The 10 Cs to Success

You can apply these 10 Cs to success to any goal – from starting a business, choosing a partner, dealing with elderly parents or young children to getting any bigger and difficult thing.

1 Construction: You need to construct a plan- a vision of where you want to go and how to get there. Writing a business plan or personal goals is the first step. You need to select the attitudes to get you where you want to go. If you aren’t getting what you want, change your attitude and that will get you where you want to be.

2 Competence: You need some talent to achieve what you want to achieve. For example, if you don’t have any talent for a singer then your training and hard work will not help you much. You need to have some talent in the area in which you want to be successful. When composing a plan for a new business, write down what you are good at and you enjoy doing. Often this process will help you identify a niche in the market you can create or occupy.

3 Courage: Courage is very important. Sometimes you need to take risks. You may have to change direction, think outside the square and try new ways of doing the same old thing. It may make you uncomfortable but if you believe in the direction you are headed and the results you are seeking, then you need to have the courage of that conviction. A strong self-belief and courage is essential when times are tough.

4 Communication: It is well documented that dysfunctional relationships in business or personal life are usually caused by a lack of effective communication. It is vital that the market, your colleagues and friends understand what is going on. Unhealthy thinking stems from unhealthy thoughts. These thoughts are often created by poor communication and misunderstanding. A communication strategy is a necessary tool for success.

5 Charm: Like it or not charm is an important ingredient of success. Charm is not a quality that will cost you much. A smile, some humour and a genuine interest in other people can make you appear charming. Like all successful behaviours, charm must be appropriate to the situation. Your charm must be backed by honesty and it should be part of your total personality.

6 Compassion: Most human beings are the same. We all make mistakes; we all want forgiveness and compassion. Often unhealthy emotions like anger consume us and then the blame game syndrome sets in. in this situation compassion is a mighty weapon. Instead of hit back in anger, if you feel compassion for someone who is in a bad way, it helps you. You need be passionate to your work. If you don’t believe in what you are doing, it will be difficult for others to do so too.

7 Confidence: Confidence comes from many things – from knowing your subject matter to knowing yourself. Some people seem  to be born with a large supply of confidence. When it comes with a sound foundation, it appears positive; but otherwise it can appear as arrogance or stupidity. Confidence needs to be based on facts. Increase your confidence and your ability to perform will also increase. Increase your ability to perform and your confidence will increase. They are directly related.

8 Control: Healthy thinking is about controlling your thoughts, which control your emotions. Remember you can’t have an emotion without having a thought. Change the thought to change the emotion.

9 Commitment: Sometimes the easiest thing to do is give up. Sometimes you need to. But if you believe in your goal and want to achieve it, you must be committed to it. That means not giving up, even though at times you feel like you want to. You may need to change the attitudes and behaviours to get there but you have to keep going.

10 Contentment: Contentment is about enjoying the ride. You must be content in the moment, for nothing else exists. If you are always focused on a distant place to which you are heading without also enjoying the ride, you risk missing out on a lot of life. To be successful you must appreciate what you have, not be miserable about what you don’t have.