What does it take to succeed?

HAVE you ever asked yourself what does it take to succeed in life? Have you ever really wondered how the greatest people have succeeded? Have you asked yourself if you could be one of them? If you could achieve what they have achieved throughout their life? It’s really easier to succeed if you know exactly how!
People differ in opinions when defining the word success. Once, I asked few people on Twitter: “How do you define success?” Here are some of answers which I received: “I think success revolves around being happy. You have to be doing something that makes you happy to succeed!”
— “By attaining one’s goals.”
— “To me, it is the accomplishment of our quest in life.”
The first important step that leads to success is the way you think generally and the way you think of yourself specifically. Ralph Waldo Emerson said: “We are what we think all day long.” Therefore, if you can control your mind and focus on good thoughts then the outcome is likely to be good. If you allow your mind to think of all the small achievements, then you’ll achieve the small things in life. If you think you are ugly, no one would ever see you pretty! Like T.J. Hoisington once said, “If you think you can, then you can!”
Believing in yourself is what really matters. Hoisington also said: “The most important ingredient that determines whether or not a person succeeds is the power of believing in yourself.” Thus, the more you believe in yourself, the more you will achieve throughout your life. An excellent example is Carl Joseph, who was born with only one leg, yet he played football, basketball and track. At the beginning, Americans did not have faith in him. But with his strong determination he became the captain of his team. His jump was the highest among other players. Later on he became a coach for Bethune Cookman College. Carl’s story was amazingly inspirational to many.
Jeff Meyers, a sports columnist, wrote a book on Carl called “One of a Kind — The Legend of Carl Joseph.” The reason behind all these achievements is like what he once said: “It’s all in the mind. My mind always told me that I could do things, and I just went and did them. I never worried that I couldn’t do something, I just did it.
You just keep trying, and you’ll always get there.” So, master your thinking! Think big! And remember “if you think you can, then you can!” It’s not that easy to summarize what leads to success into an article, due to the board meaning of such word. But Richard Jones has represented a short speech in TedTalk that discussed eight secrets which lead to success in only three minutes. During that speech, a teenage girl has asked him a simple question: “What leads to success?” He couldn’t answer her directly. Because of that he spent years looking for a perfect answer. After seven years and 500 interviews, he discovered what success is all about. So, he came up with “Eight to Be Great.”
Freeman Thomas, who’s a car designer, once said: “I’m driven by my passion.” Do it for love not for money, Carol Coletta, a radio producer, said: “I’d pay someone to do what I do.”
Rupert Murdoch, the founder and Chairman and CEO of News Corporation, the world’s second-largest media conglomerate, said: “It’s all about hard work. Nothing comes easily, but I’ve a lot of fun!”
Alex Garden, a game developer, said: “To be successful, put your nose down in something and get damn good at it. It’s no magic, its practice, practice, practice.”
Norman Jewison, a filmmaker, said: ” I think it all has to do with focusing yourself with one thing.” Push your shyness and self-doubts. David Gallo, a marine scientist, said: ” Push yourself. Physically, mentally you got to push, push, push.”
Sherwin Nuland, a professor of surgery in Yale, said: “It was the privilege to serve as doctor.”
Bill Gates, an American business magnate, investor, philanthropist, author, and former CEO and current chairman of Microsoft, said:” I’ve an idea — founding the first micro-computer software company.”
Joe Kraus, the founder of Excite, JotSpot, and Digital Consumer, said: “Persistence is the number one reason for our success.”
Finally, I’ve chosen this title, which is a category in my blog, because I often write about some inspirational topics and stories about successful people.
I love to talk about success and those who succeeded. I’ve always wanted people to believe that they actually can be better than those who inspire them. I write, read, and talk about success because I want to convince people that success is absolutely possible. But sadly, I often find people give up easily. You just have to remember having terrible circumstances is never an excuse.
People like Oprah Winfrey, J.K. Rowling and Chris Garden have all suffered enough during the early stages of their life until they got what they have always dreamed of.