The Principles of Success:
Years ago I developed the belief that the principles of success are the same no matter what the goal. It’s the TASKS that will change but the principles will remain the same. When this statement has come up, I’ve always jumped right into the tasks, until recently when someone asked, “Well, what are the principles?” Having understood the concepts as I believed them to be, I felt embarrassed that I hadn’t the forethought to put it into words.
So here we go… Conviction, condition and community.
1.) Conviction: You have to convince yourself before anyone else that you will be successful. Having a fixed belief that the goal will be accomplished is difficult for most because they don’t clearly define their success. So start there. Paint a clear picture of what you want. I cannot stress the importance of clear details here. This will not only build your conviction, but will also refine your goal and shape the next two principles. From a health and fitness standpoint this isn’t about setting a weight goal, its setting an empowering goal. What do you want to be able to do or do better? A goal like this is important for two reasons; A.) You can feel more energy, greater abilities and the greater confidence that comes from both and B.) This truly initiates a life style change. Think about it this way; weight will rise and fall as your body changes which can be disheartening if that is all you focus on, and THEN once you achieve a weight loss goal you may eventually ask, ‘Now what?’ The easy answer is maintain but that’s boring and rarely lasts. Lose more? Sounds dumb, but we all know people who could say they are ‘weight losers’ as a hobby because they are stuck in a yo-yo weight loss/gain cycle. Where achieving an empowering goal will give you a reason to celebrate, builds self confidence and makes you excited to ask the question, ‘Whats next?’ If you enter a 5K, you’re a runner; get in the ring, you’re a fighter; enter any athletic league, you’re an athlete. For a Life goal, I will ask, “What type of old person do you want to be? Conviction is the ability to tell a story vividly. As though it has already happened. Get a firm conviction and you’re half way there. But only halfway…
2.) Condition: Now comes the hard part and please understand, this does not mean that you wait for the right conditions. The world will NEVER give you the perfect time. This means that you must create the right conditions… Starting within you. If you spent enough time on ‘painting the picture’ in step one, then as I said earlier some of the changes needed will be apparent. You’ll have things you need to do, learn or be ready for. Look at any fighter getting ready for a bout. They set a date and go to training camp for at least 8 weeks with a detailed plan to peak on fight night. They spar, train, stretch and run to prepare for the match. They eat to fuel performance and repair over night from the prior day’s training. They do research on their opponent watching videos to know what they’ll be up against all the while consulting with coaches, trusted friends and family (More on that in step three) Literally creating their own success or failure. Condition is what you have to become. The skills you have to develop, the tools you’ll need to learn how to use and the subjects you’ll need to either become an expert in or partner with someone on. Which segues perfectly into…
 
3.) Community: It has often been said that the best way to achieve a goal is to surround your self with like-minded people. There’s a saying that’s been passed down in my family for at least the last 4 generations: ‘Show me who you hang around with and I’ll show you who you are.’ When looking to achieve a goal, you must cut out the people that are telling you it can’t happen. This doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t have conflict. There is a distinct difference between someone telling you, ‘You can’t do that!’ Vs. ‘You should do that a different way!’ The first one needs to go. The second could be considered.
This counts for all the people around you; Family, friends, coworkers even your boss. If a family member or friend is constantly putting you down, they probably deserve a second chance in the form of a, ‘I really could use your support…’ speech but if they don’t take the hint… Look, every successful person can tell you at least one story of a relationship lost. (Not that it can’t be mended in the future). But community is more than the people you choose to be around. It includes the environments that you spend time in. Is that environment polluted? Excess tv, video games, time robbing websites and anything else that you consider noise needs to be cut out of your world.
You may have noticed the trend of a deep internal beginning that grows through you mentally, then physically and eventually reaches out to the world. These are the principles of success. Be it the seed of a redwood finding the Earth hundreds of years ago that now towers over all around it, or the frightened-to-the-point-of-shaking-kid in his first practice that can see his hands raised in victory as he hears his coach and parents telling him, ‘You can do this!’ He already has all 3 doesn’t he? Good for him! Just understand that your age and the timing won’t matter. Start painting the picture and keep moving forward.
-B
