. If you have not done so, then start now. If you want to be rich you need to start saving money now, and investing, you need to stop spending money on things that will not get you to your goal. Every cup of coffee you buy now, is a huge amount of money you wont have in the future. A dollar a day is $365 in a year, or several thousands of dollars in ten years if invested well, and lets face it, most of us spend more than $1 a day on coffee. Start NOW! The chances of you getting “overnight” success is low, you are not stopping it from happening, but you are forming a back up plan if it does not. If you want to be famous start promoting yourself.

3. Blame Game

   “It’s not my fault I am not successful, it is because my parents did not send me to University.”. This is one example of blame. There are millions of successful people whose parents did not send them to University either. Sure, University or College is a great start, BUT blaming anyone does not help you one bit. Blame is a waste of energy, it solves nothing. The universe does not reward you because you had it worse off than others. The universe is not going to take pity on you because your parents didn’t send you to University, or whatever blame you have created. YOU are the only one responsible for where you are now. If deaf, dumb, and blind people can do things, so can you.

4. Self Doubt

   Self Doubt is probably why many people have slow starts or why they blame others. It is easier. Fear of failure. It’s too hard to try. People procrastinate because they doubt they can do it, and if they do not try then they won’t have to admit it really is their own fault. Success ISN’T easy, it ISN’T fast. Nobody sold their very first piece of art for millions. They practiced until they got good enough to show their art. It takes time and effort to do things. Talking yourself out of trying something is a lot easier than actually doing it. People with positive attitudes are perceived better, they are more likely to be successful simply because they are perceived as already being successful.

5. Not Knowing When to Quit

   There are a lot of people who, in the eyes of the rest of the world, are successful. The problem is they do not know it. They want more. They are not ready to slow down and enjoy the things they have and the things they worked for. They cannot look at their life as a whole and say “Ya this is good, I am there!”. What is the point of working so hard for success, if you are not capable of sitting back and enjoying it? You must know when to quit, if not your world may crumble. If you have a family but your drive for more and more is too strong, you might lose them. Fame is a fleeting thing, if it is your motivator, and you start to lose popularity will you be able to handle it? Or will you be able to say “That’s cool, I gained the fame I wanted, now its gone, so now I can move on?”

   Make sure you know when to quit or you will never be able to enjoy what you have, because you wont even realize you have it.

If you stop these negative patterns and push yourself you can achieve the success you want. Go for it. Just remember to enjoy it when you find it.